WORD OF THE WEEK: Trivia

Summary: Just for fun, this week's WOW Word of the Week contains a little trivia quiz—about the word trivia!

Can you answer this trivia question: What is the origin of the word trivia?

According to my good online friend Merriam-Webster, the root words are Latin: tri (for three) and vium (for road). The original combination, trivialis, came to refer to inconsequential things. But why?

Romans commonly believed—again, according to our researching friends at the e-dictionary—that when three roads intersected, the walkers who used them could easily stop to greet each other and exchange brief pleasantries about where they were headed. Because these people were strangers, they would keep their topics light, or trivial.

In our own, American trivial pursuits (so to speak), we've come to use the word trivia itself as referring to the knowledge of somewhat meaningless facts, or those facts themselves.

Personally, I've been known to my friends as an expert it word trivia. No surprise there! In my younger years, I was even more of a music trivia ace, especially in the classic rock and top 40 genres. What are you an expert in?

TRIVIA (TRIH - vee - YUH) – unimportant matters; insignificant facts or details; a quizzing game involving obscure facts.

© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010

PHRASE OF THE WEEK: Writer's Block

Summary: Continuing our series on writer's block, this week's featured vocabulary word is actually a list of synonyms for the very phrase we're exploring. Can you come up with others? (Remember: Click on the pronunciation links to hear how each word sounds when spoken.)

Writer (RY - ter) - (n.) one who physically scribes or pens words onto a page; one who creates or compiles stories, technical manuals or other written work; an author. Writer's (RY- ters) - (poss. n.) of or belonging to a writer. Block (blahk) - (n.) in this case, an obstruction or stoppage. The phrase "writer's block" was first coined in 1950 by the psychoanalyst Edmund Bergler, who was himself a prolific writer on the subject.

Here are some synonymous phrases:

Author's handicap
Composer's deterrent
Penman's impediment
Recorder's trammel
Formulater's fetter
Crafter's snafu
Bard's encumberence

To hear pronunciations or read further definitions or etymologies for any of these words, follow the links to my previously posted lists of online dictionaries. In addition to educating yourself, you're sure to kill some time and forget about your scribbler's hurdle for awhile! And if you still need more time away from that empty page, you can always get your creative juices started by seeing what phrases you can add to today's phrase list ...

© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010

TRULY SPEAKING: Handheld Electronic Dictionary Review

Summary: This article informs about "The Only Unabridged Electronic Dictionary" now available from Hammacher Schlemmer, as well as the company's compendium item, "The Advanced Electronic Crossword Puzzle Dictionary," both made by Franklin for Merriam-Webster.

Hammacher Schlemmer recently added a new product to its chic catalogue: They're calling it "The Only Unabridged Electronic Dictionary," and it retails for $299. Is it worth the price tag? Although I haven't tried it, myself, I must admit the description intrigues me:

"About the size of a mousepad (and far easier to cart ...), this complete reference includes words that you won't find in lesser electronic dictionaries with limited vocabularies, such as disselboom and zyzzogeton. Patented phonetic spell correction allows you to enter words on the 64-key QWERTY keyboard as they sound (for example, typing 'nolij' displays 'knowledge'), enabling easy lookup." Etymology and word usage are included along with definitions, and so are some extra features—like word games, a thesaurus, a style guide, and a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster's online version of the dictionary (which seems a little redundant to me).

There's no mention of whether or not pronunciation keys are included for every word. As far as I can tell, this is the only potential omission.

The handheld dictionary device, made by Franklin, takes two AAA batteries and requires an SD adapter card. It ships from Hammacher Schlemmer directly with an approximate delivery time of two weeks or less. A compendium item that's also available is "The Advanced Electronic Crossword Puzzle Dictionary," another handheld system that operates similarly and requires two CR-2032 batteries.

Have you used either of these items or do you know someone who has? Help us out and fill us in on how you like (or don't like) these products.

© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009