My students played Balderdash, the definition game, with terms related to The Odyssey today. It was, all in all, a good activity, brainstormed by none other than my old comrade, Renee. You see, neither bricks and mortar nor miles on the highway can truly separate a great team…

Anyway, as I listened in on the kids’ games, I heard mostly really plausible fake definitions – kleos is the ancient art of bone-setting, nostos is the Greek method of hunting and fishing – but I admit there were a few exceptions to the high quality.

“Lemme see what you put for epithet,” said one kid – a student from my first hour who came back for a minute in third to pick up his forgotten lunch.

His classmate acquiesced and tipped his paper toward him.

“Hey!” laughed the visitor. “No way! You said, ‘poop’?” More giggling. “I put that exact thing, too!”