Words You Never Heard!

This year over 27 million people will be shopping for a live Christmas tree.  In the old days, families would have to go out in the woods, search for that perfect tree and chop it down. But Christmas tree farms have made bringing home that beautiful tree as simple as going to the grocery store.  But how did Christmas tree farms get their start? 

In 1851, an enterprising logger from the Catskill mountains recognized the opportunity and hauled dozens of fir and spruce trees from his land down to New York City’s Washington Market.  Customers were conjubilant with this new convenience and the trees sold out almost immediately. Even though the advent of Christmas tree farms has made it easy to have a real tree in your living room, you still have to deal with the diddledees.  Diddledees are all the little pine needles that fall off under the tree.

This probably explains why 21 million people bought artificial trees last year made by Santa’s helpers…otherwise known as subordinate clauses!

Recently a traveler alerted an airline that she would be bringing an emotional-support animal on a flight from Orlando to Cleveland.  What she failed to mention is that this particular animal would be so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Now that’s a bit twistical.  Twistical is another word for not quite truthful.

Unfortunately, this caused quite a flapdoodle when she tried to board with her emotional support squirrel.  When she refused to leave the squirrel behind, all the passengers had to deplane while security removed her from the flight.  Not the best example of in-flight jettiquette.

The airlines were concerned the squirrel would get loose and wreak havoc on other passengers, perhaps even jumping from baggage bin to baggage bin Cirque du Squirrel-eil style. What’s a word for the fear of squirrels? (Sy-ur-ah-phobia) Sciurophobia

If you’re like me, this time of year your blood type is ‘pumpkin spice!’  Here are some sweet facts about Halloween Candy: The process of covering a chocolate center with hard candy like an M&M is called Enrobing!

Harry Burnett Reese named his chocolate-covered peanut butter cup after himself.   Did you know that a dentist created cotton candy? In 1897 dentist William Morrison partnered with candy maker John C. Wharton to invent the machine that used centrifugal force to turn sugar into cotton-like strands! First named “Fairy Floss”, it was renamed cotton candy in the 1920s! I’d like to take a moment to extend a special thank you to all of our armed forces serving our country at home and abroad!

Did you know the average US worker spends over a thousand dollars a year on coffee?  We seem to think that coffee will relieve the Storm und drang (shtoom oon drong) or the stress of life.  I admit I love coffee, especially in the morning.  If I don’t get my cup of Joe I can become quite a quaddler.  A quaddler is another name for a grumpy person. 

What’s another word for that first early morning yawn and stretch?  Pandiculation.  Starbuck was the name of the first mate of the whaling ship in the novel Moby Dick.   I don’t think Captain Ahab needed any coffee, but do you think this is where the famous coffee company got its name?

A New Hampshire man Steve Geddes just made US history by growing a pumpkin so large it surpassed the record for largest pumpkin in North America!  Presented at the Deerfield Fair in New Hampshire last month, his massive pumpkin weighed in at 2528 pounds! That was enough to break the record and win $6000 in prize money!

The word "pumpkin" appeared for the first time in the fairy tale Cinderella.   A French explorer in 1584 first referred to the large orange gourds as  "gros melons," which was translated into English as “ pompions”.  It wasn't until the 17th century that they became known as pumpkins. What’s the word for the fear of being turned into a pumpkin?  Apopocolocynposis!

Have you heard the one about the horse that walked into a bar?   No long faces, but recently in Chantilly France, a racehorse got away from its trainer and galloped into a nearby sports bar!  What’s another word for a chaotic situation? Doobungus!

Fortunately, the horse was just a neigh-sayer and no one got hurt.  It has been suggested that if you want to stop a racehorse from running, just place a bet on them! In the 16th century, “horse” was a common adjective describing anything strong, big, or course. Along with horseplay, that’s how horseradish got its name. The word  Antilochus” as translated from Homer’s Iliad literally means “Hold your horses!"

Were you and your brothers and sisters competitive when you were growing up? A new study by the University of Cambridge shows sibling rivalry can be beneficial for children’s growth and maturity.  In fact a little good old wrangling and Argy-bargy can boost mental and emotional development plus enhance their social skills. Even the taradiddles or little white lies, that kids tell are part of the learning process.

Parents of little ones needn't be too concerned, even if the donnybrooks get worse as the children get older.  Donnybrooks is another word for quarrels.  Here’s a shout out to all of the older siblings that were used as tester kids so we younger sibs could get away with things you would have gotten in really big trouble for:)

Dr Claire Hughes, whose new book “Social Understanding and Social Lives” says "The more combative quabbles siblings have, the more they are learning complex lessons and bouncebackability!

Did you know that in Germany you can get a ticket for running out of fuel on an autobahn?  In Cyprus, it’s illegal to eat or drink while driving a car.  I guess if you get a case of phagomania, it’s best to pull over.  Phagomania is another word for insatiable hunger.  In Moscow you can get fined for not keeping your vehicle clean.  And that’s the whole car, not just the license plates!

Japanese motorists are considered among the most polite drivers in the world.  And when it comes to obeying the speed limit, the Swiss seem to do the best job.  That might be because in Switzerland speeding is considered a criminal offense, even if it’s just a few miles per hour over the speed limit.  What’s a word for someone who gets worked up over trivial things?  A  microlipet.

As a visual language emoji has already far eclipsed hieroglyphics, its ancient Egyptian precursor which took centuries to develop. The word emoji is directly translated from Japanese, with the E meaning “picture” and “moji” meaning “character”.  What would you guess is the most used emoji in the emojictionary? Of the 5 billion emojis sent daily around the world, the face with tears of joy is used the most! In fact, The Oxford Dictionaries “Word” of the Year 2015  was😂, aka face with tears of joy! 

Many people use emojis as a kind of shorthand, or if they want to express emotion, but can’t find the words, or are in a hurry.  What’s a word for the inability to concentrate due to being in a rush?  Aprosexia. I’m thinking if emojis had been around in Tolstoy’s day, it would have been possible to finish reading War and Peace in about twenty minutes.

America is home to many towns with wacky names.  Estately, a real estate resource for potential home buyers, compiled a list of some of the strangest. How would you like to live in Scratch Ankle, Alabama?  Or Goobertown Arkansas?

Or if you want to live in the Bluegrass state, there’s always Monkeys Eyebrow and Possum Trot, Kentucky.w  I don’t think I would want to live in Goofy Ridge, Illinois or Slickpoo, Idaho. Other address choices are Yeehaw Junction, Florida, Braggyville, Massachusettes and Zipperlandville, Texas. But if I had to choose between Ho Ho Kus New Jersey or Bucksnort, Tennessee, I think I would say Wynot, Michigan?