Many difficult English words have a Latin origin, such as words that have the letter combination sc. Sc is pronounced s, and is found in words like science or discipline or susceptible. One of the worst spelling offenders in this group is the word resuscitate.

Resuscitate comes from the Latin resuscitatus, from the verb resuscitare (to reawaken), from re- + suscitare (to rouse). It means to revive from apparent death.

My way of remembering how to spell this persistently annoying word is to break it down into parts: re + sus + cit + ate.

To help you remember this tip and sustain your strength of will in the face of this exciting word (and avoid becoming irate), I have written a very short story.

The Riddle of the Re+sus+cit+ated Reputation

She ventured in to the citadel at the heart of the city to examine the supposedly dead criminal, who had been cited for various offenses.

As she examined the suspect, she could see that it had sustained some damage, but not enough to kill it. She had a suspicion that it could be rejuvenated, restored, or even revivified.

But did she want it to be?

Her heart palpitated as she pulled out her sharpened wooden weapon and prepared to penetrate the hated offender’s heart.

She scratched out the horrifyingly bad passage in her manuscript with her pencil.

After all, she had her author’s reputation to resuscitate, and this inane drivel wasn’t going to get her there.

THE END

***

Image of Akko Citadel from Ian and Wendy Sewell

This post is dedicated to norwegiantransplant. Thanks for reading!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, where I will snare the sneaky letter S…

 

© Sue Archer at Doorway Between Worlds, 2015