Better Use of Language - God bless the OED.

(Last day to vote for Superman vs. Batman.)

As I read a scribble down a words I find interesting. I like to check them in the OED to see their origins. Words change meaning very frequently, don't bother fighting it. Acceptable words become taboo and old words take on new meanings. Since you seemed to like the post on language used incorrectly, hackneyed and cliched I'll drop a few of these on you. If you are tired of cliche use words that are not over used. I warn you though, if it is too obscure you are not communicating you are only showing off.

Cabbage - To steal. "When the opportunity arose Jeff cabbaged the pencil from my desk." It has a separate French verb origin than the more common English noun (the plant). It came from when a tailor would have to cut off little bits of fabric when making clothes, called a cabbage. Even though the owner paid for the entire bolt of fabric these little piece became the property of the tailor. (He just kind of picked them up and kept them.) Too obscure, don't bother.

Gadabout - A person who flits about in social activity. "Jeff was a gadabout in college, going from social to function to kegger." You've prolly heard "gadabout town." For 5 props, can anyone tell me the closest insect relative of the gadabout? Well I was thinking gadfly, but social butterfly is good for half credit. A gadfly is a catch all for annoying insects that go here and there. It is named for a "gad" a mining tool, a pointy chisel. But gadabout is more closely related to "gadden" an antiquated Middle English verb meaning "to wander without specific purpose."

Ok here is a personal fav. Gruntle - I'm holding off on the definition for right now. You've prolly heard of the word "Disgruntled" in relation to a postal worker. (A phenomenon so popular it has added the expression "going potal" to our language.) If you check in a dictionary you may get two different definitions. 1) To put in good humor. This definition is based on the false assumption of the opposite of dis-gruntle must be good. Strangely, the word "Gruntle" originally ment 2) To grumble. And it used a rare and almost obsolete use of the prefix dis- meaning to intensify. Never the less definition 2 has fallen completely out of use. I like word gruntle to mean put in good humor, it is fun.


Quincunx - arrangement of five things in a square or rectangle with one at each corner and one in the middle - "Put those five plants in the garden in a quincunx, and buy a dictionary." That's right baby, a new q word for scabble! Although it is too long for scrabble, drat... but wait, first put down CUN (meaning to know or to con) then add Quin to the front and X to the back and bingo, you've won. The Quincrunx was a Roman coin that had 5 stars in this pattern. Ok Latin roots here... quinque "five"... uncia "one twelfth... this coin weights 5/12 of a libra.

I'm afraid I ran too obscure and these will be unuseable in conversation. I say, next time someone speaks all in cliche hit them with these and tell them to by a dictionary.