My Momma always said Life is like a box of chocolates…

We all remember this famous quote from Forest Gump……my box of chocolates is words…NEW words which I have never heard before.  Words that roll around on my tongue like a chocolate cherry cream out of my box of sweets.  For example here are some words I recently discovered …..

                            Tantalus: a Phrygian king who, for his crimes, was forced to stand hungry and thirsty surrounded by sweet water and fruit laden branches. I’ve seen it used loosely as an adjective: being tantalized without fulfillment.

Muniment:  a document, a title deed or charter

Muniment room: a storage or display room in a castle, church or university where pertinent historical documents or records are kept.

Entresol: a lower floor between two higher floors, between floors, mezzanine.

Cuckoo:  a common enough European bird but noted for its habit of laying its eggs in another bird’s nest which then hatched and raised the young cuckoos. The mother cuckoo never returns.  Which leads to the off-shoot of this word and description:  Usually referring to the husband of an unfaithful wife.  To make a cuckold of (a husband) and it could follow that the unfaithful wife is impregnated by the lover and (like the birds) the cuckolded husband and wife raise the child of another man.  Hence the use of the word.

When you write, never dumb it down for your readers. Remember you are writing prose. It’s okay to challenge your readers….it’s even preferred. 

As a writer, I hope that You love the flavor of words as much as I do….

(Recycled from the 2012 blog post.)
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My Momma Always said, Life is Like A Box…. (part 7)

Words.….a Box of Words.  this popular series is for all of you out there that love the English language as much as I do.  Especially stumbling over a word I have never heard or used.  I am fascinated with the origin of words such as:

 

Forest Gump, WordsCracker,  I’ve only heard it used as a derogatory term for Caucasian people. To imply an ignorant hillbilly or worse depending upon who was using it. (Well, yes, the obvious generic term for those tasty, crunchy squares that we can’t resist.)     When in fact it is an endearing term used for the COWBOYS of Florida (past and present)  who are adept at the use of a whip.  The cattle in Florida are trained to obey the ‘crack’ of the cowboy’s’ whip and hence the term ‘cracker’.  Did you know that Florida has the largest number of cattle in the USA?  You’d of thought, Texas.  But you’d be wrong.

Beeline, “I made a beeline for the car, Continue reading “My Momma Always said, Life is Like A Box…. (part 7)”

My momma always said, Life is Like a Box of Choc….or, for me, words (part 7)

writers, write, words, dictionaryMy box of chocolates is a new word or two or three.  My readers know how much I love the sound of words, the feel of them in my mouth, and the joy of finding out trivia about a certain word.  For example:

KerfuffleA commotion or fuss, especially one caused by conflicting views. (Oxford Dictionary)
Origin: Early 19th century: perhaps from Scots curfuffle (probably kerfuffle from Scottish Gaelic car ‘twist, bend’ + imitative Scots fuffle ‘to disorder’), or related to Irish cior thual ‘confusion, disorder’.
Continue reading “My momma always said, Life is Like a Box of Choc….or, for me, words (part 7)”

A word Deserving of Its Own Post! ‘Crapper’

Anyone who has been in the military or has lived with a military man has heard the crude slang, ‘Crapper’ for ‘toilet’.   “I  gotta use the crapper.”  “I’m in the  crapper!” “I gotta take a crap”. You might be asking,  Okay, Trish, why are you writing about toilets?  Because I love the origin of words and the research is so much fun. 
Did you know that there was a man named ‘Crapper’ and he was a plumber?  Who owned a plumbing company in the 1800’s in England?
I was reading a wonderful mystery crpper.toiletrecently that gave credit to Thomas Crapper for the unique flower-patterned wash basin and the porcelain toilet fixture.   I was certain that the slang ‘crapper’ that graces our language,  must have originally referred to the inventor of the toilet, Mr. Thomas Crapper, Esq., plumber to kings!  But, alas…..I was wrong…
Continue reading “A word Deserving of Its Own Post! ‘Crapper’”

My momma always said, Life is Like a Box of Chocolates’….or words (part 6)

words, dictionary, writing, writers               My Random House Dictionary weighs at least seven pounds and  it takes both my arms to lug it around.  Its copyright date is 1966 and I think I bought mine in about 1970. Forty three+ years ago.  Its pages are ‘paper-thin’ (pun intended) and very fragile.  It is my reference book when I write this series:  Words being my box of chocolates.
Continue reading “My momma always said, Life is Like a Box of Chocolates’….or words (part 6)”

‘Okay!’ Another word from my Box of Chocolates…Okay, tell me!

words, okay, writers, writing wordsIf you are one of my readers you know by now how much I love words.  New words, obscure words, the origin of words.  Ever wonder about the word, ‘okay’ ‘OK’ ??  I think you’ll be surprised!  How many times do we use it in a day?  How many times do we hear it in a day?
Not to mention how many times a day we click on “OK”!

Here’s some facts about the early history of the abbreviation O.K.

The historical record shows that ‘OK’ appeared as an abbreviation for “oll korrect” (a conscious misspelling of “all correct”) in Boston newspapers in 1839.   It was reinterpreted in the 1840 United States presidential election as an affectionate reference to Presidential  candidate, Martin “OK” Van Buren. (shortened from ‘Old Kinderhook’ as Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, NY.)  Insinuating that he was an ‘okay’ guy.

Continue reading “‘Okay!’ Another word from my Box of Chocolates…Okay, tell me!”

‘My momma always said, Life is Like a Box of Chocolates’….or words (part 4)

 

literacy, words, writing, Once again time has gotten away from me and I need to revisit my love of new and old words. (Blog Jan. 8th)  In this series I talk about my ‘box of chocolates’ being filled with words.

Texting has created a whole new language of abbreviations, misspells and down right goofyness texting, words, misspelled, abbreviationsand that’s a good thing in this century of technology.  But can’t we do both?  Be articulate?  Literate? and be able to string a decent sentence  (or paragraph) together?  Is that asking too much?

I love the sound of these, the way they feel in my mouth.

Ebullient: 
overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement, high spirited. (much the way I feel about my blogging)

raconteur:   a person who is skilled  in relating anecdotes interestingly.  (what I try to achieve while blogging)  I had not heard this word used before until last Sunday, on Masterpiece Classics on the PBS when Mr. Selfridge’s line was, ‘I am a raconteur.’ when referring to his story telling. 

avidity: greediness, keenly eager. (much the way I feel about my blogging)

literacy, words, writing, insouciance:  indifferent, lack of care or concern.  (the antithesis of how I feel about my blogging)

extant:  still in existence,  standing out, not destroyed.  (my blog still exists and I hope ‘stands out’)

 

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I’ll be ‘positing’ more to this series of favorite words.  Feel free to send me some of yours!!
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‘My momma always said, “Life was like a box of chocolates….’

       We all remember this famous quote from Forest Gump……my box of chocolates are wordsNEW words which I have never heard before.  Words that roll around on my tongue like a chocolate cherry cream out of my box of sweets.  For example here are some words I discovered …..

                            Tantalus: a Phrygian king who, for his crimes, was forced to stand hungry and thirsty surrounded by sweet water and fruit laden branches. I’ve seen it used loosely as an adjective: being tantalized without fulfillment.

Muniment:  a document, a title deed or charter

Muniment room: a storage or display room in a castle, church or university where pertinent historical documents or records are kept.

Entresol: a lower floor between two higher floors, between floors, mezzanine.

Cuckoo:  a common enough European bird but noted for its habit of laying its eggs in another bird’s nest which then hatched and raised the young cuckoos. The mother cuckoo never returns.  Which leads to the off-shoot of this word and description:
Cuckold:  Usually referring to the husband of an unfaithful wife.  To make a cuckold of (a husband) and it could follow that the unfaithful wife is impregnated by the lover and (like the birds) the cuckold’d husband and wife raise the child of another man.  Hence the use of the word.

When you write, never dumb it down for your readers. Remember you are writing prose. It’s okay to challenge your readers….it’s even preferred. 

As a writer, I hope that You love the flavor of words as much as I do…..
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