HERE'S A WORD I LEARNED THE OTHER DAY PASSERINE IT'S A TYPE OF BIRD. ACTUALLY IT'S A BROAD CATEGORY OF BIRD. ANY BIRD WITH THREE TOES FORWARD AND ONE TOE BACK. A SONGBIRD. MORE THAN HALF OF ALL BIRDS, REALLY. ALSO CALLED "PERCHING" BIRDS. WHAT A WORD THOUGH! PASSERINE SOUND LIKE A CITRUS FLAVORED ASPIC DISH FROM 1953. SLICES OF LOCAL ORANGE VARIETALS TRAPPED IN GORGEOUS JELLO--SHIVERING BRAVELY IN THE MIDCENTURY SUNLIGHT PASSERINE SOUND LIKE THE NAME OF A FRENCH YACHT, THE LETTERS ALL IN GOLD AGAINST THE WHITE OF THE HULL, BUT THE SAME GOLD IS CARRIED THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE ENTERPRISE TOO, IN FREQUENT BUT CONSIDERED ACCENTS, THE TILEWORK, THE INDENTATIONS OF THE WAINSCOTTING, THE CAPTAIN'S PEN, GLIMMERING WHILE HE SIGNS SUBSTANTIAL CHECKS TO THE CONTRACTORS WHO'VE HELPED BUILD HIS FLOATING MONSTROSITY, ETC PASSERINE SOUND LIKE A TYPE OF BLUE ONLY THE OCEAN COULD PRODUCE, IN THE BEAUTIFUL BUT DEADLY PARTS, THE INCONSTANT SHALLOWS, THE PART OF THE OCEAN CLOSEST TO SHORE BUT WITH THE HIGHEST BODY COUNT WORDS HAVE MEANINGS MORE OR LESS DETERMINED BY CONSENSUS BUT NOTHING CAN STOP YOU FROM APPENDING YOUR OWN RIDERS IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT. IT'S NOT EVEN ILLEGAL PASSERINE AN ANCIENT BOARD GAME WHICH USES BITS OF COLORED GLASS AS BEADS, THE EXACT OBJECT OF WHICH HAS NOT BEEN PRESERVED. ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO RECREATE THE GAMEPLAY BUT IT'S ACKNOWLEDGED TO BE LARGELY GUESSWORK GO AHEAD AND INVENT YOUR OWN IF YOU LIKE
