This is a bit of this and that for Stream of Consciousness Saturday. I love words and like to dabble lightly in etymology. When I am writing I will sometimes look for new words and synonyms on Dictionary.com. I went there for this piece and got carried away with The Word of the Day Word List. I love these zany words and their meanings. Feel free to add them to your vocabulary. They may come in handy this election season. So hear goes:
bafflegab: slang, confusing or generally unintelligible jargon; gobbledegook.
This sounds like it could describe my writing sometimes. Bafflegab is a “portmanteau” word, a combining of two words, baffle and gab. I like gobbledegook too.
bissextus: no it is not referring to sexual orientation. This word refers to February 29th, the extra day added every 4th year to compensate for the 6 hours that our 365 day year falls short of the solar year.
cachinnate: to laugh loudly or immoderately
This sounds like a good idea, anything in immoderation especially laughing.
flumadiddle: utter nonsense, worthless frills. An Americanism, ( yay! This means we Americans made this up), combining flummery and diddle.
Sounds very sensible to me.
frabjous: informal, wonderful, elegant, superb. Coined by Lewis Carrol in Through the Looking Glass. ” O frabjous day! Callooh / Callay! / He chortled in his joy.
And last but not least, ( drum roll) :
quidnunc: a person who is eager to know the latest news and gossip; a gossip or busybody.
I have know a few quidnuncs in my day.
The Quidnunc Comes to Visit
Last week an acquaintance dropped by and I asked her, “Do you have any plans for Bissextus?”
“I am not bissextus”, she replied, looking suspicious.
“Bissextus is a word for February 29th. It is a Latin word,” I said.
“Why can’t you just speak English like everyone else?” she said.
” That reminds me, did you watch the Republican debates?” she went on.
” Yes I watched something but I don’t know if I would call it a debate,” I answered.
“What did you think of it?” she continued.
“I thought it was too much bafflegab, and flumadiddle,” I exclaimed.
She looked befuddled and said, “Can you repeat that? I think I did not hear you correctly.”
I said, ” Bafflegab, and flumadiddle.”
“Oh well now I see,” she said but she didn’t, looking wide eyed at me.
I began to cachinnate and fell on the floor as she scurried out the door.
After I caught my breath, I said, “Oh frabjous day! The quidnunc went away!
That is all I have to say on this.
Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. Words and definitions are from Dictionary.com. Featured image of Alice Through the Looking Glass is by sammydavisdog on Flickr.
I like bafflegab – sometimes, gobbledegook just seems too formal – nice job on the prompt!
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LOL. Very true Dan. Thank You very much! 🙂
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Love those words and you used them well in your short fiction piece 🙂
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Thank You, Mandibelle. 🙂
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You’re most welcome.
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Hahaha! I agree with you regarding the Republican Debate. What the He** was that?? Cute story!!
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It did have its funny moments. 😀 Thank You, Joy! 🙂
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Love the words and the way you used them.
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Thank You very much. 🙂
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Snarky fun 🙂
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Thank You, Joey. 🙂
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LOL, I adore bafflegab. That is already added to my vocabulary
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Always happy to contribute. It is a good one. Thanks, Bee. ❤
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Nothing better than to see the back of a quidnunc. Haha!
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Hee, hee, definitely better than the front. 🙂
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