Words that are interesting

Fiddle-faddle

Hannah McCall Leave a comment

Fiddle-faddle is an old-fashioned word; its origin is late 16th century, and it is a reduplication of fiddle.

It means trivial matters or nonsense. In this sense, it can be used as a noun or an exclamation/interjection.

It can also be used as a verb meaning to bother over trifles*, fuss or waste time. You can be a fiddle-faddler.

I understand that Fiddle Faddle is an American popcorn product, which is interesting. It is also the name of a musical composition by Leroy Anderson – I’ve listened to it; it’s quite nice. If you use Spotify, here it is:

*Not the desserts, but something of little value or importance.

More nautical words!

Hannah McCall 1 Comment

It’s World Maritime Day. Here are some nautical terms you might find interesting:

  • Affreightment: a contract hiring a vessel to carry goodshttps://pixabay.com/en/sunset-boat-sea-ship-675847/
  • Bitts: a pair of posts mounted on a ship for fastening ropes or cables
  • Bream: to clean a ship (or its bottom) of weeds and other matter by burning or scraping it
  • Bumpkin (or bumkin or boomkin): a short boom projecting from the deck of a ship
  • Cabotage: sailing between points in the same country
  • Cocket: an official form issued by a customs officer or an official seal from a customs house
  • Scuttlebutt: a water butt or cask containing drinking water on board a ship; rumour or idle gossip (because sailors would trade gossip when they gathered at the scuttlebutt for a drink)
  • Walty: insecure or wobbly; inclined to tip over, lean or list

You can find more information on World Maritime Day here.

Major-domo

Hannah McCall 2 Comments

http://mrg.bz/itkHyiThe chief steward or butler of a large household, the person who runs an organization or project, or a person who speaks or makes arrangements for another person.

The plural is major-domos.

The word’s origins are 16th century, stemming from Spanish and Italian variants of the medieval Latin major domus meaning ‘highest official of the household’ (Oxford Dictionaries).

Jack-in-office

Hannah McCall 6 Comments

https://pixabay.com/en/control-work-official-form-427510/Jack-in-office is a term primarily used in British English.

A jack-in-office is a self-important, rude, and/or petty minor official (or other person holding some authority). The plural is jacks-in-office.

You may recognise the word from the well-known painting by Edwin Landseer called A Jack in Office, and a character in Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story The Adventure of the Speckled Band calls Sherlock Holmes ‘the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office’.

Swan-upping

Hannah McCall Leave a comment

2014-04-09 10.42.39The annual British practice of catching swans on the River Thames and its tributaries, and marking the swans to indicate ownership (by the Crown or a corporation).

The practice dates from the twelfth century when swans were an important high-status food. The Crown still retains rights over unmarked mute swans in open water, but the swans are no longer eaten.

Modern swan-upping takes place primarily as part of conservation efforts, and education is now a key part of the undertaking.

The hyphen is recommend by the New Oxford Spelling Dictionary and other older dictionaries, but many modern uses are not hyphenated.

More details on modern swan-upping can be found here and here.

Bag-o’-wrinkle

Hannah McCall 2 Comments

http://mrg.bz/WyrbkwThis word does not mean what you probably think it might mean (shame on you).*

Bag-o’-wrinkle is a variant of the nautical term baggywrinkle.

Baggywrinkle: rope yarns (usually old) wound around parts of a ship’s rigging to prevent chafing.

From the pictures I have seen, it looks like a cross between a brush and a mop head.

*Don’t look up baggywrinkle on Urban Dictionary though.

Arsy-versy

Hannah McCall 5 Comments

Thank you to Aeryn Rudel for suggesting a new addition to my blog topics – weird hyphenated words!https://pixabay.com/en/pond-mallard-upside-down-foraging-724490/

‘Arsy-versy’ is an informal, primarily British English word. It means backwards, upside down, in reverse, confused or disordered.

I got things arsy-versy.

I probably wouldn’t use it in front of polite company.

‘Till’ is not a shortened form of ‘until’

Hannah McCall 3 Comments

Till is not a shortened form of until. Till has actually been in use longer than until.

http://mrg.bz/ahnXQwThey are often interchangeable; they both mean ‘up to’ (a point in time or event).

However, until is more likely to be used at the beginning of a sentence while till often appears before a noun. Until is also slightly more formal.

The contraction of until is ‘til and many sources will tell you not to use it. You can ignore them in informal contexts.