So one of my resolutions for 2011 is to try to post FWOTDs more often...but I've been a little preoccupied gearing up for the release of my first book (sadly, it's not Funny Word of the Day-related!). It's called Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Hired & Rewarded at Work (Career Press, Jan. 20, 2011), a career guide of sorts for anyone looking to stand out in the workplace. I co-wrote it with a good friend, Meryl Weinsaft Cooper, and we're very excited. Please support us by buying a copy and visiting our website and blog and following us on Twitter (@bestpublicist).
So, in honor of New Year's Eve, my favorite word of the day is bubbly.
Here's to some good bubbly tonight and a bubbly 2011!
Apologies to anyone who follows this blog for being MIA. As you may know, I had a baby girl 9 mos ago and then started writing my first book, Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Hired & Rewarded at Work, which comes out Jan. 20, 2011 (you can pre-order a copy now!) so my time has been taken up with those two endeavors, not to mention my full time job. However, I have been trying to post FWOTDs on Twitter and Facebook on occasion.
To catch you up on the last few...
Thanksgiving: yams
Nov. 14: swoop
Nov. 12: blimp
Today's FWOTD: cubbyhole
Definition from Merriam-Webster: a small snug place (as for hiding or storage); also: a cramped space
Remember in elementary school, when every student would get a cubbyhole to put his or her belongings?
chiefly British: worthy of the highest praise :excellent
Or, from the Online Slang dictionary:
used to indicate that something is cool. Originated in Britain, popularized in modern slang by the movie Juno. Wizards have played a part in some really good movies, including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz, Excalibur and Juno. And sometimes they're funny (even if they don't mean to be).
If anyone's still reading my blog (ahem), I have to apologize for not posting very often. With a 6 month old daughter, a busy job and a book due tomorrow to my publisher (aaack!), I've been fairly preoccupied.
However, that does not mean I have not been using and thinking of funny words all the time. So...here's the latest:
funny word of the day: quaff
Definition from Merriam-Webster:
: to drink deeply
transitive verb
: to drink (a beverage) deeply
— quaffnoun
— quaff·ernoun
Examples of QUAFF
We stopped at a bar and quaffed a few beers.
car out of the snowdrift, we were ready to quaff some hot chocolate>
My own example: Once I hand in the manuscript for my book, BE YOUR OWN BEST PUBLICIST: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Hired and Rewarded at Work, written with my talented friend and co-author Meryl Weinsaft Cooper, I will definitely be quaffing some wine or Champagne in celebration!
: one who fusses or is fussy especially about trifles
— fuss·bud·gety\-jə-tē\adjective
NOTE: Sorry that I haven't posted in ages. Between caring for a 5 1/2 mo. old baby, dealing with a busy work schedule and working on a book that comes out in January (not about funny words, alas), I have not had much time to post. Thanks for your patience!
1:scamp, reprobate 2: a white Southerner acting in support of the reconstruction governments after the American Civil War often for private gain
I think scallywag can also be used to refer to a pirate. I learned this word from a song about pirates that I hear on the Toddles Tunes station on my TV that I now listen to every day with Emma. What has become of my life?
Apologies to anyone who follows my blog. I had a beautiful baby girl named Emma on Feb. 18th and I've been a little busy since then! I've been sporadically posting FWOTDs on Facebook and Twitter but haven't had a chance to blog. So here's a quick update...here are all the words I've done in the past few months:
funny word of the day (really should be of the month these days!): gumbo1:50 PM Apr 21st
Etymology: Middle English wamb, womb, from Old English; akin to Old High German wamba belly
Date: before 12th century
1:uterus 2 a: a cavity or space that resembles a womb in containing and enveloping b: a place where something is generated
— wombed\ˈwümd\adjective
As you may have guessed, at 38 weeks pregnant I have baby on the brain! When the little one arrives, I may have to take a hiatus from posting funny words of the day -- or it may become more like funny word of the week (or month depending how needy this kid is)!
Etymology: Greek aphrodisiakos sexual, gem with aphrodisiac properties, from aphrodisia heterosexual pleasures, from neuter plural of aphrodisios of Aphrodite, from Aphroditē
Date: 1719
1: an agent (as a food or drug) that arouses or is held to arouse sexual desire 2: something that excites
— aphrodisiac also aph·ro·di·si·a·cal\ˌa-frə-di-ˈsī-ə-kəl, -ˈzī-\adjective
1corny Pronunciation: \ˈkȯr-nē\ Function: adjective Inflected Form(s): corn·i·er; corn·i·est Date: 14th century 1 archaic : tasting strongly of malt 2 : of or relating to corn 3 : mawkishly old-fashioned : tiresomely simple and sentimental — corn·i·ly \ˈkȯr-nə-lē\ adverb — corn·i·ness \ˈkȯr-nē-nəs\ noun
2corny Function: adjective Inflected Form(s): corn·i·er; corn·i·est Date: 1689 : relating to or having corns on the feet Ew. The 2nd definition is really gross.
I haven't had time to post on the blog but here are the funny words you may have missed:
By far the largest group of ferns are the leptosporangiate ferns, but ferns as defined here (also called monilophytes) include horsetails, whisk ferns, marattioid ferns, and ophioglossoid ferns. The term pteridophyte also refers to ferns (and possibly other seedless vascular plants; see classification section below).
Ferns first appear in the fossil record in the Carboniferous but many of the current families and species did not appear until roughly the late Cretaceous (after flowering plants came to dominate many environments).
Ferns are not of major economic importance, but some are grown or gathered for food, as ornamental plants, or for remediating contaminated soils. Some are significant weeds. They also feature in mythology, medicine, and art.
But I think it's funny because it reminds me of a leathery-tan, chain-smoking yenta who wears hot pink lipstick and introduces herself in a gravelly voice, "Fern here. Let's tawk."
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ilca, from *i- that, the same (akin to Gothic is he, Latin, he, that) + *lik- form (whence Old English līc body) — more at iterate, like
Date: before 12th century
chiefly Scottish:same —used with that especially in the names of landed families
A pupa (Latinpupa for doll, pl: pupae or pupas) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago.
Pupation may be brief, for example 2 weeks as in monarch butterflies, or the pupa may enter dormancy or diapause until the appropriate season for the adult insect (in temperate climate pupae usually stay dormant during winter, in the tropics pupae usually do so during the dry season). Pupation may last weeks, months or even years. Anise Swallowtails sometimes emerge after years as a chrysalis.
Etymology: Middle English bever, from Old English beofor; akin to Old High German bibar beaver, and probably to Old English brūn brown — more at brown
Date: before 12th century
1or pluralbeavera: either of two large semiaquatic herbivorous rodents comprising a family (Castoridae including Castor canadensis of North America and C. fiber of Eurasia), having webbed hind feet and a broad flat scaly tail, and constructing dams and partially submerged lodges b: the fur or pelt of the beaver 2 a: a hat made of beaver fur or a fabric imitation b:silk hat 3: a heavy fabric of felted wool or of cotton napped on both sides 4usually vulgar: the pudenda of a woman
2beaver
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English baviere, from Middle French
Date: 15th century
1: a piece of armor protecting the lower part of the face 2: a helmet visor
I've decided to make a sentence out of them, as well as today's:
That twerp had the gumption to plop down next to me and ask me if, like him, I dabble in extramarital affairs and that he'd really like to see my beaver. Needless to say, I slapped him and ran away very fast.
1 a: a scarf worn around the neck b: something that hides or disguises 2: a device to deaden noise; especially: one forming part of the exhaust system of an automotive vehicle
— muf·fleredadjective
In high school, I drove a 1980 Datsun 310GX hatchback. I bought it from my sister for $107 and, though it was a clunker, it got me around (barely). One day I heard a really loud scraping sound and when I pulled into a parking lot, a man told me that my muffler was hanging off the back of my car and hitting the ground when I drove. It was completely rusted. My mechanic warned me not to drive more than 10 miles from my home in that car. But I kind of miss it now that I don't have a car at all.
The muskrat is the largest species in the subfamily Arvicolinae; which includes 142 other species of rodents, mostly voles and lemmings. Muskrats are called "rats" in a general sense because they are medium-sized rodents with an adaptable lifestyle and an omnivorous diet. They are not, however, so-called "true rats", that is members of the genus Rattus.
The muskrat's name comes from the two scent glands which are found near its tail; they give off a strong "musky" odor which the muskrat uses to mark its territory.
Gross. I'm not a fan of anything that has "rat" in its name or resembles a rat. Even squirrels, which people think are cute, are really just tree rats (at least that's what my mom always told me growing up). The only muskrat I like is a Muppet-like character named Heddy Muskrat in the Jim Henson special "Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas," a modern-day musical fable based on The Gift of the Magi that is still one of my favorite holiday programs. Too bad my husband and I are virtually the only people who have ever seen it. I highly recommend it.
: pretentious nonsense :bunkum —often used as a generalized expression of disagreement
As a food, I absolutely hate baloney. It may be because when I was a little girl and had an exceedingly high fever, I hallucinated that there was a piece of green baloney crawling up my wall. That was enough to make it an off-limits deli meat for the rest of my life.
However, I did like the song in the Oscar Meyer commercial that went "My baloney has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R..." If you don't know it, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmPRHJd3uHI
By the way, you can also spell baloney "bologna" but it's funnier the other way.
I always liked the feel of marbles and had some when I was little, not really sure why since I never learned to play the game. In fact, I don't know anyone who actually plays marbles but if you're interested in ordering some, check out this site: http://www.marblesmarbles.com/
Etymology: akin to Middle Low German hump bump, Dutch homp lump, chunk, Frisian homp, himp
Date: 1681
1: a rounded protuberance: as a:humpback 1 b: a fleshy protuberance on the back of an animal (as a camel, bison, or whale) c (1):mound, hummock(2):mountain, range 2British: a fit of depression or sulking 3: a difficult, trying, or critical phase or obstacle —often used in the phrase over the hump
— humpedadjective
2hump
Function: verb
Date: circa 1785
transitive verb1often vulgar: to copulate with 2: to exert (oneself) vigorously 3: to make humpbacked :hunch 4chiefly British: to put or carry on the back :lug; also:transport intransitive verb1: to exert oneself :hustle 2: to move swiftly :race
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English coccel
Date: before 12th century
: any of several weedy plants of the pink family; especially:corn cockle
2cockle
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English cokille, from Middle French coquille shell, modification of Latin conchylia, plural of conchylium, from Greek konchylion, from konchē conch
Date: 14th century
1: any of various chiefly marine bivalve mollusks (family Cardiidae) having a shell with convex radially ribbed valves; especially: a common edible European bivalve (Cerastoderma edule syn. Cardium edule) 2:cockleshell
3cockle
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English kokell, ultimately from Middle French coquillé wavy or rounded like a shell, from coquille
A stooge is generally defined as a person that is under the control of another. Being called a stooge is not a form of praise. Stooge can also sometimes be used to mean "idiot".
1:sailor, mariner 2 a: any of the three ranks below petty officer in the navy or coast guardb: an enlisted man in the navy or coast guard ranking above a seaman apprentice and below a petty officer
This word is the unfortunate synonym for another funny word (c'mon, you can figure it out) and the seaman's uniform can be funny too. However, it doesn't mean I don't have the utmost respect for the fine men who serve in our Navy. Really. I just prefer to call them sailors.
Etymology: imitative; perhaps from the sound made by striking the gas bag with the thumb
Date: 1916
1: an airship that maintains its form by pressure from contained gas 2capitalized:colonel blimp
I wanted to pick a word that had relevance to New Year's Day but I couldn't think of one. I figure there are probably some blimps flying over the various Bowl games today so it was good enough. Here's to a great 2010 filled with lots of funny words!