wotd: fulminate

fulminate \FUL-muh-nayt\, intransitive verb:

1. To issue or utter verbal attacks or censures authoritatively or menacingly.

2. To explode; to detonate.

transitive verb:

1. To utter or send out with denunciations or censures.

2. To cause to explode.

Explosions often crack me up, as does the phrase, "Fire in the hole!" Occasionally Mandy and I will reminisce about the time our cousin Jay first fulminated a french fry with a snap bomb, then tantrummed when a red pepper didn't explode in the same satisfying fashion. And once, when we were expecting Mandy for dinner, I mistook the sound of an unpricked potato exploding in the oven for her rear-ending my parked car in the driveway. Honestly, I have better faith than that in her driving ability. And I didn't really believe a potato would explode in the oven if you don't pierce the skin with a fork, but it will.