Ah… after doing a little research I see that macOS uses the New Oxford American Dictionary. Bepuzzle has bepuzzled NOAD:

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/search?filter=dictionary&query=bepuzzle

> Animal Farm meets Charlotte’s Web meets Roget’s Thesaurus.

😅😅😅

Merriam-Webster was fine with it: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bepuzzle
I guess M-W is a bit of a hippie dictionary, but I don’t have the Unabridged OED on hand for a definitive answer.

I’m glad the moos are being tracked; the number of moos in the final version should have some significance so people can be forced to discuss it in English class. Although right now I’m kind of intrigued by the spider character; he’s angsty and into comparative linguistics. Plus there’s all the symbolism: the cow and the spider can’t communicate, neither realizes that the other is also an intelligent being, there’s the question of “is it a spider in a cow field, or a cow in a spider field?” It’s a whole allegorical thing - Animal Farm meets Charlotte’s Web meets Roget’s Thesaurus.

Also… I’m tailing the moos Cow expatiated within detached documentation.

Thou cannot query “bepuzzle” with results included… 😢

I also want to support your use of ‘thou’. I think we should bring it back. It was useful.

Well, ok. I think I’ll go with “The Milking Years” as a working title.

“Bepuzzle” is actually a real word, because English is like that.

“Moo,” mused Cow, in that inner part of her brain reserved for the most personal thoughts. Her muzzle sparkled in the sun as she nosed the spider glistening its way along the old, splintered fencerail. The spider eyed her, bepuzzled, as self-doubt overwhelmed him and he began once again to ponder whether the cow in his field truly understood that the early modern English word ‘attercop’, which survived in the Yorkshire dialect but was otherwise generally supplanted by the newer ‘spider’, was cognate to the modern Danish ‘edderkop’ - ‘edderkopp’ in Norwegian - or if the simple bovine could even aspire to pronounce the so-called Danish ‘soft D’ the word required. “Shallwould,” he sighed. “Shallwould.”

Methinks bepuzzle is j’fuzzle!

Your poetries and writings are good though and what you read aloud to me, you were totally in character. The pieces had life and depth and rhythm.

I think what was missing from the poetry readers I unfortunately heard on Sunday night was craftsmanship and confidence. The last speaker/reader lady spent a minute and a half backstorying the poem she was going to recite from memory. When she did recite, at last, said poetry poem was 12 words long. She spent all this time setting up and selling her poem and then I was like, “oh, that’s it?” I’m assuming she was nervous so she wanted to prop up her work a little bit or something.

I surmisedly suppose I shouldn’t have mildly raged against all poetry because there are good writers and readers both. And getting up in front of a crowd is a good way to hone one’s craft.

Side note: when I typed the first two words autocorrected fixed them to, “You’re potty”

I really think you should get going with making this a real book. It would bepuzzle the kids and their parents alike.

I would, however, shy away from using the word “Moo” in the title. When Maggie was younger she had a few Miss Moo books and I wouldn’t want the copyright police to dispatch unto thou cease and desists.

I shallwould procure the second copy. Or pre-order on Amazon.

Also said I, I was thinking in addition to over-utilizing a thesaurus it might be fun to invent words, too. See “bepuzzle” and “shallwould” above.

That’s how I always knew I’d really hurt someone: when they didn’t say anything.

“She didn’t say a word either. Ouch.”

Me too.

Keamoose: Thankies for T.S. It’s a favorite of mine too.

When I read my poetry aloud I did it in defiance of “the poetry voice”. I think I know what you guys mean. I hope I don’t do that. I read it pretty fast, maybe even faster than I talk, but I’d be the last to know if I’m guilty.

Paparazzi.

:)

Keamoose: Thanks for “also this”.

I loved that “also this” 💩🌈🚽 !!

You wouldn’t believe the stuff that people will flush or shove down storm sewers. Most of it goes right to the ocean.

Also this: https://canmore.ca/residents/municipal-services/waste-management-recycling/the-epic-poo-race

Possible titles: “The Milking Years”, “How Daisied Was My Pasture”, “Treacle Dog Summers”, “My Dappled Hide”, “Moo”.

I kinda like the last one. “Moo”. A New York Times Bestseller. Oprah’s Book Club Selection. Now A Major Motion Picture. Starring Judi Dench as (the voice of) Cow, who still only says ‘moo’ in a variety of tones.

Have you ever heard of Adrian Mole? There’s a book in the series where he is writing a novel called “Lo! The Flat Hills of my Homeland” that is an amazing example of truly terrible writing. The main character in Adrian’s novel ends up writing a prehistoric novel in which a caveman writes a novel despite not having the concept of language. A publisher ends up being interested in publishing THAT novel. I think that’s where we’re headed here with Cow.

Wow. I don’t miss 1995.