by Dictionary Scoop Whenever we think about vocabulary related to the animal kingdom, our mind usually goes to long, Latin scientific terms that seem extremely daunting to anyone not well-versed in biology. However, we sometimes fail to see how much our animal friends have also influenced the everyday words we regular joes use. We have …
Category Archives: animals
All Aboard For Interesting Facts About Trains
by Kevin Burton My dream vacation is to accompany my bride on a long, interrupted train ride along the Mississippi River. The plan is to ride the City of New Orleans train on Amtrak – the one that Arlo Guthrie sang about – from Chicago to Memphis, get off and explore that town …
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The Unkindest Contranym Of All? Ask Fido
by Kevin Burton Imagine if you will, a Richard Pryor bit from the 70s, that could have been, to introduce the concept of the contranym, a word with two opposite meanings. These lines are from the family puppy, whose usual panting, tail-wagging enthusiasm for a car ride (oh boy!) has gone tragically wrong: …
Truth Proved Much Stranger Than Fiction
by Dictionary Scoop They say truth is stranger than fiction, and some of these historical events are living proof. Brace yourself for a rollercoaster ride through history, where the strange and unexpected take center stage in the theater of reality. 1 The Great Emu War Wars are typically waged between nations, but in 1932, …
My Cats Know My Voice (But Don’t Listen)
by Kevin Burton Researchers found that cats can recognize their owners’ voices. Duh! Why would you need a team of researchers to figure that out? Call me when researchers have figured out how to get the cats to listen and obey. That will be news I can use. “While dogs are …
Animal Names That Are Also Verbs
by Kevin Burton My late great cat Mex had a verb coined in her honor. She used to head butt people, as opposed to the usual cat way of rubbing against people with the side of the head or body. To headbutt became “To Mex.” Usage: “Stop Mexing me!” It’s a …
The Hopes And Dreams Of Two Blind Students
by Kevin Burton Those of us with limited vision don’t have to have limited lives. Often we do, for reasons to numerous to tackle today. Today, stories of two blind students. The first has reached an important milestone to reach her educational goal. The second wants to fill her life with sights and …
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Quibbles And Bits Feline Edition: Bilingual Cat
by Kevin Burton Sometimes the people news is too depressing to deal with. Sometimes as a remedy, I turn to the world of my cats. You will notice that people tend to creep into the cat news. This may be unfortunate but may be inevitable. So here on Page 7, all the …
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Two Threats Looming For Christmas Tree
by Kevin Burton’ O Christmas tree O Christmas tree, I’ve got your back O Christmas tree! Is this me re-writing a classic Christmas song? No it’s not. Hear me out. Thanksgiving (the holiday, not the action) is over. It is now cool to play the Christmas music and put up that Christmas …
Dictionary Highlights Man’s Best Friend
by Kevin Burton I have suspended my devotion to cats long enough this week to share some dictionary words from Merriam-Webster that pertain to dogs. Before we continue with their list, here is one the dictionary curiously left out – dog days. Dog days is “the period between early July and early …
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