by Linda | Apr 30, 2017 | Authors
Because I was three days behind in the A-Z Blog Challenge, my wife suggested—just before I wrote X—that I cover three letters in one blog. “Do you think there’s a word that has X, Y, and Z in it?” she asked. “Sure,” I said, thinking...
by Linda | Apr 30, 2017 | Authors
Using this whimsical, multi-colored Y-alphabet letter encouraged me to find whimsical, multi-colored, or at least unusual words. How ’bout these from some of the sources I’ve used in the A-Z blog challenge? Yirn v. “To whine; to pout, or show...
by Linda | Apr 29, 2017 | Authors
According to the online Urban Dictionary, “X marks the spot” was a symbol pirates used to designate the location of treasure. Then the British Army appropriated the phrase and the X for executions. They marked a piece of paper with a black X and positioned...
by Linda | Apr 29, 2017 | Authors
Way back on April 5th, I talked about John Simpson’s The Word Detective, a memoir about Simpson’s time as an editor at the Oxford English Dictionary. Meanwhile, I found The Word Detective by Evan Morris, published in 2000 by Algonquin, a most charming book, right...
by Linda | Apr 27, 2017 | Authors
I never know where I’m going to find a compelling word, in this case, a V-word—in, say, the OED, from one of our 30+ word books, or in some random, unexpected place. Since I had a hangover bad mood, triggered by yesterday’s two-hour wait for a...