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A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

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A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby halfateabag » Sun May 24, 2020 9:14 am

Only very slightly food orientated....! I have just found a word I have never come across before.... Geegaw. Had to go and look it up. Have you found a new word recently, you did not know the meaning of ?

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby Badger's Mate » Sun May 24, 2020 9:33 am

My most recent example was probably furlough

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby halfateabag » Sun May 24, 2020 10:05 am

Yes BM, I always thought that word was something to do with ploughing a field !

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby Earthmaiden » Sun May 24, 2020 10:22 am

I've heard of Geegaw, though I don't think it's not a word I would readily use.

I'm glad I wasn't alone with furlough. I spent a happy hour or so looking up its origins and discovered other words I didn't know with similar meanings from various roots. The English language is so fascinating!

I come across words I don't know quite often, there are also words I've known for years which are part of everyday language, whose meaning I always have to check before using!

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby Stokey Sue » Sun May 24, 2020 10:31 am

I knew gewgaws or geegaw from a teenage Georgette Heyer habit but I’d have had to think about it if it came up now

Furlough is an odd one - I knew the word because in the USA it is used to refer to a period of leave from the military but I never knew if it just meant the same as leave of absence or not, and Webster’s US English dictionary isn’t a lot of help, current use is different
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/furlough

I’m sure many of the new words I learn are food related but struggling to think of one at the moment

And as this topic is not fully food related perhaps we could keep the discussion in the Chatterbox thread, I’ll move it if I can remember how to do it
As agreed previously
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4423&hilit=NAF

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby Lokelani » Sun May 24, 2020 10:41 am

Geegaw I have come across before, I'm not sure where, probably historic literature or interest in antiques.

Furlough I also had not heard used until the recent crisis.

The word that I had to look up most recently was petrichor. The smell of rain on dry ground. I read it in a book and had to look up its meaning. Fascinating, I never knew there was a word for that elusive scent we get when it rains, after it's been dry for ages. It seems that most people describe it as fresh, earthy or pleasant. I unfortunately smell it as a very slightly fishy smell! Who knew it had a name.

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby chihuahua8 » Sun May 24, 2020 12:34 pm

My parents were both Salvation Army officers and as most of you will know the SA uses a great many military terms, one of which was 'furlough' used when referring to their annual leave. Apart from that I've never heard it used in any other situation. When the term started to be used in the present crisis, it took me back to my childhood. I wonder if the regular Army still use the term?
JeanT

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby PatsyMFagan » Sun May 24, 2020 12:53 pm

Stokey Sue wrote:
Furlough is an odd one - I knew the word because in the USA it is used to refer to a period of leave from the military but I never knew if it just meant the same as leave of absence or not, and Webster’s US English dictionary isn’t a lot of help, current use is different
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/furlough



I too had only ever heard of Furlough in the American context ... probably after watching endless episodes of NCIS ;) :roll:

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby MagicMarmite » Sun May 24, 2020 2:27 pm

I read a (crap btw) book last week that had furlough in it, I'd never heard of it until recently either!

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby WWordsworth » Sun May 24, 2020 3:21 pm

I was aware of all those words

Geegaw, probably from "Call My Bluff" with Frank Muir and whatever the other team captain was called, cannot remember.

Furlough, I have come across it in historical novels several times. Usually in a military context.

Petrichor is a recent one for me, probably only heard it a couple of years ago or maybe I read something by Susie Dent.

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby jeral » Sun May 24, 2020 8:15 pm

I've known googaw for ages, remembering it because it's a silly word for a silly object. Furlough, from JAG (the naval predecessor of NCIS) meaning paid leave whilst under inquiry, although I've not heard it before in the UK.

The government doing things "at pace" is meaningless as it means at any pace. Should be "apace" if they mean quickly, but perhaps they just mean in their own good time, whenever that might be...

Cooking terms, I look up but forget instantly. Maybe there should be cooking-word cross words with suitably informative clues? Or maybe a new glossary thread on here?

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby Renee » Sun May 24, 2020 11:40 pm

PatsyMFagan wrote:
I too had only ever heard of Furlough in the American context ... probably after watching endless episodes of NCIS ;) :roll:


I love NCIS Patsy and started watching it many years ago when staying with American friends.

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby Suffs » Mon May 25, 2020 11:12 am

I also knew geegaws from the Georgette Heyers of my teens ... and wasn't Sergeant Troy on furlough when he set his cap at Bathsheba Everdene?

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby liketocook » Mon May 25, 2020 1:10 pm

My maternal Grandmother used to refer to her costume jewellery as her "geegaws".
Furlough I'd only ever heard used in a military or American context.

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby scullion » Mon May 25, 2020 10:47 pm

always known it as gewgaw rather than geegaw.
i regularly learn quite a few new words from susie dent's little bit in the radio times - which i usually forget. this one though, is one i remember -
The word ‘bumf’, useless or tedious material, is a shortening of ‘bumfodder’, ‘toilet paper’. Also known centuries ago as ‘arsewisp’.


(i knew what bumf was but didn't know its etymology.)

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby Rainbow » Tue May 26, 2020 2:12 am

scullion wrote:always known it as gewgaw rather than geegaw.
i regularly learn quite a few new words from susie dent's little bit in the radio times - which i usually forget. this one though, is one i remember -
The word ‘bumf’, useless or tedious material, is a shortening of ‘bumfodder’, ‘toilet paper’. Also known centuries ago as ‘arsewisp’.


(i knew what bumf was but didn't know its etymology.)

I knew the word, too, but love the explanation :lol:

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby halfateabag » Tue May 26, 2020 8:16 am

Interesting read Scully, thanks for the lesson !

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby PatsyMFagan » Tue May 26, 2020 10:58 am

Well I never ... you learn something every day :thumbsup :gonzo

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby Gruney2 » Tue May 26, 2020 10:59 am

I've come across a few, lately - I get the feeling the promulgator has strong feelings towards a well known politician. Anyway- this is one I like; probably because it sounds so pretentious - "Ipsidexitism."

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Re: A showy 'trifle', a toy; a showy trinket, ornament

Postby scullion » Tue May 26, 2020 11:26 am

it's ipsedixitism - and not just because i say it is!

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