Wondering about wild grapes

Monday, January 18, 2016

How About Some Funny Words.

There are a lot of funny sounding words, some I am familiar with and some I am not.  Let me start with saying that we all have heard of macadam roads, right?  I drove on lots of them in my life.  The name came from the guy who invented it, Mr. McAdam.  This got stretched a little into macadam.  Yes, I am quite familiar with that term but "Unremacadamized"?  This one is easy, it means "Having not been repaved with macadam".

There are a lot of words that I know the meaning.  Here are a few examples:
Blunderbuss - A gun with a flared muzzle.
Cantankerous - (this is what I can be) Testy, grumpy.
Collywobbles - Butterflies in the stomach.
Comeuppance - Just reward.
Discombobulate - To confuse.
Donnybrook - Melee or riot.
Doozy - Something really great.
Filibuster - Refusal to give up the floor in a debate.
Fuddy-duddy - Old fashioned, mild mannered person.
Gobbledygook - Nonsense, balderdash.
Hocus-pocus - Deceitful sleight of hand.
Hoosegow - A jail or prison.
Vomitory - An exit or outlet.
and, of course, Lickety-split, Maverick, Mollycoddle, Namby-pamby, Nincompoop, Ornery, Rambunctious, Rigmarole, Skedaddle, and Skullduggery.

These are the ones that I have heard and have probably used a few or more times during my life time.  Just in case you are interested, a much larger list can be found at this website:

Now I know you all have used lots of funny words, some may only be heard in certain geographic areas, others are universal.  Let me hear some of your favorites and have a great day, you hear?


14 comments:

  1. Filibuster has a second meaning too. Of course it's not used much anymore...

    >>2.
    historical
    a person engaging in unauthorized warfare against a foreign country.<<

    https://www.google.com/search?q=Filibuster&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

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    1. Yes, I saw that when I was looking up these words.

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  2. My favorites were those my Mom used (from her farm upbringing): running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Anyone who has seen a chicken slaughtered on the farm would understand this one. Also, walking like a chicken with a bumble foot - I think I mentioned this one in a recent blog of my own. And of course, "waiting until the cows come home". My Mom has been gone since 2003 so I can't ask her to refresh my memory.

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    1. Oh yes, those phrases were used often in my family. BTW, I lost a chicken one time after I cut its head off. It ran into the brush and I couldn't find it.

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  3. Replies
    1. Then you and I could have a wonderful conversation, for sure.

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  4. I remember those too, Dizzy. And Flibbityjibit (head in the clouds), fixing-to (getting ready to do it),and others. Great, fun post! Thanks ~

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  5. Used a lot, and now cant think of a new one...

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    1. I can never think of the word I want to say at the time. Sometimes I just get a mental block. I guess geniuses like me have that trouble (grin).

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  6. Whopperjawed... not in alignment Catty-corner.. kind of crossways (I've also heard this as kitty-cornered) Now I'll be thinking of this all evening....

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  7. Catty-corner is an engineering term (grin). Yes, I have used that one a lot.

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  8. "The name came from the guy who invented it, Mr. McAdam."
    I never heard that- macadam roads - Maybe that means the same as TARMAC ?? I knew that name came from a Mac-somebody !

    Now what about Cattywampus ?
    https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cattywampus

    Hope you are staying dry. Happy Tails and Trails, Penny

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