“Really?  A  quarter inch of soaking rain this afternoon?  That’s what the weatherman had to say?”  I don’t know if I was skeptical or disappointed.  Nyel’s response, “Yup,” was not helpful.

I just think a quarter inch of rain doesn’t seem like enough to be “soaking.”  But then, I’m not a good judge of liquid quantities.

When I was young and foolish and hugely pregnant, I asked my obstetrician if I would know when my water broke.  He didn’t laugh out loud but he did twinkle a bit and said, “Have you ever spilled a cup of water?”  I hadn’t.  Charlie didn’t announce himself that way.  And I’m still not sure how far a cup of water would go…

“But,” I continued to my long-suffering husband, “is soaking rain a real term?  Does Kathleen Sayce have it on her list of 134 ways to say ‘rain’ in the Pacific Northwest?”  You know the answer — “Yup.”

So I looked it up and, of course, my husband-of-few words is correct.  Maddeningly, he is ALWAYS correct.  There it was on Kathleen’s list under the heading “Heavy Rain Terms.”  It shows up just after ‘Sleeting’ and just before ‘Sopping.’   ‘Soaking’ it says.  I can’t help but wonder if the weatherman consults Kathleen’s list or if it was vice-versa.

I still don’t know exactly what it means.  Synonyms for ‘soaking’ include waterlogged, saturated, drenched, and sodden.  No surprises there.  So I guess what confuses me is the one-quarter inch.  It doesn’t seem like enough to soak, saturate, sodden or waterlog.  In fact, it seems like a puny amount to me — maybe enough to provide a grizzle or a sprinkle or a skoosh or a mizzle, which are all on Kathleen’s list under “Light Rain Terms.”

But, then, I still don’t know how much a cup of water is when it spills.  How can I possibly judge a quarter-inch of sodden?   I’d ask Nyel, but I already know what his response would be…