Infracaninophile

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, I’m Kate Rosenmeier and I’m calling from Evansville, Indiana.

Hi, Kate. Welcome to the program.

Hi, Kate.

Well, hi. Thank you very much.

What can we do for you today?

Well, I have a favorite word which I learned a long time ago when I was in graduate school. I think I learned it in one of my classes. But when I’ve tried to look it up or see it used, I’ve not been able to find it. So I didn’t know if my professor made it up or if it really, really is a word.

And what were you studying in graduate school?

I was getting a master’s in social work.

Okay. All right. Well, what was the word?

The word is infraconinophile.

-huh. Infraconinophile.

Right. Which I thought beautifully described social work.

Absolutely. Because it means what?

What I learned it meant was a lover of the underdog.

Exactly.

Is that right?

Yes.

Well, and how exciting.

So you have that on your business cards now?

No, but I think that’s a great use.

Chief Infra-Caninophile.

Maybe I’ll put it there.

Yeah.

All right, let’s spell that word just so everyone’s on top of it.

I-N-F-R-A, infra, canino, C-A-N-I-N-O, and then P-H-I-L-E, which kind of breaks it down into its component parts.

Okay, that’s why I didn’t find it.

Oh, you were spelling it differently?

I think I was misspelling it, yeah.

Yeah, the file means lover, right?

And the infra means under, right?

Yeah.

And the canino is canine or dog.

Right.

And apparently, as far as we know, this was coined by Christopher Morley, who was one of the Baker Street Irregulars, a big Sherlock Holmes fan.

Big Buck, sure.

Yeah.

And it was in the intro of, what was it, the complete works of Sherlock Holmes in the 1930s. All of the stories were brought together.

Was that for the first time?

Well, they were all brought together. All the different stories that appeared in The Strand and other serials and periodicals and so forth were brought together. And Morley did this great intro where he uses this term to describe Conan Doyle himself. He says, doctor, whaler, athlete, writer, speculator, dramatist, historian, war correspondent, spiritualist, he was always also the infraconinophile, the helper of the underdog.

Oh, that’s great.

And a believer in fairies, if you can imagine that.

The mind that came up with Sherlock Holmes also believed in fairies.

I didn’t know that.

That is great.

Yeah.

Well, I’m a big Sherlock Holmes fan, so that pleases me even more.

Wonderful.

Me too.

And do put it on your business cards.

I think that’s a great idea.

It’s perfect for social work.

Thank you so much.

Okay.

Thanks, Kate.

Okay.

Bye-bye.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

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