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Oops, I Must Be An Opsimath

10/19/2017

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Haven't learnt a thing for decades? You must be a late learner, an opsimath.

There you go, you just learnt something, no matter how late!

DAZED AND CONFUSED?
​PETER THE PROOFER IS HERE!
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Guddling or Tickling Trout Is Not As Friendly As It Sounds

10/18/2017

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The poor trout is just taking a rest from all that relentless swimming about, so it pops under a ledge or rock. Along comes the guddler or tickler, slides his hand in under the fish, and begins to stroke its belly. After a minute or so, according to the theory, the fish is 'hypnotised'. Then the guddler grabs the fish and gets his dinner without even needing a line.

 In Scotland this is called 'guddling', in England it is 'tickling', and in the US it is 'noodling'.

It is illegal and was favoured by poachers, who didn't want to march around with lines and poles. 

DAZZLED BY REGIONAL VARIATION?
​PETER THE PROOFER IS HOME TO EVERYONE!
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Cigarette Smoking Has Fallen Into Desuetude

10/17/2017

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Old habits may die hard, but sometimes the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Many quaint twentieth-century habits, like tobacco smoking and casual sexual assault, may soon fall into desuetude, or disuse.

From the Latin for 'I've grown unaccustomed to your face'.

When Harvey said, "but I'm used to it" to the nymphet he was groping, he was right there in 1974, in his dreams. For goodness' sake, can somebody inform Harvey that it's 2017 and you have to pay actual money for it now!

A law which is not enforced, or openly flouted, for ages can also fall into desuetude. Like that stupid old law prohibiting the droving of sheep on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Nobody has ever been charged!

CONFUSED BY EXCESSIVE VOCABULARY OPTIONS?
​PETER THE PROOFER REFUSES CONFUSION!
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A Skull So Glabrous You Could Skate On It

10/16/2017

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I have no idea why people call bald heads 'chromedomes'.

The proper word is 'glabrous', hairless. From the Latin.

Now that I think of it, you never see a glabrous Roman statue. Caesar and his minions always have perfect heroic hair, despite marble's natural affinity with all things glabrous.

VEXED BY VOCABULARY?
​PETER THE PROOFER WILL UNHEX YOU!
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I Was In a Dwaal When I Hit That Wall

10/15/2017

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No, it's not an Indian mini-car, it's a daze in South African slang.

From the Afrikaans, which is from the Dutch 'dwalen', to wander or stray.

IN A DWAAL ABOUT ENGLISH?
​PETER THE PROOFER WILL BRING YOU BACK TO THE KRAAL!
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The Performance Was More Pyroclastic Than Pyrotechnic

10/12/2017

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If the pop star dished up a great show, we say it was pyrotechnic, being like fireworks.

If she were caught lip-syncing or came on too stoned, it would be pyroclastic, being like rocks ejected from an erupting volcano.

Such is the power of a suffix. Another lesson from the Greeks.

IS IT ALL GREEK TO YOU?
​PETER THE PROOFER WILL SAVE HOI POLLOI!
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New-fangled One Day, Fankled the Next

10/11/2017

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The Scots, as well as being nude under their kilts to scare the English, also have their own darn words to confuse them.

Thank goodness for that Braveheart spirit!

The Scots say 'fankled' for tangled, which I prefer for its fankness. F-words are good for shock value. When a Scot says 'it's f****ed', it expresses a great deal more than the English ever could.

VEXED BY VARIETIES OF VOCABULARY?
​PETER THE PROOFER WILL UNHEX YOU!
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Harvey Is Off Sick With Nympholepsy

10/9/2017

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Uncontrollable rapturous desire for beautiful young women is quite a well-known condition really.

People are so judgemental! He should just get a medical certificate and claim worker's compo.

He'll probably need a large pension, since nympholepsy is definitely incurable.

PERPLEXED OR VEXED?
​PETER THE PROOFER IS HERE FOR YOU!
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The Kids are Learning Futhark at Viking School

10/8/2017

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Coding is a bit passé really. Learning ancient Runic would be so much cooler.

Named after the first six letters of the Runic alphabet, also 'futhorc' or 'futhork'.

It sounds like the sort of curse you might hear as a Viking chops off your head!

HAD IT WITH OBSCURE WORDS?
PETER THE PROOFER KNOWS THEM ALL!
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Eating That Much Haggis Was Kenspeckle Consumption

10/5/2017

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Kenspeckle sounds like the bloke down the road, and maybe it is if he wears a red beanie.

From the Old Norse, a Scots word for 'conspicuous'.

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PETER THE PROOFER WILL UNHEX YOU!
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