I run into the strangest words sometimes…

They say that there is a tree of knowledge. But how did the tree learn the knowledge? Hmmm….and back to Wikipedia I go. Image courtesy of bullboy, Morguefile

Earlier today, I read an interesting and funny post by fellow blogger Marilyn Armstrong. In her post, “Googling Me,” Marilyn wrote about Googling her own name and what she found when she did. Her other selves have received doctorates, died several times, had kids and grandkids, and become an Aboriginal artist.

So I told her about a book written by British comedian Dave Gorman, who not only found others with his name, but actually set out to meet as many of him as possible. His journey took him several months and involved several different countries.

As I did research on Wikipedia to find out the name of the book (it’s called “Are You Dave Gorman?”), I turned up the interesting information that Dave Gorman is a pescatarian. My mind ran amok with what this word means. Does it hurt? Is it 50-Shades-of-Gray kinky? Is it some strange, mind-blowing medical condition? Do I need to don protective gear?

Nope, nope, nope and nope. I clicked on the Wikipedia link. It just means that he eats fish and not other types of meat. (Dave should come to the Delmarva area. We’ve got some seafood restaurants that would knock his Nikes off.)

It’s not often that I run into words that I am completely clueless about, but it happens sometimes. Often, you can tell what a word means by the other words around it, but “pescatarian” got me good.

Long-time readers of my blog are aware that I have an ongoing joke about the obscure word “defenestration”. It’s one of those words you almost never hear, but it’s amusing to use the word at a party and listen to other people try to guess the meaning. (If you’re a newbie and don’t know about this joke, it’s okay. And thanks for following — I have noticed you! ;-))

So tonight, I thought I’d dig up some more obscure words for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

1) aglet – the tiny plastic sleeve or tag at the end of a shoelace

2) longueur – a dull section of a book

3) lepidopterophobia – a phobia of butterflies and moths

4) emmet – another name for an ant

5) hilding – a bad person

6) zibeline – a type of fabric made from camel, alpaca or goat hair

7) splanchic – visceral

8) wittol – a witless person

9) taurine – bovine

Isn’t English marvelous? (Okay, okay. I raided the dictionary for a couple of words. Honestly! The things I do to entertain you, people!)

And now after all of that heavy thinking, I need sustenance. I’m off to Russell Deasley’s blog to snack on his pictures of healthy couscous recipes. Have a good weekend.