A zorse is the offspring of a male zebra and a female horse.
A zony or zoni is the offspring of a male zebra and a female pony.
A cross between a zebra and a donkey can be known as either a zenkey, a zonkey, or a zedonk.
And I never thought that my entry for Z in this collection of posts would be so long...!
noun: an inexpensive novel. The name comes from their cheap binding which was often covered with yellow paper.
Some book publishers began mass-producing cheap, sensationalist novels in the 1840s, in an effort to compete with the increasingly popular penny-dreadfuls (which was cheap popular serial literature). It was the predecessor of the modern paperback book.
These books were printed and bound in bright mustard-yellow jackets to attract readers’ attention, and were put on sale as impulse buys in tobacconists, train stations, and other everyday locations rather than booksellers.
Yellowback publishing didn’t last, however the name continues to describe any sensationalist, mass-produced, and often poor-quality novel.
noun: fear of anything or anyone foreign or strange. From the Ancient Greek xénos (strange, foreign, or alien) and phóbos (fear).
One of my favourite X words, naturally. Not a long list, there isn't many of them!
noun, informal, used frequently in the Midlands and Yorkshire: a fool, an idiot.
The word is of unknown origin, but is increasingly popular.
I get more than my fair share of Wazzocks on the road when I am driving... this is perhaps my favourite word in this group!
Thus, "Colin gave a vulpine smile"
The word is derived from the Latin word for fox, vulpes.
Another useful verb is to vulpinate, which describes how a person could cheat or someone with crafty wiles or deceits.
verb: to howl; specifically to make a long, high cry with the mouth and tongue that changes between two or three notes, often to show emotion at a ceremony such as a wedding or funeral.
The word comes from Latin ululatus, the past participle of ululare, meaning similar to the screech of an owl (ulula)
The best known example of ululation in popular culture is the war cry of Xena: Warrior Princess. Actress Lucy Lawless, who starred in the TV show, revealed the cry was based on Arabic women performing a ululation vocal trill at a funeral.
I've got a good friend who loves to ululate.
noun: fear or avoidance of the number 13.
The term was coined in the early 20th Century by psychologist Isador Coriat, although there is history of the number being said to be unlucky from all the way back to the Middle Ages. The word is formed by attaching the Greek word for "thirteen"—treiskaideka (dropping that first "e") — to phobia ("fear of").
If you fear the number 13, the chances are that you will also have a fear of Friday the 13th which many believe to be a day of bad luck in a number of western cultures. The term for fear of that particular day is Paraskevidekatriaphobia, or friggatriskaidekaphobia.
For completeness, please note that NASA's Apollo 13 mission to the Moon was launched on 11th April, 1970, at 13:13:00 CST and suffered an oxygen tank explosion on 13th April at 21:07:53 CST. It returned safely to Earth on 17th April.
verb, american: To frantically tidy up
Best definition that I have read?
"A hasty tidying of the house between the time you see the neighbour coming and the time they knock on the door."
Been there; done that!
noun: the postponement of an event, to put it off for a later date
Originally, a rain check was a ticket given to people who went to a sporting event that was cancelled because of the rain. The ticket would get you in to another event in the future. The picture attached is for a ticket issued for a US baseball game. The term was first coined in the 19th Century.
Nowadays, it had more to do with rescheduling. It's kinder than giving someone a flat 'no'. It's saying 'yes', however just not today. It can be also used as a verb, meaning "To take a rain check on".
Some shops have even taken it a further step, issuing "rain checks" promising a price guarantee for a item where they have temporarily sold out.
Source: Wiktionary, see link
noun, slang: puppet (literal & figurative)
A quockerwodger was a 19th century word for a wooden toy figure that jerks its limbs when a string is pulled.
However, it quickly took on the figurative meaning of a politician who was being similarly manipulated by an influential third party.
Acknowlegement: RobWords - see YouTube link here
noun, British colloquial: a situation, especially in politics, in which poor judgement results in disorder or chaos with potentially disastrous consequences.
This word is regularly used by the British Press (and even in Parliament) to describe actual political disasters, however it was first used in 2009 in the BBC TV series 'The Thick of It', a political satire. It adds the Latin prefix omni-, (meaning "all") to the word shambles, a term for a situation of total disorder.
The term was coined by writer Tony Roche. Well done, mate!
adjective; lacking in character or substance, insipid, weak, indecisive
The word was coined in a poem called Namby Pamby, written in 1725 by Henry Carey. It was a satire of fellow poet Ambrose Philips, a political activist and supporter of the Whig party. Philips began to be called this as a nickname as a result of the poem's popularity.
noun - a countless or extremely great number of people or things.
Taken from Verse 2 of Candle of the Lord, by Major Joy Webb
This is a wonderful bit of English which comes from India. Taken from the Hindi language, a kachcha (also spelt cutcha or kutcha) is a brick made of dried mud. It's not the best type of brick.
That's why kachcha can also be used as an adjective to describe something that looks temporary or is substandard.
Interestingly, its opposite in Hindi is pukka (also spelt pucka) - a word that has found its way into British slang, meaning "excellent". It's a brand name for a type of meat pie in the UK.
Here's a 19th century quote explains the difference between the two:
"A cutcha brick is a sundried brick. A pucka brick is a properly kiln-burnt brick..A cutcha appointment is acting or temporary. A pucka appointment is permanent."
H. Yule & A. C. Burnell, Hobson-Jobson (1884)
Source: RobWords - see link to the YouTube channel here
noun: a mute character in traditional pantomime, typically masked and dressed in a diamond-patterned costume.
The oldest versions of the word harlequin - the Middle Dutch hellekijn and the Old French hellequin - clearly refer to a hellish character, a kind of demon. The modern term is more a synonym for a clown.
When capitalized, Harlequin refers to a stock character of the Italian commedia dell’arte and subsequently the pantomime traditions of many nations. Harlequin’s outfit soon became a tight-fitting costume with bright triangles and diamond shapes and a black half-mask, with the character was the principal star of pantomimes known as harlequinades.
The most modern version of the character was created for a Batman: The Animated Series episode in 1992. A female harlequin character was introduced as a one-off sidekick to the Joker, however her unexpected popularity led to her prompt return and subsequent growth as a star in her own right. Today, Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel) is a global star of comics and film!
noun, British, informal: lacking intelligence or common-sense, dull, stupid, slow to understand
Taken from the old Norse word gaum (“heed, attention”) with the addition of -less (“without”).
This is one of those words that is always used in the negative. You can't be full of gorm.
Good word, though...
However, since the Covid-19 pandemic, the term has been applied generally across all employers, and it is used for those workers who were laid off because a company couldn't employ them - quite a different scenario, and much more negative...
The cry of “Eureka!” came whilst Archimedes was taking a bath, with the subsequent displacement of water leading him to discover what is now known as the Archimedes Principle.
Reportedly, Archimedes was so thrilled and excited with this discovery that he immediately hopped out of the bath and ran naked onto the streets to tell his king, shouting loudly in Greek ''Eureka! Eureka!'' (I have found it!)
The term is also the motto of the US State of California, referring to the momentous discovery of gold in the state in 1848.
noun: an inordinately wild fight; a brawl
The use of the word stems from the Irish town of Donnybrook, which is now a suburb of Dublin. The town had a regular fair, which was infamous for its wild and rowdy events, which often led to public brawls. Thus, the word is used to describe any large, disorderly event where tempers flare and conflicts arise.
Interestingly, the term ordinates from the 13th Century English word coppe, which meant, of course, "spider".
Whist we refer to the term "spider web" to a web that is apparently still in use, we invariably use "cobweb" to refer to an old or abandoned web, particularly in attics or abandoned houses. It's often a staple form of decoration for haunted houses at Hallowe'en.
We can also refer to it to show confusion or that your memory is particularly hazy—you might want to "clean out the cobwebs" in an effort to clear your mind.
The name "bazooka" comes from an extension of the word "bazoo", which is slang for "mouth" or in certain circumstances "boastful talk".
Radio comedian Bob Burns is credited with inventing a musical instrument which he called a "bazooka" in the 1910s, and popularised it in the 1930s. It was a brass musical instrument several feet in length which incorporated tubing like a trombone (see picture). During World War II, the weapon was nicknamed "bazooka" as it vaguely resembled the instrument.
Nowadays we have all but forgotten the musical instrument. :(
However, it's interesting to note the word is still in use to advertise Bazooka bubble gum which was first marketed shortly after World War II in the U.S. by the Topps Company of Brooklyn, New York.
