Incongruous – adjective
- Out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming (Dictionary.com)
- Not harmonious in character; inconsonant; lacking harmony of parts; inconsistent (Dictionary.com)
- Unusual or different from what is around or from what is generally happening (Cambridge)
- Appearing strange or wrong within a particular situation (Cambridge)
- Lacking congruity: such as
- not harmonious: incompatible
- not conforming: disagreeing
- inconsistent within itself
- lacking propriety: unsuitable (Merriam-Webster)
“Incongruous is a spin-off of its antonym, congruous, which means ‘in agreement, harmony, or correspondence.’ Etymologists are in agreement about the origin of both words; they trace it to the Latin verb congruere, which means ‘to come together’ or ‘to agree.’ The dates of the words’ first uses in English match up pretty well, too. The first known use of congruous dates from 1599, and the earliest print appearance of incongruous dates from 1611.” – Merriam-Webster
To Blog, or Not to Blog
Six or seven years ago my advice to aspiring authors of nonfiction books was to build an audience platform by blogging. An example of how critical blogging could be to securing a publishing contract can be found in the case of Ann Marie Ackermann, author of Death of an Assassin: The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee. After an initial assessment of her manuscript, I had recommended she start a historical true-crime blog, and she did. In fact, the editor of the ideal book series at Kent State University Press became a fan ofRead more…