Just Junk

PHOTO PROMPT © Nathan Sowers

The oval mirror had  hung in the entry, presiding over a table set there for purses and gentlemen’s hats.  A lady could touch up her Gibson Girl hairdo, and a gentleman could straighten his collar.

Today, the mirror would be sold or trashed.  There had been a coup, and the house was no longer stately. Tired and sagging, it stood like an elderly woman whose stockings were sagging at her ankles. Tired, wind-worn, unattractive.

Auctions were funerals, really. A 50-year lifetime of stuff, set out in the yard for human scavenger birds to pick over and reject.

I’ve Had It!

Knackered

Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt.

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I immediately associated this  word with horses, and with being completely exhausted. Wondered which was correct, so of course I had to look it up.  Turns out they’re both correct.

From the 18th century, an old horse that was considered ready for the slaughterhouse was  knackered–used up, of no practical value.  The etymology is unclear, and hardly worth mentioning. In any case, it came to be a somewhat slangy expression of just being very tired.

I was knackered after our red-eye flight from Los Angeles.  I’m starting to feel a bit more normal now, but it took several days.

It’s not a word we hear very often. I’ve always thought it was interesting; maybe I just like the sound of it. Knackered. Like this poor dog.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/knackered/