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
@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 |
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
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
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
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 [...]
I’ve been known to throw some slanguage around now and then, what can I say, I’m from Philly. I thoroughly enjoy scholarly pieces just as much as the pop culture blogs overflowing with the newly created words of the moment. So I thought I would start a weekly “sunday slanguage” post to spice up the [...]
Categories: etymology, sunday slanguage
Tagged: etymology, language, merriam webster, online etymology dictionary, slang, slanguage, words
The last “Wear your words” post was all about the infamous “t-shirt,” but this time I thought we would slip into or actually under something a little more comfortable, a fabulous blanket. The blanket that I am referring to is a truly special nighttime accessory, as it is composed of layers of fabric that can [...]
Categories: etymology, wear your words, words
Tagged: bedtime story, platform 10, royal college of art, wear your words, words
Word lovers, raise your pencil, your pen, your laptop and your journal (not your desktop-please no injuries) to the dictionary, my favorite book. It comes in all shapes, sizes (extra large and super small), colors, languages, topics and can be found on a shelf and online. I’ve certainly collected quite a few dictionaries over [...]
Tagged: dictionary, etymology, merriam webster, online dictionary