I am a very energetic and expressive person, exciteable by nature and quick to laugh when given the chance. By that very definition, I am the opposite of stolid. That being said, however, I'm sure we've all had moments where being stolid was absolutely necessary. I am often reminded that I cannot show fear to my enemies, and I should never let a bully see me cry.
I still remember the events of my last job well and the boss and company I inevitably quit. I had known once she became the person I had to report to that my enjoyment of a once-delightful role in the beauty industry was going to come to a crashing halt. By the time COVID had hit, I was broken by her and endlessly seeking a way out. Yet I was determined to keep this bully of a woman from seeing me cry, even if it meant going out to my car to calm myself down over my lunch.
Stolid | stɑː.lɪd: adjective: (of a person) calm and not showing emotion or excitement
For those who are naturally excitable, feigning a stolid nature can be rather difficult. Stolidity also doesn't necessarily mean level-headedness, though I have noticed that some seem to relate the two together. For a bubbly character to put on a show of no emotion is difficult, if not sometimes impossible.
The best reference I can think of is Aang from Avatar: the Last Airbender in the episode with the spirit, Koh, also known as the Face Stealer. For those few who haven't seen this legendary series, Aang must maintain a stolid demeanor. The young airbender, however, is very exciteable by nature, and even he shows elation at the news given to him by Koh, just barely managing to keep the spirit from seeing his expression.
Stolid | stä-ləd: having or expressing little or no sensibility: unemotional
Stolidity could, perhaps, be the name of the game when it comes to the series, A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin. Emotion could very easily get you killed in Westeros or anywhere else in the brutal world Martin has built. It's only right that I use the word in the context that was written in the book that I'm currently on, A Storm of Swords.
Tyrion blinked in astonishment. Ser Kevan had always been solid, stolid, pragmatic; he had never heard him speak with such fervor before. "You love him."
Though the story doesn't always draw me in, and I do take significantly longer to read Martin's work than some other books, I find his sentence structures and writing style to be intoxicating and alluring. Each sentence is like a thread, used to bring together an intricate, lovely tapestry. And in ways, I aspire to be like that.
I also have found more words from Martin's work than many of the other books I've read through the years combined. I know that if I need more fuel for my Word of the Day, all I need to do is read a little longer.
In what ways have you used stolid before? What other words do you think you would prefer to use in its place, if any? Do you have a word you'd like to see as the Word of the Day? Let me know, and as always, happy reading!
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