David Ouellet stunned me with a list of words chosen for his Wonderword* puzzle theme “Words Going Extinct.” Among those words was “read.” Read? No, not possible, I thought. It must be a mistake. Even if, worse case ever, books vanished forever, will we not still be “reading” digitations—codes, images, whatever? I reject the conclusion that read is disappearing from English.
On the other hand, there were many words listed I had never heard or seen before: Agrestic, Chroous, Dalles, Esurient, Fubsy, Skirr, Sprent and Ubtceare. I willingly abandon them all to the obscurity of obsolescence. Although, I hold some reluctance for “fubsy” just because I like the fun it presents to the ear and eye.
Some words being shunted out of currency are truly victims of progress and history. “Tuppence” (two cent coin) is no longer necessary when the world is debating keeping the penny (one cent coin). Joule seems to be falling into disuse because it has become too finite in a world of mega-this, and mega-that.
A few others may have always been considered colloquial, but with the expansion of easy communication, these are also falling by the wayside. These include varmint, parley, canny, quaff, wheedle and yammer.
Victims of progress and the passing of some fad or culture-specific words are discos, hogan (I wonder if the Navajos would agree) and leeboard (though this is still used in Friesland on boats for tourists). Words favored by Shakespeare and poets supposedly on the chopping board are arras, bade, hark, morrow and yore. Most of these will still linger, I believe, in crossword puzzles and so, will not entirely disappear into the dust of libraries and archives. So ends my series on words becoming obsolete.
*Source – newspaper puzzle, –Nov 22, 2021—WONDERWORD, by David Quellet. Theme: Words Going Extinct
MUSICAL CHAIRS
As a child we played
Musical Chairs.
Round and round the chairs
We went knowing
There was one too few
For all of us.
It was a game of chance
And mostly luck
So we giggled and we laughed
While no one always won
And the first one out
Was not always the same.
Round and round with music
Till the sudden silence
When the mad scramble began
To find an empty seat waiting
There just for you.
Yet someone lost every time
And one more chair was removed
Before the music started
Then once again we all chased
Each other round and round.
We grew older and the game
Remained, though the music changed
And the seats vanishing are
Our homes in a night,
Scholarships, and jobs,
Food and clothing
While the music plays on
Spinning webs of tension,
Filling the air with a pungency,
The flavor of anxiety so thick
It can be tasted.
Round and round we dance
To the music’s rhythm
Of off-and-on again
While we wish for bat ears
That we might catch the moment
Just before the music will stop:
We search the skies
Peer into the lightness
And the dark listening
With all our might
To hear that one sound,
Movement, change,
Signal, that will come before
The silence and the choice.
ONE TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE
One, two,
Buckle my shoe
My shoe, world, my shoe.
Three, four,
Close the door
That’s what doors are for,
(But surely not forevermore)
Five, six,
Pick up sticks
And stones? And that bit
About names and broken bones?
Seven, eight,
Lay them straight
And narrow. Oh, wasn’t there something?
Shooting an arrow?
Nine, ten,
Begin again
Again? Again.
And then? Again.
ENGLISH LOVES A BIT OF NONSENSE
This summer I encountered a wordsearch puzzle, Wonderword, with the theme of “nonsense.” There I found many of my favorite “silly” words, all in some way a synonym for the word nonsense. Some originated in the United States, but many were born in the United Kingdom.
I have tried often to focus on how a non-native English speaker might react to the idiosyncrasies of this language. Our nonsense words must present them quite a hurdle. Even we native speakers trip over these, often archaic, words and have to seek out help.
But I love them for their very oddity. I will share just a few with you here, giving you the approximate date of their origin as I do. From the UK comes balderdash (1590 with modified used in 1670) and it is now the name of a board game. You will sometimes hear this word in old black and white films produced in England, usually spoken by an older gentleman. I never associate this word with meanness, only with bluster.
Tommyrot (1400 with modified use in 1848) is another from the UK. This is easy to associate with England as they called their WWI soldiers“Tommies.” Unlike balderdash, “tommyrot” carries, in my mind, more sneer.
Tomfoolery (Middle Ages) you might think is related in origin, but it is not. For some unknown reason, the English seem to like using “Tom” as a tag for several words. This word, however, began with a theater character “Tom Fole” who was a clown or buffoon. Easy to see how a Tom Fole could morph into Tom Fool, then become a name for the behavior of that character, the clown/buffoon. This is my least favorite of the three I have just shared. In its favor, it is less condemning than tommyrot or balderdash.
AUTHOR NOTES
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“ONE TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE” is another of the poet’s works inspired by a childhood nursery rhyme/song. The idea was suggested in a poetry workshop she attended.
KALEIDOSCOPE— an essay by Kathleen Roxby
“ENGLISH LOVES A BIT OF NONSENSE” continues the authors series on words in the English language and once again references the word game, Wonderword. The one which inspired this essay was created by David Ouellet.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“MUSICAL CHAIRS” was written as a companion to this week’s poem by Margaret Roxby.
SPLINTERS FOR OCTOBER 2022
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Readers who write in response to one of the prompts listed each month in Splintered Glass, may see their work presented here on the last week of that month. Though poems are preferred, short prose work will also be considered for publication.
Guidelines for submission:
SOUL DANCING
I am old and no longer care
To be overly circumspect.
I am old and I dance to music
Heard as I walk along the street.
I dance to Muzak in the stores.
Waiting in line at the pharmacy,
I mini-step my special dance
And sashay out the door as I leave.
Down the grocery aisle
I keep the beat, beat, beat
As I select a can, a bag or box.
I am old,
If you frown, I do not care
For I know happiness
Is how and when you make it.
If you laugh,
I will laugh along with you.
If someday I cannot walk or stand,
I will sway whatever will move—
Keeping the beat, beat, beat.
You will see the joy in my eyes.
You need not ask, just know
I am dancing in my soul.
GIFT FOR THE HEART
Memories: flowers
blooming with the sunlight glow
of romance and song.
Violins and valentines
keep safe the autumn of life.
Words on the Endangered List
David Ouellet stunned me with a list of words chosen for his Wonderword* puzzle theme “Words Going Extinct.” Among those words was “read.” Read? No, not possible, I thought. It must be a mistake. Even if, worse case ever, books vanished forever, will we not still be “reading” digitations—codes, images, whatever? I reject the conclusion that read is disappearing from English.
On the other hand, there were many words listed I had never heard or seen before: Agrestic, Chroous, Dalles, Esurient, Fubsy, Skirr, Sprent and Ubtceare. I willingly abandon them all to the obscurity of obsolescence. Although, I hold some reluctance for “fubsy” just because I like the fun it presents to the ear and eye.
Some words being shunted out of currency are truly victims of progress and history. “Tuppence” (two cent coin) is no longer necessary when the world is debating keeping the penny (one cent coin). Joule seems to be falling into disuse because it has become too finite in a world of mega-this, and mega-that.
A few others may have always been considered colloquial, but with the expansion of easy communication, these are also falling by the wayside. These include varmint, parley, canny, quaff, wheedle and yammer.
Victims of progress and the passing of some fad or culture-specific words are discos, hogan (I wonder if the Navajos would agree) and leeboard (though this is still used in Friesland on boats for tourists). Words favored by Shakespeare and poets supposedly on the chopping board are arras, bade, hark, morrow and yore. Most of these will still linger, I believe, in crossword puzzles and so, will not entirely disappear into the dust of libraries and archives. So ends my series on words becoming obsolete.
*Source – newspaper puzzle, –Nov 22, 2021—WONDERWORD, by David Quellet. Theme: Words Going Extinct
AUTHOR NOTES
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“GIFT FOR THE HEART” is included week for the United Nations Older Persons’ Day September 29. The poem is an example of the tanka form.
KALEIDOSCOPE –an essay by Kathleen Roxby
“WORDS ON THE ENDANGERED LIST” is included this week for the European Day of Languages, September 26. The essay continues the authors series on the oddities of the English language.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“SOUL DANCING” is included this week for the United Nations Older Persons’ Day September 29. For a few years, the author dreamed of making a career of dancing and continues to enjoy it whenever she can.