Seconds after the ball descended from the sky in NYC, my mind began to wander to the world of language. As my surrounding company began to whisper 2010 resolutions, I started to consider which word I should choose to define my new year. After some quick yet careful thinking, I selected “fresh” from the imaginary [...]
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: definition, fresh, language, merriam webster, new year, word
Words make swoon, especially when they’re chock-full of history and pop culture references. So my inner word nerd was jumping for joy when I stumbled upon Wordnik, which is “based on the principle that people learn words best by seeing them in context. We’ve collected more than 4 billion words of text (web pages, books, [...]
Categories: etymology, langauge, new words
Tagged: dictionary, etymology, word nerd, wordie, wordnik, words
My thoughts always wander to the written word while I sip my afternoon cup of tea. So it seemed appropriate to explore what was beyond the leaves and behind the word. In order to quench my mental thirst I searched the Online Etymology Dictionary and learned this about the origins of “Tea”:
1655, earlier chaa (1598, [...]
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: history of tea, history of the word tea, origin of tea, origin of word tea, tea
Some people are known to express their emotional selves by wearing their hearts on their sleeves. Literate lovers wear letters around their neck (possibly draped right over their heart) with Veer’s uppercase scarf, made of Helvetica letters that are “laser cut into black or white microfiber suede.”
This neck friendly accessory would make the perfect gift [...]
Categories: wear your words, word nerd gift
Tagged: best scarf, best word berd gift, type, uppercase scarf, veer, word nerd gift
As a word nerd, I squeal when taking a peek at the Online Etymology Dictionary and can’t wait to see what words will be added to the dictionary each year. Needless to say, I have a special place in my heart for onomatopoeias 1 : the naming of a thing or action by a vocal [...]
Categories: Uncategorized
@mrjoezee
Tonight’s theme at drinks: Textcapades – the act of flirting without
consummating, committing or conversing. Do you do it?
As I write my first “word on the tweet” post, I can’t help but joyfully anticipate the worded journey that this twitter adventure will prove to be. Similar to that of sifting through a haystack [...]
Categories: etymology, langauge, technology talk, word on the tweet
Tagged: @mrjoezee, joe zee, textcapade, tweet, twitter, word on the tweet
As we celebrate independence this weekend in the U.S, there’s one thing that all we look forward to more than the plate of burgers and the crazy lady dressed in red, white and blue with her face painted. Any guesses? If you said “fireworks,” then go light yourself a sparkler. If not, well, then one [...]
Categories: etymology, langauge, words
Tagged: 4th of July, fire, firework, fireworks, independence day, light show, sparklers
When you make the choice to create your own business adventure, you can identify with the following tags: independent, freelancer, consultant and last but not least, an entrepreneur.
“Entrepreneur” is probably noted in your bio, on your business card, and part of your elevator pitch, but did you ever stop to think what the word actually [...]
Tagged: definition of entrepreneur, entrepreneur, freelance, independent, merriam webster, online etymology dictionary, what is an entrepreneur |
You couldn’t live without your personal collection of books, and you refer to the small piece of wooden furniture, otherwise known as a book shelf, as your library. Although you love to share language and stories with others, you hesitate to lend a copy of your favorite book (even though you have 3 of the [...]
Categories: word nerd gift
Tagged: book shelf, books, knock knock, language, library, personal library kit, syllable studio
I recently was introduced to this wonderful website, Addictionary
The Addictionary is a site for word lovers and those who like to see our beloved English language grow in serious or humorous ways. We built the Addictionary to empower word-play and to help lovers of word-play showcase and market their cleverness and creativity to the world. Every [...]
Categories: words
I am allergic to coasters. my tables have suffered from this laziness, although, I would surely convert to a coaster craver if I had these lovely, lettered gems. These bamboo beauties are “four inches in diameter and set in Baskerville semibold.”
I would brew a nice pot of tea and set the delicate [...]
Categories: word nerd gift, words
Tagged: coaster, letters, typographic coaster, words
after some lively conversation with friends about my previous post’s word choice (hooray), I have another thought I’d like to share.
Interjections are accessories for a sentence. I would maybe even say that they are the word icing on the cake. That being said, today’s language has become highly abbreviated and interjections were the first to [...]
Categories: words
Tagged: conversation, hooray, interjection, language, words
There are some words that truly bring to a smile to my face, and “hooray” is definitely one of them. It not only carries a sense of joy with its meaning, but also with its pronunciation. Like a slice of lemon to a meal or the color red to a wall, “hooray” brightens any sentence.
Our [...]
Tagged: battle-cry, etymology, hooray, language, merriam webster, online etymology dictionary, words
Hallmark has been telling our nearest and dearest how much we love them, how old we think they are, or why we’re excited about the “insert name of event here” that they’re experiencing. But have you ever been able to share your love for a fellow word nerd in scrabble talk? Yeah, I didn’t think [...]
Categories: words
Tagged: bearpaw paper and crafts, cards, scrabble, words
I have always been excited by the new words that DailyCandy.com writers create and share in their posts. DailyCandy has a knack for speaking a certain trendy language that is absolutely wonderful to read! The slanguage of DC is a nice blend of current culture and heavy sarcasm. After years of crafting new words, DC [...]
Categories: sunday slanguage, words
Tagged: dailcandy, mouse trap, slang, slanguage, sunday slanguage
As much as I love exploring the fabulous words that the English language has to offer, I decided to take a lingual trip to Italy via Rosetta Stone. I’m only in the beginning stages of colors and numbers, but am enjoying the thrill of playing with new words. I am really looking forward to conversing [...]
Tagged: multilingual, new language, rosetta stone, travel through words
Before the days of video games and facebook, most children could be found hanging from monkey bars, pumping their feet on the swings, and building larger than their life castles in the sand box. All of the latter activities were not controlled by a joystick or viewed from a couch, but actually happened in real [...]
Tagged: children, merriam webster, play, playground, recreation, sand box, swing
During your middle school years, you sincerely tried to avoid earning a bad “reputation” so that the teachers didn’t report any poor behavior to your parents. Now, your “reputation” is multifaceted and can vary amongst social circles, places of work, home, friends, etc. In addition to your actions in person (maybe you shouldn’t have thrown [...]
Tagged: merriam webster, online etymology dictionary, reputation
They’re the colorful shells that hit the pavement as you shuffle down the sidewalk. I’m talking about your “kicks” fresh from the box or worn in from the pavement. According to the Urban Dictionary, “kicks” refers to shoes, specifically the newest, most popular sneakers. This slang term doesn’t just live on the foot, but instead [...]
Categories: etymology, sunday slanguage, words
Tagged: kicks, nice kicks, shoes, slang, slanguage, urban dictionary
There are many of us that share the same first word honoring our fathers, “da da.” However, I am very curious to know what other first words were uttered that surprised a parent and lead to a fabulous story.
According to the Baby Center, at 4 to 6 months ”your child will start to babble, combining consonants [...]
Tagged: babycenter, first word, word
Monograms evoke memories of mom’s writing on t-shirt tags worn to summer camp and fancy hand towels in the bathroom of newlyweds. Monograms are pre-internet taggings of items that we want to claim or express ourselves on. I personally enjoy the first initial monogram, which is why I gravitated towards the tea cup shown above. [...]
Tagged: anthropologie, cup, etymology, etymology of monogram, letter, monogram, monogrammed cup, tags, tea cup, word
Ever since I applied my first shade of Bonne Bell lip gloss in middle school, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with “makeup.” I enjoy the colors and art form, but I always debate about concealing vs. enhancing. So, I thought I would bring that debate back to the surface today and take a closer look at [...]
Tagged: beauty, etymology, makeover, makeup, merriam webster, online etymology dictionary, word
During a busy weekend filled with events, I was glued to my phone while arranging rides, discussing gifts and alerting others of why I was so MIA, all through text messaging of course. Texting is a common phone activity that keeps my fingers in shape when not dancing all over my laptop’s keyboard. However, instant [...]
Categories: sunday slanguage, words
Tagged: anxiety, instant communication, letter, pen pal, slang, slanguage, texpectation, text, texting, the word
When I think of concourses at an airport, magazine stands, food carts and colliding suitcases come to mind. Although, if you happen to be walking through Concourse J in the Miami International Airport, then your inner word nerd will be delighted to see phrases from the book The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas. [...]
Categories: words
Tagged: everglades, installation, miami international airport, river of grass, words
A rabbit is pulled from a hat, your card is instantly guessed, an object disappears from a hand and appears behind your ear, and a woman who was split in half is put back together. All magicians usually end the previous entertainment experiences with one memorable word, “abracadabra.” I never truly payed much attention to [...]
Tagged: abracadabra, aramaic, cabalistic, etymology, magic, magical, words
Turn your wall worthy words into works of graphic art with my new favorite tool, Wordle. Simply copy and paste text into the site, and Wordle will generate an eye pleasing “word cloud.” Once your text is deconstructed into a fabulous word puzzle, you can then make this creation truly unique by changing the [...]
Tagged: apartment therapy, etymology, home decor, wall art, word, wordle
In my introductory “Sunday Slanguage” post, I received a comment from a fellow blogger who wanted to know a bit more about the glitzy slang word, “bling.” I have encountered “bling” in celebrity magazines, pop music lyrics, and other pop culture realms and know that it references jewelry. However, I did not think that this [...]
Categories: etymology, sunday slanguage, words
Tagged: bling, slang, slanguage, sunday slanguage, urban dictionary
As I’m sitting here typing on my lovely friend’s computer, I feel quite moved to delve into the word “friend.” Over the years, my definition of “friend” has varied from the girl who shared her toys with me, to the girls that whispered middle school secrets over the phone late at night, to the women [...]
Tagged: etymology, friend, merriam webster, word
We all have a favorite word, or at least a word we use so much that our friends can’t wait to throw a thesaurus at us. So why not celebrate that favorite word in a non permanent way that you won’t regret in the morning (“bubba” in blue ink on your right arm doesn’t look [...]
Categories: etymology, wear your words, words
Tagged: brookadelphia, charm, etymology, necklace, words
Whispering into one’s ear, quickly passing a note that has been folded into a square the size of your thumb, a spot where you meet friends back in the woods, and pinky-swearing. All of these experiences and things relate to the word “secret.”
“Secret,” both an adjective and a noun, can be dated back to the [...]