Yvonne
This would usually be my post as part of the ‘Wondrous Words Wednesday’ meme, which is hosted by the lovely Kathy @ BermudaOnion blog. However, Kathy is taking an extended and well-earned break from blogging, so I am sending her all Best Wishes and hope to have her back again very soon, she is sorely missed 🙂
I have so many new to me words stacking up, that I thought I would share just a few of them with you anyway, in the hope that Kathy won’t mind too much!
During these past few ‘lockdown’ weeks, I have been playing some random online puzzle games to keep my brain from shrivelling up completely. One such challenge is called ‘Outspell’, which in essence is very similar to ‘Scrabble’, where you play against a computer opponent. Despite the fact that I have occasionally managed to outwit my electronic foe, it has managed to throw up a few random words which I have double checked, as they looked so dubious! I thought I might share a few with you:
AIRT – A Scottish word for a point of the compass, in relation to direction. Derived from the Scottish Gaelic word ‘aird’, for a point of the compass, in relation to height.
COLE – Any of several brassicas, especially any of the various crop plants such as broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi, derived from the same wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea).
CAY – A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef.
SWINK – To toil, slave or work hard.
ERGOT –
1. A small horny protuberance on the back of each of a horse’s fetlocks.
2. A fungal disease of rye and other cereals in which black elongated fruiting bodies grow in the ears of the cereal. Eating contaminated food can result in ergotism. The fruiting bodies of the ergot fungus, are used as a source of certain medicinal alkaloids, especially for inducing uterine contractions or controlling post-partum bleeding.
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That’s all for this time, although my next post is already filling up with more new to me words. How many of this week’s did you know? 🙂
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Hi Yvonne. I do love your wordy posts so much. I haven’t heard of Outspell, I tend to play Words with Friends with my daughter in Exeter via our phones, it’s Scrabble in all but name really. I’d heard of ‘cay’ and ‘ergot’ as in a fungal disease but the rest are new to me. Intrigued by ‘cole’ as we grow greens but I’d still not heard of this word for them. Interesting.
I haven’t used the ‘Outspell’ site in the last couple of weeks, as it was throwing up some funny messages on my PC, however I think it is something to do with the ‘Daily Mail’.
I do still access their Daily Crossword, and I am addicted to my daily dose of Jigzone. However I have now also discovered Jigsaw Planet, which is so much of a time waster, in a totally absorbing way, although I tend to spend less time on my ‘real’ jigsaws as a consequence!
It’s funny how we know a word in a certain context, but when someone throws in an alternative meaning for the same word, we are completely thrown. No wonder they say the English language is one of the most difficult to learn!
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Hump Day 🙂
Thanks for the kind words! I use airt in Words with Friends fairly often but had no idea what it means.
Hi Kathy,
I hope that you are settling into your new home and that it won’t be too long before you feel the urge to pick up your books again. Maybe as autumn creeps upon us with those dark evenings, which means that we can shut out the outside world and curl up in our own space?
I know that the computer foes in these online games don’t use non existent words, but I so often find myself thinking ‘really’ and then spend the next few minutes just making sure my invisible friend isn’t cheating!
Thanks for making time to stop by, I really appreciate your support 🙂
Key (or Cay) was the only word I already knew this time. I’m surprised with all your trips to Florida that you didn’t know that one… then again, Disney World isn’t anywhere near the FL Keys!
I always enjoy these posts. 🙂
Hi Kelly,
Yes! If Cay had been written as Key, I would have got it right away, but my invisible opponent tried to catch me out, and as ever, they did!
We have never ventured down as far as Miami, or on down to the Keys, although we often drove north, almost up as far as the border with Georgia.
Dave has visited most corners of the USA, as he spent ten years working for an American company, as their EMEA Director. As these were all business trips or sales conferences, I never got the opportunity to travel with him unfortunately, as I would have liked to have visited relatives in LA.
As you know I am a bit of a nerd with checking things out online, so I too, always enjoy these posts, especially when not too many people know words that I didn’t, as I then don’t feel quite so uneducated! 🙂
Well, these sound really good for scrabble. I will make a list and refresh my memory for December, when my husband and I play lots of Scrabble (and other games), as part of our advent celebrations.
Hi Anca,
We also tend to break out the Scrabble at Christmas time, along with another word game we particularly enjoy called Boggle. When there are a larger group of us, there is also a game called Articulate, which is great fun, although somehow I can’t see there being any family gatherings this year!
Thanks for taking the time to comment and I hope you win all the games with your new found words 🙂
Thanks for sharing these Yvonne. I do play Words With Friends daily, I find it alot of fun. Swink sounds different, I’d never heard of that one and ergotism is gross lol.
Hi Naida,
‘Words With Friends’ sounds really good, I’ll check that one out in more detail later!
I think ‘swink’ is an excellent word, I know quite a few people I could catch out by dropping it into the conversation – and I think I might actually remember the word in a few days time! 🙂
Eat naturally and healthily they say! – You never know quite what you are eating though, do you?
Thanks for stopping by and have a good week 🙂