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Susie had her own anxiety last week when a rough draft of her new Word Perfect book made it to the shops, spelling errors and all. Like many linguists, Dent is positive about linguistic change, and feels that children are its flagbearers. She’s excited that non-native speakers of English around the world now hugely outnumber native speakers, and about the “new Englishes” in their hands and mouths. She’s not afraid of AI, and doesn’t think new technology is going to destroy the way we speak our language – though that fear is nothing new. Victorians were afraid of the postcard, she points out. Their telegram was our “text speak is ruining our children”. On the other hand, she’s not keen on the methods that schools have recently been made to use to teach grammar. “If you say to kids, ‘Do you know about ablaut reduplication?’, their eyes would just completely glaze over. But if you say to them, ‘Would you like to play a game of pong ping, or have a kat kit?’, they understand that instinctively and it becomes quite exciting.” She has two children and – far from correcting their errors – has always loved it when they get words wrong. “English has always evolved by mistake,” she says. “The example I give is the jerusalem artichoke, which has nothing to do with Jerusalem and is not even an artichoke. The plant is a heliotrope – it turns towards the sun – but because we couldn’t pronounce the Italian ‘ gira sol’, we thought ‘Jerusalem’ would do.” Pull the trigger of this unicorn-shaped bubble blaster and three things happen: it blows a continuous stream of beautiful bubbles, it plays enchanting music, and it lights up! When it came to compiling her new book, Word Perfect: Etymological Entertainment For Every Day Of The Year, Susie had plenty of material to draw on. Her latest, and 13th, work exploring etymology features a favourite word or phrase for every day of the year, including some forgotten Scots words that Susie would love to resurrect. For Dent, words matter. “Not because of 18th-century Latin rules about split infinitives and prepositions, but because words are joyful, and we have such a vast lexicon there for the taking.” So, what three joyous words would she use to describe herself?
the mubble fubbles: Celebrity wordsmith Susie Dent on Year of the mubble fubbles: Celebrity wordsmith Susie Dent on
We looked at the best bubble machines for kids and our favorite is the Fubbles Fun-Finiti Bubble MachineSusie has also dedicated a whole section to Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting, of which she’s a huge fan. Belief in devilry and the supernatural once inspired all kinds of spells and incantations, designed to counter the threat of evil. Many were contained in the “grimoire”, a magician’s book of sorcery and magic used for calling up spirits. Its spells might seek to protect against the evil eye of those who, with just a look, were thought to possess the power to bring misfortune, illness or death. Linguistics has a term for the accidental omission of a letter or word when it should occur twice in close proximity: “haplography”. It is a combination of the Greek haplo, “single”, and graphy, “writing”: you might write “mispell” for “misspell”, for example, or ask “Is there anyone I can talk to resolve this issue?” instead of “Is there anyone I can talk to to resolve this issue?”. You might even employ a “bookeeper” for your accounts. The colours in this idiom, which is thought to have emerged in the direct aftermath of Camperdown, refer to nautical battle colours. If all of a ship’s masts were broken as a result of gunnery by the enemy, the captain had little alternative but to surrender. If, however, the captain decided to fight on, this was marked by hoisting his ship’s colours on the remnants of the rigging. Our kids have been through so much recently,” Dent says of the book. “Their normality has been taken away. And I just thought, ‘Let’s celebrate the beautiful’.” Not just obviously appealing words such as “butterfly” and “lovewende” (meaning beloved) – but those that delight in everyday annoyances, such as “thunderplump: the sudden downpour of fat, heavy raindrops that leaves us drenched and dripping in minutes”. She was excited to find research, by the psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett, that showed having the vocabulary to articulate happy feelings can make us better able to manage our emotions. And if we are feeling down, knowing that there is a fun word for that – the “mubble fubbles” – may at least make us feel less alone. Dent is drawn to words that delight in everyday annoyances, such as ‘thunderplump: the sudden downpour of fat, heavy raindrops
Susie Dent: ‘English has always evolved by mistake’
The Zerhunt Bubble Machine blows a beautiful, steady stream of bubbles, runs on batteries or electricity, and has a large reservoir for hours of fun. And, to my greatest pleasure, I can confirm that we can all be “gorm”, “gruntled”, “kempt” and “couth” to our hearts’ content. You may also be “mayed” (possessing power), “ept”, “flappable”, “peccable”, “bridled”, and “descript”. (But never “promptu”, “petuous”, “shevelled”, “chalant”, or a “nomer”.) The category is so full that today’s survivors have been given their own linguistic moniker: “orphaned negatives”. For the superstitious Romans, a practitioner of such magic was known as a “fascinator”, one capable of causing, according to later historians, “impairment of function, especially the sexual function ... headache, hiccoughs and yawnings”. If you’ve basked in the joy of a frosty but sunny day, you might, like me, also rejoice in its name: “apricity” means the warmth of the sun in autumn or winter. This season also brings the cheering lexicon of conkers – from the “obblyonker” to the “cheggy”, the “kinger” to the “cheeser”. And, of course, we all look forward to the “quafftide” and “bellycheer” that come with Christmas.
The language contains a large number of terms that, at some point in their past, have lost their mojo and now travel on alone. These are the “unkempts”, “uncouths”, “underwhelmeds”, and “nonplusseds” – terms that linger on the bad, sad, seamy side of life. Those that can never quite be gruntled without being dissed as well. Perhaps the greatest delight in writing the book was choosing lost gems or obscurities from the corners of the dictionary. I made many fresh discoveries along the way. Cocomelon," the hit Netflix show for kids, is everywhere these days—even bubble makers. The Cocomelon Bubble Machine can blow bubbles and play songs from the show, entracing kids who can’t get enough of the catchy bops. The machine also works in bubble-only mode, for those times when you don’t want to listen to another “Cocomelon” song. The songs, which cycle through the same variety, are loud enough to hear when you’re sitting closeby, and are at a just-right volume for little ears (there are no volume controls). Gruntled” is just one of many positive states of mind and body that were abandoned long ago. When it comes to many English adjectives, the glass seems to be decidedly half full. In this written-spoken medium that’s developing, where we write as we speak, you often need an emoji to express an emotion that may otherwise be lost.”
fubbles’? How our lost language can Got a case of the ‘mubble fubbles’? How our lost language can
How could we ever have foregone the insults “mumpsimus” and “ultracrepidarian”, when they so perfectly describe individuals that every one of us will recognise? The first, from the 16th century, describes someone who insists they are right despite clear evidence to the contrary, while an ultracrepidarian holds forth on subjects they know absolutely nothing about. Mostly, testers responded to the adorable dolphin design of this bubble machine, perfect for an under-the-sea themed kids' birthday party or waterside picnic, vacation or reunion. It comes with two 8 fluid ounces bottles of bubble solution and the dolphin can hold 6 fluid ounces at at time, so our experts appreciated that you get enough solution from the start to do a couple of rounds of bubble making.
Melancholy? Marry gup, is melancholy a word for a barber's mouth? Thou shouldst say, heavy, dull, and doltish. Melancholy is the crest of courtiers' arms, and now every base companion, being in his muble-fubles, says he is melancholy. On returning to his native Sunderland, Crawford was hailed a hero, and became the darling of the people, celebrated in engravings and pamphlets across the country, culminating in an accolade from the king. His actions ensured that the British Navy had the enduring reputation of being resilient and formidable. For more than 100 years our Lab scientists and seasoned experts have been reviewing consumer products and revealing what's worth your money when it comes to new tech, beauty products and more. We're the team that brings you the 411 on everything for your kids, including the year's best toys and the best STEM sets for kids according to engineers. According to The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, this term meaning “melancholic, depressed” originated in the UK in 1826. 3. Blue Devils Here's another container that can't spill. Though it's age-graded for ages 3 and up, if you set this up and run it for a baby, they'll be delighted. It plays music and sends out bubbles! Specifically, it plays a part of "The Wheels on the Bus" from the CoComelon show.
Fubbles | A.B. Gee | First Choice in Toy Distribution
The Fubbles Fun-Finiti Bubble Machine is the best bubble machine for kids that you can buy right now. After testing nearly a dozen popular bubble machines with two kids, ages 4 and 9, the Fun-Finiti is the one they consistently requested to play with time and time again. The machine has three twirling jets on top that send hundreds of bubbles into the air per minute, creating a truly magical experience that kids of any age will enjoy.Encourage your toddler to imitate the grown-ups mowing the lawn with this pretend lawn mower that sends bubbles out the top. The toy makes a revving sound to further foster imagination (read why pretend play is so important), encourage outdoor time and help with gross motor coordination and exercise. While the design bodes well mostly, it does hinder your ability to neatly pour in the solution. The bubble reservoir is very small (less than 4 ounces). Due to the tiny design of the machine, there’s just not enough space to easily pour in bubble solution without spilling. A large medicine dropper or small baster might work better than pouring directly from the solution bottle. has been a challenging year, to say the least. Nevertheless, we hope to make your Christmas and Hanukkah shopping as stress-free as possible!
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