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The wallfish in action …
Word of the week: It sounds like the singing finned picture ornament Big Mouth Billy Bass that became popular in the late 1990s, but this is a much older noun, derived in Somerset, England, pertains to the climbing gastropod that can slowly climb up any surface
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Xiphias gladius or swordfish
Word of the week: Get the point? This is the scientific name for the swordfish, in full Xiphias gladius (from the Greek and Latin for sword), that extraordinary sea creature with the long, pointy bill. But what of it in song?
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Zumbador dorado: Hispaniolan mango hummingbird of Puerto Rico
Word of the week: A wonderfully evocative noun from the Spanish for word buzz, and meaning both a South American hummingbird, a door buzzer, and symbolic of resurrection of the soul in ancient Mexican culture, while also serving as the logo for a tequila brand
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The aspectabund performance of Gregor Fisher on the Hamlet cigar ads
Word of the week: This rare adjective describes a highly expressive face or countenance, where emotions and reactions are readily shown through the eyes or mouth
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Crapulence creeps in … but will an egg really help?
Word of the week: A term that may apply regularly during Xmas party season, from the from the Latin crapula, in turn from the Greek kraipálē meaning "drunkenness" or "headache" pertains to sickness symptoms caused by excess in eating or drinking, or general intemperance and overindulgence
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Runners sometimes discalceate for a purer movement …
Word of the week: A rarely used, but often practised verb, especially when arriving home, it means to take off your shoes, but is also a slightly more common adjective meaning barefoot or unshod, particularly for certain religious orders that wear sandals instead of shoes. But in what context does this come up in song?
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Erythrophyll in autumn
Word of the week: A seasonally topical word relating to the the red pigment of tree leaves, fruits and flowers, that appears particularly when changing in autumn, as opposed to the green effect of chlorophyll, from the Greek erythros for red, and phyll for leaves. But what of songs about this?
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Watching one of these on the twopath? Then this word by be for you
Word of the week: A fabulous old English slang term for someone who tends to stand or sit for long periods staring at the passing of boats on canals, sometimes with a derogatory or at least ironic use for someone who is useless or lazy. But what of songs about this activity and culture?
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Heimating birds
Word of the week: Pronounced “Hiya Mate”, this is in fact not a friendly informal greeting, but an Old English word, derived from Latin, meaning to spend the winter elsewhere, sounding a bit like hibernate, but different as it requires moving to another place rather than sleeping in the same
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Bottles hanging on the wall …
Word of the week: It’s a colourful noun for an intoxicatingly visual subject, and in parallel relating to people who may be a labeorphilist or labeorphile, it refers to the enthusiasm for, and collection of beer bottle labels. But what’s the musical connection?
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A Mugwump in David Cronenberg’s film adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ novel The Naked Lunch
Word of the week: This oddly evocative noun might summon in the mind some tactile, earthy image, or a strange childrens’ TV fictional character, but actually pertains to a person who is politically neutral, aloof, or independent, and in 19th-century America, described anti-corruption party switchers
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Treble clef on the nucha
Word of the week: A niche, sensual noun for a tactile area, with the related adjective nuchal, meaning related to the nape, or back or scruff of the neck. But where does it rub in music? For some light relief, here’s a variety of neck songs to send hairs standing up for different reason in this anatomical area
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Holding the olecranon
Word of the week: This is the large, thick, curved bony area of the elbow that sticks out at the arm joint – the proximal, posterior end of the ulnar bone which, alongside the radius, is the lower arm, and marks the point of the ulnar nerve, or in other words – the funny bone
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Some girls’ wigs are bigger than other girls …
Word of the week: Taken from the French language, this appropriately ornate noun pertains to makers of perukes, wigs or hairpieces, a trade that has variously gone in and out of fashion over the centuries. But what about these hair pieces in song?
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Red-billed quelea
Word of the week: It’s the name of the genus of small African passerine birds, part of the weaver family Ploceidae, small, sparrow- or finch-like, they are highly gregarious, nomadic, chattering birds, with bills adapted to eating seeds, and the red-billed quelea is said to be the most numerous bird species in the world
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Flowering Ranunculaceae
Word of the week: An adjective describing something related to or belonging to the Ranunculaceae plant family, particular those more commonly described as buttercups. But what of them in song?
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This week’s word might involve a fat dictionary
Word of the week: First appearing in English in the mid-17th century, meaning “a foot and a half long”, it’s a noun identifying words with multiple syllables, or an often derogatory adjective for a person with a tendency to use overlong words
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Sheep are naturally ulotrichous
Word of the week: While it’s entirely natural in animals such as sheep as well as some humans, depending on an individual’s point of view it’s either a blessing or a curse. From Greek words oûlos (crisp, curly) and -trikhos (haired), this adjective means having curly or woolly hair
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Chateau Marmont Hotel, West Hollywood, California
Word of the week: It’s something in which many of us may indulge during the thick of winter, planning for holidays via booking websites, this noun meaning the study of hotels, extending also to researching their lore and history
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Cupped unit
Word of the week: A timeless noun emanating from Middle English ȝespen and first used in around 1325, meaning a unit of measurement being the amount of that can be held in two hands cupped together
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