Navigating
through the journey of studying a foreign language takes much time and
patience, because learners need to work on not only the currently used
expressions, but the old and the newly coined ones as well. This week, we would
like to go over some funny vocabs that you might or might not have heard.
(source
from dictionary.com)
1.
to
bumfuzzle: (verb) to
confuse (*originated from Southern US dialect)
e.g., Did you figure out the question #4 on
the Math test? It totally bumfuzzled
me!
2.
to
canoodle: (verb) to be touchy feely/ caress/ fondle/pet
amorously (* British English)
e.g., In Paris, it is easy to find young
couples and lovers canoodling
in the street.
3.
cattywampus
(or catawampus) : (adjective) askew/ awry/ diagonally
located/ kitty-cornered
e.g., Joshua’s house is cattywampus from my studio
apartment.
4.
diddly-squat
(or doodly-squat): (noun) something that is minimal/inconsequential, the least amount, anything at all
e.g. I don’t know diddly-squat about Economics.
5.
diphthong:
(noun) two vowel sounds joined in one syllable to form one speech sound The
sounds of “ou” in “out” and of “oy” in “boy” are diphthongs
e.g., Practicing the sounds of English diphthongs is really fun and
easier than working on tong twisters like “She sells seashells at the
seashore.”
6.
dongle:
(noun) a little piece of computer equipment/ a small device that plugs into a computer and
serves as an adapter or as a security measure to enable the use of certain
software
e.g., My grandma says she feels dizzy when
she looks at all the tinny-tiny dongles
scattered on my desk.
7.
doohickey: (noun) something unspecified
whose name is either forgotten or not known “gadget; a dingus; a thingumabob; whatchamacallit”
e.g., Our garage is filled with a variety
of electronic parts and other valuable doohickeys.
8.
fartlek:
(noun) Swedish word meaning a system of training for distance runners in which
the terrain and pace are continually varied
e.g., For fun and flexible speed work try fartlek training.
9.
gobbledygook:
(noun) wordy and generally unintelligible jargon/ speech or writing that is complicated and difficult
to understand
They may wish to sound impressive and fancy.
They may use it as a technique of avoidance or obfuscation, if they want to
hide the truth or are unsure of what they’re talking about
e.g., All the explanation about the geometric shapes sounded
like total gobbledygook to the
students.
10. jackalope:
(noun) totally fictional portmanteau word, but fun. As anyone who’s traveled
the American West will inform you, a jackalope is a jackrabbit with … antelope
horns
e.g., Children invited to Mr. Suess’ house was somewhat
scared by taxidermy owls and jackalopes
on the wall.
Comments
Post a Comment