A to Z Challenge – X is for ????

All month I have been dreading this day. I remember from last year and the year before when I visited some bloggers who were doing the challenge, they all came to the letter x and said “yikes,” even though that does not start with the letter x.

There are lots of things I could write about that start with today’s letter. There is x-ray, but that doesn’t connect directly to my nature theme. Yes people get x-rays and people do x-rays, but the whole topic is just not that interesting. Radiation? Who needs it?

Then of course there is Xerox – it has two x’s. But again boring unless you need a reminder that whenever you use this word it needs to be capitalized. It’s a brand name and should be capitalized when used in place of the generic “copy.” I need a copy of this so I can remember. Please Xerox it for me.

If you go to this website, you can find lists of words that begin with x. It is a neat site for Scrabble players to get help so they are not stuck with the letter x when the other player(s) are out of tiles. 

When I went to that site, I found a plethora of words beginning with x. Which one to choose? Which one to choose? Since I only recognized a few, I didn’t know which of those I didn’t might relate to something in nature. Then I saw this one “xyst.” A phonetic pronunciation could be “cyst” so I thought it might fit my theme, but, alas, it wasn’t so. A definition I found online says a xyst was a covered portico used as a promenade in ancient Greek and Roman architecture. In some places in ancient Roman the word referred to a garden walk planted with trees.  

I wonder if the paths I have worn around my property that winds through some trees qualifies as a xyst? Possibly, but maybe I should just keep calling it a path since I have no idea how to pronounce xyst.

12 thoughts on “A to Z Challenge – X is for ????”

  1. Well, you could talk about Xenia, OH and the nature of the tornadoes which seem to target the town.

    While you’re wrestling with your “x” dilemma, stop by my blog. I’ve left an award there for you.

  2. I say that an official rule of the A-Z challenge should be that you can skip ONE letter out of the 26! (I love making up rules to games!)

    Great post. We’re almost done!

    L

  3. “X”was a tough one for me too, finally asked a friend if he knew any words starting with “X” pertaining to Africa. He looked at me and said, “Nelson Mandela is a Xhosa.” Voila, Geoff had his word. I think the challenge of finding words relevant to your theme is what has made it more interesting. I am amazed at the words other bloggers have come up with. Xyst was used by someone else, I can’t remember who, but they wrote about a covered exercise path. Interesting.
    Blessings, Geoff.

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