Category Archives: Interesting words

Bad Language

Posted on 02/25/2020 by chick

Hey, People of the Internet! It’s “toe the line,” not “tow the line.” It’s “the die is cast,” not “the dye is cast.” It’s “sow the seeds,” not “sew the seeds.” OK. I feel better having gotten that off my … Continue reading →

Posted in Crazy Me, Interesting words | Leave a comment

Who Knew?

Posted on 01/11/2020 by chick

I just learned today that bobby pins are called “kirby grips” or “hair grips” in the UK and hair elastics are “bobbles.”

Posted in Interesting words | Leave a comment

Happy, Peppy, Perverse

Posted on 01/04/2020 by chick

HAPPIEST, you may be interested to know, anagrams into IT HAS PEP, a lively and fitting phrase. Perversely, it also anagrams into EPITAPHS.

Posted in Interesting words | Leave a comment

Joe Pye Weed

Posted on 10/24/2019 by chick

Joe Pye weed is a popular plant among gardeners. When I did an Internet search on it, most of the hits were for gardening, rather than wildflower, websites. Among its positive attributes are that it’s pretty, unusually tall, attractive to … Continue reading →

Posted in Interesting words, Local Flora and Fauna, Out and about | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

I Now Pronounce You Correctly

Posted on 09/02/2019 by chick

Forte: I refuse to say that something is someone’s forte. The reason for that is the pronunciation of the word “forte.” I know that it rightly rhymes with “port.” But, if I were to say it that way, someone else … Continue reading →

Posted in Crazy Me, Interesting words | Leave a comment

One of My Many Collections

Posted on 07/27/2019 by chick

I recently hit the Latin trifecta by using three Latin terms in one day: “ad nauseam,” “redux,” and “deus ex machina.” I wonder how many other Latin words I’ve got stored away in my noggin. I think there must be … Continue reading →

Posted in Interesting words | Leave a comment

Pronunciation Fail

Posted on 07/27/2019 by chick

Earlier this year I looked up the pronunciation of the word Taoiseach (the leader of Ireland). My best guess was “Tay-sik.” I was way off base. It’s “Tee-shuk” (and really less of a hard “k” sound and more of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Interesting words | Leave a comment

I DARE You

Posted on 06/20/2019 by chick

The most exciting potential prize of the recent limerick contest (aside from the free trip to England) was a full set of the Dictionary of American Regional English. I was hoping to get one. Alas, I did not. But my … Continue reading →

Posted in Interesting words, Reading | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Words I Do Not Like

Posted on 06/09/2019 by chick

The word “pulchritude” is too ugly to mean “beauty.” “Salvia” looks too much like “saliva” to be a nice flower name, and “scabiosa” is even ickier. My least favorite word of the moment, though, is “bloviate.” It ought to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Interesting words | Leave a comment

British at Heart

Posted on 06/02/2019 by chick

I’ve always felt that the word “grey” looks better than the word “gray.” And as I think more on the matter, I realize that to me “gray” and “grey” are not even the same color. “Gray” is a drab color. … Continue reading →

Posted in Crazy Me, Interesting words | 2 Comments