Wordaholics Anonymous

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Say WHAT?

So, you can't stay away from the those ads on the grocery store bulletin board, hmmm? Can't fight the urge to read every disclaimer on product packaging?

If you spot an interesting hand-scribbled scrap blowing across the parking lot, admit it...you can't rest until you've chased it down and read it. You know who you are, and I've got your number.

I know, I know. Here...have a seat. Relax; you're among friends. All of us who have planted our seats in these seats (yes, you heard it right) share an affection for the written word. We crave word origins and wordplay like normal people crave chocolate. We're curious when a new dictionary is published. Will our favorite newly coined political phrase be included? We even like the way those new pages smell. Ahhhhh.

Settle in. You're in safe company here.

Welcome to the first meeting of the Squidoo Chapter of Wordaholics Anonymous.



New to Squidoo? Make your own lens today!

Rev Your Brain

According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, crossword a day keeps dementia away.

Then and now... 

Many of the words we commonly use today had a slightly different meaning in ancient times.
  • If your hands are cold and clammy, they're "sticky as if smeared with clay."
  • Dainty originated from the same word as dignity.
  • Hippopotamus in its original Latin-to-Greek translation, meant "river horse".
  • A street was a "road that has been spread with paving stones".
  • Tulip and turban came from the Persian word, dulband. Apparently they thought a tulip resembled the tucks in a turban.

Shake Your Brain 

An Idiom in Any Language... 

...may not make sense!

So, you want to make small talk at the train station. "It's raining cats and dogs!" you say, holding out your hand for emphasis.

Blank stare.
Whispers behind hands.

Residents of foreign countries can't appreciate the idiom, especially if they don't see felines and canines flying past their umbrellas. But, if you were in Arabia, you could say, "Kab Min 'Ind el Rab" and they would readily understand. It's their idiom for, "It's pouring from heaven."

Idioms are specific to each country. Here are a few additional translations of the cat-and-dog expression:

Croatia: "Lije k'o iz kabla." (It's raining like from a bucket.)

Holland: "Det regner skomagerdrenge." (It's raining shoemakers' apprentices.)

Finland: "Sataa kuin saavista kaataen." (It's pouring like from a big bucket.)

Read how the rest of the world would translate this our cats-and-dogs idiom.

It's a good reminder of what your parents used to tell you: Think before you speak!

Words That Make Me Go HMMM-MM. 

What do they mean? That's for YOU to find out.

Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say 

Communicating effectively wherever you roam...

Whether you're traveling overseas or getting to know a foreign exchange student right there in your own living room, there's much to learn about our language and cultural differences.

Here's a list of lenses and websites that emphasize the fun of exploring various cultures.
Bringing the World to Your Living Room
An excellent geography study for children and/or families to explore together.
Japanese Art of Bento - Lunch in a Box? Or Art?
Bento is an art form for packing lunches in the Japanese culture. When you think of lunchboxes, you're probably thinking of the old brown paper bag or the cute cartoon character metal or plastic lunchboxes children take to school with them. The Japanese have taken the act of packing a lunc
Mama Lisa's World: Children's Songs and Nursery Rhymes from Around the World
Children's songs and nursery rhymes from all over the globe presented both in English and their native languages. Many include MP3, realaudio or midi sound clips and sheet music.
Birthday Traditions Around The World
To us birthdays mean cake, balloons, parties, candles, cards, and presents! Cultures around the world observe birthdays in many ways, some just like us, and some very differently.

Festive Words Around the World 

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Albanian:Gezur Krislinjden
Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce
Croatian: Sretan Bozic
Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast
Ethiopian: (Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal
Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
German: Froehliche Weihnachten
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
Maori: Meri Kirihimete
Norwegian: God Jul
Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado
Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Romanian: Craciun Fericit
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Tagalog: Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
Yugoslavian: Cestitamo Bozic

A Word-Lover's Paradise

Word Origins.org
http://www.wordorigins.org/

Wordy Gaffes 

Who hasn't experienced an occasional tongue-twisting moment, when they used a similar word for the one they really meant to say? The older we get, the more we're going to find ourselves tripping over our tongues, so might as well laugh about it.

When criticized for using a preposition at the close of a sentence, Winston Churchill quipped, "That's the sort of pedantry up with which I will not put."

Malapropisms pop up in speeches when a speaker is nervous, hasn't prepared properly, or is oblivious to the meaning of a word. Here are some favorites:

"This is unparalyzed in the state's history."
Gib Lewis, Texas Speaker of the House

"We cannot let terrorists and rogue nations hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile."
President George W. Bush

"The police are not here to create disorder, they're here to preserve disorder."
Richard Daley, former Chicago mayor

Malapropisms from stage & screen

"groin-acologist" for "gynecologist"
(Archie Bunker in All in the Family)

"He is the very pineapple of politeness."
(Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's The Rivals)

"Why not? Play captains against each other, create a little dysentery in the ranks."
(Christopher Moltisanti in The Sopranos)

**Thanks to FunDraw.com for the laughing monkey clipart. © 2006-2008 FunDraw.Com.

 

Writer at a Loss for Words...

Writer Afflicted by Writer's Block is at a Loss for Words




Buy at AllPosters.com


Are You Tongue-Tied?

Imagine having an index of over 3,000 confusing words at your disposal. Check out the Confusing Words website. Betcha you'll bookmark it.

"Now we know our ABC's..."

Because I Can't Get Enough Wordystuff... 

Word Fun - alphaDictionary.com
Yuck it up here.
Wordsearches Galore
Wordsearch categories, tons of word search puzzles, plus you can make your own word search.
Free Word Art Generator - Make your own fancy signs.
Fiddle around with word art. It's free at this site.
Words and WordPlay | Thinks.com
Plenty of wordplay fun with puns, palindromes, anagrams, tongue twisters, rhymes, limericks, phobias, oxymorons, and more.
The Encyclopedia of Business Cliches
Learn to say what you really mean.
The Isle of Squid
A growing directory of the best lenses on Squidoo.
Commonly Misused Words in the English Language
If you're ever in doubt as to whether you're using the right word, here's a great reference.
Words and Phrases that Should Exist but Probably Don't
Words and phrases that could fill a void. Fun reading!
Fun with Palindromes
What is a palindrome? This site will have you searching for them!
Word Lovers Unite!
A beautiful blog from another word lover.
Online Dictionary, Language Guide, Foreign Language and Etymology
Allwords.com - english dictionary with multi-lingual search. Search in German, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish and English. Pronunciation files get rid of those silly symbols than nobody understands. It's free, so try the allwords.com dictionary today!
Quote This: 11 Resources for Word Lovers « A Dreamy World…
Quote This: 11 Resources for Word Lovers
podictionary - for word lovers - daily stories, trivia & dictionary etymology on Technorati
A little bit of everything to feed wordaholics everywhere...
words
A word-related Web 2.0 generator. Must see to appreciate!
Inherently Funny
Inherently Funny is a free, searchable database of inherently funny words, sayings, phrases, people, animals, and other things.
Crazy English from Beautiful Perth.
Crazy English1. The bandage was wound around the
wound.2. The farm was used to produce produce. 3. The dump
was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. 4. We must polish the
Polish furniture. 5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the d
The Anagram Dictionary
t h e
a n a g r a m
d i c t i o n a r y
Online Dictionary - Orchy G'day all...A long time ago I decided to make use of an electronic scrabble dictionary
by using it to build an anagram dictionary. Many years later, I happened to
mention that in the course of a discussion in the newsgroup, a

 

At a Loss for Words

Speak Up! 

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Monkey See, Monkey Do

Zazzle for Brainstormers 

When words follow you everywhere...

You know you can't escape the words in your head. They whisper ideas to you at all hours. Follow you in your car. Call to you in the middle of your workday.

Here are a few selected products from my Brainstormin' line at Zazzle. Geared for wordaholics and workaholics. Indulge yourself.
Brainstorming Zone bag
A roomy bag for brainstormers on the go, with a message for anyone who dares come too close.
Brain-Strain Square Button
For the wordaholic who has everything.
"Which Came First..." mug
For wordaholics who need a little revving.

Online word games to scratch your alphabetical itch. 

Play to your heart's content

Boggle!
Boggle your mind while having fun.
Oxymorons
The world is full of 'em!
Everything Palindrome
Palindromes chase their tails.
Semantic Scramble
Can you quickly unscramble the Semantic Scramble?
Word Jungle
A wild word ride!
20 Crosswords
Wordaholics, start your engines!
Spellbinders
Prepare to be baffled.
Word generator
See what others are listing as their favorites. An ever-changing website for wordaholics.

So glad you stopped by... 

submit
  • Reply
    TheReflex TheReflex Aug 3, 2009 @ 5:28 pm
    Thanks for the great lens! Another wordaholic here, I love to play the download version of Scrabble. Has an official dictionary and a word help tool that shows you the highest scoring combination possible which is an AWESOME secret weapon in learning to become a better player. I got mine here - http://www.download-free-games.com/word_game_download/scrabble.htm
  • Reply
    Translation-Service Translation-Service Jul 6, 2009 @ 11:32 am
    Love the idioms... btw some French ones are here > http://www.k-international.com/french_idioms
  • Reply
    tandemonimom tandemonimom May 3, 2009 @ 7:11 pm
    I'm a wordaholic, an etymoholic (can I make that up?), and a readaholic too! I'll read the cereal box if there's nothing else handy at breakfast. I just read an entire (okay, short) book this afternoon before sitting down to READ MORE on Squidoo. You need my favorite quote on this lens: "People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading!" Love this lens, 5*****!
  • Reply
    GrowWear GrowWear Jan 3, 2009 @ 9:24 am
    Didn't bookmark the confusing-words site, but did bookmark this lens. Great job!
  • Reply
    poddys poddys Dec 29, 2008 @ 4:40 am
    What a great lens, well worth 5***** You did a fantastic job on this.
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by seedplanter


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