Wednesday Words: Rock Band Names
If you want to have a lot of fun with words, learn to play a musical instrument, form a band, and then name it! One of the interview questions I want asked of bands is how they chose their name.…
Prickly Pronunciations
These words all rhyme: New Cue Lieu Woo Do So how do you spell the “oo” sound in English? Um, it depends. The English language represents a mixing of cultures because it has borrowed words from many other tongues and…
Wednesday Words: What’s Your Pet Peeve?
No, not that! Anything but THAT! What is your greatest pet peeve in common language usage? I polled some friends and here are a few I heard: Confusing words like your and you’re; to, too, and two; idea and ideal…
Wednesday Words: Are You Game?
I am outnumbered in my family! Living with three boys, I am often sucked into playing a strategy board game in which I feel like I’m plotting a geometry equation or preparing for the next World War. If the choice…
Wednesday Words: Shakespeare Shares
How many people can say that they coined phrases that will still be in use over 400 years after they introduced them? Only a handful, I would think. But I have discovered that William Shakespeare is to credit, or blame,…
Wednesday Words: A Herd of Labels
It’s a herd of cattle, a school of fish, a pride of lions, a gaggle of geese, a flock of seagulls, and a of whales. Who knows? Another oddity of the English language is how many words we have invented…
Wednesday Words: It is Lite or Light?
You will never catch me pulling into the “Krazy Kat Kar Wash.” I don’t care if my vehicle looks like it emerged from a mudslide or the only thing visible through my front windshield is the collection of insects amassed…
Wednesday Words: Fun with Phobias
I should state at the outset that if you have a phobia, it isn’t fun. I know someone who has ranidaphobia, and the one time a frog got into her house, it was not pleasant. Having said that, the names…
Wednesday Words: Idioms, in a Nutshell
My son begs over and over to do something that I have repeatedly explained is SO NOT going to happen. Still, he’s in my face with the persistence of a severe case of hiccups and reasoning he’s spent more time…
Wednesday Words: Sesquipedalianism
I love long, descriptive words that hint at their meaning. Serendipity is surprisingly delightful every time it rolls off my tongue. The word tentacles seems to reach and encircle me. Rambunctious has a pop in the middle of the word…