”More than words is all I ever needed you to show, then you wouldn’t have to say you love me, cause I’d already know”…
So goes the 80’s song sung by Extreme. If you are part of my generation, I’m sure you remember it. It is a song about not having to say words due to his lover’s expressions.
Here is a puzzle about words – words you may or may not know. Words that are claimed to be some of the most beautiful words in the English language. See how many of these words you know.
1. If I am an ailurophile I am: an attractive teenager; a cat lover; slow or sluggish; sneaky and shifty.
2. Conflate means to: To think alone; to exhaust with attacks; to blend together; knit or unknit.
3. Penumbra is: a large quantity; a spicy French stew; a solution for all problems; a half-shadow.
4. If my husband is surreptitious, he is: Sneaky or secretive; Whispering; Deceptive; Deeply affectionate.
5. The other day I got a lagniappe. What did I receive? The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk; A sudden revelation; A good luck charm; A special kind of gift.
6. Lassitude is: Weariness, listlessness; Twisting and turning; A naïve young woman; Blithe nonchalance.
7. If someone was found in an imbroglio, what or where are they? They are in a beginning or early stage of something; They are in a cozy nook by the hearth; they are in an altercation or complicated situation; they are a messenger with news of the future.
8. To become jaded is to be: Inure; Ineffable; Incipient; Lissome.
9. Mondegreen can be good or bad – depending on the situation. What could it possibly mean? Sweet sounding; Murmuring; Fragrant; misunderstood words.
10. I love the word petrichor. I also love the meaning. What do you think it means? Lush, luxuriant; Happy, sunny and carefree; The smell of earth after rain; The sea between the horizon and the offshore.
ANSWERS
1. If I am an ailurophile then I love cats. And I do - I have two of my own! 2. To conflate something is to blend it together. 3. Penumbra means a half-shadow. 4. Luckily, my honey is not surreptitious which means he would be sneaky or secretive. 5. It’s true! I did receive a lagniappe in the mail the other day. I received a special kind of gift! 6. Lassitude is weariness or listlessness. 7. When a person is found in an imbroglio, they are usually in quite a messy altercation or situation. 8. Inure means to become jaded. 9. Mondegreens are a sort of aural malapropism. Instead of saying the wrong word, you hear the wrong word. The word mondegreen is generally used for misheard song lyrics, although technically it can apply to any speech. 10. Petrichor is an unusual word, with an unusual meaning. It means the smell of the earth after a rain. Ahhh…