Word of the Moment VI (brought to you by the letter "E")

The mystery genre has some of the best and worst writers of genre fiction. Throughout the last one hundred years, some of the best and most iconic writers of our time have written some classics mystery novels that still resonate today. Other writers have also made a living as contemporary novelist as well, crafting great stories even the harshest of critics enjoyed (the recently deceased P.D. James comes immediately to mind).

But because mystery readers tend to read voraciously, the publishing industry pushes out as many mystery novels per year as they feasibly can, which means a lot of crime and mystery authors who have the writing skills of the average fourth grader are getting published as well (and too many of these authors come to mind).

What all this means is that you can still increase your vocabulary reading mysteries, for instance, this post's Word of the Moment was found in the short story True Enough: Bolt's Last Case by B.K. Stevens published in the December issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine:

     emeritus - retired or honorably discharged from active professional duty but retaining the title of one's office or position.

It should be no surprise that I found this word in a story about a detective working one last case before he retires.

So now you know. Be sure to use this word every time you get the chance, it'll impress your friends, or else make them look at you oddly.

Until Next Time...
Honorably Yours,
Michael