Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: my-AH-luh-jee, noun Notes: Not a word I’ve run across Yesterday’s word The word boondoggle is First usage Our word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments Some people say that the origin of our word is unknown, but others indicate that Robert Link, a scoutmaster in the 1920s, created the term forContinue reading “myology”

Pronounced: BOON-dah-gull, noun Notes: I’ve heard this word used, but I did not know the correct meaning Yesterday’s word The word unshirted means First usage Our word came into English in the 1930s Background / Comments As noted yesterday, our word does not mean shirtless, which means “poor”. There is another word “shirty” that meansContinue reading “boondoggle”

Pronounced: un-SURE-tid, adj Notes: This word is not the same as “shirtless” Yesterday’s word The word indite means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1300s Background / Comments As I noted yesterday, our word is a homophone of “indict” (to charge with a crime). Our word is the older, and, in fact,Continue reading “unshirted”

Pronounced: in-DITE, verb Notes: I believe this is a homophone of “indict”, and I got this word confused with that one Yesterday’s word The word zounds is an interjection that expresses surprise or indignation. First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments I have only heard this expression onContinue reading “indite”

Pronounced: ZOWNDZ, interjection Notes: I have heard this word only, but I did not know much about it Yesterday’s word The word uxorial means “of, relating to, or characteristic of a wife” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin root word uxorContinue reading “zounds”

Pronounced: uk-SORE-ee-uhl, adj Notes: I knew a little of this word Yesterday’s word The word alterity is “otherness; the state of quality of being other or different” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1500s Background / Comments Our word has bounced around through many languages; it came into English from theContinue reading “uxorial”

Pronounced: al-TER-uh-tee, noun Notes: A nice, usable word to add to one’s vocabulary Yesterday’s word The word sashay means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word is a corruption of the French word chassé (a gliding step in which one foot is kept in front of theContinue reading “alterity”

Pronounced: sa-SHAY, verb Notes: I knew a bit about this word, but the background was interesting Yesterday’s word The word sukey means “a tea-kettle” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments Our word comes from the nursery rhyme “Polly Put the Kettle On”; this is a nursery rhymeContinue reading “sashay”

Pronounced: SOO-kee, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word Yesterday’s word The word ombudsman is First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments I thought our word had something to do with finances. Our word came from Swedish, where it refers to a legal representative, which is made up ofContinue reading “sukey”

Pronounced: AHM-budz-muhn, noun Notes: I thought I knew what this meant, but I didn’t Yesterday’s word The word tuffet means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I mentioned the “Little Miss Muffet” nursery rhyme yesterday; it has multiple variation; the one I learned runs as follows: Little MissContinue reading “ombudsman”