Wordplay Wednesday™ June 8, 2016 – Stich not Stitch

Stich – not Stitch – Makes a Wordsmith Twitch!

A stich in time saves nine lines of proper prose. Oh … that isn’t how it goes?

Heehee … you Boomers will recognize a butchered version of the ol’ adage, “A stitch in time saves nine.”*

Thought I misspelled “stitch”? Nope – instead of saving stitches, we’ll pull your string with a line …

STICH (stik) n. – delete that dupe “t” to get: Prosody a line of prose or, esp., of verse. [WW #63]

Example: Where art thou, Muse, that thou forget'st so long …

[Shakespeare’s “Sonnet C” (#100) that many a writer knows by heart.]

So it’s almost spelled like “stitch” and it’s pronounced like “stick.” Go figure.

As much as I love words and meanings, I often wish our English language was a tad less complicated, don’t you? Phonetics anyone?

Word of the Week: STICH. Can you fit it into your own line of prose?

'Til next time ... have a wonderful "wordful" week …

                       

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

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*SIDE NOTE: Are you wondering how the adage originated? According to Phrases.org, “This proverbial expression was obviously meant as an incentive to the lazy. It's especially gratifying that 'a stitch in time saves nine' is an anagram for 'this is meant as incentive'!” Cool! Love it when there are mysteries and hidden meanings of language. Enjoy!

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Wordplay Wednesday™ April 13, 2016 – CAVIL protestor

The lady doth protest too much, methinks …

Well now, the ol’ quote from Hamlet (Shakespeare play) could be attributed to a good many people in the news these days.

"I did not email any classified materials." Apparently we’re just overly caviling when it comes to national security.

CAVIL (kavʹɘl) – vi., to object when there is little reason to do so; resort to trivial faultfinding; carp; quibble; n. a trivial objection; quibble. [WW #55]

We can also attribute this seldom used word to the many protestors at ALL of the political events. Get a life and go home to ponder your role in the overall scheme of things. Petty name-calling and caviling, often leading to unnecessary violence, serves no purpose.

Politics aside, it’s easy to spot a lame excuse or unnecessarily petty person … in the workplace, in a relationship, in social media. The difficulty is spotting the caviler in yourself.

Cheers to your day!

Word of the Week: CAVIL. Can you fit it into your next writing?  

'Til next time ... have a wonderful "wordful" week …

                       

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

Facebook

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Wordplay Wednesday™ October 21, 2015 – Trick-or-Treat!

Six Weeks of Weird Halloween Words ~ Week #5

Are you a Trickster or a Treater?

‘Fess up … do you fling open your door and greet Halloween visitors with feigned amazement at their creative costumes? OR, are you the Halloween Grinch, porch light off, with only the television light flickering in the shadows?

TRICK-OR-TREAT!: traditional greeting used by a Trick-or-Treater; orig. used with the meaning ‘give me a treat or I will play a trick on you!’

Uttered by millions of children masquerading as anything other than a child, Trick-or-Treat! aims to trick a few pieces of sweetness from you. Not particularly weird … but, why do we say it at all? Trick-or-Treat!Smell my Feet! And follow me …

Shrewing around on Wordplay Wednesday™ May 20, 2015

Shrewing around on Wordplay Wednesday™ May 20, 2015

Flushed with anger, eyes blazing like a crazed banshee, I lashed out with all the venom my virulent mind could concoct.

Yes. I admit. I have been called a shrew …but I know a more sedate and softer word for my inner Katherina …

VIRAGO – n. 1) quarrelsome, shrewish woman; 2) (archaic) strong, manlike woman; amazon

Vi-rah-go … doesn’t that sound better than the short and obdurate shrew? However, I discovered while researching that Webster’s Dictionary (College/print, 5^th Edition) and Wikipedia have decidedly disparate first definitions of the word. See what I mean ...