Wacky Words Unveiled!

Happy Saturday! Sheesh! The kids are having a four-day weekend. Yesterday
was unplanned, as Mother Nature treated us with a wee but of freezing rain.
Monday is Family Day, here in Ontario, and several other Canadian provinces.

My oldest daughter, Amanda, turns 16 on February 22. Wait? What happened to
that toddler who used to waddle around like a starfish in her snowsuit, and
LOVED, Dora The Explorer?

But like time, I must press on, because yours is valuable and I just know
you’re dying to know the answers to these crazy words. It’s not all fun and
games on this blog; you are about to learn some highly transferable
wordsmithing here. Pshaw! No . . . it’s fun and games.

If you haven’t had a chance to do the quiz, you can either scroll down to
the last post, or click on this link.  Wacky Word Quiz   

First up, we have the one that would get the best reaction should you ever decide to call someone it. Have your cell phone camera ready, because the face may look something like this: 

FARTLEK: A: an activity runners do when they switch between sprinting and jogging

Did you get that one? I mean; how did they come up with that? Maybe the certain displacement of gases produced by the runner’s efforts? 🙂

Next up, we have Bumber Shoot: C: umbrella

What a downer, unless it’s raining. I was expecting some voracious carnivore of a weed, launching up from a jungle floor to snatch unsuspecting prey.

Ummm . . . moving on. Do you think the woman in the photo below just might be an

Abecedarian?

NOPE! Unless she’s a C:  anyone currently learning the alphabet

“Hey! Are you calling me a skirl?”

“We’d never dream of it, Betty, um, I mean, Sparkle Twirl.” (Ya, I don’t get the nickname, either, I think she gave it to herself.)

SKIRL = A: the loud wailing sound produced by bagpipes

So there you have it! Go forth and use these words liberally, in whatever context you’d like, for not many will know what the heck you’re talking about!

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Wacky Word Quiz

Well, the earth’s rotated many times since I’ve last posted one of these. I thought it might be time to open that bulging door under constant strain against the clutter. It guards the tomb of antiquities, commonly known as the storage closet.  

Here goes. Ouch! Mind the bowling ball . . . cue the slapstick canned laughter. Now where is it? Oh, yes, there it is! I see the yellowed and curled corner of the pages belonging to the, ‘Dictionary of Oddity’s.’ It’s lying just beneath my sister’s possessed Teddy Ruxpin (batteries not needed) . . . “Your kids will love it! Pleeeeease, just take it!”

An ‘80’s lawn dart has staked it’s one pound metal spike through the bruin’s heart, but good old Teddy bears it with a grin. With trembling hands, I yank out the dart and cast the slow cackling beast and spear into the garage, where lawnmowers go to die.

The dart has punched a hole right through a warning label at the page’s header. ‘Do—- use these words in real life.’ I know it’s missing a word and some letters, but the dart has spoken.

Just a few things to refresh some memories or if you’ve never played: please try to avoid looking up the words/ enter the letter of your guesses in the comments/ I will be back in a day or so with the answers/ have fun!

On your mark, get set . . . bang! Now read and type, really fast!

Fartlek

A: an activity runners do when they switch between sprinting and jogging

B: to renege on a deal after secretly negotiating another offer from a different party

C: an obsolete measurement used in England to determine the distance between dales

D: eighteenth century slang term for a pickpocket

Bumber Shoot

A: another term for the water shoots on a Banyan Tree

B: nineteenth century expression for an incompetent person

C: umbrella

D: the game of dice from which Yahtzee was derived

Abecedarian

A: someone who is of the belief that portholes to other earthly realms exist

B: an uncommon term from the middle-ages used to describe an aristocrat who turns his/her back on their birthright in exchange for the life of a commoner

C: an obscure religious sect that archeologists believe may have lived and worshipped in the Tibetan Mountains

D: anyone currently learning the alphabet

Skirl

A: the loud wailing sound produced by bagpipes

B: the behind-the-heel toe tap dance move performed in Hasapiko Dancing

C: the stitching used to secure the lace to a 1920′ era Flapper Cloche Hat

D: to curtsy in a clumsy manner

Wacky Words Revealed!

Waaayy back on Saturday, I ran a fun and short quiz on a few of the most obscure words in English. I thank and appreciate everyone who took the time to play, or stop by to comment! If you haven’t seen this post and you want to play, don’t look down! Just click on this link first: Wacky Word Quiz

Now you can relax your twitchy fingers, as they’ve no doubt been poised over your keyboard, ready to peck out the words and Google them. 🙂

Now, leave the dishes and let the dog chew on the couch leg for just few moments longer, as you prepare to fill your minds . . . with useless trivia.

Gubbins:

A: odds and ends

Argle-bargle:

C: too much pointless talking or writing

Erf:

B: parcel of land

Cacodemonomania:

C: The belief and fear that one is possessed by an evil spirit.

Answers to the Wacky Word Quiz

Originally I’d planned on running this post yesterday, but things got a little busy and time slipped through my fingers. I apologize for any sleepless nights, or index finger twitches, that were caused by hovering over ‘Search’ buttons. 🙂

Relief has come, the veil of mystique has been pulled away.

Everyone, take a deep breathe and prepare yourselves to be dazzled!

Are you dazzled, yet?

Oh, alright, here’s the answers . . . I know you’ve got things to do.

Bumfuzzle:

A: to be confused

Tarradiddle

C: a lie

Sialoquent

B: tendency to spray saliva when speaking

Ratoon

C: small shoots that come from the roots of a plant

There, now you have received a gift, knowledge. I suggest you use this newfound power liberally, whereever you can, or just ransomly insert them into a conversation. Please have your camera ready, for you shall be rewarded with expressions like the one below.

Wacky Word Quiz

Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost upon us, so, yay! Today, I’ve brought back the word quiz.

Those who’ve been following my blog for awhile, you know what to do. Well, not that it’s overly complicated. Quite simple really.

Each word will have four possible definitions, of course, only one will be right. You can put your guesses in the ‘Comments’ section, or not, and I’ll be back to reveal (Ta-da!) the correct one.

As before, I’ll ask each of you to practice ‘Googlestraint” (made that one up myself, my Mom is so proud . . . um, I think.) In plain English, please do not ask Google or any other ‘know-it-all’ virtual entity.

Here we go!

Bumfuzzle:

A: to be confused

B: to have social anxiety causing flatulence

C: (19^th century slang) to make a huge mistake that cannot be fixed easily

D: the tuft of hair on top of a male baboon’s head

Tarradiddle

A: taking one’s sweet time at a project/activity

B:  the large wheel on a cotton ginny machine

C: a lie

D: navel lint

Sialoquent

A: to speak eloquently

B: tendency to spray saliva when speaking

C: an unruly nose hair that causes irritation and embarrassment

D: to walk gracefully

Ratoon

A: (19^th century slang) a derogatory term for a chewing tobacco spittoon and those who use them

B: the massive pin that connects the boon to the bucket on a tractor

C: small shoots that come from the roots of a plant

D: the crease near the thigh, on a leopard frog