What do Wednesday Addams, Sir Garfield Sobers, Hannibal Lecter and Count Tyrone Rugen from The Princess Bride have in common? That’s right! They were all polydactylous. Polydactyly is the congenital physical abnormality of having more than the usual number of fingers or toes. Polydactyly. Now there’s a good-looking word. When writing, you want to make your … Continue reading Word for Wednesday
It’s been a while since we last enjoyed the etymological delights of a Word for Wednesday feature. So, let’s delve into the archives and explore some book related terms and then we’ll have a story… Archives, etymologically speaking, according to our good friends at the Online Etymology Dictionary, derives originally from the Ancient Greek word … Continue reading Wednesday keeps it creepy
Darling, I know! ** Today’s word has a wain’s worth of class attitude: villain. It seems logical to think that villain would share some sort of etymological root with vile and vilify – all the nasty things in one bucket, what ho? But English is a language which defies logic. No, it snatches logic down … Continue reading Word*: the villains are revolting!
It seemed appropriate that the Oxford Dictionary revealed its Word of the Year for 2022 – goblin mode – earlier this week on the eve of St Nicholas’ feast day or, as we goblins like to call it, Krampusnacht. I thought that, after a lengthy hiatus, how better to return to these bloggish halls than … Continue reading Goblin mode engaged
Language is weird. Beautiful and weird and I can’t resist it. Plus, it’s been too long since I indulged in a delicious Word for Wednesday*. So let’s go on another adventure in etymology – this time to the Avocado Jungle of DEATH…. ** Or at least to look at the word AVOCADO. You can enjoy … Continue reading Avocado alligators are a snap
Forget decluttering, self-care and elevation training: the hot trend in lifestyle choices is being crepuscular. Really, it’s more fun than it sounds. It’s an ugly word*, which is a shame, because when I say it’s a hot trend I mean that, literally. With temperatures across large swathes of Australia breaking records for hellishness (day after … Continue reading Crepuscular lifestyle choices
Word for Wednesday goes piratical for ITLAPD. Ahoy me mateys! ’tis Wednesday again ‘n time t’ look at words ‘cos how can ye not be lovin’ yer etymology? Today’s words are ripe ‘n salty, ’cause today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Ye can call me a tailed imp’s elder, though that would set … Continue reading Scuttlebutt and scuppers
Ah, springtime! It’s very vert. Yea, verily! And since it’s Wednesday and words are our favourite Wednesday jam, let’s enjoy a wallow in the etymology of ver, which is Latin for spring, or the springtime. From it we get the word vernal – pertaining to spring – which doesn’t get much of an outing these … Continue reading That very verdant vernal verdure
After a weird two months of blog silence, I’m back with a bang, or at least a funny story. But it’s not of the ‘three men walk into a bar, one got concussion and the other two were slightly injured’ variety. It’s my entry to this month’s Furious Fiction competition. The challenge was to write … Continue reading Funny you should say that
Wednesdays* are perfect for the heady joy of satisfying our etymological curiosity. And what better to consider than curiosity itself… Curiosity comes from curious which evolved from the Latin cura to care. Lots of interesting developments have wound their way into the language from cura: cure and curate and curator and curio, just to name … Continue reading Curious stickybeaks and nosy Parkers