Umpty
had been in use since the mid 19th Century as a slang term for
an unspecified or seemingly impossibly large number, such as the
word umpteen in the early 1900s.
Twankle, according to the English Dialect Dictionary
(1905), to twankle is ‘to twang with the fingers on a music
instrument’. Absentmindedly strumming or playing an instrument
is also known as twiddling, twangling, tootling, noodling,
plunking, or thrumming.
Xanthippe is a scolding, quarrelsome woman, named after
the wife of the Greek philosopher Socrates, who was referred to
by one of his students as "the most difficult woman not just of
this generation … but of all the generations past and yet to
come". While the reasons for that reputation are unclear,
Xanthippe’s name ended up in the dictionary as a reference to a
henpecking, argumentative spouse.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments