Word of the Day: Wanderlust

I was never really into watching Jeopardy until I started living with my new husband, a trivia genius. Every weeknight at 7:30, it's Alex Trebek time, and surprisingly enough, I find myself knowing much more than I ever thought I did. Although playing a game of Trivial Pursuit with my husband and mother-in-law is biggest fear of mine (they know literally every answer, or are at least really close), being a contestant on Jeopardy wouldn't be too bad. At least sometimes some of the categories are right up my knowledge alley -- grammar, words that have lots of Ts or Ms or start with B, etc., musical instruments, french words, and even some Victorian history. I guess watching the History Channel, Discovery, Food Network and Travel are finally starting to pay off. I'm learning things and even recalling them in the heat of a trivia battle moment on the couch!

As we sip our tea (ya we're like an old married couple on weeknights), we battle it out trivia-ly, supporting each other with every correct answer. The other night the $2,000 Travel category question (or I guess, answer, if you're using Jeopardy terminology) was something to the affect of "A German word meaning, a strong desire for or impulse to wander".

"What is VVvahndurloost!?" answered the contestant all the way to the right. And for $2,000, she was correct, "with the correct pronunciation too!" said, Trebek.

I was intrigued and simply had to look this one up:

From Wikipedia: Wanderlust traces back to German Romanticism. It combined wandern - "to hike", and lust - "desire", and literally meant "to enjoy hiking". But since then, the modern English meaning has morphed into meaning "to travel and explore the world".

I like the modern meaning, and I love the romantic nature of the word. Wanderlust. A lust to wander. I love to travel and a have a desperate desire to see the world. I'd fall into this category.

I'm a wanderluster. It sounds a little dirty, but it fits.

PS :: Go here to create a Wordle: http://www.wordle.net/