"My mother grinned tetchily," I wrote recently, and then thought hey--that's it! The word for the day!
Right, I know what it means--slightly irritable or annoyed. But where does it come from? The sunny Italians? The grumpy Norwegians? I had no idea....
Well, of all people, it's the French! Yup, the wine and cheese guys! But maybe they can be forgiven (though with the French, I usually don't.) It originally meant a blemish, and since one tends to touch a blemish, it was influenced by another word, "touchy." (Don't ask how, or rather, look it up yourself!
Guess I'm tetchy!
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