Spirng* (for Spring*)

You could say that spring was here, or that the scent of spring is near, or all the ways the poets put it—but it wouldn't be better than this, now would it?

Spring was in the air. Birds chirped, other animals made other sounds, and you could practically smell Mother Nature's vulvanus...

I have it on good authority that New York City's Bike Snob deploys the equal-opportunity neologism scrotanus on rare occasions as well, but in any event, it's clear that this guy is a funny and fanciful word creator (he coined the popular term "salmoning" for the irritating practice of riding on a bike path in the wrong direction). Words seem to spring easily to his mind, like the hope that springs eternal in his breast—hope for a burgeoning urban bike culture, as well as for keeping it real. The Brooklyn blogger, who had carefully guarded his anonymity for several years, finally revealed his true identity in the spring of 2010, just before launching a book tour for his first book, also called Bike Snob. The "very reserved" B.S., it turns out, is 39-year-old Eben Oliver Weiss, former Big Apple bicycle messenger, long-time literary agent, and now-married father of one. With a spring in his step and a quip on his lip, Bike Snob inspires all pedaling proles—plus those who appreciate well-written prose. We uncovered three cases of Spirng* (for spring*) in OhioLINK this morning, and 57 in WorldCat.

(Düsseldorf, Räder im Grünen, spring 2004, from Wikimedia Commons.)

Carol Reid