"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Twit
As a noun, a twit is a twerp; someone who is regarded as mildly contemptible or foolish.
As a verb it can mean to tease: harass with persistent criticism or carping.
That word reminds me of my late husband so much! When we were out in town and there were (male) youths with silly hairdos, Steve would always mumble under his breath "You look like a right twit". Yes, we were/are so shallow!
My daughter Helen commented in November 2008 in her Blog that she was now keeping a notebook of new words that she came across during her reading. "This week I bought a lovely little leather bound book to write new words in as I read them . I've added a few from "1984", but my favourite has to be persiflage (from the French persifler) which means banter." I later discovered that my older daughter, Bryony, also kept a similar notebook.
This inspired me to create a Word blog. This will include both new words, favourite words and the origins of phrases that we commonly use. A definition and some comment, perhaps even a relevant quotation, will acompany the word or phrase.
“I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me.” - Winnie the Pooh
That word reminds me of my late husband so much! When we were out in town and there were (male) youths with silly hairdos, Steve would always mumble under his breath "You look like a right twit". Yes, we were/are so shallow!
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