Wordy Wednesday

Wordy Wednesday

~ my word (s) ~ 9 Comments

This week, I’m going to hand over to Nev, the main character from my children’s book, The Clocker. Nev likes to make up his own words and he’s going to share one of them.

I love making up words. Sometimes there isn’t one that exists that says what you want. I started making up words when I was little. It made people laugh so I made up more. The first made up word in The Clocker is ‘slumpfolded’. It means you’re slumped and folded over all at once. It described how my dad looked when my mum had left us. Apparently, that word also means something to do with a geographical feature but I think my meaning is better.

Have you ever made up a word, either by adding two words together or creating your own word? I’d love to hear them (and so would Nev).

https://troubador.co.uk/bookshop/middle-grade/the-clocker

Bonus Wordy Wednesday

~ my word (s) ~ 4 Comments

Two things coalesced this month in preparing my piece for the writing group I attend. Firstly, the prompt, which was to use pair idioms. Second, was a comment from a reader, on a previous Wordy Wednesday, using the word kenning, where two words are used to describe something or someone. I remembered how much I enjoyed learning about kenning poems at a writing group and decided to combine a kenning and pair idioms.

Pause for a Kenning

Aloof charmer, people calmer

Tail flicker, nose tickler.


Bright and early, out and about 

Here and there, back and forth.


Bed maker, sleep taker

Fence climber, two-timer.


Up and down, leaps and bounds 

Heads and tails meet and greet.


Tux wearer, stripe bearer

Sofa scratcher, mouse catcher.


Sooner or later, peace and quiet 

Fair and square, they’re always there.

Wordy Wednesday

~ my word (s) ~ 5 Comments

To pootle or to poodle, that is the question. It’s been an ongoing debate between my partner and myself for some time now, whose family used to go for a poodle in the car at the weekend. My family, however, went for a pootle, definitely not a poodle.

I finally decided to settle this friendly feud and looked it up. What I discovered is that pootle is a variant of poodle, although, of course, poodle also refers to a breed of dog. To pootle, or poodle, means to travel or go around in a relaxed manner, as in, “I think I’ll have a pootle round the shops”.

Debate settled, now we’ll have to find another word to disagree on.

Just having a pootle, or a poodle, round the local shops

Do you poodle or pootle, or do you have an entirely different word for a leisurely stroll or run out in the car?

Wordy Wednesday

~ my word (s) ~ 8 Comments

It’s Wordy Wednesday and I have a great word for you today.

According to Collins English Dictionary, Gubbins refers to an object of little value; a small gadget; odds and ends, or a silly person. It goes back as far as the 16th century and is derived from the obsolete word, gobbon – likely related to gobbet, meaning a small piece of food.

It’s an excellent word for describing all manner of bits and pieces there’s no other suitable word for. An example might be, “All the computer gubbins is in the drawer”.

I invite you to share your favourite, obsolete, funny or otherwise entertaining words with me.

Please share your own words in comments

Wordy Wednesday

~ my word (s) ~ 3 Comments

Do you have a word for Wordy Wednesday? I’d love to hear your favourite word or the one that best sums up how you feel today.

In the past few weeks I’ve had many medical appointments and I’m left feeling discombobulated. Confused, a bit off kilter and out of balance perfectly describes my experience.

Said to have first been recorded in the early 1800s in the form discomboberate, it might not be a great feeling but it’s still a grand word.

Wordy Wednesday

~ my word (s) ~ 2 Comments

Having previously shared some words from the 16th and 18th century, today I bring a much more modern word. It is a blend of two words and became popular from around 2019.

Have you ever found yourself accidentally eating more snacks than you intended? Maybe you were anxious or simply distracted, only to find you’d eaten a large bag of crisps, or rather more biscuits than you meant to. If you have, then you’ve had a snaccident. What a brilliant word.

Look out for my next word on Wordy Wednesday and please do send me any of your favourite or discovered words.

Oops, another snaccident