Wallop

Yesterday, on the 29th of October, the Northeast had a record snowfall.  Trees are fallen, half a million people are without power--it's a mess!

So you could say that a storm "struck."  Alternatively--and more colorfully--you could say that the storm "walloped" the area.   "Wallop" means to beat vigorously, and by extension, to defeat soundly.

And where does the word come from?  Middle English from the French--from a verb meaning, of all things, "to gallop."

Blunder

Blunder--what a great word!  But it's not such a great thing--a blunder is a very serious mistake, made out of carelessness or stupidity.  It's a major "oooops...."

The word comes into Middle English from either the Old Norse or Swedish verb meaning to have one's eyes closed.  Easy to see--no pun intended--how that creates a blunder! 

Unruly

Unruly describes a mental state of not wanting to be obedient, and therefore being difficult to control.

It's a word that--no surprise here--is often used about children.  But it can also be used about a group, especially when that group becomes a mob.

Another curious feature of this word is that while there is the negative--unruly--there is no positive form--ruly.  In that sense, it's like yesterday's word--unkempt--which also exists only in the negative.

And yes, as you might expect, the word comes from Middle English, and is related to the verb meaning to rule.

Unkempt

"Lindsay Lohan appeared in public," said a student, "and her hair was a mess!  She hadn't combed it in weeks!  What do you call that in English?"

Easy--unkempt.  But it's not just hair--anything that is a mess, that is uncared for, can be called unkempt.

This word's history?  Like so many other words, it the past participle of an Old English verb meaning--guess what--to comb! 

Distraught

Distraught--what's distraught?  It's to be deeply agitated about a problem--so agitated that it occupies all your attention, and forces you to become almost mad.

And the word has an interesting history.  It's the past participle of a Middle English verb for "distract."  So when you are deeply distracted by a problem, what do you become?

Simple!  Distraught!

(By the way, here's a link to the story that gave me today's word--read "Bernie Maddoff and his wife were so distraught, they attempted suicide...." below.)

http://azstarnet.com/news/national/madoff-s-wife-we-were-distraught-tried-suicide/article_b5ea510e-0d36-5ce2-922f-0393b873f881.html

Stilted

Before we talk about stilted, let's talk about stilts--the long poles that attach to the legs of clowns in the circus, in order to make them look 12 feet tall.  (See the picture below....)  Well, when you walk on stilts, is your movement easy and smooth?

Nope--and therefore the word "stilted"--which means jerky or non-smooth.  In addition, anything that is too formal is considered "stilted."

Another great word....

Wrenching

You may know what a wrench is--it's a tool used to unscrew something, or to separate two things that are tightly attached.  But did you know that there's a related word--wrenching?  It means an experience that is extremely painful emotionally.  So we often speak of a "wrenching" divorce or farewell.  It's a very strong word, for very painful situations....

Wordmonger

What's a wordmonger?  It's an author or a speaker who uses the language carelessly or for mere profit.  The word monger also exists, and means a trader or peddler.  You can thus speak of a fishmonger or an ironmonger.  And also a warmonger!  And then, of course, the scandal monger...  All good words, in common use....