Thursday, July 26, 2007

Words in Question

If you open up your dictionary to a random page, there is a good chance that on that page there will be at least one word that does not sound at all like what it is supposed to mean. Today we are going to be taking a look at some of these words and either giving them a new name or a new definition.
Drogue– a funnel shaped device towed behind a an aircraft for its drag effect.
A funnel shaped device? Not remotely. Drogue sounds like a place where long haired highland cows feed.
Peccary– a piglike animal of the Americas with sharp tusks. No way jose. A peccary sounds more like an exotic variety of nut.
Spiracle– an opening for breathing, as on the sides of an insect.
An opening for breathing my foot. A spiracle sounds like some sort of supernatural being.
And the list goes on. There are so many misplaced words in our language that it is almost funny. Speaking of words that sound like things, have you ever read Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll? It is a frabjous poem.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I found a word that fits this catagory -

flippercanorious

It is supposed to mean 'fine; grand' as in "I feel flippercanorious today" however it sounds like a dolphin who has developed a cannibalistic streak to me.

Oxymoronica