Bombshells And Chill Pills, Slang In Our Times

by Kevin Burton    The 70s was the grooviest decade there ever could be.  I mean it was far out! I know because I was hip to the trip back then.    But to-ge-ther as we were, we didn’t invent slang. That has been spoken forever, and continues to this day.    Here’s a Dictionary …

City Folks Adopted These Agricultural Terms

by Dictionary Scoop    A number of words that are used regularly started in the fields. Terms tied to crops, livestock, and tools found their way into everyday language and stuck around.    Take a look at the following 12 examples. You might be surprised how many common expressions have their roots in the soil! …

A Pack Of Good And Quirky Words To Learn

by Kevin Burton    Getting these word-list e-mails from Dictionary Scoop is a little like it was to open a new pack of baseball cards in the old days.    You might get Gary Sutherland, you might get Johnny Bench. In fact you always got a mixture of stars and scrubs.    Today’s list of …

Nine Fishy Words From A Long, Fishy Book

by Kevin Burton    I hear it’s a whale of a book, but I haven’t read it. So sorry.    Moby-Dick    This comes up because our friends at Merriam-Webster dictionary have compiled a list of nine fun and weird words from Moby-Dick.    I hear the book is very long also. So the dictionary …

What Does “6-7” Even Mean? Nothing

by Kevin Burton    My granddaughter says it. She’s the only one in my circles who does. Thank God.    The copy-cat utterances of children have heretofore not been chronicled on Page 7 (Page 7!, Page 7!, Page 7!!). But this “6-7” thing is so ubiquitous that even Merriam-Webster dictionary is forced to pay attention …

Look Both Ways And Beware Of Jay Drivers

by Kevin Burton    What I see 20 feet away, you can see 200 feet away. By definition therefore, I am legally blind.    So you would think, all other things being equal, my career as a jaywalker could/should be painfully short, or maybe even disastrously shortened.    I was very nearly run over by …

“Bad Hair Day” And Words About Hair

by Kevin Burton    Today’s list from Merriam-Webster, words about hair, got me thinking about the term, “bad hair day.”    Is bad hair day an idiom?    The dictionary says an idiom is, “an expression in the usage of a language that has a meaning that cannot be understood from the combined meanings of its …

Talking Turkey And Thanksgiving Terms

by Dictionary Scoop     Thanksgiving is more than just turkey, family gatherings, and football games; it’s a time stuffed with unique words that make perfect sense in the spirit of the season.    The holiday’s vocabulary is as rich as the meal itself. Join us as we explore ten Thanksgiving-related words that carry meanings, histories, and fun trivia. 1-Bounty: …

The Weird And Wonderful Words Of Winter

by Kevin Burton     Winter has some words for you, even as you perhaps, have some muttered, unkind words for winter.    Merriam-Webster dictionary is just a collector of words, and I a mere humble blogger. So we’re not worthy of blame, though we have conspired today to bring you words you would rather not …

What Makes You Think You’re So Smart?

by Dictionary Scoop    We all had that friend who seemed to ace every class without even trying. But as it turns out, intelligence isn’t always about grades or test scores. Sometimes, it shows up in the most unexpected ways. Neuroscientists have revealed several everyday behaviors and habits that often characterize highly intelligent people. Do you fit …