wotd: cozen

cozen \KUZ-un\, transitive verb:

1. To cheat; to defraud; to deceive, usually by petty tricks.

2. To obtain by deceit.

intransitive verb:

1. To act deceitfully.

Inexplicably, cozen is proving a difficult word for me to write about. Maybe it's because in my world there's no room for one to cozen another, or if I feel cozened I can usually find a way to rationalize it. At the end of the last school year, the one I'd spent co-leading with that Teacher from a Totally Different Philosophy, if I were an external locus of control person I may have felt cozened (though strong-armed would be more descriptive). At the end of that year, though, when I accepted a contract to return to my position as an assistant in the younger threes, the rector at my church (head of the preschool's governing board) and the preschool director both apologized, indicating they felt I'd been coerced into the position. I accepted those apologies, forgave myself for the rough time I made even rougher, and moved on to a happier school year.