Word Nerd Wednesday – Mugging
Today’s Word Nerd Wednesday post begins with a joke: Q: Why did the coffee go to the police station? A: He needed to report a mugging. Did I get a groan out of you?
21 November 2018
Word Nerd Wednesday – Draconian
Happy Reformation Day, and welcome to all my word nerd friends. Last week I did a Top Ten Tuesday post focusing on villains, which mentioned “the Draconian Mr. Murdstone”—David Copperfield’s step-father. And that lead to the inevitable question: where did the word Draconian come from?
31 October 2018
Word Nerd Wednesday – Forty Winks
Greetings, word nerds! This week’s Word Nerd Wednesday post is inspired by a poem by Shel Silverstein. I don’t know whether you know of his various children’s books, but Runny Babbit is a popular one in our household, all the funnier because it uses so many spoonerisms. And to share a bit of the fun, I’m going to share Runny and the Worty Finks with you.
12 September 2018
Word Nerd Wednesday – Orectic
Greetings, fellow word nerds. We haven’t played a game of What Do You Think It Means for a while, have we? Well, I found a great word for us this week: Orectic. I have four possible definitions for you:
5 September 2018
Word Nerd Wednesday – Bucolic
Happy Wednesday, word nerds! A couple of months ago I posted about a word that I thought really didn’t sound like its definition: effulgent. (You can read that post here.) Last week, I was reminded of another word that fits into that category: bucolic.
29 August 2018
Word Nerd Wednesday – To a T
Hello, word nerds! It’s been a little while since I did a word nerd post, but last week I wrote a review that mentioned a character who fit a certain description ‘to a T’. First of all I had to check how to ‘spell’ it. Was it ‘to a T’ or ‘to a tee/tea’? You can probably guess the outcome of that investigation! 😉 Then the inevitable question dawned. What is a ‘T’, and why is it the ultimate measure of accuracy?
22 August 2018
Word Nerd Wednesday – Sparking
Greetings, word nerds! It’s a while since I’ve had a Word Nerd Wednesday post, but I’m back today and ready to start a revival. You may have looked at today’s word and thought, “Sparking? How can there be anything interesting to say about sparking?” Several weeks ago now, I came across the word in two different books in quick succession—in both cases in a completely new context for me. The first book is one that you’re going to have to wait for for a little while yet: My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge: Laurel’s Dream by Pepper Basham. It’s not
25 July 2018
Word Nerd Wednesday – Repentance
Welcome to Wednesday, word nerds! Today’s word won’t be new to most (if not all) of you, but I’ve had occasion to give it some thought this last week. First of all, Psalm 51 came up in our Bible reading several days ago—King David’s psalm of repentance after the prophet Nathan confronted him over his sin with Bathsheba.
27 June 2018