Tag Archive | vocabulary
1. It’s brass monkeys outside
Cute as they are, clams are not the most emotive creatures in the animal kingdom, so why do we say happy as a clam? Some have speculated it’s because a partially opened clam shell resembles a smile. But the expression is a shortening of the longer happy as a clam in mud at high tide or happy as a clam at high water, both of which were in usage by the mid-1800s and serve to mean “happy as a critter that’s safe from being dug up and eaten.” The longer expressions evoke a sense of relief more than the shorter happy as a clam, which is widely used to mean “extremely happy.”
People were using the word happy to mean “intoxicated” as early as the mid-1600s, alluding to the merrymaking effect of alcohol. But the phrase happy hour didn’t catch on until the early 1900s. This expression originally referred to a time on board a ship allotted for recreation and entertainment for a ship’s crew. Nowadays the expression refers to cocktail hour at a bar, when drinks are served at reduced prices. This definition caught on around the era depicted in the well-lubricated offices of TV’s Mad Men.
Around the time of World War II, the word happy began appearing in words to convey temporary overexcitement. Slaphappy is one of these constructions, suggesting a dazed or “happy” state from repeated blows or slaps, literal or figurative. Slaphappy can mean “severely befuddled” or “agreeably giddy or foolish” or “cheerfully irresponsible.”
Much like slaphappy, the happy in trigger-happy indicates a kind of temporary mental overstimulation. But in this construction, happy means “behaving in an irresponsible or obsessive manner.” The term trigger-happy entered English in the 1940s with the definition “ready to fire a gun at the least provocation.” Over time, it has taken on figurative senses including “eager to point out the mistakes or shortcomings of others” and “heedless and foolhardy in matters of great importance.”
The word happy comes from the Old Norse happ meaning “chance” or “luck.” The wildcard nature of chance is reflected in the wide range of words that share this root. While the adjective happy-go-lucky, meaning “trusting cheerfully to luck” or “happily unconcerned or worried,” is widely used in positive contexts, its etymological cousin haphazard, carries a more negative connotation. The expression happy-be-lucky entered English slightly earlier than happy-go-lucky, but fell out of use in the mid-1800s.
The phrase happy medium refers to a satisfactory compromise between two opposed things, or a course of action that is between two extremes. The notion of the happy medium is descended from an ancient mathematical concept called the golden section, or golden mean, in which the ratios of the different parts of a divided line are the same. This term dates from the 1600s, though is still widely used today.
A happy camper is a person who is cheerful and satisfied, although the expression is frequently used in negative constructions, as in “I’m not a happy camper.” The word camper was widely used to refer to a soldier or military man when it entered English in the 1600s. It took on a more generic sense of one who camps recreationally in the mid-1800s, paving the way for the expression happy camper to emerge in the 1930s. Interestingly, use of the phrase happy camper skyrocketed in the 1980s.
240 color names in English
From snow to jade, if you are struggling to describe a color or you just want to broaden your vocabulary.
(Although the blacks seem all the same to me.)
THE 10 MOST COLOURFUL ENGLISH PHRASES (GB)
1. It’s brass monkeys outside
Meaning: Freezing cold weather.
Origin: ‘Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey’. A ship’s cannon balls used to be stacked on a brass structure called a ‘monkey’ – the brass would contract in cold weather and the cannon balls would fall off.
35 Modern Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
The Oxford Dictionary Online is a warehouse of over 600,000 words. Despite this large arsenal, we continue to coin, clip, and blend new words into existence, and the Oxford folks pump some of these new words into their dictionaries. Here are some more recent additions with their official definitions.
1. Bling (n): Expensive, ostentatious clothing and jewelry.
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2. Bromance (n): A close but non-sexual relationship between two men.
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3. Chillax (v): Calm down and relax.
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The 100 Most Beautiful Words in English
| Ailurophile | A cat-lover. |
| Assemblage | A gathering. |
| Becoming | Attractive. |
| Beleaguer | To exhaust with attacks. |
| Brood | To think alone. |
| Bucolic | In a lovely rural setting. |
| Bungalow | A small, cozy cottage. |
| Chatoyant | Like a cat’s eye. |
| Comely | Attractive. |
| Conflate | To blend together. |
| Cynosure | A focal point of admiration. |
| Dalliance | A brief love affair. |
| Demesne | Dominion, territory. |
| Demure | Shy and reserved. |
| Denouement | The resolution of a mystery. |
| Desuetude | Disuse. |
| Desultory | Slow, sluggish. |
| Diaphanous | Filmy. |
| Dissemble | Deceive. |
| Dulcet | Sweet, sugary. |
| Ebullience | Bubbling enthusiasm. |
| Effervescent | Bubbly. |
| Efflorescence | Flowering, blooming. |
| Elision | Dropping a sound or syllable in a word. |
| Elixir | A good potion. |
| Eloquence | Beauty and persuasion in speech. |
| Embrocation | Rubbing on a lotion. |
| Emollient | A softener. |
| Ephemeral | Short-lived. |
| Epiphany | A sudden revelation. |
| Erstwhile | At one time, for a time. |
| Ethereal | Gaseous, invisible but detectable. |
| Evanescent | Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time. |
| Evocative | Suggestive. |
| Fetching | Pretty. |
| Felicity | Pleasantness. |
| Forbearance | Withholding response to provocation. |
| Fugacious | Fleeting. |
| Furtive | Shifty, sneaky. |
| Gambol | To skip or leap about joyfully. |
| Glamour | Beauty. |
| Gossamer | The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk |
| Halcyon | Happy, sunny, care-free. |
| Harbinger | Messenger with news of the future. |
| Imbrication | Overlapping and forming a regular pattern. |
| Imbroglio | An altercation or complicated situation. |
| Imbue | To infuse, instill. |
| Incipient | Beginning, in an early stage. |
| Ineffable | Unutterable, inexpressible. |
| Ingénue | A naïve young woman. |
| Inglenook | A cozy nook by the hearth. |
| Insouciance | Blithe nonchalance. |
| Inure | To become jaded. |
| Labyrinthine | Twisting and turning. |
| Lagniappe | A special kind of gift. |
| Lagoon | A small gulf or inlet. |
| Languor | Listlessness, inactivity. |
| Lassitude | Weariness, listlessness. |
| Leisure | Free time. |
| Lilt | To move musically or lively. |
| Lissome | Slender and graceful. |
| Lithe | Slender and flexible. |
| Love | Deep affection. |
| Mellifluous | Sweet sounding. |
| Moiety | One of two equal parts. |
| Mondegreen | A slip of the ear. |
| Murmurous | Murmuring. |
| Nemesis | An unconquerable archenemy. |
| Offing | The sea between the horizon and the offshore. |
| Onomatopoeia | A word that sounds like its meaning. |
| Opulent | Lush, luxuriant. |
| Palimpsest | A manuscript written over earlier ones. |
| Panacea | A solution for all problems |
| Panoply | A complete set. |
| Pastiche | An art work combining materials from various sources. |
| Penumbra | A half-shadow. |
| Petrichor | The smell of earth after rain. |
| Plethora | A large quantity. |
| Propinquity | An inclination. |
| Pyrrhic | Successful with heavy losses. |
| Quintessential | Most essential. |
| Ratatouille | A spicy French stew. |
| Ravel | To knit or unknit. |
| Redolent | Fragrant. |
| Riparian | By the bank of a stream. |
| Ripple | A very small wave. |
| Scintilla | A spark or very small thing. |
| Sempiternal | Eternal. |
| Seraglio | Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem. |
| Serendipity | Finding something nice while looking for something else. |
| Summery | Light, delicate or warm and sunny. |
| Sumptuous | Lush, luxurious. |
| Surreptitious | Secretive, sneaky. |
| Susquehanna | A river in Pennsylvania. |
| Susurrous | Whispering, hissing. |
| Talisman | A good luck charm. |
| Tintinnabulation | Tinkling. |
| Umbrella | Protection from sun or rain. |
| Untoward | Unseemly, inappropriate. |
| Vestigial | In trace amounts. |
| Wafture | Waving. |
| Wherewithal | The means. |
| Woebegone | Sorrowful, downcast. |
The 100 Funniest Words in English
| Abibliophobia | The fear of running out of reading material. |
| Absquatulate | To leave or abscond with something. |
| Allegator | Some who alleges. |
| Anencephalous | Lacking a brain. |
| Argle-bargle | A loud row or quarrel. |
| Batrachomyomachy | Making a mountain out of a molehill. |
| Billingsgate | Loud, raucous profanity. |
| Bloviate | To speak pompously or brag. |
| Blunderbuss | A gun with a flared muzzle or disorganized activity. |
| Borborygm | A rumbling of the stomach. |
| Boustrophedon | A back and forth pattern. |
| Bowyang | A strap that holds the pants legs in place. |
| Brouhaha | An uproar. |
| Bumbershoot | An umbrella. |
| Callipygian | Having an attractive rear end or nice buns. |
| Canoodle | To hug and kiss. |
| Cantankerous | Testy, grumpy. |
| Catercornered | Diagonal(ly). |
| Cockalorum | A small, haughty man. |
| Cockamamie | Absurd, outlandish. |
| Codswallop | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Collop | A slice of meat or fold of flab. |
| Collywobbles | Butterflies in the stomach. |
| Comeuppance | Just reward, just deserts. |
| Crapulence | Discomfort from eating or drinking too much. |
| Crudivore | An eater of raw food. |
| Discombobulate | To confuse. |
| Donnybrook | An melee, a riot. |
| Doozy | Something really great. |
| Dudgeon | A bad mood, a huff. |
| Ecdysiast | An exotic dancer, a stripper. |
| Eructation | A burp, belch. |
| Fard | Face-paint, makeup. |
| Fartlek | An athletic training regime. |
| Fatuous | Unconsciously foolish. |
| Filibuster | Refusal to give up the floor in a debate to prevent a vote. |
| Firkin | A quarter barrel or small cask. |
| Flibbertigibbet | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Flummox | To exasperate. |
| Folderol | Nonsense. |
| Formication | The sense of ants crawling on your skin. |
| Fuddy-duddy | An old-fashioned, mild-mannered person. |
| Furbelow | A fringe or ruffle. |
| Furphy | A portable water-container. |
| Gaberlunzie | A wandering beggar. |
| Gardyloo! | A warning shouted before throwing water from above. |
| Gastromancy | Telling fortune from the rumblings of the stomach. |
| Gazump | To buy something already promised to someone else. |
| Gobbledygook | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Gobemouche | A highly gullible person. |
| Godwottery | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Gongoozle | To stare at, kibitz. |
| Gonzo | Far-out journalism. |
| Goombah | An older friend who protects you. |
| Hemidemisemiquaver | A musical timing of 1/64. |
| Hobbledehoy | An awkward or ill-mannered young boy. |
| Hocus-pocus | Deceitful sleight of hand. |
| Hoosegow | A jail or prison. |
| Hootenanny | A country or folk music get-together. |
| Jackanapes | A rapscallion, hooligan. |
| Kerfuffle | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Klutz | An awkward, stupid person. |
| La-di-da | An interjection indicating that something is pretentious. |
| Lagopodous | Like a rabbit’s foot. |
| Lickety-split | As fast as possible. |
| Lickspittle | A servile person, a toady. |
| Logorrhea | Loquaciousness, talkativeness. |
| Lollygag | To move slowly, fall behind. |
| Malarkey | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Maverick | A loner, someone outside the box. |
| Mollycoddle | To treat too leniently. |
| Mugwump | An independent politician who does not follow any party. |
| Mumpsimus | An outdated and unreasonable position on an issue. |
| Namby-pamby | Weak, with no backbone. |
| Nincompoop | A foolish person. |
| Oocephalus | An egghead. |
| Ornery | Mean, nasty, grumpy. |
| Pandiculation | A full body stretch. |
| Panjandrum | Someone who thinks himself high and mighty. |
| Pettifogger | A person who tries to befuddle others with his speech. |
| Pratfall | A fall on one’s rear. |
| Quean | A disreputable woman. |
| Rambunctious | Aggressive, hard to control. |
| Ranivorous | Frog-eating |
| Rigmarole | Nonsense, unnecessary complexity. |
| Shenanigan | A prank, mischief. |
| Sialoquent | Spitting while speaking. |
| Skedaddle | To hurry somewhere. |
| Skullduggery | No good, underhanded dealing. |
| Slangwhanger | A loud abusive speaker or obnoxious writer. |
| Smellfungus | A perpetual pessimist. |
| Snickersnee | A long knife. |
| Snollygoster | A person who can’t be trusted. |
| Snool | A servile person. |
| Tatterdemalion | A child in rags. |
| Troglodyte | Someone or something that lives in a cave. |
| Turdiform | Having the form of a lark. |
| Unremacadamized | Having not been repaved with macadam. |
| Vomitory | An exit or outlet. |
| Wabbit | Exhausted, tired, worn out. |
| Widdershins | In a contrary or counterclockwise direction. |
| Yahoo | A rube, a country bumpkin. |
| @ | The “at” sign. |
C’mon, Get Happy: 7 Happy Expressions Defined
Happy as a clam
Cute as they are, clams are not the most emotive creatures in the animal kingdom, so why do we say happy as a clam? Some have speculated it’s because a partially opened clam shell resembles a smile. But the expression is a shortening of the longer happy as a clam in mud at high tide or happy as a clam at high water, both of which were in usage by the mid-1800s and serve to mean “happy as a critter that’s safe from being dug up and eaten.” The longer expressions evoke a sense of relief more than the shorter happy as a clam, which is widely used to mean “extremely happy.”Happy hour
People were using the word happy to mean “intoxicated” as early as the mid-1600s, alluding to the merrymaking effect of alcohol. But the phrase happy hour didn’t catch on until the early 1900s. This expression originally referred to a time on board a ship allotted for recreation and entertainment for a ship’s crew. Nowadays the expression refers to cocktail hour at a bar, when drinks are served at reduced prices. This definition caught on around the era depicted in the well-lubricated offices of TV’s Mad Men.Slaphappy
Around the time of World War II, the word happy began appearing in words to convey temporary overexcitement. Slaphappy is one of these constructions, suggesting a dazed or “happy” state from repeated blows or slaps, literal or figurative. Slaphappy can mean “severely befuddled” or “agreeably giddy or foolish” or “cheerfully irresponsible.”Trigger-happy
Much like slaphappy, the happy in trigger-happy indicates a kind of temporary mental overstimulation. But in this construction, happy means “behaving in an irresponsible or obsessive manner.” The term trigger-happy entered English in the 1940s with the definition “ready to fire a gun at the least provocation.” Over time, it has taken on figurative senses including “eager to point out the mistakes or shortcomings of others” and “heedless and foolhardy in matters of great importance.”Happy-go-lucky
The word happy comes from the Old Norse happ meaning “chance” or “luck.” The wildcard nature of chance is reflected in the wide range of words that share this root. While the adjective happy-go-lucky, meaning “trusting cheerfully to luck” or “happily unconcerned or worried,” is widely used in positive contexts, its etymological cousin haphazard, carries a more negative connotation. The expression happy-be-lucky entered English slightly earlier than happy-go-lucky, but fell out of use in the mid-1800s.Happy medium
The phrase happy medium refers to a satisfactory compromise between two opposed things, or a course of action that is between two extremes. The notion of the happy medium is descended from an ancient mathematical concept called the golden section, or golden mean, in which the ratios of the different parts of a divided line are the same. This term dates from the 1600s, though is still widely used today.Happy camper
A happy camper is a person who is cheerful and satisfied, although the expression is frequently used in negative constructions, as in “I’m not a happy camper.” The word camper was widely used to refer to a soldier or military man when it entered English in the 1600s. It took on a more generic sense of one who camps recreationally in the mid-1800s, paving the way for the expression happy camper to emerge in the 1930s. Interestingly, use of the phrase happy camper skyrocketed in the 1980s.Source and images
AWARDS
Just English 