Wonderful words

[Bunnylump]

From time to time I come across a new word, which I think needs to be celebrated. Anyone got any they particularly like?

Today I found
onomatomania irresistible desire to repeat certain words

Onomatomania.

Onomatomania.

Seriously though, anyone got any good ones they'd like to share?

One of my favourites is PEELIE-WALLIE which means pale, off- colour.

...and finally GROWLERY - A retreat for times of ill humour.
I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!!

[LAT]

...and finally GROWLERY - A retreat for times of ill humour.
I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!!

I think that is where I am right now!

[Bunnylump]

I personally think that every house should come with its own growlery. So much more useful than, say, an ensuite bathroom or a coalshed...

[giraffe]

The ensuite bathroom could double as a growlery!

[Laura]

I love peelie-wallie!!! We used to have a Scottish Brownie leader, who used that phrase, as in 'you're looking a bit...'. It's sort of stuck and if one of the Brownies is being miserable we say 'are you feeling a bit peelie-wallie?'. It usually confuses them for long enough to snap them out of it!!!

She also used to shout at them when we went away, and once got really cross with one girl who'd made a huge mess by being silly and told her to 'fetch a pail!'. The poor little thing didn't have a clue what she was on about, but didn't dare ask, and the yelling at was somewhat spoilt by the other leaders having to translate!

[Biscuit]

When on a skiing holiday the hotel put a copy of the weather forecast out each morning - they put a special english translated one for us.

It was a particularly cold snap and they described the weather as "rattly clinky coldy" - whenever it gets cold here we still use their words.

[tricia]

How about another Scottish one

-a pokie hat which is an ice cream cone - my English gran used to wonder what I was asking for when I asked for a pokie hat

Or going for messages - going shopping

or coming in soaking wet and getting told you're drooket

Tricia

[Bunnylump]

My husband uses drookit. I like that one too!

How about
cachinnate to laugh loudly and inappropriately

I do that all the time. The word sounds to me rather like an involuntary utterance, like a sneeze:-"CACHinate!" , making it seem marvellously appropriate.

[gill216]

In our house we have sea hairs. That comes from a wonderful greek mispronunciation. Can anyone guess what it should be. The clue is we asked where the bus stop was and were told it was by the sea hairs.

[Bunnylump]

Now I so ALMOST showed my complete ignorance by suggesting Caesar's. But then I remembered he's ROMAN.

We always have "horse's doofers" to start a meal...

...oh, and (this is quite random) but if you say the word DOILY to my daughter, you are guaranteed to set her off in a heap of giggles. It stems from the day when she remarked what an odd word it was. I looked up its origin (like you do when you're a saddo like me) and discovered they were named after none other than a MR DOILY. Which for some reason made her (and me) cry with laughter.

[giraffe]

When you visit someone do you stay the night or stop the night? Being a Brummie I stop the night, which makes no sense if you bother to think about it.

[Laura]

I'd stay over, actually.

[MBH]

If someone comes to visit you and doesn't move on then they're stopping with you Wonderful language English

It's from the same family of casual speach that marked a young coloured lad as being 'localized' when he said he'd "got wrong" at school

There are a whole selection of words I class as "Radio 4" words. Often ones I know a large portion of the population would have trouble with, and a smaller selection that are new to me and I think "I must look that up....." but never do What annoys me about these people being interviewed is their deliberate obfuscation

[[[that is NOT an example of a 'Wonderful Word', unless we're dedicating it to our favourite magazine ]]]

My problem is memory.... I hear things but never remember to follow them up

[Bunnylump]

Do you LAY the table or SET the table? That's a source of contention in our house!! And coming to that, do you LAY the bed or MAKE the bed?

[gill216]

Set the table and make the bed.

We also say e.g the vacuuming needs done, not doing or to be done.

[giraffe]

I set and lay tables interchangably, and make the bed with bed linen, which according to the children isn't called bed linen any more The vaccuuming needs to be done! (as usual )

[Bunnylump]

See, I LAY the table and MAKE the bed. D says things like the vacuuming needs done too. But he never actually DOES it...

I get told off for using words like "frock" and "computer". Apparently it should be "dress" and "PC". NOBODY in the whole world uses those words any more, according to my son...(I'm such an embarrassment!!!)



I quite like the derogatory term TEUCHTER. It sort of means yokel / idiot and is typified (in my OH's world) by someone who has really rosy cheeks!!

[giraffe]

The only person I ever heard say frock was my grandfather, and he'd be 110 if he was still around!

[Bunnylump]

Well, I am REALLY old... Mind you, my husband has been known to refer to fleeces as "jerkins". It's a bit like Darby and Joan round here...

[giraffe]

Isn't a Jerkin a sleeveless one, like a Gilet?