Funny Words

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.

Words

Your lips do not touch when you say "touch," but they do when you say "apart."

Words

You may choose your word like a connoisseur,
And polish it up with art,
But the word that sways, and stirs, and stays,
Is the word that comes from the heart.

Scuttlebutt

The origin of the word scuttlebutt, which is nautical parlance for a rumor, comes from a combination of 'scuttle' - to make a hole in the ship's hull and thereby causing her to sink - and 'butt' - a cask used in the days of wooden ships to hold drinking water (or wine). The cask from which the ship's crew took their drinking water, like a water fountain, was the "scuttlebutt".

Even in today's Navy a drinking fountain is referred to as such. Since the crew used to congregate around the scuttlebutt, that is where the rumors about the ship or voyage would begin. Thus, rumors are 'talk from the scuttlebutt' or just 'scuttlebutt'. That reminds me. Did I tell you what Tom said. . .

How Much is a Trillion

If you counted 24 hours a day, it would take 31,688 years to reach one trillion.

Checkmate

The word 'Checkmate' in chess comes from the Persian phrase 'Shah Mat,' which means 'the king is dead'.

Afghanistan

The only nation who's name begins with an 'A' , but doesn't end in an 'A' is Afghanistan.