Tag: wacky words

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Wacky Wednesday: November 18

Wacky Wednesday is upon us again and today is a most interesting day. First, we have a couple interesting nouns. We continue our look at some old English insults with Drate-Poke. It refers to someone who drawls or speaks indistinctly. Driggle-Draggle, is a name for an untidy woman. These don’t roll of the tongue too well and it might be difficult to throw these into casual conversation. They’re still fun to say. Though this isn’t really a holiday, it should be known that today is Mickey Mouse’s Birthday. He first appeared in 1928. 

For our holidays today, we first have National Educational Support Professionals Day which falls on the Wednesday of American Education Week. These folks include secretaries, classroom aides, cafeteria workers, maintenance workers, bus drivers, etc. For our token food holiday, we have National Vichyssoise Day. Vichyssoise is made thick with pureed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream and chicken stock. Its traditionally served cold though sometimes is eaten hot. In the United States, Vichyssoise is pronounced: “vish – e – swaz.” Finally, we have National Princess Day. Celebrate with the Princess in your life.

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Wacky Wednesday: November 11

We have a short Wacky Wednesday today as there are only a couple holidays and a couple of words. We are continuing defining old school insults for people. Our first noun is a Dew-beater. This is an 18th century word for a large shoe, and consequently a clumsy or awkward person. It can also refer to someone who rises early getting the morning dew on their shoes. Dorbel is another noun meaning a petty, nitpicking teacher. It is also another name for a nincompoop. The name is derived from an old French scholar named Nicolas d’Orbellis, who was well known as a supporter of the philosopher John Duns Scotus whose followers were the original “dunces.”

As for holidays, there are only two. The first is Veterans Day, which coincides with other holidays including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day which are celebrated in other countries to mark the anniversary to the end of World War I. It was renamed Veterans Day in the United States in 1954. And in an unrelated note, today is also National Sundae Day. An ice cream sundae usually consists of one or two scoops of ice cream topped with sauce or syrup. It will then include other toppings including whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. Go out and thank a veteran and offer to purchase them an ice cream sundae.

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Wacky Wednesday: November 4

Let the first wackiness of November begin. Actually, the world has been wacky for a long time now and I don’t see the wackiness dying. Our words today come as derogatory terms with which to insult people. (This post was written on Oct 28, so these insults may come in handy after election results are announced.) The first word is Cumberworld. A noun meaning a useless person or thing; someone who is an encumbrance on the world. The next word is Dalcop. Another noun meaning a particularly stupid person. Cop is an old word for head, so it literally means dull head.

We only have a few holidays to celebrate today. First, we have National Chicken Lady Day. This unusual sounding holiday honors Dr. Marthenia “Tina” Dupree. She worked at the second-largest chicken restaurant in the world as Director of Community Relations and Training. She did a lot for the community and that’s how she got her name. Look up more on the Chicken Lady. Today is also National Candy Day. I think this is celebrated only a few days after Halloween so people can sell the old candy. That’s just my opinion.

Finally, we have National Stress Awareness Day. This happens every first Wednesday in November. Probably intended to be the day after Election Day. And some might be feeling more stressed than usual. (Remember this post was written a week ago. See my post from earlier today to know my opinions.) The important thing is to not allow that stress to overwhelm you. Be aware that it exists and try to eliminate some of the minor stresses in your life. Sometimes keeping things wacky can help lower stress. Stay wacky folks.