SmithWriting Blog

Onomatopoeia. Such a fun word to say! And its usage is just as enjoyable as its pronunciation.

Onomatopoeia is the formation of a word by imitating the natural sound associated with the object or action involved.

We’re all very familiar with onomatopoeia in everyday language. Young children can easily tell us what a duck says (“quack, quack”), and most all comic book readers know the sound of Spider-Man’s web shooter (“thwip!”).

Here are some additional examples:

• animal noises: hiss, moo, oink, woof
• beep
• click
• drip
• hiccup
• kerplunk
• pop
• pow
• sizzle
• slurp
• splat
• swish
• whoosh
• vroom

This is just a small sample. Feel free to share your own!

Filed by rebecca at 10:12 am under For the love of words
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Like many word lovers, I’m a big fan of neologisms—new words or new meanings for established words.

Although some of you may already be familiar with these, I think they’re worth repeating (because they’re just so good!):

Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.

Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

And a few of my own:

Blockhead (n.), in football, an illegal defensive move.

Ex-terminator (n.), Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Superficial (adj.), containing a large volume of coldblooded vertibrates.

Syllogize (v.), to tell foolish stories about the deceased.

What neologisms do you have to offer?

Filed by rebecca at 5:06 pm under For the love of words
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Recently, my father—a self-proclaimed “old dog”—brought to my attention something that was troubling him in the world of words.

An avid learner and Internet surfer, Dad is a big fan of Wikipedia for its simple, direct explanations, definitions, and pronunciations. Well, you can imagine his surprise—and frustration—when he first encountered the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) on Wikipedia.

Anything but simple and direct, the IPA is a series of signs and letters for the representation of human speech sounds. Sponsored by the International Phonetic Association, it provides a “uniform and universally understood system for transcribing the speech sounds of all languages.” The problem is it looks like Greek. That’s because a lot of it IS Greek. Or Latin. Or some crazy combination of the two.

Dad wants to know what’s wrong with the phonetic symbols we learned in elementary school. These figures, used by most American dictionaries, are relatively intuitive and familiar, whereas the IPA symbols—like ð and θ—are anything but.

Here’s an example:

 

versus

in-tər-nash-nəl  [Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary]

Which pronunciation of the word “international” do you understand better?

Proponents of the IPA would say that in today’s global world, interpretation should not depend on the reader’s dialect, and there should be an international phonetic standard in place.

An “old dog” like my dad says that he just wants to know how to pronounce a word in English without having to learn any new tricks—or Greek.

What do you say?

Filed by rebecca at 4:55 pm under For the love of words
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For all you pickthanks, thatch-gallows, and slug-a-beds out there, have I got a book for you: the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue: A Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence (Digest Books, Inc.).

Originally compiled by Captain Frances Grose in 1785, this lexicon captures the bawdy side of late 18th- and early 19th-century England. Just a quick skim gives you a feel for the thievery, cheating, and debauchery that was prevalent in that society.

Here are some of my favorite entries:

Angling for farthings: Begging out of a prison window with a cap, or box, let down at the end of a long string.

Bufe nabber: A dog stealer.

Cod’s head: A stupid fellow.

Cropsick: Sickness in the stomach, arising from drunkenness.

Dub the jigger: Open the door.

Figging law: The art of picking pockets.

Jolly nob: The head.

To milk the pigeon: To endeavour at impossibilities.

Pickthank: A tale-bearer or mischief maker.

Puff guts: A fat man.

Slug-a-bed: A drone, one that cannot rise in the morning.

Soul case: The body.

Thatch-gallows: A rogue, or man of bad character.

Woolley crown: A soft-headed fellow.

Filed by rebecca at 4:37 pm under For the love of words
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Last week, my sister’s boyfriend sent me an article from the New York Times Magazine about the capitalization of the word “I” in English.

Being the grammar goddess (geek?) that I am, I really enjoyed the article and ultimately found myself asking, why DO we capitalize “I”?

Who’s the first person who said, “I find myself so important that I’ve decided to capitalize every single written reference to myself. God does it, why can’t I?”?

According to AP style (which, of course, the Times follows): “In general, avoid unnecessary capitals.”

Hmm … is capitalizing the word “I” really necessary? Would people be totally baffled by a lowercase “i”? Would the word lose its meaning? This writer says no.

Apparently, a small company called Apple agrees with me. They market devices known as the iPod and iPhone. Perhaps you’ve heard of them? Well, from what I understand, Apple has sold a few of these gadgets—despite the fact that their names begin with a lowercase “i”. I guess some people don’t think that capitalizing the word “I” is necessary after all.

note: When I tried to lowercase the word “I” for effect in this post, Microsoft Word automatically capitalized it (and the program did not recognize either “iPod” or “iPhone”). Quite a clear distinction between Mr. Jobs and Mr. Gates on the “I” issue, don’t you think?

Filed by rebecca at 9:05 am under For the love of words
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Last week, I blogged about the new words that will appear in the next edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. I thought that one of them, “mondegreen,” deserved some more attention.

A mondegreen is defined as “a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung.” The term was coined by writer Sylvia Wright in 1954, who confessed to having misheard a line from an old Scottish ballad. The actual line is, “They had slain the Earl of Moray and laid him on the green,” but Wright heard, “They had slain the Earl of Moray and Lady Mondegreen.” Funny, right?

Well, this got me thinking about my own experience with mondegreens. Here are some of my favorites:

For years, I was convinced that the line in the Christmas carol “Winter Wonderland” that goes, “Later on, we’ll conspire as we dream by the fire,” went like this: “Later on, we’ll PERSPIRE as we dream by the fire.” Hey, it makes sense—people sweat when they lie by a fire, don’t they?

There’s a great episode of “The Simpsons” where the band R.E.M. performs in Homer’s garage bar. Homer mishears the lyrics to “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine),” and sings this mondegreen: “Leonid what-his-name, Herman Munster motorcade, birthday party, Cheetos, pogo sticks and lemonade, you idiotic stupid jerk, that’s right Flanders, I am talking about you!” (As if R.E.M. would be singing about Homer’s neighbor.)
The real line goes like this: “Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs, birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom! You symbiotic, patriotic, slam, but neck, right? Right.”

My friends and I listened to the Counting Crows constantly in college. One guy we hung out with comically misheard the lyrics to the song “Omaha,” and instead of singing, “I think you better turn your ticket in and get your money back at the door,” he sang, “I think you better turn your CHICKEN in and get your money back at the door.” I’ve never sang it without the word “chicken” since.

So, what are your favorite mondegreens?

Filed by rebecca at 11:21 am under For the love of words
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This week, Merriam-Webster released its list of more than 100 new words that will appear in its new edition of the Collegiate Dictionary.

Here are some of my favorites:

air quotes

def: gesture made by raising and flexing the index and middle fingers of both hands, used to call attention to a spoken word or expression.
(Do you remember that “Friends” episode when Joey kept using them incorrectly? Hilarious.)

edamame

def: immature green soybeans, usually in the pod.
(Gotta give props to my dad on this one; he’s been serving us these yummy legumes for years.)

fanboy

def: boy who is an enthusiastic devotee, such as of comics or movies.

mental health day

def: day that an employee takes off from work to relieve stress or renew vitality.

mondegreen

def: word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung. From the mishearing in a Scottish ballad of “laid him on the green” as “Lady Mondegreen.”

wing nut

def: Slang: one who advocates extreme measures or changes; radical.

For more information:

• The Wall Street Journal Buzzwatch
• Merriam-Webster Online

Filed by rebecca at 6:07 pm under For the love of words
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As we approach the great American festival that is the Fourth of July, let’s take a minute to review some really great copy from the preamble to the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Talk about a powerful phrase. That Jefferson sure could write.

Although the editor in me wants to add a colon and a semicolon or two, I think I’d leave the capitalization as is. I find Jefferson’s use of capital letters deeply meaningful when it comes to the words “Life,” “Liberty,” and “Happiness.”

Yes, the Fourth of July is about fireworks, barbecues, and baseball. It’s about spending time with family and friends and enjoying a long summer weekend. But it’s also about Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. These lofty ideals deserve our commemoration on Independence Day.

So, while you’re eating at a picnic or lounging on a beach, take a moment and reflect upon the Liberty we have to pursue whatever it is that brings Happiness to our Lives. Let’s make Jefferson proud.

Filed by rebecca at 10:16 am under For the love of words
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Do you suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia? If so, then today is not your day.

For those of you unfamiliar with this 11-syllable word that sounds like some intestinal disease you’d get from drinking bad water, paraskavedekatriaphobia is fear of Friday the 13th—not to be confused with triskaidekaphobia, which is simply fear of the number 13.

That’s my vocabulary lesson for the day.

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone. Watch out for black cats.

Filed by rebecca at 7:56 am under For the love of words
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The talented (and hilarious) Deep Friar wrote a post a few weeks ago that included the word “kerfuffle.” We all got a big kick out of his word choice, and it got me thinking about other old timey words that have fallen out of use in today’s lexicon.

Here’s a list of outmoded words and phrases that I think we should bring back:

• Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
• ragamuffin
• nincompoop
• Heavens to Murgatroyd!
• dunderpate (a favorite of C. Montgomery Burns)
• mosey along
• bumfuzzled
• kerfuffle
• the bees knees
• diddley-squat
• rapscallion
• ruckus
• If I had my druthers …

Please share your favorite old-fashioned words and phrases as a comment. I have a hankerin’ to read what you have to write!

Filed by rebecca at 11:53 am under For the love of words
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