Odd coincidence

[hmpf]

So, the day before yesterday, I read some Don DeLillo, and encountered the term "myoclonic jerk", which was unknown to me. I wrote it down to look it up later but then forgot about it. Well, today I read some excerpts from Bill Bryson's "The Mother Tongue", and among them was this bit:

"When you are just dropping off to sleep and you experience that sudden sensation of falling, there is a word for it: myoclonic jerk."

Heh. I *know* that feeling, but I didn't know there was a word for it. Well, I'm not sure there *is* a word for it, in German. But there is, in English.

Isn't it strange how *really* exotic words always seem to suddenly crop up *everywhere*, once you've noticed them for the first time? I remember having a similar experience with the word "theremin" a few years ago. (That's a bizarre musical instrument, in case you're curious.)

Comments

[herdivineshadow]

I think hiccups are myoclonic jerks too.

I always assumed the falling feeling was to make sure I was breathing right. :D

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

*shudder* I HATE those! They're scary... *grumpy face*

[jazzymegster.livejournal.com]

Isn't a theremin one of those things you wave your hands over and it makes a warbly noise?

I've had experiences like that myself, although it's not always with words. Last time it happened, it was Jackson Pollock all over the place, and started with the biopic Ed Harris made about him. That was weird...

On another tack, I used to get myoclonic jerks a lot up until about three years ago. It's apparently due to a drop in blood pressure (which you prossibly already knew, but hey, I'm good at stating the obvious).

A good new word to be rude with.

[tazlet.livejournal.com]

myoclonic jerk...!

No, he's just a myoclonic jerk.