Vocabulary Lesson

Michael and I were having a conversation over the weekend. I do not recall now the subject matter of our conversation, but in the midst of it Michael used the word "ersatz" in a sentence. Correctly. He is nine. "Ersatz" is not a word that has appeared on one of his spelling or vocabulary lists for school. These two facts caused me to wonder (reasonably I think) where he learned the word and how he had managed to work out its proper usage. As it turns out, he read it in one of the Lemony Snicket books. He explained to me the context in which it was used in the story. He is both cute and smart.

Spencer was rightly feeling proud of himself when he got home from school yesterday. "I got a compliment," he told me. His teacher said that Spencer has a very impressive vocabulary. "She said it in front of the whole class." He is also both cute and smart.