New Game: What's the Word?

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: CRINKUM-CRANKUM

pronunciation: [KRING-kəm-KRANG-kəm]

 

Part of speech: noun

Origin: English, mid-18th century

 

Meaning:

1. Elaborate decoration or detail.

 

Examples:

"I love Victorian architecture with the woodwork overflowing with crinkum-crankum."

"The reviews of the latest book in the mystery series promise a story filled with crinkum-crankum."

About Crinkum-Crankum

Crinkum-crankum is a fanciful word for something fanciful itself. This fun-to-say noun means something with over-the-top decoration, or something full of twists and turns.

 

Did you Know?

It might sound like a nonsense word, but "crinkum-crankum" has roots in very real terms. It’s an alteration of "crinkle," meaning "a wrinkle or crease on the surface of something," and "crankle," which comes from the Latin word "crincum," meaning "a bend or twist." "Crinkum-crankum" is a fun way to describe something delightfully elaborate.

 

[DarkRavie]

What's the Word: ABSTRMIOUS

pronunciation: [əb-STEE-mee-əs]

 

Part of speech: adjective

Origin: Latin, early 17th century

 

Meaning:

1. Indulging only very moderately in something, especially food and drink.

 

Examples:

"He threw his abstemious diet out the window and indulged in cake on his birthday."

"The family was very abstemious, keeping no sugar or junk food in the house."

About Abstemious

Abstemius in Latin is spelled slightly differently from its English counterpart, "abstemious," but they mean the same thing. In Latin, "ab" means "from" and "temetum" means "alcoholic drink." An abstemious man is one who does not indulge in excessive food or drink.

 

Did you Know?

There’s a fun trick hidden in the word "abstemious." Take a look at the vowels — notice anything? Each vowel appears only once and in alphabetical order. Feel free to use this bit of trivia at your next happy hour.