Tickling Words

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When I wear my writing hat I play with words. Saying them out loud or seeing them on a page often conjures something different from the intended meaning—at least in my mind:

  • Monkey—mon key—key to a Jamaican man’s heart
  • Herring—her ring—oftentimes worn to ward off would-be suitors, as in “red herring”
  • Portion—poor shun—an ineffectual attempt to to ignore someone
  • Keyboard—key bored—a writer who’s not “in the zone”
  • Solar powered—soular powered—a person who’s plugged into Source Energy
  • Petulant—pet you lent—short-term loan of your companion animal

Communication is the currency of life so it’s important to get it right (or write, as the case may be). And in this fast-paced world where it’s hard to gain and retain people’s attention, concision is vital.

Just in case you never noticed…

DAMMIT I’M MAD  is  DAMMIT I’M MAD  spelled backward! (I saw you check to confirm).

Are you an attentive communicator?

It takes a creative mind and a steady-handed plume to wordsmith a book. Please join me in pre-ordering your September-release copy of FIRST-DEGREE FUDGE: A FUDGE SHOP MYSTERY authored by my friend and mentor, Christine DeSmet.

© TuesdaysWithLaurie.com

68 thoughts on “Tickling Words”

  4. Petulant—pet you lent—short-term loan of your companion animal — Love this! When a person lends their pet to a friend who needs some care, understanding, and love! What a concept… 🙂

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  9. I, too, think “pet you lent” may be the best on this list. How funny. I think I take communication pretty seriously, but I also know that miscommunication happens when we least expect it.

    By the way, thanks so much for retweeing my post this morning. Your support always means so much to me!

    Hugs from Ecuador,
    Kathy

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  10. This was very fun and I enjoyed reading it. Yes you do have a delightful way of playing with words, and your words always, always bring something new to my mind – I love to contemplate. I am writing a book review today about a book with stunning word usage and play. I enjoyed looking up a number of words to find the nuance and dimensions in play with the author’s word choice. Words are Wonderful

    I am subscribed to Daisy’s blog so I read what she shares all the time. I do not write on many of her posts – just tweet and like on FB….I do spend one afternoon a week just reading folks posts, because I love to read what others share in the written word. I often work off your commenters links because they have such interesting things to say and share here 🙂

    I will try to get a reader’s copy of FIRST DEGREE FUDGE: I love to review books as you know! and the list could use a good mystery right now. Will her book have a $1.99 day on Amazon or a $.99 cent day? If I purchase the book I do not then get a tax deduction for reviewing it….I am so on the edge….2 of my non-fiction reviews are being purchased by magazines in September – we are in negotiations right now…hip hurrah – getting paid for your words is very thrilling

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    • Patricia – I’m glad you enjoyed this post. I loved your recent post on “Son of a Gun” – excellent 🙂 I didn’t realize you were aware of Daisy’s blog – great!

      CONGRATULATIONS on your book reviews being purchased by magazines – Whoohoo! That’s wonderful.

      I suspect that to get a copy of Christine’s book for review you’d contact the publisher (although I don’t know that for certain)…

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  13. Sorry Laurie, the ‘like’ button isn’t working for this post (I’ve not experienced THAT problem yet, so why not?! 😉 )… but I like it! I like playing with words as well!

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  16. It’s been quite an experience listening to all my British friends over the past week Laurie. “fortnight,” “Straight away,” “Thank you love,” and numerous others expressions and unique pronunciations have enriched our trip, which is coming to a close, with our group preparing to board a train to London within an hour. The use of the language and communication was of course the central ingredient to this unforgettable time. And we were even able to pick up the various dialects from different parts of the country.

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    • Sam – Oh how fun, Fun, FUN for you and yours! I’m looking forward to reading more about your once-in-a-lifetime adventure in your blog, and hopefully seeing some more photographs 🙂

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  17. Hi Laurie

    I think I can objectively claim to be an attentive communicator, both from the sense of giving what I am attempting to communicate, and the audience to whom I am communicating, my full attention; and also from the perspective of giving my full attention to people who are communicating with me.

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  18. Ah yes, the fun we can have with words, great post. Am I the only one that uses “sniglets”? I learned of their use from Saturday Night Live, of course now it is just SNL. I love sniglets and find myself looking for new ones all the time. Some of my favorites are “musquirt” – the watery stuff that comes out of the mustard when it has not been used in a while, and “cinemuck” – the stuff stuck to the movie theater floor from the many spilled items.

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  25. Well it has taken me a few days but I have finally made it over. I am not particularly careful with the writing of words but rather more attentive to their sounds. Spelling has always been a thorny bush for me and I get annoyed with the English language for its right and write, role and roll, pear and pair, there and their and so one. Drives me crazy! But if I can I have someone like you go poking through or threw the document to see how many of these critters you can find. Great post Laurie and all the best of today to you! 🙂

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  29. Loved your word play – clever! I need to become a more active listener. I tend to zone out when I think I know what someone is going to say and also get caught up in the motherly art of multi-tasking.

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    • Tammy – I’m glad you enjoyed this post, thank you.

      Here’s a little secret. Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone: release multi-tasking and embrace doing one-thing-at-a-time. Whether it’s listening, brushing your teeth, yoga, or packing a school lunch. By doing one thing at a time, not only does it get done really well, you actually accomplish more 🙂

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  30. Very clever! It’s difficult in the post-a-blog-often world to chose words carefully, spell them correctly and have punctuation in order. Word choice is my number one priority but spelled wrong on punctuation missing can turn the whole meaning upside down.

    Here’s one my husband told me the other day: arbitrator: some one who left one hamburger chain for another. Arbi traitor

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  31. Striving for soular power today! You have always been very concise, creative, and articulate in your posts, offering a lot of content in just a few paragraphs. Love reading your blog!

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