Tuesday 14 April 2015

L is for Lour


For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is: Lour.

Lour: 1. (of the sky) Look dark and threatening. 2. Look angry or sullen; scowl.

The sky was louring, as if Heaven itself disapproved of what he had done. Which of course it would do. He headed for home after disposing of the shovel by chucking it in a thick clump of trees.

As he drove, he thought of what he could have done differently. He hadn’t meant to kill him, but Nigel just pushed things one step too far. It was self-defence really, although the police wouldn’t see it like that. And as the clouds burst and rain hammered the car like angry globs of spit, it looked like God didn’t either.

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Intense and dark. I like that word, too.

Michael Abayomi said...

Perhaps Nigel should have returned that Teletubbies DVD box set he borrowed sooner, eh? :)

Annalisa Crawford said...

Very atmospheric. No one ever seems to bury a corpse on a nice, clear evening do they? Very bad planning :-)

Annalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

God does have rather a dim view of murder, or so we are led to believe ;) I wonder what Nigel did?
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Sorry dude, it's still murder.

Unknown said...

Loved that, especially the ending: "It looked like God didn't either".

Stephanie Faris said...

I haven't heard that one, but great use of it!

TBM said...

Methinks someone may find the shovel on a night when the sky isn't louring. Did I use that right?

Chrys Fey said...

I am making a note of this word because I am always trying to find a new way to a dark sky. Thanks!

Your story was awesome. Great visuals and appropriately dark.

Keith's Ramblings said...

What a useful word. The only time I've heard it before was in China last year when I ate some! It's a type of small fish cooked on a skewer there!

Tamara Narayan said...

Evocative choice for L. Great flash fiction piece as well. That's a lot of story in just two paragraphs.

Shell Flower said...

Cool word. You've done a great job with this story and the whole challenge. You're quite good at flash fiction.

Julie Flanders said...

What a chilling story. And another great word.

Melissa Ann Goodwin said...

That Nigel had it coming :). He just didn't know when to stop! I love this word and must use it in my next book. Everyone will have to go and look it up,

Jennifer Hawes said...

Nice use of the weather! I enjoy including weather in my scenes. He probably should have buried the shovel too. :)

Mina Burrows said...

"angry globs of spit" - love it!

Matthew MacNish said...

I have never heard of this word!

Anonymous said...

Ooo. Dark tale. I love it.

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Another word I've never heard of. Great use of it as God looks down on a killer.

David P. King said...

Oh, I like that one! :)

T. Powell Coltrin said...

I feel a bit lour myself today. :) Great itty bitty story.

A Joyful Chaos said...

Love learning new words, will have to try to remember this one.

Sophie Duncan said...

Nice metaphor :)
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
FB3X
Wittegen Press

Mars said...

Love the word and the ending for today :D

Mars
Curling Stones for Lego People

J.L. Campbell said...

Lour is a new word for me. Sounds like some kind of relative of leer. :)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick - great snippet using "Lour" .. love the word Lour - it sounds like it means ... cheers Hilary

Liz A. said...

Or it rained to wash away the taint of the crime...

betty said...

Maybe the rain will be disposing of the evidence and he won't get caught.

betty

Nick Wilford said...

Thanks, everyone! I liked today's word. It reminds me of "glower".

cleemckenzie said...

An adjective, heh? And a dark one. Where have all these words been hiding, Mr. Webster?

J E Oneil said...

Good one! I'd like to see the backstory on that. Great word, too.

Melissa Sugar said...

A dark and foreboding word and story. I like this word and it is new to me. I loved the piece, as well. He hadn't meant to kill him. That's catchy and hooked me. Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. I am back and have internet service so I won't have to miss any more of your cool word choices.

Jean Davis said...

Angry gobs of spit - I love it!

Anonymous said...

I love how the ending tied it all together. What a wonderful word!

Denise Covey said...

Hi Nick. Thank you for introducing me to this lovely word and the flash which used it so well. :-)

Yvonne Ventresca said...

I like your word-inspired stories.


Yvonne

Kathryn Thornton said...

Great story. Throwing that shovel in the trees will come back to bite him in the arse.

Unknown said...

Ooh...great story! Totally drew me in. I love your theme of choosing a random word that is unique. Definitely increasing my vocabulary here.

Deb Atwood said...

What a fun theme, using new words to create vignettes. I especially like lour. Nice!

djinnia said...

love the word! and the story is so vivid.