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Channel: Exploring the use, misuse and humor of words
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That’s odd

Oddment is a word I don’t think I have ever seen before last week.  It was used in an essay submitted by a writer in my two writers’ critique groups. Oddments are odds and ends.  Another definition of...

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Ghostwriting–what is it?

At a recent writers’ critique group, the subject of ghostwriting came up. One of the members has been hired to write a book for someone else.  In her online bio she mentioned that she is ghostwriting...

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Bollards are no bull

Bollard is a word that came up at a meeting I attended recently.  A small utility building needed protection so it was not struck by cars.  The people in charge said it would  have bollards around it....

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Pocket lint — what the heck is it?

Pocket lint is a term that I saw recently in a submission by someone in my writers’ critique group. In the written submission, the writer was talking about pocket lint in the context of pet euthanasia....

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Ducat — That’s the ticket

Ducat  (rhymes with bucket) is an old word.  Today, you hear it used to mean a ticket to an event—especially a sporting event. The word ducat is probably from the 14th Century. It was used to describe...

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Cafetoriums have been around for a while

Cafetoriums have been around for years. The work originates from a combination of two words—cafeteria and auditorium. If you read wordsbybob regularly, you will recognize this word as a portmanteau....

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Consanguinity — close enough

Consanguinity is a new word for me.  I was scanning a website where it was mentioned relating to membership in a group.  This is a military veterans group and it is not only for veterans, but those...

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Oenophile — I’ll drink to that

Oenophile is a word that is new to me.  I saw it the other day in a trivia column written by my buddy Jim Willard.   (He is an oenophile, by the way.) I now know that an oenophile is one … Continue...

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Obsolete words

Words are fun–that’s what wordsbybob.com is all about. One of my fellow writers, and also a good friend, Maryjo Morgan alerted me to this article on obsolete words.  It appeared on a website called...

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Say what — How you say it depends where you live

Words are pronounced differently in different areas of the United States. Thanks to http://www.businessinsider.com for showing us how we as Americans pronounce or label a variety of words. The map...

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Restaurateur vs restauranteur

Restaurateur is not a word I had typed before the other day.  I was doing a restaurant review for the Berthoud Weekly Surveyor. The word seemed to fit the person who owned the restaurant I was writing...

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How food secure are you?

Food insecurity is a new term to me.  I had to do some research to find its meaning after I saw it used in a newspaper article.  (Yes, I still read newspapers.) Food insecurity refers to the...

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Gaslighting — what does it mean?

While waiting for my car to be serviced, I was reading some magazine articles.  One on bullying referred to a term called gaslighting. It turns out that gaslighting is a form of mental abuse which...

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New words are really old words

We are so clever with our words–or at least we think we are.  People are always coining new words to fit a situation.    Some words that we think are old have been around for a long time. Thanks to …...

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Article 0

FEBRILE Febrile is not a word I have ever used.  I saw it in an article I was reading, and it jumped off the page at me.  Not literally, of course. Since I just learned it, I thought you might like …...

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Freeganism — What is it?

Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freeganism is the practice of...

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Is this a good thing or bad?

Some of the signage I use for wordsbybob.com  are from the web–others I see in person. This one caught my eye yesterday as I was driving around Loveland, Colorado. I think the business means they are...

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Suburb or exurb

We have all heard of the word suburb.  Some of us even live in a suburb. If you live in a suburb, you are in an outlying part of the city. Sometimes, the suburb can be a smaller community to … Continue...

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Flier vs. Flier

Typing up the minutes for a recent meeting I attended, I was faced with a spelling dilemma. I was commenting on brochure or piece of paper one of the members was designing.  I type in flyer but...

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Clean bill of health

In the last two, weeks, I have had an annual visit to my family doctor and my cardiologist.  Funny how that works, as you get older. In both visits, I was told everything is fine.  I remember when this...

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