Weird Word Wednesday!

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cheese making, food industry, hats, history, humor, religion, snood, strange word, turkey, weird word, writing

Welcome to Weird Word Wednesday! This gem was emailed by a young reader, and I’m glad she went out of her way to share with us. Today’s word is (drumroll, please…)

SNOOD

Snood

Officially, a snood is “the netlike hat or part of a hat or fabric that holds or covers the back of a woman’s hair.” The word itself dates back to the 700s. Snoods traditionally have religious significance, worn as signs of modesty; in other cases, they served a practical purpose: they were an easy way to keep a woman’s hair from falling out in her face.

During World War II, fabric was rationed; as a result, hats weren’t the elaborate creations they had been at the turn of the century. Snoods came into fashion as a stylish hair covering that used less material, and could even be knitted at home.

Modern snood

Nowadays, snoods have been fashionably revamped. Some have “slid” from women’s heads, found around their necks instead. They make a fashion statement that I doubt women in the 700s even considered. I bought one from Lands’ End last year, and it makes our Wisconsin winters just a bit cozier!

Snoods still have their place in the technology and food industries They’re worn as head coverings in cheese making plants, and places where food is served. When I was a kid, the lunch ladies at my grade school wore snoods to protect us from accidentally ingesting any hair that fell into our tater tots.

Snoods are also an indicator of health – if you’re a turkey. That red, fleshy-looking piece of skin hanging over a turkey’s beak is, indeed, a snood. The snood turns bright red when a tom wants to attract a mate, changing to blue if the turkey is frightened. I’m envisioning toms with blue snoods being chased by angry females here! If the turkey isn’t feeling well, the snood turns pale.

So turkey or not, snoods definitely have their uses – here’s to happy Snood Wearers everywhere, and feel free to share any weird words you come across. I’d be glad to turn them into a feature for the next Weird Word Wednesday!

Finally – the Ultimate Hiccup Cure!

Tags

editing, English history, hiccups, humor, medieval, onomatopoeia, proper grammar, strange word, weird word, weird words, words

“It is good to cast colde water in the face of him that hath the hiccups.” (Regiment of Lyfe, 1553)

“Regiment of Lyfe” was one of the first books on pediatrics, written by Thomas Phaire, an English doctor. I’m imagining medieval women storing jugs of water around their house, dousing their children at the first sign of hiccups.

http://www.abdn.ac.uk

The word “hiccup” belongs to a family of words called “onomatopoeic” (on-uh-mat-uh–pee-ic) words, those that sound like what they are. Think honk, beep, fizz, knock, ring, and you’re on the right track.

Interestingly, the word “onomatopoeia” has Latin roots, and came into use within a few decades as Phaire’s book – 1545.

Now that we know where onomatopoeic words originate, where in the heck to hiccups come from?? I turned to our friends at Mayo Clinic to learn more. Symptoms of hiccups are familiar – involuntary contractions of the diaphragm, followed by a sudden tightening of the vocal cords, which cause the “hic” sound. They’re caused by “a large meal, alcoholic beverages or sudden excitement.”

But how to rid yourself of them? Let’s try a few current remedies, like the standard one of drinking water or tickling the roof of your mouth with a cotton swab. Both of these interrupt the hiccuping cycle, but I’d opt for the first, simply because there’s too much potential for embarrassment with the second!

Think Albert ever got the hiccups?

My favorite was the suggestion that “sticking out your tongue and yanking on it may stop hiccups.” That’s not much better than having “colde water” cast in your face, and it’ll get you weird looks if you try it on the subway on your way to work.

Onomatopoeic words like hiccup and fizz are a lot of fun in general use, too.

In the heat of the candles on the dinner table, Milton’s new hair gel began to fizz. Across the table, Agnes couldn’t help herself and began to chortle loudly.

Gladys was close to the snapping point. Buford repeatedly walked around the house clacking his dentures, and Gladys was sure she’d go cuckoo if she had to endure this for much longer.

Start noticing onomatopoeic words in regular use – they’re everywhere, and definitely add zing to our everyday speech!

Anglo-Saxon Kryptonite

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Christopher Reeve, editing, English history, George Reeves, humor, proper grammar, reeve, sheriff, strange word, Superman, weird word, William the Conqueror

What do Superman and law enforcement have in common? That’s probably a “duh” moment for Superman fans, because of course our caped crusader stands for “truth, justice and the American way”!

biography.com

Several actors have played Superman over the years, from Kirk Alyn to Dean Cain, but interestingly, it’s George Reeves and Christopher Reeve, two well-known Supermen, who give us a historical perspective on the superhero’s law-abiding roots. Keep in mind that George Reeves was born “George Brewer,” but for the sake of today’s connection, we’ll roll with his stage name.

We’re heading back to Anglo-Saxon England, the period of time from the end of the Roman occupation until William the Conqueror, the first Norman king, showed up in 1066.

According to “Exploring Government” a curriculum written by Ray Notgrass, Anglo-Saxon kings “utilized administrative districts called shires to give them greater control over local areas.” Representatives in these areas were called earls, landowners who commanded the local militia. Earls are still around – the late Princess Diana’s brother, Charles, is the 9th Earl Spencer – although their duties have changed considerably over the centuries.

Keeping a lid on things were peace officers called reeves.

myweb.ecomplanet.com

When William the Conqueror showed up, he brought with him French ways, and decided that counts should act as local representatives instead of earls. Instead of an administrative district called a shire, the count was now in charge of a county. The reeves didn’t get a name change, but the pronunciation of their job changed. Over the centuries, “Shire-reeve” morphed, becoming “sheriff.”

And today, sheriffs are still generally in charge of a county – we have Anglo-Saxon England to thank for those terms.

And isn’t it interesting that Christopher Reeve, along with others having the surname “Reeves” or “Reeve” might well have had ancestors in law enforcement way back when?

Minus the cape, it seems we’ve always needed someone around to keep a lid on things. Give a friendly wave to your neighborhood reeve next time he drives by!

Weird Word Wednesday!

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culture, Duke of Marlborough, editing, grammar, history, humor, inspissate, proper grammar, society, strange word, Vanderbilt, weird word, Winston Churchill, writing

Welcome to 2013! What better way to start the year than with a weird word.

Today’s word is inspissate, pronounced “in-SPIS-ate,” and it means “to thicken, as by evaporation; to make or become dense.”

First thing that popped in my mind was cooking, but it turns out people are affected by inspissation, too.

thefarside.com

Cletus’s refusal to read signs indicated an inspissated mind, no matter how much he protested to the contrary.

Bear with me as we gather a little background – I’m still reading “Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt” by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart, and have reached the part where Consuelo marries the Englishman Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, better known as the 9th Duke of Marlborough.

wikipedia.com

After a very brief courtship (six weeks or so) Alva, Consuelo’s overbearing mother, hustled her daughter down the aisle, marrying Consuelo off to the 9th Duke on November 6, 1895. Consuelo was the only daughter of William K. and Alva Vanderbilt, and was one of several American heiresses who married into European aristocracy, Winston Churchill’s mother, Jennie Jerome, among them.

The 9th Duke and Winston Churchill were first cousins; Winston was wordy and full of ideas, while the Duke is a little harder to pin down. He’s described in the book as having “considerable ill humour,” while also being “sensitive and hospitable.”

One historian called the 9th Duke “an inspissated little man with a truly appalling attitude toward the ‘lower orders.'”

In other words, “a dense little man who disses commoners”? Ouch!

It seems that one day, Winston and the 9th Duke were discussing England’s rising unemployment figures, and “the Duke said disagreeably that he hoped they would reach two million,” according to Mackenzie Stuart’s book.

Well, that’s a cringeworthy comment, isn’t it?

welcome2britain.com

Consuelo came with a hefty dowry of $2.5 million, much of it going toward the upkeep of Blenheim, the 9th Duke’s palace; you think that would cheer up the Duke just a bit, but it seems not.

But how can we incorporate inspissated into our daily lives? Let’s see!

Norman’s attempts at becoming the next Iron Chef failed miserably when his sauce inspissated to a thick glop.

Hopefully both your cooking and mental efforts meet with much more success than either Norman’s or the 9th Duke’s.  Bon appetit!

Weird Word Wednesday!

Tags

culture, editing, grammar, humor, pasquinade, proper grammar, society, strange word, Vanderbilt, weird word, writing

Welcome to Weird Word Wednesday! If you’re headed back to work today, here’s a weird word to brighten things up. It’s pasquinade, which means “a satire or lampoon, especially one posted in a public place.” To learn more, we’re heading back to the Gilded Age, the span of time in the United States from after the Civil War to almost 1900. Back then, high society reigned, made possible if you had money to fling around like there was no tomorrow.

Much of this took place in New York City, and for those of you fortunate enough to have visited this wonderful place, the Empire State Building, at 350 5th Avenue, stands at the site of the former mansion of William Backhouse Astor, Jr. and his socially-mobile wife, Caroline Schermerhorn Astor.

Caroline Astor

Caroline was the gatekeeper of NYC’s high society. You could have all the money you wanted, but if it wasn’t “old” money (wealth that had been in a family for generations) you’d end up standing at her front door, nose pressed against the glass in a futile attempt to get in. Your efforts were watched by many, and social columns buzzed with details of over-the-top balls and soirees given by those with dough. Failed efforts to become a part of all this could get you pasquinaded by a brief mention in the social columns. Ouch.

Enter Alva Erskine Smith Vanderbilt. Smart, determined and forceful, Alva was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1853. She married William K. Vanderbilt in 1875.

I’m reading “Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt” by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart, a book that shares the relationship between Alva and her daughter, Consuelo. I learned that Alva’s mother, Phoebe, attempted to crash Mobile society and was rebuffed. The book said “Some people ate Mrs. Smith’s suppers; many did not. There was needless and ungracious comment, and one swift writer pasquinaded her social ambitions in a pamphlet for ‘private’ circulation.”

Double ouch! Imagine having your attempts to be socially accepted being publicly slammed in a pamphlet?

Alva at costume ball

All this left Alva with a teensy chip on her shoulder, and after she married William K. in New York, she ran up against the formidable Caroline Schermerhorn Astor. The Mrs. Astor, as she liked to be called, who had no desire to mingle with Alva.

All this changed in 1883, when Alva held a lavish costume ball. Young socialites frothed to be on the guest list, among them The Mrs. Astor’s daughter, also Caroline. Up to that point, The Mrs. Astor hadn’t paid a social call on Alva, and Alva used that as justification for refusing to include the younger Caroline on the guest list.

Forced into a social corner and fearing pasquination, The Mrs. Astor gritted her teeth, climbed into her carriage and paid the call on Alva, ensuring Caroline’s place at the ball. I can almost see Alva smirking with satisfaction as she watched The Mrs. Astor drive away after what surely was a frosty meeting.

Marble House

A few years ago, we went to Newport, Rhode Island, in part to tour the extravagant mansions built by the Astors and the Vanderbilts. We toured Marble House, built for William K. and Alva Vanderbilt. It’s almost too much – with 500,000 cubic feet of marble and a ballroom covered in 22-karat gold leaf, it’s hard to imagine anyone really, truly living here. It’s a monument to avoiding pasquination, to Alva’s desire to retain social power in a very blatant form.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Aristotle (384 – 322 BC):

“The greatest crimes are due to excess rather than want.”

Weird Word Wednesday!

Tags

culture, editing, grammar, humor, manners, proper grammar, strange word, weird, weird word, writing, yex

Welcome to Weird Word Wednesday! It’s time for our midweek dose of drollery, so without further ado, I give you yex.

Yes, yex.

It means to burp, hiccup, or belch.

I wanted a straightforward definition of the cause, so I turned to the experts at Mayo Clinic. They explained that burping is caused by “swallowed air or the breakdown of food through digestion.” For a lighter take on things, I checked with Kids’ Health, who reassured young readers, saying “burping is almost always never anything to worry about.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a kid become worried after a burp – quite the opposite, actually. And whether it’s intentional or not, burping and hiccuping, especially during or after meals, are looked at differently depending on the culture you’re in.

momlot.com

In America, I’ve noticed that about the only people who can get away with audible burps after a meal are babies and old people. We teach our children to cover their mouths when they feel a burp rising, and this practice continues into adulthood. I really don’t know when some adults give up on this, but over the years, I’ve heard one or two people who were real chandelier rattlers when it came to a good yex.

In other cultures, burps are celebrated as a postprandial rite of passage. Burps are a sign of appreciation for the cook in some Eskimo cultures and countries like India and Canada. The World Burping Federation, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, celebrates yexers who really let one sail, embracing “burping as a natural part of the human digestive process.”

According to them, the current record for the longest yex is 18.1 seconds. Hmmmm…that might be a competition I’d skip, but have at it if you’re a yexer.

bill watterson

In other countries, a blatant yex will earn you a disdainful scowl from your tablemates. Audible body functions just aren’t amusing in some parts of the world!

On their first date, Neal took Yolanda to The Codfather for a lobster dinner. The atmosphere was marred by a yex from Yolanda that made the china clatter. Needless to say, the evening went downhill after that.

For those who’d rather keep their yexes to themselves, I leave you with practical advice from Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus (1466 – 1536):

“Retain the wind by compressing the belly.”

High-Heeled Bowling Shoes

Tags

Christmas, editing, grammar, holiday, humor, proofreading, proper grammar, shopping, strange word, writing

I stopped at the credit union the other day to withdraw some money for Christmas presents. To entertain customers while they waited, the credit union installed a television behind the tellers’ counter.

Screen after screen displayed fun Christmas facts. One said that if we were to buy the original gifts from “The 12 Days of Christmas,” song today, it would set us back a whopping $107,000. That’s a big holiday budget!

At this time of year, retailers are having a field day – I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten many emails with subject lines like “The 12 Gifts of Christmas,” all designed to send me dashing back to the credit union for more wads of cash to buy  whatever’s being sold.

It reminded me of a word I came across recently: emacity. This obscure word relates to a fondness for buying things. Thanks to my handy dandy Latin dictionary, I learned that emacity has Latin roots, from “emo” meaning “to buy or purchase.”

Emacity isn’t a word we use often; despite that, we act as if we know just what it means. According to one source, 2012 holiday spending in the United States has already reached $27 billion! Yowza!

And with the media showing clips of shoppers camped out for days in front of Target and Best Buy, waiting for the doors to open on great markdowns inside, it’s really no wonder we’ve attained such crazed levels of emacity.

Nellie’s emacity reached a fevered pitch at the Spare Me Bowling Shop. She mowed over store signs and plowed past shoppers in her zeal to buy nine pairs of high-heeled bowling shoes.

Whoa, Nellie! She might want to check out “One Cent at a Time,” a neat blog that discusses a different definition of what it means to be rich. You don’t need to sell your belongings and live in a pup tent along the highway to achieve this; rather, ask yourself how you’re already rich and what you’re thankful for. I’ll bet it isn’t anything that money can buy, and if that’s the case, I’m really happy for you.

retrothing.com

So…whether you simply must have another pair of stylin’ bowling shoes, or feel the need to go on a shopping frenzy of another kind, keep a quote from Ben Franklin in mind:

“Rather go to bed without dinner than rise to debt.”

Weird Word Wednesday!

Tags

copywriting, filling station, gas station, grammar, history, humor, lubitorium, pagoda, strange word, Wadham's Oil & Grease, weird word, writing

Hard to believe we’re almost halfway through the month of December already! Things are gearing up for Christmas – items checked off lists, cookies are baked, and travel plans arranged.

Raise your hand if you’re driving any distance to visit family or friends this holiday season!

If so, you’ll appreciate the nostalgia of this week’s Weird Word. It’s lubitorium and chances are, you’ll need a modern variation of one somewhere during your trip.

A lubitorium is a service station. For today’s purposes, I’m not talking about the mini-marts sprinkled along America’s highways, convenience stores where you can fill up your gas tank, then head inside for bakery, coffee, a gallon of milk or even rent a movie if your heart desires.

No, the lubitorium I’m talking about is the kind I remember from childhood, the one where a bell sounded inside the shop when your car pulled alongside the gas pump. A uniformed attendant would trot out, ask how much gas you wanted, then proceed to clean the windshield while the gas was being pumped. There was often a service bay on the side of the building, where mechanics worked on cars.

Wadham’s Oil & Grease

And boy, oh, boy, did companies outdo themselves trying to make their lubitoriums stand out from the competition. Wadham’s Filling Station built pagoda-style stations, and other companies developed themed buildings, all designed to bring in business.

American’s highway system spread after President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which authorized construction of a network of highways across the country. That expansion allowed people to travel farther, faster; this, coupled with the gas crises of the 1970s, signaled the decline of lubitoriums as we knew them.

But we can still have fun saying lubitorium! You can even bewilder your traveling companions by using the word in a sentence as you’re driving along:

“Honey, I’d like to stop at a lubitorium before we reach Aunt Myrtle’s house.”

Get ready for the weird looks and have safe travels!

Weird Word Wednesday!

Tags

copywriting, editing, grammar, humor, ironing, miscomfrumple, proper grammar, strange word, weird word, writing

Welcome to Weird Word Wednesday!

Here’s a word you may not have heard of, but you’ve certainly experienced its effects. Perhaps you dashed out of the house in a panic after yanking on yesterday’s khakis, or found that, overnight, your dog slept on the papers you needed for this morning’s meeting.

In both cases, things got miscomfrumpled. Isn’t that fun to say? When things get miscomfrumpled, they’re excessively creased or rumpled.

But let’s back up a second – why must we have everything crease-free and smooth? Ironing certainly isn’t one of my favorite household chores, and if it were socially acceptable to parade around looking like I slept in my clothes, I might just try it.

I used to work with a guy who didn’t pay much attention to the little things. This was evident when he bought clothes. Gary (not his real name) would show up having only just removed his new shirt from its cardboard-lined package. He’d button it up and head for work, where we noticed the packaging creases and strange whiff of “new clothes” as he passed by.

This sartorial bad habit of Gary’s unknowingly got him a few eye rolls, but after a while, we all got used to this quirk.

From what I could find, the practice of ironing cloth has been around for centuries. Back in the B.C. days, the Chinese used pans filled with hot water to smooth fabric. My great-grandma used an old-fashioned iron that she set back on the stove to heat up between shirts. What a load of work that was! Maybe that early experience gave me my current dislike for ironing…

We generally don’t like to be miscomfrumpled. And it shows:

For years, Mrs. Twinkenwiffel refused to keep Mitzy, her biting Chihuahua, on a leash when the mail was delivered. Edna, the mail carrier, retaliated by miscomfrumpling the covers of Mrs. Twinkenwiffel’s catalogs ever so slightly.

So whether it’s clothes, catalogs, or khakis, we have issues with things being miscomfrumpled. Do we need a National Miscomfrumpled Day to just let it all hang out? At least we’d have an excuse to run around wrinkled!

Weird Word Wednesday!

Tags

copywriting, corporate culture, Gettysburg, grammar, history, humor, politicians, President Clinton, President Obama, proper grammar, strange word, weird word, writing

You know them.

They’re out there.

You either work with them, or you’ve heard them on television.

They’re bafflegabbers, people who use pretentious and vague-sounding words or phrases, when more direct speech would suffice.

The temptation to pick on the government here is almost overwhelming, isn’t it? Politicians are especially known for spewing out phrases that leave us scratching our heads, and for using words that really don’t mean anything at all.

For example, I’ll give you an excerpt from Edward Everett’s speech at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863. It was a two-hour doozy that probably left people half-asleep and drooling on their dresses. If you’re feeling adventurous, the entire speech can be read here.

Edward Everett

“…And shall I, fellow citizens, who, after an interval of twenty-three centuries, a youthful pilgrim from the world unknown to ancient Greece, have wandered over that illustrious plain, ready to put off the shoes from off my feet, as one that stands on holy ground,–who have gazed with respectful emotion on the mound which still protects the dust of those who rolled back the tide of Persian invasion, and rescued the land of popular liberty, of letters, and of arts, from the ruthless foe…”

Zoinks! That’s a bafflegabber!

Keep in mind that bafflegabbing isn’t strictly limited to pompous speeches like Everett’s. In our need-it-yesterday, team-oriented culture, we’ve come up with a few humdingers of our own, phrases that mean…what, exactly?

Take it to the next level

Giving 110%

Best Practices

These are examples of corporate lingo that doesn’t pinpoint anything specific.

Really, who’s going to suggest using “worst practices” anyhow? Sometimes, though, joining the corporate culture-speak can get you into hot water:

When Melvin promised to “take it to the next level,” his coworkers were uncomfortably reminded of his plans for last year’s National Flashlight Day celebration, which had taken a bizarre turn for the worse.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and strangely enough, a politician had the answer!

In 1998, President Bill Clinton issued the “Plain Writing in Government” memorandum. This encouraged  government agencies to use understandable, easy-to-read language when communicating with the public.

Apparently, it took a while to catch on, because in 2010, President Barack Obama issued his own Plain Writing Act of 2010, requiring federal agencies to “simplify bureaucratic jargon.”

The “best practice” here? Keep it simple and straightforward!