Yvonne
My words this week are taken from another author request to review.
This is a completely new and ‘open’ style of writing and storytelling, which is new to me and which I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy.
As it is, I am enjoying a great, fun, easy going read, which has brightened up my reading time over the last few days.
As usual, I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so you can click on the image to discover the full synopsis, should you so wish…
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HOOTENANNY … “Are you here for the hootenanny this weekend?”
HOOTENANNY …
1. An early Appalachian colloquialism to refer to things whose names were forgotten or unknown
2. An old country word for ‘party’, now most commonly used to refer to a folk music party
3. Used by the leadership of early firefighting battalions to describe a ‘meeting of the minds’ or higher up od various department heads.
Apparently Hootenanny is also a word used in the UK by English entertainer Jools Holland for the television show which he hosts and is aired annually to ‘see in The New Year’ on 31st December. It looks as though he may have used some poetic licence with his interpretation of the word!!
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HORNSWOGGLED … “I also think you were hornswoggled”
HORNSWOGGLED … Bamboozled, cheated, tricked.
I guess that the equivalent word that I know of here, would be ‘hoodwinked’, but I love the sound of ‘hornswoggled’ much more!!!
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SHILL … “Most mentalists are nothing more than hacks, using shills and other disreputable means to play their audience”
SHILL … One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.
Again, I think the word that I would have associated here, would have been ‘mark’!!
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LAM … “People don’t go on the lam to Palm Springs”
LAM …
1.To give a thorough beating to; thrash strike or wallop
2. Escape or flight, especially from the law or prison
I knew of this word in the first meaning ‘to lam someone’ as a phrase often used in my childhood ….. but in the book it was used in the context of the second meaning ‘to escape the law’ and I was not familiar with this.
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POSTPRANDIAL … “I was dressed in my jeans and one of Fleet’s sweaters, my Oxford broadcloth having been torn asunder during my postprandial brawl last night”
POSTPRANDIAL … After eating a meal
I have come across this word several times in various books, but have never really given much thought as to its meaning!!
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Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. It is hosted by Kathy, over at BermudaOnion’s Weblog. You can either stop by and leave a link to your own ‘mystery’ words of the week, or just browse the eclectic mix of words that others have discovered, there is always a great selection. Just don’t forget that Kathy and the rest of us, all love to read your comments as well!!
Heard of a few of these before, thanks! for sharing.
I have come across a couple of the words before, but I guess that ‘Hootenanny’ and ‘Hornswoggled’ are words that are exclusively US words, as the author Sherban Young, is an American.
My husband’s from the mountains of Virginia and hootenanny and hornswoggled are both words that are used there. Postprandial is totally new to me and it’s one I might be able to use. Thanks for participating!
Hi Kathy,
I have been checking around for some more information about the word ‘postprandial’ and I came across a great article in ‘The Daily’ of The University of Washington, written by Will Mari.
Here is just a small snippet from the piece…
“If you’ve been searching ceaselessly for the perfect phrase for what the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines as what’s “done, made, taken, [or] happening … in the period after a meal,” you can, well, stop looking. That silly bit of English is postprandial. From “post,” and “prandial,” the word’s latter part probably comes to us from the postclassical Latin formation, “prandialis,” which, in turn, comes from the classical Latin, “prandium,” meaning, “a meal eaten about midday.””
The article was brilliant and made me smile.