Moxie

Howdy Steph!
  So, this week is full of busyness! (Isn't it weird that we have to spell this word with a y because of  business? Business has the etymology of busy + ness, by the way.) Between working my two jobs (part-time, I'm not crazy), writing my thesis, and cooking dinner for dinner group, I don't have much time today, so I'm going to make this post short and sweet.

I've been thinking about your desire for a word that means kick A but without the swear. I agree with you: we need that word. I mean, as I watched the happenings of last week's events in Boston, there was no other word that came to my mind to describe those police officers who searched house by house, apartment by apartment for the suspected bomber--and found him--than kick A. (Bostonians, you're pretty kick A, too.) But I'm a word person, so I'm on the quest to find another word that expresses the pure awesomeness of kick A. Here's what I've got so far:

moxie: energy, pep; courage, determination; know-how 

So, I stole that definition straight from Merrriam-Webster in part because I felt like it was the most scatter-brained definition I've ever read in M-W. Energy. Courage. Know-how. With our powers combined, we are Captain Moxie.

Besides being an awesome way to describe Amelia Earhart, moxie has so much fervor and heart within its meaning. And it isn't your typical adjectival descriptor. You aren't moxie. You have moxie. I kind of love that grammatical structure (insert roll of the eyes here in response to my linguistic nerdiness). It's like you have to search out moxie like a prized treasure to possess it. I love the idea of seemingly normal people, normal police officers taking a journey of courage and energy and know-how and at the end of the day finding the bad guy and receiving moxie. To all those law enforcement officers who woke up as usual and did your job in an extra-ordinary fashion, I--and every other American out there--grant you moxie. Thanks for becoming more than yourself to keep us safe.

Cheers,

Amanda Kae


Who do you know who has moxie? Got another suggestion for kick A?