Word of the week: 'Ceraunophile' for lightning lovers and other strangers

Definition: "A lover of thunder and lightning." (Merriam-Webster online)

Sample usage: "I'm too much of a ceraunophile to stay here under this tree! I'm going to go run in the open now. Oh, how I love the ... " ZZZZZZAP

Popularity: It sounds like something you'd shout as you jumped from a plane — "ceraunophilllllllle!" It's a high-class word, but no one knows what it means, and you'd have to explain it. Better to say you're "a lightning lover." Or just not admit it in the first place.

JAMES LILEKS

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