Weird, wacky words….shout it out loud!

For many years I have taken the Word Power quiz that can found in the back of The Reader’s Digest every month. These words are exceptionally fun, and by the way, use only the vowel “u”…enjoy!

Tub-thumping means to loudly support an issue. “These pushy kids of ours are tub-thumping for a raise to their allowance”. Source cited: www.thefreedictionary.com/tub-thumping

A mugwump is a politically independent person. Here is a sample of this word’s fascinating origins:  1. During the presidential elections of 1884, some Republicans switched sides, causing themselves to be labeled mugwumps because they didn’t remain faithful to their party. So originally it meant being a turncoat.

2. Later it came to mean a person who is independent (as in politics) or who remains undecided or neutral.  It was said they couldn’t make up their minds, being people whose “mug was on one side of a fence while their rump was on the other side”!  Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mugwump

 

And to end it with a bang, fugu is a poisonous fish that people eat! You heard me correctly!

Fun Word Quiz…Where do I live?

I recently ran into a fun word website (Word Dynamo) and took a few of the quizzes. Here is part of one called “Where do I live?”

These are the questions I missed:

If I live in a vespiary I am a/an….?

If I live in a formicary I am a/an…?

If I live in a holt I am a/an…?

If I live in a drey I am a/an…?

See if you can match the animals with their homes: otter,squirrel,ant and wasp.

I’ll be back tomorrow to post the answers!
Energetically, Diane Tegarden

Word for the day…oh, be my suzerain

 

I’m reading a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir and ran into the word suzerainty. Although you can pick up the meaning from the context, it’s still a cool word, so I thought I’d share it with you.

SUZERAINTY (noun)
: the dominion of a suzerain : overlordship

Origin of SUZERAINTY: from French suzeraineté, from Middle French susereneté, from suserain. First Known Use: 1823

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suzerainty

Wikipedia also has some interesting tidbits to add, if you click on: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzerainty

HUZZAH THE BARDS!
Diane T.

Where did the phrase “keep it under your hat” come from?

The phrase “keep it under your hat” means to keep a secret, meaning keep the information in your head, not on your lips.

An early example is found in P. G. Wodehouse’s Inimitable Jeeves, written in 1923:

“It made such a hit with her when she found that I loved her for herself alone, despite her humble station, that she kept it under her hat. She meant to spring it on me later.”

Entire citation can be found at www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/under-your-hat.html

Word for the Day…surrounded by my furfamily

This is one of my personal favs. Quite often while I’m laying on the sofa watching TV, the kitties will pile onto my feet and tummy, leaving me immobile and I’ll ask my hubby to hand me something from the kitchen because I’m “ensconced in cats”.

ensconce (transitive verb) [en-SKONS]

1. to fix firmly

Used in a sentence: “Kevin would ensconce himself on the living room couch for weeks whenever new editions of his favorite video games were released.”

Quote from Shakespeare:
“…and yet you, rogue, will ensconce your rags, your cat-a-mountain looks, your red-lattice phrases, and your bold-beating oaths, under the shelter of your honour!”

By William Shakespeare (1564-1616) from “The Merry Wives of Windsor” (1602).

Etymology: From approximately 1590; from ‘en-’ (to put in) + ‘sconce’ (small fortification); probably from the Dutch, ‘schans’: earthwork.

Word for the day…feelin’ good man!

 

I found my new word for the day in the famous novels by James Herriot, which I’m thoroughly enjoying….

bonhomie (bon-uh-mee) (noun)

Meaning: frank and simple good-heartedness; a good-natured manner; friendliness; geniality.

Etymology: 1795–1805; French, equivalent to bonhomme, meaning a good-natured man

Source cited:
bonhomie. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. link: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bonhomie
(accessed: April 09, 2012).

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

Word for the day…you’re bloody well right!

Just love this new word I saw in a poem by William Allingham, the word “incarnadine” means:  1: having the pinkish color of flesh, 2: red; especially : blood red. 

Etymology of INCARNADINE-Middle French (incarnadin), from Old Italian (incarnadino), from incarnato= flesh-colored, from Late Latin (incarnatus). First Known Use: 1591

Source:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarnadine

William Allingham (19 March 1824 – 18 November 1889) was an Irish man of letters and a poet. For a complete bio, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Allingham

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

Word for the day…a sticky situation

I’ve been watching an old English TV show called “Midsomer Murders”, and listening to the Queen’s English is such a treat. I came across the word “tarry”, as in: to remain, to hang about, and thought…hey, it’s spelled the same as tarry, which means covered with a resinous substance.

Coincidence…I think not. Turns out that sticking around is sticking around!

Here’s the scoop:

tarry 
(verb)
1. To delay or be late in going, coming, or doing.
2. To wait.
3. To remain or stay temporarily, as in a place; sojourn.
(Archaic )
To wait for; await.

Other verb forms: tarried, tarrying, tarries

noun
1. A temporary stay; a sojourn.

Etymology: [Middle English= tarien]

tarry
adjective 
1. Of, resembling, or covered with tar.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Link: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tarry

Phrase for the Week…a bird in the hand

It’s entertaining to find out how some of these common phrases have come into being. For example: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”, means that it’s better to have a lesser but certain advantage than the possibility of a greater one that may come to nothing.

According to the “phrase a week” website, this proverb refers back to medieval falconry where a bird in the hand (the falcon) was a valuable asset and certainly worth more than two in the bush (the prey).

The first citation of the expression in print in its currently used form is found in John Ray’s “A Hand-book of Proverbs” (1670), in which he lists it as:

A [also 'one'] bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

For more insight, read the entire entry at: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/a-bird-in-the-hand.html

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

Sail Away with me…Regatta by Diane Tegarden

Regatta
06/04/10
by Diane Tegarden

After the third elimination trials,
the rebuffed regatta contestants gathered on the shores
of Lake BetterNextTime to watch the finalists,
while sunning and sipping brews.

Author’s note:
A regatta is a term used to describe either a boat race, or series of boat races. Although the term typically describes racing events of non-powered water craft, some powerboat race series are also called regattas

Energetically, Diane Tegarden
“How to Escape a Bad Marriage-A Self Help Divorce Book for Women”;
“Light Through Shuttered Window”; “Anti-Vigilante and The Rips in Time” at
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