Another week has passed and it’s Wordy Wednesday again. My word for today is flabbergasted, for no other reason than I like it.
According to my Oxford English Dictionary, the word comes from the late 18th century; of unknown origin. Its meaning is to surprise (someone) greatly. An example of usage might be I was utterly flabbergasted to win the prize.
Comedian Frankie Howerd was known for mixing the word up – never has my flabber been so gasted.
My word for today is mizzle, meaning light rain; drizzle. I thought of this word last week when, at times, it was decidedly mizzly.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its origin is late Middle English, probably from mist. In German there is miseln and in Dutch miezelen.
Mizzle seems to sum up this type of rain well, expressing the mood of drizzling, persistent rain so well.
There are so many different words to express weather conditions. Do you have any favourites?
Whether you love or hate sport, you’d be hard pressed not to have noticed that both Wimbledon and the football World Cup are currently playing. With that in mind, I have two words this week.
In tennis, the word love relates not to romantic love but a score of zero – she was 15-love down. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin comes from play for love, that is for the love of the game. Folk etymology also links the word with the French, l’oeuf, referring to a similarity in shape to an egg and a zero.
Moving on to football, I do enjoy seeing all the strips from different countries playing in The World Cup. This made me wonder why it’s called a strip, meaning the identifying kit worn by members of a sports team. The Oxford English Dictionary says this possibly comes from the idea of the clothes that players strip down to.
Did you know that, in my children’s book, The Clocker, the main character makes up his own words? My Books
