Nepheloccoccygia

The weather woman introduced this word, which is new to me, this morning at the end of the weather forecast. She said that one accepted meaning of nephelococcygia is the tendency of people to see familiar objects in the shape of clouds. Googling the word, I found that the original meaning was Cloudcuckooland, the name of the mythical avian city in Aristophanes' The Birds, an imaginary, implausible utopian parody of 5th century B.C. Athens.

Turning this over in my head as I waited for my sister to get ready for me to drive her to the bus station for her return, post Thanksgiving, to Hartford, I came up with a third and new definition: "Nephelococcygia: the tendency to imagine that only good things can result from easy monetary policy." Looking up into the clouds, we discern a land of free money that never loses its value, bringing prosperity and happiness to all. It is a sort of paradise, albeit, I am afraid, only that of a fool.

Driving back from the bus station, NPR reported, since this is the first day of the month, that many people believe that saying "rabbit, rabbit" the first thing upon awakening on the first day of each month brings good luck. (This is also a new one to me.) Franklin D. Roosevelt was reported to have practiced this spiritual exercise throughout his presidency.

So I shall say "rabbit, rabbit" every time I hear or see Bernanke or Yellen on the news. It can't hurt.