Callipygian Cal – i – pidgeon (Adjective) Having well-shaped buttocks My grandmother liked to go to high school track meets to ogle the callipygian race-walkers.
Word of the Week
My Word! – May 20
by Betsey Ellis •
Bibliomania Bib-lio-ma-nia Noun an extreme preoccupation with the collecting of books a craze for books or reading Some say that Shirley has a touch of bibliomania. This one comes from French and is traced back to the letters of French physician Guy Patin and a letter from 1652. It is first used in…
Word of the Week
My Word – May 13
by Betsey Ellis •
Anthropolith An-thro-po-lith Noun A fossilized or petrified human body or portion thereof. The Piltdown Man was a hoax and therefore not an anthropolith. Merriam-Webster didn’t even have an etymology for this one.
Word of the Week
My Word! – May 6
by Betsey Ellis •
Zwitterion – May 6 Zwit-ter-ion Noun An ion holding both a positive and a negative charge Nope, not even gonna try. This one goes back to 1906 and comes from an Old German hybrid for two. I just sort of liked the way it looked, and it does begin with z.
Word of the Week
My Word! April 29
by Betsey Ellis •
Yarborough Yar-ber-oh Noun A hand of cards in Bridge or Whist containing no Aces, face cards, or cards above a nine. Hilda was very unlucky at Bridge and once was dealt 5 yarboroughs in a row. This one goes back to only around 1900 when the second Earl of Yarborough was rumored to have bet…
States Well Stated
More than Vegas!
by Betsey Ellis •
Nevada is a lot more than Las Vegas you know. It is a relative new comer state, entering the Union as a State on Halloween in 1864 as our 36th State. But the area that became Nevada did not come under U.S. control until the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848. Prior to that…
Word of the Week
My Word! – April 22
by Betsey Ellis •
Xeric Zir-ick Adjective Characterized by or relating to only needing a small amount of moisture. Most so-called air plants can be categorized as xeric. While eventually tracing back to the Greek word xeros (meaning dry), this one only came to existence in 1926 when a bunch of botantists decided they needed a spiffy new word…
Word of the Week
My Word! – April 15
by Betsey Ellis •
Wanchancy Wan-chancy Adjective A Scottish term for something that is unlucky. W’s are getting harder to come by, is anyone (other than a designer of a crossword puzzle) ever going to use this one?
Word of the Week
My Word! – April 8
by Betsey Ellis •
Vociferate Vo-cif-er-ate Verb To utter loudly, to shout, to bawl Too many politicians can’t seem to help but vociferate their message. Also from Latin and first seen in English in 1599, probably referring to someone in the House of Commons.
Word of the Week
My Word! – April 1
by Betsey Ellis •
Ultraquist Ultra-quist Noun A person who speaks two or more languages Many people in Quebec are ultraquists and speak both English and French. It comes from Latin, enough said.