Yesterday I wrote about clerihew, an obscure English word that describes a type of rhyming poem. How often does one hear or come across that word? Never, unless you read my blog, in which case you’ve come across it two days in a row. Treat yourself to some fine leather goods.
Clerihew. I so often want to say and type curlihew, instead. I have no idea why. It’s probably because clerihew is a most uncommon word.
Another uncommon English term I know how to say, but have great difficulty spelling is onomatopoeia. Spell check always saves the day for me with that one. The definition sometimes eludes me, too, because it just didn’t stick back in junior high. As I write this, I recall that onomatopoeia describes a word that sounds like the word being named. That’s not very elegant, so I’m going to get some help from the dictionary:
onomatopoeia (ɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə)
—n
1. the formation of words whose sound is imitative of the sound of the noise or action designated, such as hiss, buzz, and bang
Pretty cool. How many onomatopoeias do you know?
Palindrome is another English language word I sometimes forget. I can pronounce and spell palindrome with confidence, and I understand its definition, but when someone asks me the term for words or phrases that read and are spelled the same forward and backward, palindrome doesn’t just pop into my head. Maybe if the word was palindromemordnilap, I’d always remember it instantly, although I’d probably trip over its pronunciation.
Examples of palindromes: “civic”, “madam” and “madam, I’m Adam”.
Palindromic phrases take much more thought. Here’s one from dictionary.reference.com
Poor Dan is in a droop.
and a few collected by the late Ralph Griswold, Regents Professor Emeritus, Department of Computer Science, University of Arizona:
Senile felines.
In a regal age ran I.
Pull up if I pull up.
No lemons, no melon.
Never odd or even.
Naomi, sex at noon taxes, I moan.
You’re probably expecting me to throw in a few of my own now. Well, dear reader, I’m sorry to disappoint. I’m saving that for another day.
What about you? Have you created any palindromes? Do share them in the Comments box, won’t you?
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