(in)communicado

[Laurence Horn]

At 10:14 PM -0400 4/6/09, Victor wrote:
>This picked off Facebook.
>
>    "Are you *communicado* yet?"
>
>As far as I can tell, when "Communicado" is used, it is exclusively as
>an invented proper noun, e.g., a company or a product name, an on-line
>nickname, etc. This is the first time I've encountered it naked (in
>English) as an antonym of "incommunicado".
>
>But, as I keep repeating, I live a fairly sheltered life.
>
If you like "communicado", you'll love these others...



How I met my wife
Jack Winter
published 25 July 1994 in _The New Yorker_

It had been a rough day, so when I walked into the party I was very
chalant, despite my efforts to appear gruntled and consolate.

I was furling my wieldy umbrella for the coat check when I saw her
standing alone in a corner.  She was a descript person, a woman in a
state of total array.  Her hair was kempt, her clothing shevelled,
and she moved in a gainly way.

I wanted desperately to meet her, but I knew I'd have to make bones
about it since I was travelling cognito.  Beknownst to me, the
hostess, whom I could see both hide and hair of, was very proper, so
it would be skin off my nose if anything bad happened.  And even
though I had only swerving loyalty to her, my manners couldn't be
peccable.  Only toward and heard-of behavior would do.

Fortunately, the embarrassment that my maculate appearance might
cause was evitable.  There were two ways about it, but the chances
that someone as flappable as I would be ept enough to become persona
grata or a sung hero were slim.  I was, after all, something to
sneeze at, someone you could easily hold a candle to, someone who
usually aroused bridled passion.

So I decided not to risk it.  But then, all at once, for some
apparent reason, she looked in my direction and smiled in a way that
I could make heads and tails of.

I was plussed.  It was concerting to see that she was communicado,
and it nerved me that she was interested in a pareil like me, sight
seen. Normally, I had a domitable spirit, but, being corrigible, I
felt capacitated-as if this were something I was great shakes at-and
forgot that I had succeeded in situations like this only a told
number of times.  So, after a terminable delay, I acted with
mitigated gall and made my way through the ruly crowd with strong
givings.

Nevertheless, since this was all new hat to me and I had no time to
prepare a promptu speech, I was petuous.  Wanting to make only
called-for remarks, I started talking about the hors d'oeuvres,
trying to abuse her of the notion that I was sipid, and perhaps even
bunk a few myths about myself.

She responded well, and I was mayed that she considered me a savory
character who was up to some good.  She told me who she was.  "What a
perfect nomer," I said, advertently.  The conversation became more
and more choate, and we spoke at length to much avail.  But I was
defatigable, so I had to leave at a godly hour.  I asked if she
wanted to come with me.  To my delight, she was committal.  We left
the party together and have been together ever since.  I have given
her my love, and she has requited it.

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