Tag Archives: compounds

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Raglan and nick-nacks

Today’s word of the day is raglan, an adjective describing a sleeve that extends in one piece to the neckline of a garment, with slanted seams from the armhole to the neck. See the picture below. The word comes from Fitzroy James Henry Somerset (1788-1855), First Baron Raglan and a British field marshal, who wore coats with similar sleeves. He was, by coincidence, at one time the commanding officer of the man for whom cardigan is named.

Today’s list of the day is “nick-nacks,” a collection of two-word compounds or reduplications that are fun to say, such as pow-wow, teeny-weeny, boo-hoo, and flim-flam.

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Picture by Allerina & Glen MacLarty under a Creative Commons license

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Haruspex and sweet tooth fairy

Today’s word of the day is haruspex, which was a priest in ancient Rome who practiced divination by the inspection of the entrails of animals. It’s sometimes used in a literary fashion to refer to any person who tries to predict the future.

Today’s list of the day is Sweet Tooth Fairy, which contains three-part phrases made of two different compound words, so “sweet tooth” and “tooth fairy” combine to form “sweet tooth fairy.” It’s a great road game, too.