May 19, 2011 by Angela Tung - 1 Comment

International Sweet Tooth Fairy Day

Red tape measure. Mouse pad thai. Social butterfly kisses. Ear wax eloquent.

Those congruently incongruous phrases are called sweet tooth fairies, and if they make you smile, you’ll want to celebrate them tomorrow:

This Friday, May 20^th, is International Sweet Tooth Fairy Day. Just what is a sweet tooth fairy you may be asking? As described by the coiner of the term, Graham Hidderley/Burgess (better known around these parts as gangerh):

A ‘sweet tooth fairy’ is a FIGURE OF SPEECH. You make one up by finding three words where the first and second words form a known expression, and the second and third words form a known expression, and all three words together make a credible expression

Like. . . well . . . like sweet tooth and tooth fairy make sweet tooth fairy.

And like emotional baggage carousel, and magnetic personality disorder, and unrequited love handles.

The sweet tooth fairy has a few subtypes. From our founder Erin McKean’s article on the subject:

There’s the closed sweet tooth fairy, which begins and ends with the same word, such as run dry run,human being human, and school dance school. . . .There’s also the perfect sweet tooth fairy, a naturally-occurring three-word phrase that can be decomposed, as it were, into two separate two-word phrases: mint chocolate chip, white trash bags, ice cream soda, milk chocolate pudding, modern English usage.

There’s even a term for attempts that don’t quite meet the requirements, like remorse code, or landscapegoat. Hidderley/Burgess calls these false teeth fairies.

In honor of International Sweet Tooth Fairy Day, Hidderly/Burgess has launched a website, Away With the Sweet Tooth Fairies, where new STFairies are added regularly (a few of his current favorites include poker face cream, periodic table manners, pop-ad nauseum), you can check out some illustrated STFairies, as well as submit your own.

Of course Wordnik itself has no lack of STFairy lists, from classic STFairies (made by gangerh himself and still growing), to those with “braces and scaffolding”, to STFairy “dominoes”. Make your own list, add to an already existing one, or submit an STFairy to Hidderly/Burgess’ site. Whatever you do, be sure to have a super Sweet Tooth Fairy day!

May 18, 2011 by Angela Tung

Secret Word Wednesday Explained

In you’ve been following us on Twitter, you know that every Wednesday we play a secret word guessing game. The rules are simple. Read the clues, tweet your guesses, then check the pronunciation in the upper right hand corner of the word page for Pee-wee Herman‘s enthusiastic proclamation to see if you’re right. If multiple players guess the correct word, the fastest tweet wins. The prize is a bit of Wordnik swag and bragging rights.

Today’s secret word was fascicle:

A bundle; a small collection or connected group; a cluster. Specifically— In bot.: A close cluster, as of leaves, flowers, etc.: sometimes limited in use to a condensed cyme.

In mosses, the tissue of elongated cells taking the place of fibrovascular bundles in the nerves, etc.

In zoology and anatomy, a fasciculus.

A part of a printed work: a small number of printed or written sheets bound together.

The first clue today was a newlywed may throw one, referring to the meaning, “a close cluster. . .of flowers.” Of course we were purposefully ambiguous. Which newlywed? Bride or groom? And players guessed appropriately with hissy fit, garter, penny, bash, charivari (terrific word!) and the closest guess, bouquet.

The second clue was some extra reading, referring to the definition, “a small number of printed or written sheets bound together.” @linguajinks guessed appendix, which fits this clue but not the first, though of course she qualified, “I’m sure lots of newlyweds throw away one of those. It’s not like they really need them anyway, right?” A new wedding tradition?

The third clue was a bundle of nerves, which we meant literally – a fasciculus is a bundle of nervous tissue – and not figuratively: “A person with an especially nervous, excitable, or fearful disposition.” And with that clue, last week’s winner @northboundlane got fascicle! “A good spelling bee word,” she quipped. We agree.

Bonus clues weren’t needed today, but we wrote them so here they are. Today’s first bonus clue was the Belle of Amherst had 40, the “Belle of Amherst” referring to Emily Dickinson (also known as the Nun of Amherst) and “40” referring to her 40 fascicles, or small booklets, of poetry. The second bonus clue was a pinched this in your “calf” may require “ices.” By now you know that quotes indicate an anagram, in this case “calf” and “ices” rearranged to spell fascicle. In addition, the sentence itself refers to the “bundle of nerves” meaning of the word.

Congrats again to repeat winner @northboundlane! Remember, you have a chance to win Secret Word Wednesday every week! Just follow us on Twitter.

May 16, 2011 by Angela Tung

Techical Communicators and Wordnik – Perfect Together

The Society for Technical Communication defines technical communication as:

Communicating about technical or specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations.
Communicating by using technology, such as web pages, help files, or social media sites.
Providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of how technical the task is or even if technology is used to create or distribute that communication.

Regardless of what kind of technical communicator you might be – whether a writer of software instructions or patient instructions, a designer of websites, or a usability expert – words are important, and we were happy to learn that many technical communicators turn to Wordnik to find the right ones.

Kevin Cuddihy, Media Manager at the Society for Technical Communication (STC) had this to say:

I think many STC members have started using Wordnik since Erin McKean appeared at our Summit last year, and it’s certainly useful! Technical communicators and STC members may have an added edge in Secret Word Wednesday, given that many work with words constantly and are always looking for new ways of saying/writing things. That’s what makes Wordnik so valuable — finding not only a better way to say something, but clear examples of how a word is used.

“It’s fun to try to work out the answer to SWW from the clues,” says Karen Mulholland, a past winner of Secret Word Wednesday (SWW), “even if I’m completely baffled; and it’s more fun to see (and sometimes giggle at) other people’s guesses. Usually the result is that I learn an interesting word. And it’s an entertaining way to find other word-nerds!”

Melanie Seibert, a three-time winner of SWW, added, “I love the challenge of finding the answer before the other (super-smart) players do. It’s so hard that if you win, it feels like a great achievement. And I always learn new words!”

Technical communicators, if you have any other tips or tricks to winning Secret Word Wednesday, please share! We’re sure other players would love to know.

You can learn more about the Society for Technical Communication at their website. You can also follow them on Twitter.

May 13, 2011 by Angela Tung - 2 Comments

This Week’s Language Blog Round-Up

Welcome to the inaugural post of our new weekly series, the Language Blog Round-Up, in which we’ll be taking a look at some of our favorite language blogs and the latest in word news, and giving you the highlights.

The Economist’s language blog, Johnson had lions on the brain, discussing the proliferation of lion-like Arabic names and a few of the 400 different ways of saying “lion” in Arabic, according to al-Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn Khalawayh, a 10^th century Arabic scholar, in his “The Names of the Lion.” A true OCD-Wordnik at heart, the scholar also composed such gems as “The Names of the Serpent,” “The Book of Trees,” “The Names of the Hours of the Night,” and “On the Names of the Wind.” I think we have lists for those!

Meanwhile, The Virtual Linguist explored the controversy and history around the word “slut”, from its first attestment around 1402 (at the time, the word also meant “kitchen maid” and was used affectionately), to the development of “promiscuity and loose morals” sense in the 16^th century, to an upsurge in the 1980s, and most recently, SlutWalks, an attempt to reclaim the word.

Beauty Marks discussed the challenge of disparate products with the same name (when you hear “Magnum,” do you think ice cream or condoms? or perhaps Ben Stiller’s Zoolander pose?) while Language Log took a look at the difference between “comprised of” and “composed of” and the dangers of picking the wrong synonym.

Finally, you probably heard that the Collins Scrabble dictionary (used primarily in the UK) has added nearly 3,000 new words and terms into its approved Scrabble list. Newly included are non-English words (qin, aloo, and fiqh); slang (thang, innit, blingy); and technology terms (Facebook, MySpace, webzine).

This prompted much discussion among logophiles, including questioning whether or not “mispronunciation constitutes a genuine neologism” (short answer: yes). This sparked another debate over at the Language Log: what is the true origin of American spelling? What caused the change from “British” spelling (-our, -ise) to “American” (-or, -ize). Did Noah Webster single-handedly nationalize American spelling, or was he simply documenting an already on-going trend?

Whatever the reason, Scrabble lovers now have two new Q words that don’t require u’s. (We here at Wordnik expect our Scrabble scores to rise accordingly.)

May 11, 2011 by Angela Tung

Secret Word Wednesday Explained

Today’s secret word was the noun, setout:

A beginning; an outset.

Preparations, as for beginning a journey.

Company; set; clique.

A display, as of plate, or china, or elaborate dishes and wines at table; dress and accessories; equipage; turn-out.

The first clue today was rampant among high schoolers, referring to the “company, set, clique” meaning of setout. Players had a lot of great (and, arguably, true) guesses, such materialism, braggadocio, acne, and (ahem) erections.

The second clue was the most popular place at a party? While we were referring to the definition “a display, as of plate, or china, or elaborate dishes and wines at table; dress and accessories; equipage; turn-out,” @The_Word_Nerd actually came very close by guessing another sense, clique.

The third clue was you can’t have a middle or end without it referring to the “beginning, outset” meaning of setout. A couple of more good guesses, but order and pregnancy weren’t today’s secret word.

Finally, the bonus clue was “Tote us” to the party, this would say if it could talk. If you’ve played Secret Word Wednesday before, you’ll know that quotes indicate an anagram. The letters in “tote” and “us” can be rearranged to spell setout (as well as outset, a synonym). In addition, the sentence itself demonstrates a meaning of the word, in this case “a display, as of elaborate dishes.”

And it was Amy Goldstein, aka @northboundlane, who got today’s secret word! Congrats!

Remember, you have a chance to win Secret Word Wednesday every week! Just follow us on Twitter.

May 4, 2011 by Angela Tung

Secret Word Wednesday Explained

In you’ve been following us on Twitter, you know that every Wednesday we play a secret word guessing game. The rules are simple. Read the three or four clues (sometimes more, sometimes fewer), then tweet your guesses. How do you know if you’re right (aside from us saying so)? Check the pronunciation in the upper right hand corner of the word page for Pee-wee Herman‘s enthusiastic proclamation. If multiple players guess the correct word, the fastest tweet wins. The prize is a bit of Wordnik swag and bragging rights.

Afterward, we like to explain the clues on Twitter, but sometimes 140 characters (or even 280) just aren’t enough. So we thought we’d offer instead a lengthier and more in-depth Secret Word Wednesday Explained, as well as provide some tips for guessing these elusive words.

Today’s secret word was wincey:

A strong and durable cloth, plain or twilled, composed of a cotton warp and a woolen weft. Heavy winceys have been much worn as skirtings, and a lighter kind is used for men’s shirts. They are sometimes made entirely of wool.

Wincey is also known as linsey-woolsey – think part linen, part wool – and may be an alteration of the word (the “w” of woolsey combined with the “insey” of linsey).

The first clue today was skirts the issue, referring to the “skirt” meaning of the wincey. Understandably players inferred the figurative meaning of skirt, “to evade,” and posed such guesses as dodge, equivocate, and burke. Someone also guessed purlieus, or “outskirts.” Good try but no cigar!

The second clue was sounds flinchy but is actually strong, referring to the “wince” sound of the word, and the meaning, “a strong and durable cloth.” Players had some strong skirt-like guesses (kilt, tartan), but it was repeat-winner @ecormany who guessed correctly!

In case you’re curious, the third clue would have been mixed materials, as wincey is “composed of a cotton warp and a woolen weft,” while the bonus clue was Abigail was glad she wore her “new” this against the “icy” wind. TIP: If you’ve played Secret Word Wednesday before, you’ll know that quotes indicate an anagram, “a transposition of the letters of a word or sentence, to form a new word or sentence.” The letters in “icy” and “wind” can be rearranged to spell wincey. In addition, the sentence itself demonstrates the meaning of the word.

Congrats again to @ecormany who, for the record, was generous enough to donate his prize to @linguajinks who apparently has been “dying” to get some Wordnik swag. 🙂

If you didn’t win this time, don’t fret – you have a chance to win every single week! Be sure to follow us on Twitter to play, and tell all your word-puzzle-loving friends.