The Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock

Painstakingly curated, here are 52 lost meanings of wedlock, one to inspire each week of an engagement. It's the perfect gift for one's betrothed, or for a wedding planner, or for anyone contemplating matrimony. Why lost meanings? The definition of "marriage" has become hotly debated of late, to the point that the word has become "increasingly unmentionable" (Catholic Herald) or even "has no meaning at all" (Family Policy Institute). It's been said that only through loss can there be gain, that only through loss can we truly grow and understand what is at stake, that only through loss can that which is beautiful be found. As the poet Joseph August has noted, "Only through loss can we glimpse the deepest meanings, / hints and flashes whispered from below / elucted as from underwater, deep." The collected lost meanings of wedlock might surprise even those who would otherwise be considered well-informed.

Craig Conley is a curator, benefactor, philosopher, author, music producer, and documentarian. A former college teacher of writing and literature, he left academia to pursue his research into one-letter words, two-fold deities, and ancient Zen versions of Rock-Paper-Scissors. In addition to his Magic Words: A Dictionary and One-Letter Words: A Dictionary, he has written several educational titles, including four editions of the textbook Human Diversity: A Guide for Understanding, published by McGraw-Hill. His latest documentary, “David Lynch and His Precursors,” traces the avant-garde filmmaker’s influence through time, to movies that predate Lynch’s own body of work.