Friday, February 9, 2007

Something Borrowed



I have noticed that when you own three dozen bottles of perfume people say you have an obsession.


obsession |əbˈse sh ən| |əbˌsɛʃən| |ɑbˌsɛʃən| |əbˌsɛʃ(ə)n|
noun the state of being obsessed with someone or something : She enjoyed Guerlain perfumes with a devotion bordering on obsession.• an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind : she was in the grip of an obsession she was powerless to resist.
ORIGIN early 16th cent.(in the sense [siege] ): from Latin obsessio(n-), from the verb obsidere (see obsess)
obsession noun: That new line of fragrances, L'Art et La Matiere has become her obsession. fixation, ruling/consuming passion, passion, mania, idée fixe, compulsion, preoccupation, infatuation, addiction, fetish, craze, hobbyhorse; phobia, complex, neurosis; informal a bee in one's bonnet, hang-up, thing.

But Aunt Martha has 5,000 pig collectibles in her house & garden and she simply "collects pigs" Aunt Martha is a collector.

collector |kəˈlektər| |kəˌlɛktər| |kəˌlɛktə|
nouna person or thing that collects something, in particular
• a person who collects things of a specified type, professionally or as a hobby : book collectors.
Yeah, it is simply her hobby, collecting pigs.

"Oh, there's a cute piggy bank! Let's buy it for Aunt Martha, she'll be all excited!"
now she has 5,001 pigs. But it is not a fetish or an obsession, it is a collection.

OK, yeah, sure. Whatever.

( The photos on this post are borrowed from PigCollecting.com )