Summary: Chasing down some clues to my break time crossword puzzle today, I came across a word I'd never heard before—chivy, with both its spellings and meanings.
Today was like Christmas in ... April (though I've never heard of such a thing 'til now). Taking a little break in the early evening, I worked a crossword puzzle in the big book of New York Times crossword puzzles that my husband got me last year as a stocking stuffer. It was a challenge! And, of course, I learned a new word:
Chivy (CHIH - vee) - (v.) Alternatively spelled with two Vs, chivvy has two meanings, as well, no matter how you spell it. Most commonly, it means to tease or annoy with persistent, petty attacks—as in, "The guys at the work site continued to chivy and chide each other all day long as a way to pass the time." In its secondary meaning, it means to move or obtain by small maneuvers. Merriam-Webster.com uses this example: "Chivy an olive out of the bottle."
The two definitions have their roots in a common theme. Harassment, or chasing, both come from the word chevy, likely the word that chivy (or chivvy) derived from as early as the 1830s in American English.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
Showing posts with label crosswords. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crosswords. Show all posts
Apr 4, 2011
Dec 6, 2010
WORD OF THE WEEK: Plenum
Summary: Do you know the difference between a plenum and a quorum? You will after you read this post!
To get to the story of this week's WOW Word of the Week, I have to take you back to 1990, my junior year of high school. That year, I was a word-obsessed teenager (as opposed to the word-obsessed adult I am today) who loved learning new words and figuring out how to use them in conversation or in writings. The only problem—one I admittedly still have from time to time—was that I often knew there was a more fitting word to describe what I meant, but I just couldn't get it off the tip of my tongue!
It became a joke with me; so often I was heard to say, "I wish there were a dictionary where you could look up the definition to find the word!"
Christmas of 1990, my sister (then a high school freshman) sat in front of me as I opened my gift from her. Her eyes twinkled as I laughingly caressed the wrapping paper and quite obviously deduced, "It's a book!" But after I opened it, I literally jumped out of my chair. It was my very own reverse dictionary!
"I saw it in the bookstore, and I bought it in advance," my sister told me. "They finally invented your dictionary!"
It turns out there had been such a book in existence since the mid-1970s, but it was lesser known. I still own my copy of the Oxford Reverse Dictionary, and not only use it, but treasure it.
But of course, the reverse dictionary has since gone digital.
OneLook.com has a reverse dictionary, a regular dictionary, a list of links to other dictionaries, and translations of foreign words via foreign dictionaries all conveniently located at one website. It's an excellent resource! And it's the resource I used over the weekend while working my usual Sunday crossword puzzle from the newspaper. I was head-over-heels thrilled—just like in 1990—when merely plugging in the clue for "28 Down" granted me a long list of synonyms. And one of the words fit perfectly!
Plenum (PLIH - nem) or (PLEE - nem) - (n.) a space that is completely full of matter, especially an air-filled space or structure like a ventilator; a general assembly of all members, such as that of a legislative body; the quality or state of being full. Similar to plenary, this word derives from the Latin plenus for full.
My crossword clue was along the lines of the middle definition: "a full assembly." The first use of the word plenum in this context was in 1772. So, what's the difference between a plenum and a quorum? You know my answer to that: Look it up!
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
To get to the story of this week's WOW Word of the Week, I have to take you back to 1990, my junior year of high school. That year, I was a word-obsessed teenager (as opposed to the word-obsessed adult I am today) who loved learning new words and figuring out how to use them in conversation or in writings. The only problem—one I admittedly still have from time to time—was that I often knew there was a more fitting word to describe what I meant, but I just couldn't get it off the tip of my tongue!
It became a joke with me; so often I was heard to say, "I wish there were a dictionary where you could look up the definition to find the word!"
Christmas of 1990, my sister (then a high school freshman) sat in front of me as I opened my gift from her. Her eyes twinkled as I laughingly caressed the wrapping paper and quite obviously deduced, "It's a book!" But after I opened it, I literally jumped out of my chair. It was my very own reverse dictionary!
"I saw it in the bookstore, and I bought it in advance," my sister told me. "They finally invented your dictionary!"
It turns out there had been such a book in existence since the mid-1970s, but it was lesser known. I still own my copy of the Oxford Reverse Dictionary, and not only use it, but treasure it.
But of course, the reverse dictionary has since gone digital.
OneLook.com has a reverse dictionary, a regular dictionary, a list of links to other dictionaries, and translations of foreign words via foreign dictionaries all conveniently located at one website. It's an excellent resource! And it's the resource I used over the weekend while working my usual Sunday crossword puzzle from the newspaper. I was head-over-heels thrilled—just like in 1990—when merely plugging in the clue for "28 Down" granted me a long list of synonyms. And one of the words fit perfectly!
Plenum (PLIH - nem) or (PLEE - nem) - (n.) a space that is completely full of matter, especially an air-filled space or structure like a ventilator; a general assembly of all members, such as that of a legislative body; the quality or state of being full. Similar to plenary, this word derives from the Latin plenus for full.
My crossword clue was along the lines of the middle definition: "a full assembly." The first use of the word plenum in this context was in 1772. So, what's the difference between a plenum and a quorum? You know my answer to that: Look it up!
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
Sep 23, 2009
TRULY SPEAKING: Mind Games
Did you know that learning can be fun? The earliest learners use rewards systems, social interaction, and colorful pictures and songs to attain knowledge (think of flash cards, memory games, and nursery rhymes).
But making a game out of studying isn't just for kids: Even top Fortune 500 companies employ team-building exercises (like scavenger hunts) that use the same principles of learning-as-pleasure to teach new skills to the middle-aged. As the brain ages, its ability to learn in rote detail, such as via memorization, wanes. And it's then that experiential learning works best.
It's also important to note that, at every age and stage of life, the brain learns best when it's happiest. So, enjoying your education is imperative to getting the most out of it—in every way!
Here are some of my favorite word game websites, all great for building your vocabulary:
- Magic Word Square is a blog that's totally dedicated to word-based sudoku puzzles. Each puzzle utilizes one word or phrase that must be filled in to each bloc with no repetitions, just like regular number sudoku. Best of all, the blog author Dave often provides several puzzles a day, with a bonus: A famous quote appears in part, with blank spaces to be filled in using letters that come from the numbered squares in the sudoku puzzles.
- Merriam-Webster.com has a wide selection of interactive word games, from Scrabble to standard crossword, word jumble and word sudoku puzzles to the Tetris-like Syn City. (Get it? Add all the synonyms to the skyscraper buildings before time runs out!)
- The New York Times Crossword Puzzle—that famous acme of crosswords—is available online in various forms: print it, play online against a timer, or become a Premium Crossword Member to play with help from friends.
- My favorite word game site of all is Free Rice. A non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program (with sponsorship by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University), Free Rice has two goals: (1) to provide free education, and (2) to provide food to the hungry. Specifically, you answer questions (such as vocabulary questions a la SAT and GRE exams) that 'earn' 10 grains of donated rice for every correct answer.
Watch out! All these sites can be such fun learning, they can be addictive.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
But making a game out of studying isn't just for kids: Even top Fortune 500 companies employ team-building exercises (like scavenger hunts) that use the same principles of learning-as-pleasure to teach new skills to the middle-aged. As the brain ages, its ability to learn in rote detail, such as via memorization, wanes. And it's then that experiential learning works best.
It's also important to note that, at every age and stage of life, the brain learns best when it's happiest. So, enjoying your education is imperative to getting the most out of it—in every way!
Here are some of my favorite word game websites, all great for building your vocabulary:
- Magic Word Square is a blog that's totally dedicated to word-based sudoku puzzles. Each puzzle utilizes one word or phrase that must be filled in to each bloc with no repetitions, just like regular number sudoku. Best of all, the blog author Dave often provides several puzzles a day, with a bonus: A famous quote appears in part, with blank spaces to be filled in using letters that come from the numbered squares in the sudoku puzzles.
- Merriam-Webster.com has a wide selection of interactive word games, from Scrabble to standard crossword, word jumble and word sudoku puzzles to the Tetris-like Syn City. (Get it? Add all the synonyms to the skyscraper buildings before time runs out!)
- The New York Times Crossword Puzzle—that famous acme of crosswords—is available online in various forms: print it, play online against a timer, or become a Premium Crossword Member to play with help from friends.
- My favorite word game site of all is Free Rice. A non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program (with sponsorship by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University), Free Rice has two goals: (1) to provide free education, and (2) to provide food to the hungry. Specifically, you answer questions (such as vocabulary questions a la SAT and GRE exams) that 'earn' 10 grains of donated rice for every correct answer.
Watch out! All these sites can be such fun learning, they can be addictive.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
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