There are lots of A-Z challenges about in the blogosphere but I'm not really a joiner (those of you whose weekly challenges I complete - take note). Here's an A-Z of words. Because words are what I do.
(I shall fill them in as I come across them. Don't expect an immediate completion.)
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C Cruciverbalist n. One who enjoys solving or creating crosswords. Not a genuine word,apparently. Rather one made up by the cruciverbalists themselves, for the fun of it.
D Docent n. A college or university teacher or lecturer; a person who leads guided tours especially through a museum or art gallery. Appeared in The Time Traveller's Wife.
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H Hypovolemic a. Being short of blood. Crops up a lot in medical dramas.
I Isogloss n. The boundary between two variants in dialect or accent. Like 'ouse/'arse on the Yorks/Derbys border.
J Joual n. Canadian French, in particular the spoken forms that differ from 'proper' French. It's derived from the French word cheval, meaning horse. I'm not sure whether that's similar to the use of 'dog' in botany, to imply without perfume, or if it's a comment on how the language sounds.
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M Mondegreen. n. A misheard song lyric, such as Desmond Dekker's famous 'My Ears are Alight'.
N Nocebo. n. Like a placebo, only the effects are unpleasant. A placebo is an inactive substance that appears to act as a drug or treatment, owing to the brain's capacity to fool the body. (Though no-one's sure exactly how they work.)
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S Shoddy. n. A woollen yarn or cloth made from recycled, used clothing mixed with some new wool. Hence its better-known use to mean something inferior.
T TLA. n. Three letter acronym. (A self-referring word.) A commonly used phrase that's been reduced to three letters such as: The CEO demanded we speed up the WIP.
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(I shall fill them in as I come across them. Don't expect an immediate completion.)
A
B
C Cruciverbalist n. One who enjoys solving or creating crosswords. Not a genuine word,apparently. Rather one made up by the cruciverbalists themselves, for the fun of it.
D Docent n. A college or university teacher or lecturer; a person who leads guided tours especially through a museum or art gallery. Appeared in The Time Traveller's Wife.
E
F
G
H Hypovolemic a. Being short of blood. Crops up a lot in medical dramas.
I Isogloss n. The boundary between two variants in dialect or accent. Like 'ouse/'arse on the Yorks/Derbys border.
J Joual n. Canadian French, in particular the spoken forms that differ from 'proper' French. It's derived from the French word cheval, meaning horse. I'm not sure whether that's similar to the use of 'dog' in botany, to imply without perfume, or if it's a comment on how the language sounds.
K
L
M Mondegreen. n. A misheard song lyric, such as Desmond Dekker's famous 'My Ears are Alight'.
N Nocebo. n. Like a placebo, only the effects are unpleasant. A placebo is an inactive substance that appears to act as a drug or treatment, owing to the brain's capacity to fool the body. (Though no-one's sure exactly how they work.)
O
P
Q
R
S Shoddy. n. A woollen yarn or cloth made from recycled, used clothing mixed with some new wool. Hence its better-known use to mean something inferior.
T TLA. n. Three letter acronym. (A self-referring word.) A commonly used phrase that's been reduced to three letters such as: The CEO demanded we speed up the WIP.
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V
W
X
Y
Z
