Word Du Jour » S http://www.readright.be/WDJ Words - spiffing and copacetic Tue, 25 May 2010 13:46:53 +0000 en hourly 1 Strine http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2008/03/strine/ http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2008/03/strine/#comments Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:16:31 +0000 Tom Joad http://www.readright.be/WDJ/http:/www.readright.be/WDJ/strine A kindly English teacher gave me a copy of “Strine” when I was young – presumably to get me to sit down and/or shut up, as many of my teachers found it pleasing to do. I had completely forgotten about it, until the other day, when it just popped back into my head. In the [...]]]> http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2008/03/strine/feed/ 6 She was only… http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2008/01/she-was-only/ http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2008/01/she-was-only/#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:10:38 +0000 Tom Joad http://www.readright.be/WDJ/?p=97 Ah, the irresistible urge of a cheap sexual innuendo! My somewhat lax attempts at researching the origins of this particular form drew a big fat zero. My guess would be the music hall, vaudeville and burlesque shows of England and the US (back in the time when we shared a similar sense of humour). The [...]]]> http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2008/01/she-was-only/feed/ 5 Shibboleth http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/11/shibboleth/ http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/11/shibboleth/#comments Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:49:18 +0000 Tom Joad http://www.readright.be/WDJ/?p=84 A shorter description today but I think an interesting one. The word shibboleth is of Hebrew origin and means “stream” or (more usually) “a plant containing grain”, such as corn or wheat. The word was originally very powerful, as it was used – according to a biblical story – by one Jephthah (catchy name) who [...]]]> http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/11/shibboleth/feed/ 3 Subbuteo http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/10/subbuteo/ http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/10/subbuteo/#comments Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:36:06 +0000 Tom Joad http://www.readright.be/WDJ/?p=70

Apologies to Stephen Fry, but I saw this on an episode of the BBC television series QI and wanted to share it as I found it, well, Quite Interesting.

For [...]]]> http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/10/subbuteo/feed/ 6 Scoville http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/10/scoville/ http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/10/scoville/#comments Thu, 04 Oct 2007 12:55:22 +0000 Tom Joad http://www.readright.be/WDJ/?p=65

Now we’re talking. I love to grow and eat chilli peppers. I’m born British, hence the spelling – if I were born elsewhere, I’d call them chile (US), chili (various [...]]]> http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/10/scoville/feed/ 1 Sybarite http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/10/sybarite/ http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/10/sybarite/#comments Tue, 02 Oct 2007 12:10:48 +0000 Tom Joad http://www.readright.be/WDJ/?p=63

A sybarite was originally a person who inhabited Sybaris – a Greek city in the south of Italy, situated on the Gulf of Tarentum, and part of a group of [...]]]> http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/10/sybarite/feed/ 0 Solecism http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/09/solecism/ http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/09/solecism/#comments Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:34:22 +0000 Tom Joad http://www.readright.be/WDJ/?p=60

I may soon have to rename this blog Greek Word du Jour. I’m frankly surprised they managed to create one of the most sophisticated and influential cultures of the modern [...]]]> http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/09/solecism/feed/ 5 Scrump http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/09/scrump/ http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/09/scrump/#comments Mon, 17 Sep 2007 08:36:41 +0000 Tom Joad http://www.readright.be/WDJ/?p=49

I have returned from my weeks’ hiatus. Gladly not fried to a crisp, but at least a little less pale than once I was. Today I give you what for [...]]]> http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/09/scrump/feed/ 9 Syzygy http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/08/syzygy/ http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/08/syzygy/#comments Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:02:33 +0000 Tom Joad http://www.readright.be/WDJ/?p=42

What a superb word! The second longest word in the English language to contain no vowels. Yes, before you write to point out that ‘y’ can be substituted for [...]]]> http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/08/syzygy/feed/ 6 Shag http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/08/shag/ http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/08/shag/#comments Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:59:50 +0000 Tom Joad http://www.readright.be/WDJ/?p=40

Oh boy! Did you ever realise just how many uses this word has? And how many pages of dubious photography I had to look at to get the [...]]]> http://www.readright.be/WDJ/2007/08/shag/feed/ 9