Egregious Means Rises Above the Flock

Or at least that's what one online resource tells me.  Supposedly the word came to be used in the 1530's and slowly took on a negative connotation, as in standing out from the norm in a bad way. I’m afraid my Muse just isn’t feeling the topic, even though I do like the way the word rolls off the tongue. I can’t even find a good quote to add, which is my usual fallback, other than one about gardening:

“There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder.” Alfred Austin

I'm now going to egregiously ignore this week's topic entirely to share some exciting news. Thursday evening I found out that my novel DANCER OF THE NILE is a Finalist for the 2014 Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal Romance of 2014! I was SO excited and honored, really a thrill. You can find more info on DANCER on my blog if you're so inclined.

But returning to egregious, here’s a quote from the Muppet Show:

Waldorf: People sure seem to like the word "egregious". 
Statler: That's because it describes them! 
Both: Do-ho-ho-ho-hoh!

For your viewing pleasure, Waldorf and Statler doing seven minutes of egregiously bad jokes, none of which contain the word egregious: