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Whacky Words & Flash Fiction – Writer In Transit

Whacky Words & Flash Fiction

It’s time for WHACKY WORDS! Remember, this is supposed to be FUN!

Thank you to everybody who played along for the previous word. The real meaning of the word Paizogony is necking; love-play. http://www.encyclo.co.uk/meaning-of-paizogony

The definition that captured my attention was posted by… there’s two for today! Jemi Fraser defined it as follows: the art of creating world peace. Ghandi & Mother Teresa were incredible paizogonists! (I’m all for world peace!) Sherry Ellis defined it as follows: the mathematical process of figuring out how to make your paycheck last until the next one. (I’m weak at maths, but could DEFINITELY take some time to master this theorem!) Congratulations ladies!

Today’s word is

                                                         QUISBY

The twin brother to Quasimodo, the “hideous” character in The Hunchback Of Notre Dame who was feared by the townspeople. Rumour has it that Victor Hugo removed Quisby (who was born without the hunch) from the story during the final draft, and then proceeded to re-write the story from scratch.

That’s my definition. (The word does have a meaning, but you are invited to play along by providing your own original meaning. No cheating and looking up the word. I’ll post the meaning next week). So do you wanna play along? Leave your definition in the comment section below.

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What is F-S-F all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week the hostess will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

                                                    FORGOTTEN

Source

A lost soul in a lost city.

Tossed about by gusts that fight for control of debris, the flotsam of humanity that move along in the daily grind, as the ravaged city sinks slowly into an abyss of no return…

From beneath the bridge, I monitor a ferocious wind, monstrous and relentless in its mission, lashing out and pummeling everything in its wake.

Flickers of horrendous images struggle to surface, finally give up and fade away like an unwanted dream.

It’s best this way… a return to the comfort of nothingness…

63 Comments

  1. Southpaw HR Sinclair on February 24, 2015 at 4:49 pm

    I like your definition for quisby, but for some reason the word makes me hungry. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact I haven’t eaten yet today.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:43 pm

      Hungry? Mmm.
      I’m trying to make the connection between food and the word…? It sounds like crispy… aha, that’s it! 🙂

      • Debi O'Neille on March 3, 2015 at 2:17 pm

        Made me think of Quisnos, so I got hungry too. Love their sandwiches. But to me the word means that geeky guy in eighth grade who never spoke aloud in class ( or elsewhere, that I know of), never showed up for gym class, looked like a stick under baggy clothes and who was rumored to have murdered someone in the last town he’d lived in. I think Quisby is his name. A spooky kind of weird kid.

        • Michelle Wallace on March 4, 2015 at 6:07 pm

          Oooh. The name fits perfectly. I like the weird kid perspective… 🙂

  2. Alex J. Cavanaugh on February 24, 2015 at 5:04 pm

    That’s powerful.
    Isn’t a Quisby that free Frisbee that sandwich chain Quiznos gives out?

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:44 pm

      Good one, Alex!
      Never heard of Quiznos… or did you make it up? 🙂

  3. Stephanie Faris on February 24, 2015 at 5:57 pm

    Quisby–a fun way to study for an upcoming quiz while tossing a frizbee back and forth! Ask a question, throw the frizbee. The other person answers and tosses the frizbee back.

    If that’s not a thing, someone should invent it!

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:46 pm

      Yes! Great concept for a new educational game. You could be sitting on some money…

  4. Sherry Ellis on February 24, 2015 at 6:24 pm

    I think I like my definition of paizogony better than the real one. ;0)

    Quisby sounds like a literary character. Maybe he’s Walter Mitty’s twin.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:49 pm

      I like yours too! Hands down!
      LOL to the twin… also leading a secret life maybe?

  5. Tyrean on February 24, 2015 at 8:31 pm

    Wow! Your story is chilling and moving. Thanks for sharing your excellent writing!

    Quisby – it’s a game involving feather quills and old grapes – kind of like apple smear baseball, but slightly more refined.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:50 pm

      Thanks Tyrean!
      That game sounds medieval… and quite messy?

  6. Patricia Lynne on February 24, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    Quisby- A quiz where you throw a frisbee through a hoop. The more hoops you get it through, the better chance you pass. You don’t want to know what happens if you fail. 😉

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:52 pm

      Sounds a bit ominous… 🙂 There’s something about the game that you’re not revealing…?

  7. Carol Kilgore on February 25, 2015 at 12:35 am

    I always love your five-sentence pieces.

    Quisby, Montana
    population 22

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:52 pm

      Thank you, Carol.
      I LOVE your definition!! Innovative. 🙂

  8. Medeia Sharif on February 25, 2015 at 1:18 am

    Great flash fiction. 🙂 Quisby sounds cute. It could be a plush toy or a fun quiz-based game.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:53 pm

      Thank you, Medeia.
      It does have that cuteness factor… 🙂

  9. Susan Gourley on February 25, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    Love your five sentences.
    Quisby, is when a student has excellent grades is is given a ‘by’ on a quiz and doesn’t have to take it.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:55 pm

      Thanks Susan!
      An exemption based on excellent grades. Passes him by. Yep. A good one.

  10. Beth on February 25, 2015 at 3:34 pm

    always love your flash fiction! Quisby: oohh, just read through the comments and I love Stephanie’s answer!

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:57 pm

      Thanks Beth!
      There are always loads of great answers! 🙂

  11. Crystal Collier on February 25, 2015 at 5:23 pm

    Quizby sounds like a spelling bee to me. Yup.

    Very emotional Flash Fiction. Love it!

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 4:58 pm

      A spelling bee… with a dose of cheese thrown in… maybe? That would be a cheeseby quisby.
      Thank you Crystal! 🙂

  12. L. Diane Wolfe on February 25, 2015 at 7:07 pm

    Quibsy sounds like a game to me. One I would lose.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 5:36 pm

      If it’s educational, there’s a chance. If it’s a physical game, I’d lose too.

  13. Jocelyn Rish on February 25, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    This real meaning for paizogony is awesome! Hmmm…. quisby… how about it’s when a person pretends to speak with a British accent because they think it makes them sound cooler.

  14. Krystal Jane on February 25, 2015 at 10:40 pm

    That is the perfect picture for this week’s flash fiction!
    Quisby: the squishy soft skin between the suction cups of a squid or octopus tentacle.

  15. Shannon Lawrence on February 26, 2015 at 8:33 am

    A quisby is a frisbee that is super quiet and speedy, as well as being able to dash around corners.

    Powerful flash fiction piece! I love that image as a prompt.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 5:39 pm

      That frisbee sounds quite nifty.
      I love image prompts!

  16. Nick Wilford on February 26, 2015 at 3:45 pm

    Very eerie piece, nice.

    A quisby is a special hat similar to a trilby or busby worn by the invigilator of a pub quiz.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 26, 2015 at 5:41 pm

      Thanks Nick!
      I love hats… your description evokes an interesting image in my mind’s eye…

  17. Chrys Fey on February 26, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    Quisby is slang for rugby played with a quiz (Quiz Rugby). Whoever makes a goal has to answer a question by first picking a subject such as literature, history, science, etc. The referee will have envelopes for every subject and will randomly select one. If the player answers correctly, that team gets an extra point.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 28, 2015 at 11:16 am

      Sounds like a great way of introducing an ‘educational’ angle into the sport… not just a sport of brawn, but brains as well… 😀

  18. Loni Townsend on February 26, 2015 at 6:42 pm

    Quisby — The quality control board head hauncho for the National Federation of Spelling Bees.

    • Loni Townsend on February 26, 2015 at 6:42 pm

      Oh, and I like your 5 lines!

      • Michelle Wallace on February 28, 2015 at 11:19 am

        Like the Main Bee or the Queen Bee (if the honcho is female…)
        Great definition!

  19. Gisele LeBlanc on February 26, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    Your flash fiction piece is very powerful, Michelle! I like it.

    Quisby, hmmmm, it’s a very fun sounding word, but my mind is too tired to come up with a definition. Sounds like it could be a cute, furry animal though, or maybe a type of board game. 😉

  20. Robyn Campbell on February 26, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    Hahaha, LOVE Alex’s definition. He’s on top of things. *wink* Who can beat that? *snort*

    LOVE your FF. But then, I always love your writing. xoxoxo

    • Michelle Wallace on February 28, 2015 at 11:21 am

      I need to still google Quiznos…
      Thanks Robyn! *waving*

  21. Maria on February 26, 2015 at 10:38 pm

    I liked your flash fiction. Though I don’t know the word it sounds cute!

  22. Hilary on February 27, 2015 at 8:34 am

    Hi Michele – loved the earlier whacky and their definitions. Quisby to me seems like a plastic throwing game for the park … a star struck multi-coloured plastic indented ball … no idea – but it’ll keep loads of people happy as they chase it around the grass.

    Certainly creativity – idea forming, wordsmith concepts creep across to this blog … cheers for now – Hilary

    • Michelle Wallace on February 28, 2015 at 11:24 am

      As long as it creates loads of happiness, that ball is valuable! Thanks for playing along, Hilary. Hope you’re getting better and feeling stronger… 🙂

  23. Sia McKye on February 27, 2015 at 3:24 pm

    Quisby is a game that allows me to play at Hogworth without getting on the broom and falling off, um, I mean flying. Of course, the down side is the quisby chases me as well and those things hurt when they tag you. It’s okay, though, my Great Dane took care of it for me. 🙂

    I do know the meaning of this word and no I didn’t look it up but I have used it with both husband and son. Stops the ‘why didn’t yous’ dead in their tracks, lol!

    Sia McKye Over Coffee

    • Michelle Wallace on February 28, 2015 at 11:30 am

      Sounds like a magical toy of sorts…?
      Aha, sounds like the word quisby has come in quite handy around the home…

  24. Toi Thomas on February 27, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    Oh my goodness; I gotta stop reading all the responses before I comment. I can’t stop laughing or think of anything else for Quisby. It’s just a fun sounding word.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 28, 2015 at 11:31 am

      Glad you had a good laugh!
      They say that laughter is the best medicine. I agree.

  25. Stina Lindenblatt on March 1, 2015 at 12:16 am

    I wouldn’t even know how to say Paizogony. 😀

  26. joylene on March 1, 2015 at 4:36 pm

    I love Patricia’s definition. But this is a game, so what do I think? Hmm. Quisby is the fictional character from the drawing board of Daffy Duck’s latest cartoon novel, who since turning 100 hasn’t been getting enough work at Disney World, so he’s taken to writing Steampunk Dracula novels about Quisby and Bonny Tayl Bixby and their elusive love affair. Bonny is a rabbit and Quisby’s a fox. Of course the entire town is talking.

    • Michelle Wallace on March 4, 2015 at 5:55 pm

      Joylene, you’re getting better and better at these definitions! 😀
      I love the cartoon connection!

  27. Trisha on March 2, 2015 at 12:45 am

    I think Quisby is a game that is a combo of Quidditch and Frisbee 😉

    • Michelle Wallace on March 4, 2015 at 6:00 pm

      I had no idea what Quidditch is, so I googled it.
      I’ve learned that it’s a real competitive sport in the Wizarding World of the Harry Potter universe, where players ride flying broomsticks, using four balls… maybe this adaptation of the game uses frisbees in place of balls? 🙂

  28. Julie K Pick on March 3, 2015 at 8:33 am

    I enjoyed reading all of the creative Quisby definitions! Another chilling 5- Sentence Fiction, Michelle!

  29. C. Lee McKenzie on March 3, 2015 at 4:21 pm

    That flash fiction was great. I’ve often seen the discarded items and actually felt sorry for them. Once of value and useful, then suddenly abandoned. The umbrella was a perfect image to go with the prose.

    My brain’s fried, so I’m thinking Quisby is a game show designed by Bill Cosby, but never aired. 🙁

  30. Peaches Ledwidge on March 3, 2015 at 11:06 pm

    Powerful flash fiction.

    Quisby – pack of question and answer cards. Two brothers played the game by a swamp, but when one of the brothers cheated by looking at the answer, both fought violently in the swamp.

    • Michelle Wallace on March 4, 2015 at 6:03 pm

      A muddy card game which causes brother to turn on brother? Something like that?

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