Afternoon, readers!
So, there weren’t many Words Nobody Uses or Knows in this week’s issue. Our writers must not have been feeling so pretentious. Honestly, I found two, and one word was defined by the author IN the article. But it’s just too great of a word to pass up in, so I’m going to expand upon it a bit in our vocab lesson.
Flibbertigibbet. Yes, this is a real word; it even has its own Wikipedia page. It’s found in the headline and in the text of this week’s Spill It.
flibbertigibbet (pronounced flibber-TEE-gibbit): a silly, scatterbrained, or garrulous person (n.)
It’s a Middle English word, meaning it’s from the dialect of the Middle Ages, the 12th to 15th century. Today it’s mostly used as a slang term in Yorkshire. (The English use all sorts of fabulous words, don’t they?)
Fun flibbertigibbet facts, according to the Google: The word has also been historically used as a name for a devil, spirit or fiend. In the book Charlotte’s Web, the Goose says, “I am no Flibberty-ibberty-gibbet.” Flibbertigibbet is also is the password used in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to access Gryffindor’s dormitory.
In this issue: ”
Late last year, veteran multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter Chris Arduser released the latest addition to his stellar discography, a new solo album titled Flibbertigibbet (yes, it’s a real word, meaning ‘a flighty or excessively talkative person’).”
OK, the next and last word on my list is churlish. Again, this is a word I see a lot, but I don’t actually know what it means. It’s found in TT Stern-Enzi’s piece: “The Future Is Now: A Sneak Peek at the Year“.
churlish: a rude, selfish or mean person (n.); boorish or vulgar (adj.)
In this issue:
“It would be churlish to focus on their misfires (Van Sant’s shot-for-shot remake of Hitchcock’s Psycho and Malick’s far-too-interior fever dream To the Wonder), even when such efforts, while frustrating, prove to be more inspired and riskier bets than the working hacks could ever imagine in a thousand years with all the riches of the world at their disposal.”
That’s all I’ve got, readers. Try and stay warm this weekend (although when it’s 0 degrees out, literally ZERO, this may be futile).
This article appears in Jan 7-14, 2015.
