Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: MIZ-uhl, noun/verb Notes: This is another word with multiple origins and meanings Yesterday’s word The word hoick means “to move or pull abruptly: yank” Background / Comments It is thought that this word is an alteration of the verb hike, which is itself akin to hitch. Although the word can be used for anyContinue reading “mizzle”

Pronounced: hoik, verb Notes: I don’t think I’ve run across this word, but it does sound a bit familiar Yesterday’s word The word raddle means, as a noun, “red ocher”; it’s used for marking animals or coloring. As a verb, it has the following meanings To mark or paint with red ocher To twist togetherContinue reading “hoick”

Pronounced: RAD-uhl, noun/verb Notes: This word has more than one meaning Yesterday’s word The word squatchee refers to the button on top of a baseball cap. Background / Comments Yesterday, I mentioned that this word appears to be a sniglet (a word that should exist in the dictionary, but doesn’t). Sniglet itself is a sniglet;Continue reading “raddle”

Pronounced: SKWAH-chee, noun Notes: Also squatcho; I was playing a trivia game and it asked me what this was, and I had no idea. This may be unfair, because it appears that this word may be a “sniglet”: so, if you don’t know squatchee/squatcho or even sniglet, I’ll discuss it tomorrow in the background. Yesterday’sContinue reading “squatchee”

Pronounced: BY-you, noun Notes: I know the word from reading and television, but I was at a loss to properly define it. Yesterday’s word The word fimbriated means “having the edge or extremity bordered by slender processes: fringed Background / Comments This word comes from Latin fimbriatus (fringed). I was puzzled by the word “processes”Continue reading “bayou”

Pronounced: FIM-bree-ay-tuh, adj Notes: Some crafty people may know this word — I didn’t Yesterday’s word The word sagamore means “a chief or leader” Background / Comments The word comes from the Indian (that is, Native American) Eastern Abenaki word sakama. First usage This word showed up in the early 1600s Rejected word I don’tContinue reading “fimbriated”

Pronounced: SAG-uh-more, noun Notes: A handy word to know Yesterday’s phrase The phrase white elephant means a property requiring much care and expense and yielding little profit an object no longer of value to its owner but of value to others Background / Comments The original white elephant was a sacred animal in India, SriContinue reading “sagamore”

Pronounced as you expect Notes: I very nearly left this word out of the list, because I know the meaning, but I didn’t have a clear understanding of the origin, and I found it interesting. Yesterday’s word The word coffle means “a line of slaves or animals fastened together” Background This word comes from theContinue reading “white elephant”

Pronounced: KAW-full, noun Notes: An unknown word to me Yesterday’s word The word cornpone means (an an adjective) “rustic; folksy; countrified”. As a noun, it is “unleavened born bread, baked or fried”. Background / Comments This word is combination of the English word corn with the Virginia Algonquian word apones (bread) First usage This wordContinue reading “coffle”

Pronounced: CORN-pone, adj/noun Notes: After reading the adjective definition, I think I ran across this years ago, but since I could not define it, it qualifies for this list. Yesterday’s word The word scarify means to make scratches or small cuts in to lacerate the feelings of to cut or soften the wall of (aContinue reading “cornpone”