Bonnyclabber – Wordplay Wednesday™ 03/13/2019

Green Milk ~ Ew? Or Yum! 

When Americans think of Ireland, we often imagine rural farmers and green pastures. Though it has its urbanites, as we do, much of the rural vernacular with roots in the kitchen, still permeates modern syntax.

BONNYCLABBER* (bänʹē klab’ɘr) n. – [derived from Irish] thickly curdled sour milk.  [WW #207]

In case you don’t spend all that much kitchen time using the multitude of baking dishes languishing in your cupboards, you may not know that your bonnyclabber could be useful, rather than distasteful.

Baking and cooking with bonnyclabber not only brightens your yummy baked goods, but utilizes a food product you would normally toss down the sink.

Put the milk carton back in the fridge and mark it “FOR BAKING” and have a fun weekday event baking pies on “Pi Day”—March 14^th—or an aromatic weekend of green Irish shamrock cookies for St. Patrick’s Day! (March 17^th) Your bonnyclabber will fit right in.

And if you want a little more Irish to go with your week and Irish-American Heritage Month, a straight-from-Ireland word will motivate you to enjoy a jaunty jig or two when your yummy pies, cookies and cakes are done!

 

IRISH WORDPLAY WEDNESDAY: BACHRAM (“BOCH-rum”): Bachram is boisterous, rambunctious behavior, but it can also be used figuratively for a sudden or violent downpour of rain.

We’ll skip the downpour of rain—had enough for the winter—so let’s get bachram and tip a pint of green beer to go with our bonnyclabber pie. Gabháil le do shláinte agus do shaibhreas! (Cheers to your health and wealth!)

This week, grab your copy of Paddy’s Request, a delightful tongue-in-cheek eBook that perpetuates the fun myth of St. Patrick and the snakes, by the inimitable John F. Harnish. Curl up with your fave green libation, and enjoy your tasty treats made with bonnyclabber while you read!

Word Challenge: BACHRAM (Irish) / BONNYCLABBER*. I don’t know about you, but when I bake with libation in hand, I can become a tad bachram. Makes it tough to measure the ingredients! Enjoy, as you fit bonnyclabber into your week of Celtic writing. (*Bonnyclabber is in the English dictionary.)

Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening! Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 

Cheers to learning a new word on Wordplay Wednesday!

           

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past series about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. The true behind-the-mic tales make GREAT Holiday Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz  

An Old Irish Proverb – Wordplay Wednesday™ 03/14/18

Even a Wee Bit o’ Irish will Help Your Heart

With a smidgeon o’ Irish in me blood, my brown eyes turn green around this time of year, and I get a weird lilt in my voice.

It’s even more pronounced this year, since 2018 is Officially the Year of the Irish Language. So I’m turning this week’s word of wonder into an old Irish phrase, for your Celtic learning pleasure.

Tá croí éadrom i bhfad níos faide: A light heart lives longest.*
[imTranslator.net; try as I did, could not locate an English pronunciation for us to practice. WW #155]

A simple but oh-so-true adage, don’t you think? Not always an easy task, for sure, but even on the darkest days (I’ve had more than I’d care to count), it always seems easier to bear, if I give myself an “attitude adjustment,” to lighten my heart.

Of course, my mood switch often involves Happy Hour. If your day goes awry early, though, forcibly break your mental state with music, a chat with a friend, writing creatively or journally (I know, I just made that up), pour your mind into a project, or other pleasant diversion. It feels so much better to smile than to frown.

If we don’t live longer because of it, at least we’ll live happier.

“Listen to our tunes, observe a Celtic scroll: we always decorate our essence.”

― Frank Delaney, Irish novelist, journalist and broadcaster.

I have just the sprightly attitude adjustment for you to lighten your mood with a bit o’ Irish wit! John F. Harnish is an Irish/Druid with a winsome sense of humor and a wicked way with words. His creative, fun tales of St. Patrick and the famous snakes, in Paddy’s Request, will tickle your funny bone and lift the corners of your mouth with inane glee.

We all now know that St. Patrick is not the true reason there are no snakes in Ireland. However, John weaves two short stories into almost-plausible prose, if you believe in fairy tales.

Enjoy Paddy’s Request for free, in Kindle Select, or on your favorite tablet for a pittance of $1.23. As one reviewer delighted in posting, “You won't go broke buying it, but you may split your sides reading it. I have been a collector of myths, tales, legends, and stories for almost 75 years. I've seen many of them in one form or another times over, but these are fresh for me. Read with delight what Paddy used instead of a pipe [a la piper] to lead the slithering thingies from Erin. Then read how the Leprechauns were involved in another explanation of how Paddy ridded Ireland of snakes. If neither of these satisfy you, write your own tale. It will likely be as true as these two.”

Word Challenge: Tá croí éadrom i bhfad níos faide. A light heart lives longest. If not in deed, at least in the memories of those we leave behind. Make more fond memories for your loved ones, as you fit Tá croí éadrom i bhfad níos faide into your week of Irish writings.

 

* While researching translators and Irish sayings, I was reminded that as in English, there are often different ways to say the same thing in Irish (and with diverse dialects). Originally, I culled Irish-Sayings.com to find the Wordplay Wednesday phrase. There, it was presented in Irish as: Maireann croí éadrom i bhfad. However, I found more than one translator that defined that Irish phrase as “A light heart survives longest.” Certainly in definition, basically the same, but not how their English phrase read. Just a little quirk to add to your week’s word learning!

Sin sin, níl aon scéal eile agam. (That's all, I don’t have any other story.) ~ Irish-Sayings.com.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 

'Til next time ... Sláinte to a wonderful "wordful" St. Paddy’s Day/week … 

                       

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

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LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past series, available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon, … The Psychedelic Seventies!

E-N-D