Category Archives: Wednesday Word

More Nonsense Words

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Kathy

Writing last week about YouTuber Dana K. White’s dololly and other weird words, I intended to move on to whomper-jawed, Dana’s adjective for a rickety bookshelf she was getting rid of. But I forgot and moved on instead to thingamajigs … Continue reading →

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Gizmos and Thingamabobs

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Kathy

When my book group was leaving my house the other night, I offered, with a smile, to get them their wraps. When they noted that quaint locution, I recalled my fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Bender suggesting we put on our wraps … Continue reading →

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An Absolute Pleasure

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Kathy

The Latin verb solvere, like English’s to put or to take lends itself to multitudinous idioms. It can mean “to untie,” “to release,” “to unbind,” “to loosen what restricts,” “to throw off,” “to pay,” and on and on. The word’s … Continue reading →

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A Scottish Play on Words

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Kathy

As the credits rolled, I leaned toward my companion. “Is the Maltese falcon a MacGuffin?” I asked. “Um,” he replied, “I always sort of forget what a MacGuffin is.” That evening, referring the question to Mr. Wikipedia, we learned that … Continue reading →

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Thrown a Curve

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Kathy

Lots of delightful reading the past few weeks, and some interesting turns of phrase therein. The Uncommon Reader (2007), an entertaining novel by Alan Bennett, is veddy, veddy English, concerning, as it does, the Queen herself. An expression struck me … Continue reading →

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Combo (Words and Music)

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Kathy

My friend Leanne sent me an article about frisson as the word applies to musical enjoyment. In French, it means “shiver,” and its Latin root, frigere, means “to become cold,” as in the food in your Frigidaire. Every now and … Continue reading →

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Kiss on Our List

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Kathy

Some mysterious algorithm recently offered me a post about inosculation (in-ahs-cue-lay-shun), a naturally occurring grafting of trees. One tree seeming reaches out to another, and they grow into each other. They become conjoined organisms sharing nutrients and circulation. All very … Continue reading →

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A Daily Word, Not Just for Wednesdays

Posted on October 12, 2023 by Kathy

Bloggers’ and YouTubers’ apologies for not recently posting are unnecessary and boring, in my opinion, so I’ll skip the regrets and excuses. Speaking of social media, however, here’s a word you may be noticing as much as I am: journey. … Continue reading →

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Stochastic Meandering

Posted on September 6, 2023 by Kathy

Learning a word’s history at the same time as its meaning helps reinforce our understanding of the word and remember it more effectively. If you know, for example, that volition comes from the Latin word volo, meaning “wish,” you’re likely … Continue reading →

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Lessons in Etymology

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Kathy

Before I began reading my next book group book, a novel called Lessons in Chemistry, I glanced at author Bonnie Garmus’s bio inside the back cover, where I saw that her dog’s name is 99. I wondered if Garmus had … Continue reading →

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