Mettlesome Maidens

Girlfriends, there are times when a woman’s mettle is tested, and I contend that only the most mettlesome maidens are up for the task of cow midwifery. Do I get a medal? Nah. But after a long month of doting on Maizy (several times each night), I get to …

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photo-of-the-day

photo-of-the-day

Slumming It

Slumgullion (sluhm-guhl-yuhn). Does it mean …

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Cowabunga

Cowabunga. Cow Bung?

Cowabunga was first used by Chief Thunderthud, a character of Howdy Doody, around 1954. Surfers later picked it up as their war cry while whipping through the waves. Remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show? ‘Cowabunga, dude’ was all theirs.

Willie borrows the phrase …

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Word: Mel who?

Mel  lif …

Melli … foo … lus?

Nope, that’s not it.

FLU.

M-E-L  L-I   F-L-U   U-S

Mellifluous

Got it!

Now that I’ve untwisted my tongue, here it is: mel·li·flu·us.

Doesn’t that have a sweet ring to it? The fact is, this dulcet adjective is defined as “flowing with sweetness or honey.”

It can also be used to describe a particularly melodious sound (I awoke to the mellifluous song of a meadowlark at dawn.) Think melodious, mellisonant, ariose, euphonious … ahhhhh.

I dare you to use it in casual conversation.

I double dare you to master its other fabulous forms:

mellifluence (noun)

mellifluousness (noun)

mellifluously (adverb)

mellifluently (adverb) 

Sweeeet! 

Western meadowlark singing mellifluously. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Alan Vernon.