Wed, 31 December

liminal, adj. (lĭm′-ĭ-nəl) 1. Of or relating to the threshold between two states; specifically, the grain of sand that has left the upper chamber but has not yet struck the pile below. 2. The quality of a dinner plate held six inches above the table — neither in the cupboard nor set down, neither yesterday's meal nor tomorrow's. 3. (Geol.) The exact latitude where one island's rock becomes the sea floor before the next island begins. 4. (colloq.) December 31st at 11:58 p.m., when you are still the person you have been all year and can feel the other one breathing in the next room. Usage: She lived her whole life in the liminal and called it home. See also: threshold, ambit, hinge, breath held.