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Posts Tagged ‘Useful’

Bablatrice

noun. Female babbler.

O you cockatrices and you bablatrices,
that in the woods dwell:
You briers and brambles, you cook’s shops
and shambles, come howl and yell.

- Locrine (1595)

The author of Locrine is up for speculation, some attribute it to George Peele, Robert Greene, and even William Shakespeare. Whoever wrote it, I thank them for giving us such a fun word! 

If we are to look at this word in context of the above, it would seem to be perhaps a female cockatrice. A mighty foe indeed. But the definition above from the OED gives it a broader meaning.

A babbler is basically anything that won’t shut up. A bablatrice is a female that won’t shut up. Do you know any of those? Of course you do.

You now have a name for all those valley girls, talkative co-workers, the never-silent spouse, and all other women in your life who flood you with chat. Use it wisely.

Do you not know I am a woman? When I think, I must speak.
- Rosalind, As You Like It (III.ii), William Shakespeare 


Sked

Verb. Schedule. Also common is past tense: skedded.

MPTF protest rally skedded for monday.
- Deadline Hollywood Daily

This word caught me off-guard when I first read it. I had never seen it before and yet I knew exactly what it meant. In context, it’s very clearly understood.

I use the word schedule often because I have a very large planner and stick to it, but it does seem to be a cumbersome word at times, doesn’t it? It sticks in your mouth like a spoonful of peanut butter. On the other hand, skedded comes out very easily. A more utilitarian word than scheduled

Apparently sked and skedded have been around for a couple years, usage seems to be mostly concentrated on news blogs, magazine sites, and other informative online sources. If you see it in print be sure to point it out to me. The word is so easy to use I think it is here to stay.