Vanya Writer Consulting has written a post with humorous examples of why punctuation is important.
Category: Word Play
Merriam-Webster Favorite New Word Quiz
If you are young and hip (and I am neither) you may do better than I did on this quiz. Nonetheless, I thought it was a fun quiz to take.
If You Really Want to Sound Old…
Back in the good old days is what folks used to say but those of us born in the twentieth century can talk in a whole different way Not when dinosaurs roamed the earth They weren't around in the years of our birth It was the last century which also true And the last millennium that we also passed through
Merriam-Webster Name that Thing Mega Quiz
This 40 question quiz where you identify the picture of a part of the picture covers a variety of things.
Casual and Effect
Unbound by girdles and panty hose Freed from the tyranny of ties Athletic shoes worn everywhere from church to business to the gym Casual can be more comfortable But... When we discarded formal clothes did we also discard civility and what used to be formal manners? If we no longer bow down to the strictures of clothes then why accept the torrents of abuse from those who are more concerned about themselves: their rights their opinions their needs their entitlements their unmet expectations Anyone Bother to Use Sensible Expectations?
Did You Know?
From a forwarded email. While these may or may not be accurate, they are certainly interesting.
In George Washington’s days, there were no cameras. One’s image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are ‘limbs,’ therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, ‘Okay, but it’ll cost you an arm and a leg.’ (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint)
As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn’t wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term ‘big wig.’ Today we often use the term ‘here comes the Big Wig’ because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.
In the late 1700’s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The ‘head of the household’ always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the ‘chair man.’ Today in business, we use the expression or title ‘Chairman’ or ‘Chairman of the Board..’
Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee’s wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman’s face she was told, ‘mind your own bee’s wax.’ Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term ‘crack a smile’. In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . Therefore, the expression ‘losing face.’
Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in ‘straight laced’. . Wore a tightly tied lace.
Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the ‘Ace of Spades.’ To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren’t ‘playing with a full deck.’
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV’s or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to ‘go sip some ale’ and listen to people’s conversations and political concerns.. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. ‘You go sip here’ and ‘You go sip there.’ The two words ‘go sip’ were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term ‘gossip.’
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to ..the cannon. There was only one problem…how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a ‘Monkey’ with 16 round indentations.
However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make ‘Brass Monkeys.’ Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.
Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, ‘Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.’ (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn’t you.)
Merriam-Webster, Name that Clothing
This is a fun quiz and if you fashion knowledge is old-fashioned and wide-speread, this should be easy.
Splooting
When you just gotta dump heat or cool off by lying prone on a cool surface
Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it…
Merriam-Webster Name that Animal Vol. 2
This quiz is easier if you watch a lot of animal shows. BBC, Animal Planet, and the Smithsonian Channel could be helpful.
Merriam-Webster Fashion Word Quiz
This is a fun quiz and depending upon your habits (reading or fashion) it may be easier or more difficult.
Reblog: 56 Delightfully Unusual Words for Every Day Things
If your dream is to talk like Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek, look no further than Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words, one of the dictionaries Catherine O’Hara used to tweak her iconic character’s lines. As its name promises (and by design), the book is full of weird and wonderful words—some for things decidedly exotic, and many for things we experience regularly. The following terms for everyday things are ones you’ll want to add to your lexicon ASAP.
Read this article to learn words like bumfodder (toilet paper) or blattnerphone (tape recorder).
Merriam-Webster Name Even More Colors Quiz
You identify the colors by looking at the square and selecting one of the four color names below.
This one may be difficult depending upon your visual acuity and your screen.
Merriam-Webster Brand Name Quiz
Merriam-Webster Eponym Quiz
You may know that Pasteurization is named after Louis Pasteur, but do you know these other 15 clues?
Take the eponym quiz.
I missed two, but if I had read the clue more closely, it would have been one.
Not in My Wheelhouse
This expression has become ubiquitous in the past few years, even used by a contestant on Jeopardy recently when referring to a category she was not overly familiar with.
What is a Wheelhouse?
According to Mental Floss,
It’s All About Boats
If you’ve been on a boat large enough to have a wheel, you’ll recall that there’s typically a room enclosing that wheel. That’s the wheelhouse. On the largest shipping vessels, it’s an enormous room full of technical equipment for navigation—it’s the command center.
On smaller vessels, the wheelhouse may not be fully enclosed, but it’s still the command center, typically located with good lines of sight to both the vessel and the water surrounding it.
So when a captain is in his or her wheelhouse, that’s a place of command and control. If you’re in your wheelhouse, that’s any situation in which you feel comfortable.
If it's not in your wheelhouse is it because you are not interested not knowledgeable or don't want to be bothered?
You Can’t Have Poetry without Poe
A contrived poem created from lines of Edgar Allan Poe’s poems.
The idea for this compilation came from Luisa’s blog, her post The Poet
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;–
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow — I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone —
And all I lov’d — I lov’d alone —
Lo! Death has reared himself a throne
In a strange city lying alone
Far down within the dim West,
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best
Have gone to their eternal rest.
Fussing and Fusing
Fusion-the process or result of joining two or more things together to form a single entity. “a fusion of an idea from anthropology and an idea from psychology”
Confusion – Lack of understanding; uncertainty.the state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something.
Profusion – an abundance or large quantity of something.
Sometimes the mind trots down a different path synapses creating symbiotic relationships not previously imagined. Does the fusion of these new heretofore separate thoughts create confusion or profusion? Or do you refuse to ponder further? Is a Whetherman a castrated sheep or goat? Do bovines think that humans are full of peoplepoop? Do aliens avoid earth because we are too messed up? If humans should be humane, are profans profane? What if life is a game and we are all merely players in it?
Merriam-Webster Slang Through the Ages
This was an easier quiz than I expected. Helpful if you read older novels or watch older movies.
Merriam-Webster British Vocabulary Quiz
The US and the UK have sometimes been described as two nations separated by a common language.
Take this quiz to if you are as fluent in British English as you think you are in American English.
This may be the first Merriam-Webster quiz I have ever aced. They say I missed one, but that is not the result I remember.
English Language Pondering
From a forwarded email
FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE PHILOSOPHY OF AMBIGUITY, AS WELL AS THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF ENGLISH:
1. ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA ….. FLOOR.
2. ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION.
3. IF MAN EVOLVED FROM MONKEYS AND APES, WHY DO WE STILL HAVE MONKEYS AND APES?
4. THE MAIN REASON THAT SANTA IS SO JOLLY IS BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHERE ALL THE BAD GIRLS LIVE.
5. I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, “WHERE’S THE SELF-HELP SECTION?” SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE.
6. WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?
7. IF A DEAF CHILD SIGNS SWEAR WORDS, DOES HIS MOTHER WASH HIS HANDS WITH SOAP?
8. IF SOMEONE WITH MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES THREATENS TO KILL HIMSELF, IS IT CONSIDERED A HOSTAGE SITUATION?
9. IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?
10. WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO “GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?”
11 WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT?
12. IF A PARSLEY FARMER IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES?
13. WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?
14. WHY DO THEY LOCK GAS STATION BATHROOMS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL BREAK IN AND CLEAN THEM?
15. IF A TURTLE DOESN’T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?
16. CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS?
17. IF THE POLICE ARREST A MUTE, DO THEY TELL HIM HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT?
18. WHY DO THEY PUT BRAILLE ON THE DRIVE-THROUGH BANK MACHINES?
19. HOW DO THEY GET DEER TO CROSS THE ROAD ONLY AT THOSE YELLOW ROAD SIGNS?
20. WHAT WAS THE BEST THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD?
21. ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON’T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.
22. DOES THE LITTLE MERMAID WEAR AN ALGEBRA?
(This one took me a minute)
23. DO INFANTS ENJOY INFANCY AS MUCH AS ADULTS ENJOY ADULTERY?
24. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR?
25. IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO?
26. IF YOU ATE BOTH PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY?
27. IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?
28. WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS IT FOR THE WORD ‘LISP’ TO HAVE ‘S’ IN IT?
29. WHY ARE HEMORRHOIDS CALLED “HEMORRHOIDS” INSTEAD OF “ASSTEROIDS?”
30. WHY IS IT CALLED TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN’T SHOOT AT THEM?
31. WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?
32. CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD?
e-Quips 