27
Jun
by maryann
Happy Birthday to the youngest son!
Last week’s WOW (Word of the Week) was anastrophe. We had a couple of guesses for this one. Merriam-Webster Online says that anastrophe means: inversion of the usual syntactical order of words for rhetorical effect. The daughter hit this nail on the head, giving the example of Star Wars’ Yoda, who is rather fond of anastrophe. Wise, you are, Daughter! So wise that she even trumped her granddad’s guess (although he took a great stab at it).
This week’s WOW is Beltane and yes, it’s capitalized. Here are my definition guesses for Beltane:
Beltane (ˈbel-tān) 1. A big horse with high “octane” 2. the offspring of a Belgian and a Dane 3. arcane belts
What’s your guess for Beltane? Can you outdo the relatives? Give it a shot by posting a guess in the comments section below this post! Thanks!
Wednesday’s Post: The Log Blog continues!
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21
Jun
by maryann
Did you miss your WOW (Word of the Week) post yesterday? Yeah, me too. I’ll explain that later. But let’s get to why you’re reading this in the first place.
Last week’s WOW was ablution. Merriam-Webster Online says that ablution is the act of washing yourself. The father-in-law scores another WOW point (It’s starting to get pretty routine, isn’t it?!) because he defined it as washing away, usually ceremonial.
This week’s WOW is anastrophe. Here are my guesses for anastrophe:
anastrophe (ə-ˈnas-trə-fē) 1. an impolite apostrophe 2. Anastasia’s catastrophe 3. Anna’s trophy 4. You don’t want to know what else is running through my mind on this one.
Submit your guess in a comment below. I think the father-in-law needs some competition. 😉
Wednesday’s Post: Decked out…
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13
Jun
by maryann
Good morning, Word Nerds! Did you have a restful weekend? Good! That makes one of us. See my post this coming Wednesday for why.
Last week’s WOW (Word of the Week) was vox populi. Okay, so it’s two words. Merriam-Webster’s definition of vox populi is: popular sentiment. There was actually a little bit of debate about this within the family and I think the highly knowledgeable father-in-law won the debate! Hint, Hint: I’d love even more debate for WOW, so argue away, as far as I’m concerned!
This week’s WOW is ablution. This word sounds so familiar to me, but I sure am not coming up with the definition! Can I chalk this up to Pre-heimers??? Here are my guesses for ablution:
ablution: (ə-ˈblü-shən) 1. abdomen pollution 2. an absolute solution 3. able dilution
What’s your guess for ablution? Submit a guess below this post! And debate away, gang!
Wednesday’s Post: Pictures and Tales from the Log-Raising!
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06
Jun
by maryann
Good morning, Word Nerds! Last week’s WOW was pandiculation. The Merriam-Webster definition for pandiculation is: a stretching and stiffening especially of the trunk and extremities (as…after waking from sleep). This definition came from my bestest buddy:
“A panda verbalizing. Panda- from the Latin Pandus as in spreading round in a wide curved arch (I believe that Pandas were originally named this because of their wide, curved bottoms) iculation-from the Latin Locutiounis as in style of speaking. Thus the inferred meaning: Pandas have wide bottoms that make noise”
Now you know why she’s my bestest buddy. If you think this is amusing, go to a Star Wars movie with her. I’m amazed we didn’t get kicked out of theaters for antics during the fight scenes.
Today’s WOW (Word of the Week) is vox populi. Today I feel like giving you an extra definition. Here are my definition guesses for it:
vox populi (ˈväks-ˈpä-pyü-ˌlī) 1. many voices 2. verbosity 3. deafening sound 4. the chaos resulting from my household feeding an entire sports team Wednesday night dinner
30
May
by maryann
Good morning, Word Nerds! Last week’s Word of the Week (WOW) was solecism. The daughter says that studying for the GRE taught her the meaning of solecism. She thinks it means “a grammatical error.” Merriam-Webster Online: a mistake in speech or writing –OR–an impolite or improper way of behaving. So, the money spent on GRE study materials paid off!
Conclusion? I didn’t study enough for the GRE.
This week’s WOW is pandiculation. Here are my definition guesses for pandiculation:
pandiculation (pan-ˌdik-yə-ˈlā-shən) 1. speculation by Peter Pan 2. speech that tells the public there will be yet another remake about Peter Pan 3. a totally mind-blowing thought
What’s your guess for pandiculation? Tell me by posting a comment below! Good luck!
Wednesday’s Post: What does styrofoam have to do with building a log cabin?
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23
May
by maryann
Good morning, Word Nerds! Last week’s Word of the Week (WOW) was septentrional. Merriam-Webster Online says that septentrional means: northern. (And that’s probably why septentrional is the bottom 20% of words currently used by English-speakers!) It refers to the septentriones, which means the seven stars of Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) and the Ursa Minor (The Little Dipper). Since these constellations are normally in the northern sky, septentrional became known as northern or the north. That’s your astronomy lesson for today!
This week’s WOW is solecism. Here are my guesses for the definition of solecism:
solecism (ˈsä-lə-ˌsi-zəm) 1. the study of oneness 2. solemnity 3. examining the bottom of one’s shoes
What’s your guess for solecism? Post a comment below and let me know what you think!
Wednesday’s Post: Examining Examen…
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16
May
by maryann
Good morning, Word Nerds! How are you today?
Last week’s WOW (Word of the Week) was retronym. The definition of retronym, according to Merriam-Webster Online is as follows: a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun. For instance, a film camera is an example of a retronym and there are even web sites dedicated to retronyms. Who knew?!
Today’s WOW is septentrional. My French antennae are going off yet again because sept means seven in French. (In the original version of the Roman calendar, September was the 7th month of the year, not the 9th. Adding January and February to the calendar is why it’s now # 9! You’re welcome for giving you a little known fact that will never be useful Ever.)
septentrional (sep-ˈten-trē-ˌänəl) 1. purposely grouping things together in 7’s 2. relating to one week’s time 3. having to do with the septum
What’s your guess for septentrional? Submit a comment to this post to let me know!
Wednesday’s Post: Know Your Body…
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09
May
by maryann
Howdy, Word Lovers! Last week’s WOW (Word of the Week) was ne plus ultra. Merriam-Webster Online says that ne plus ultra means:
the highest point capable of being attained
the most profound degree of a quality or state
The daughter guessed ““No more than” or “the most of something.” She deduced that from co-founding the Latin Club in high school. Ummm…didn’t even know she did that. Was I asleep while she was in high school??? Anyway, she’s “two for two”! Let’s see if she can make it three for three this week. Here’s this week’s WOW and my guesses for it:
retronym (ˈre-trō-ˌnim) 1. a word that no longer is the meaning of another word 2. a return to the former meaning of a word 3. a synonym of an antonym of a homonym
What’s your guess for retronym? Submit a guess below this post!
Wednesday’s Post: Guided Meditation…
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02
May
by maryann
Good morning, Word Nerds! Last week’s WOW (Word of the Week) was: mellifluous. The daughter guessed that it was “sweet sounding, musical, etc. ????” Let’s see how close she got.
Merriam-Webster Online says that mellifluous means having a smooth, flowing sound. So, she’s pretty darn close! Glad to know all those music lessons paid off! 🙂
Today’s WOW is ne plus ultra. Again, my French “bells” are going off, so let’s see what I can conjure up as my definition guesses for it:
ne plus ultra (nā-ˌpləs-ˈəl-trə) 1. no longer special 2. not noteworthy or significant 3. subtraction
What are your guesses for ne plus ultra? Submit a comment to this post to let me know!
Wednesday’s Post: Put on your thinking caps…
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25
Apr
by maryann
Good morning, Friends! Last week’s WOW (Word of the Week) was longueur. This one stumped everybody, so here’s what Merriam-Webster Online had to say about it: a boring part of something (such as a book or play). Hmmm…could WOW be longueur??? I hope not!
Today’s WOW is mellifluous. I feel like I’ve heard this word before, but I can’t pull out the definition from my memory, so here are my guesses for it:
mellifluous (me-ˈli-flə-wəs) 1. full of Mello Yello 2. a melodic tune 3. infatuated with Mel Gibson
What’s your guess for mellifluous? Submit it in a comment here!
Wednesday’s Post: Sensate Prayer…
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