A Thread of Words

[Chatterjak]

Yeah that's a good one too - the first three months of my course were spent wishing we'd learnt some Latin at school!

Just discovered a great word I don't think I've ever heard of before - panjandrum - meaning

a person who has or claims to have a great deal of authority or influence.
"the greatest scientific panjandrum of the 19th century"

I'm reading Habits of the House by Fay Weldon & felt overwhelmed by the need to share!

[Charbel]

Another bunch of favourite words: paradigm, insipid, surreptitiously and disinclination.

[Leslie]

This is not a favorite word, but I was excited when reading Moby Dick to see that he used the word "whelm" (more than once!). Usually you only see "overwhelm" or "underwhelm" - this was the first time I have ever come across someone who was "whelmed"!

[Bionic Jean]

Gobbledygook

[Leslie]

My last book had a couple of words I had never come across before, including hebdomadal which means weekly.

[Jenny]

Leslie wrote: "My last book had a couple of words I had never come across before, including hebdomadal which means weekly."

Lol, I associated it with 'abdominal'. Not quite the same.

[Jenny]

So after Jean last week introduced me to my new favourite word: 'befuddlement', I today collected a few more that were new: 'splendiferous' which I honestly have never heard anyone use, but that may be because the don't want to make my poor German head explode, along with 'lugubrious' and 'ragamuffin'. RAGAMUFFIN? could anyone explain the source of that expression? Why muffin? and what is raga?

[Bionic Jean]

LOL Jenny! It's not "raga" as in the Indian musical form, it's "rags"! The urban dictionary says "A grimy dirty little urchin or waif with ratted greasy hair." and that is my mental picture - usually on Dickensian streets...

As for the derivations though, "muffin" didn't convey anything to me until I found this in the online dictionary "Middle English Ragamuffyn, a personal name: probably raggi, ragged (from ragge, rag; see rag1) + Middle Dutch moffel, muffe, mitten"

[Charbel]

Leslie wrote: "My last book had a couple of words I had never come across before, including hebdomadal which means weekly."

That doesn't surprise me. It reminds me of the french word "hebdomadaire" which means weekly often refering to a magazine or newspaper.

[Bionic Jean]

How about "wiggy-arsed"? Or "bumptious"?

[Charbel]

Lol

[Jenny]

Thanks you Jean again!!! for enlightening me.
And LOL!! Wiggy-arsed?!!

[LauraT]

Now you have to explain wiggy-arsed as well.
While I knew ragamuffin, I think there's also a song

[Shirley]

Jean wrote: "How about "wiggy-arsed"? Or "bumptious"?"

Wiggy-arsed? Err..?? Is that a Yorkshire-ism?

[Leslie]

Shirley wrote: "Jean wrote: "How about "wiggy-arsed"? Or "bumptious"?"

Wiggy-arsed? Err..?? Is that a Yorkshire-ism?"

Jean, you will have to explain this one!

[Bionic Jean]

LOL - I was hoping to get away with that one...

It's quite self-explanatory really. You all know what the second part of the word means... (yes you DO you upstrigolous lot!!) and the first part is just a shortened form of "wiggle". It refers to a particularly active young child - a shufflebottom of a child.

[Shirley]

Upstrigolous?? Have you just swallowed a dictionary, Jean? LOL!!!

ok, I'm with you on the wiggy-arsed thing now!

[Bionic Jean]

They just pop into my mind! :D I seem to remember being told off for being upstrigolous when I was a little girl!

[LauraT]

You're a mine Jean!!!!

[Gemma]

Interesting thoughts on swearing. I mainly with males who swear a lot, my parents also have run a pub since I was young so quite used to hearing it. I'm not really too bothered by it. Although, having to be very careful with what ever we say now with a baby who will be talking very soon, not necessarily swear words..anything!

[[deleted user]]

@Gemma, I remember when my friends little girl was learning to talk (she's now 10). She learnt the word 'Damn' and her first phrase was 'Oh Dear'. Kids pick up on stuff so easily!

[[deleted user]]

How old is your little one?

[LauraT]

You have to know that in Italy, especially in the central areas as Tuscany and Umbria where I live, there's a terrible habit, at least in my opinio, to use not only bad words that kids pick up immediately, but also of swearing. It is a sort of "way of saying" and most people don't even notice it any more, but even if I'm not a catholic I find it terribly irksome, especially in the mouth of little kids ...
And we also have "picturesque" movements with our hand and arms: the "umbrella" is the most famous ...

[Gemma]

Heather, my friends little boy used to always say oh dear. He used to raise his arms really dramatically as he said it.
My little boy is 10 months.

[Bionic Jean]

kerfuffle

[Charbel]

How uncanny, Jean! I was considering adding "kerfuffle"!

[Amber]

afoot is a funny word.

[Bionic Jean]

"the game is afoot" LOL

synchronicity?

[Amber]

It means under way or on foot. :)

[Charbel]

Here's one of my favourite expressions from M*A*S*H: "horse hockey", I've never heard it used anywhere else.

[LauraT]

Jean wrote: ""the game is afoot" LOL

synchronicity?"

Where do you pick all those words up Jean????

[Gill]

I really like the word 'synchronicity' While I remember, I like the word 'diagonal' as well, also 'hypotenuse', 'infinity' 'irrational number' (I love the idea that a number can be irrational.)Oh yes and 'fractal' as well. I'll stop for now!

[LauraT]

Yes! Frattale is a great wors also in italian

[Bionic Jean]

Well, I meant it was "synchronicity" because Charbel and I were apparently thinking of the same word at the same time! That particular word is in my "repertoire" anyway!! It's a word I would have said normally - but then I thought it's actually quite a nice word, so I just posted it as it was!

Maybe I just have a quirky way of talking, then Laura!

I too love the idea of numbers being "irrational". Is that really so, Gill? I can remember "irregular fractions" but not "irrational" ones...

[Leslie]

LauraT wrote: "Jean wrote: ""the game is afoot" LOL

synchronicity?"

Where do you pick all those words up Jean????"

I'm with Jean that this was in my repertoire but I may have acquired it during my college days due to the Police song of that name...

[Leslie]

Gill wrote: "I really like the word 'synchronicity' While I remember, I like the word 'diagonal' as well, also 'hypotenuse', 'infinity' 'irrational number' (I love the idea that a number can be irrational.)Oh y..."

Plus imaginary numbers -- another idea to make me smile!

@Jean - irrational numbers are numbers that cannot be expressed as a simple fraction (irregular, nonrepeating, unending decimals). The most famous one is pi π

[Bionic Jean]

That's amazing!! And so apt - yes they are "irrational" as they never end... I love it! Thank you Gill and Leslie! :D

(Don't know the song though - sorry. Perhaps I can pick up "consolation prize" marks through knowing "Santa Lucia" in another thread? LOL)

[LauraT]

Leslie wrote: "Gill wrote: "I really like the word 'synchronicity' While I remember, I like the word 'diagonal' as well, also 'hypotenuse', 'infinity' 'irrational number' (I love the idea that a number can be irr..."

Have you read The Parrot's Theorem?

[Bionic Jean]

"prepopulated"

Hmm. I must admit I'm not sure whether I actually like this word. I just came across it whilst browsing through Goodreads. I noticed I haven't "selected any genres" on my profile page, and when I clicked on it, it came up with a big chart saying it had "automatically prepopulated" some for me!

What's wrong with "chosen"?

[Leslie]

"prepopulated" is one of those computer words... what I hate is the "pre-owned" car ads - just say USED! Everyone knows that is what you mean!!!

[Scott]

I always liked serendipity and bewitched

[Bionic Jean]

Leslie - ugh! I hope there aren't many more of those euphemisms.

[Alannah]

Scott wrote: "I always liked serendipity and bewitched"

I like bewitched.

[Charbel]

Leslie wrote: ""prepopulated" is one of those computer words... what I hate is the "pre-owned" car ads - just say USED! Everyone knows that is what you mean!!!"

Lol!

[LauraT]

in Italian: resilienza - resilience in english. The main virtue of my daughter ...

[Bionic Jean]

Sounds like there's a story behind that one, Laura...

[Leslie]

@Scott - I replied last night but GoodReads has been acting up on me... Anyway, what I said was that the word "bewitched" always reminds me of the TV show from my childhood, so I can't take it seriously as an adjective any more! Such a pity...

[LauraT]

Jean wrote: "Sounds like there's a story behind that one, Laura..."

My daughter since she was a really little girl was incredibly good at adapting herself to all type of environment: family, schools, friends etch ... And she still is like that: I don't know if you remeber Woddy Allen's Zelig: she is like him! But not in a patological way ...

[Bionic Jean]

Good for her, Laura! You did well there :)

Whenever I hear of someone not moving because of their children's school etc., I always think, how silly! Children adapt! They need these broad experiences of life - learning to make new friends etc.

Of course there are exceptions - exam years maybe. But sometimes it's just an excuse for adults' fears.

[LauraT]

Jean wrote: "Good for her, Laura! You did well there :)

Whenever I hear of someone not moving because of their children's school etc., I always think, how silly! Children adapt! They need these broad experienc..."

I totally agree!