Tis week’s fabulous Fun Monday is hosted by My Husband Calls me Weird, and she says;
1.) I don’t know about you, but my family is great at creating strange words that only we know the meaning. Some were created when the kids were first learning to talk, others came about when our tongues were twisted and the word came out funny. Either way, the words stuck and we still use them in our daily conversations. What created words does your family use?! Please share the story behind the word if you remember. If you don’t have a made up word then tell us about the unspoken way you communicate with someone. Do you and your significant other have a look that means “This party is boring, lets split” or do you have a look that your kids know means their butt is in serious trouble? Please share!! And a picture of the look would be very entertaining!
I don’t think me and Mr B have any particular looks or words we use now, but me and my family had a few words that we kind of adopted and adapted as our own when I was younger. The main one I can remember is, if we thought something was a bit pants, we said it was a bit of a shed. I have no idea why??
Miss M (3) created her own word when she was learning to talk and needed a hug or a cuddle…
Miss M: “My want a huggle Mummy.”
How cute is that? It makes me melt. Sighhhh, I am so proud. My kid is a baby bard.
As for unspoken communication, my mum was a teacher and she always had this teacher’s look she used to give us as kids that let us know we needed to stop what we were doing RIGHT NOW, and that we were probably in for it when we got home. It was kind of, eyebrows raised, mouth straight and closed.
It was really scary, honest.
Miss E noticed this look when she was about five and pointed it out to my mum saying, “Eyebrows Granny.” Now if my kids are getting a bit crazy my mum just says, ‘eyebrows’, and it makes us all smile but it also stops them. Ok, I’m lying, it sometimes stops… them for a bit. Grannies are just not as scary as mums.
That’s about all I have from memory, but I do have something else to share with you. You see, my parents are clearing out their loft at the moment and they found a load of my old school books, including my secondary school year 1 English book.
So what has this got to do with Fun Monday, I hear you ask?
Well, we did a project on Jabberwocky by Lewis Carrol, where we had to translate some of the words such as ‘whiffling’ which I described as a cross between whining and sniffling, and ‘gallumphing’ which I described as galloping and jumping along clumsily. We then had to go on and create our own versions.
So, without further ado, these are 11 year old Jo Beaufoix’s made up useful and interesting words. Only I was 11 year old Jo Dillon then, look, here is my exercise book cover. I was such a tidy child…
Ok, are you ready?
Right.
Nooooo. Spit, spit, I would have wanted to kick me.
Hmmm, yes, excellent, especially in my Roman Catholic Secondary School where swields were vital if you wanted to survive the scary altar boys in the playground, I mean, it was rough. You can imagine right? No?
Me neither.
Hmmm, I could have changed the world with this one couldn’t I? Tsk, if only Mr Cropper had seen its potential and unleashed it on the masses.
And that drawing is an accurate pictorial description of how real cats grow, starting small and narrow, then growing hugely wide with a gargantuan head and big hair, not to mention a complete change of furstyle/colour , then on into a tall elegant example of their kitten selves. My cat definitely grew like that. I swear. He looked just like that when he was a catitten. Oh, and proof that I am less mature now than I was then, I read it to myself earlier and thought, oh, that has the word ‘tit’ in it, how rude. (Titter titter.)
Hmmm, you could say that, or you could just say nothing. Depends if you like being battered or not.
(NB. I didn’t own a horse or anything, but me and my big sis used to go and hep at the local stables at weekends. We loved it.)
Yeah, just in case you couldn’t work out what a stirrup leather might be. I bet my teacher was so glad I explained that. Cringe. So nice to be partonised by an 11 year old I’m sure.
I bet he thought I was a right ‘brafart’. (That’s a cross between a ‘brat’ and a ‘fart’. )
There, I just made that up, and look, it has the word ‘bra’ in it. Sighhhhh. Still got it.
Ok, so now you read mine, click on the link above and go and enjoy all the other Fun Monday fabulousness.
Oh, and one other thing, check out my new blog project. I have become one of Upstart Blogger writer Ashley Morgan’s Infinite Critique bloggers.
” Infinite Critique is a collective news and reviews blog established in 2008 as an intelligent alternative to mainstream news blogs.”
I hope to blog a few times a week over there on a variety of subjects such as family, music, entertainment, literature etc. Ashley has pulled together a really eclectic mix of writers, photographers and artists to have a go at something a little different. My first post is called ‘When Parties go wrong’. Have a read, leave a comment, and have a poke around the site. There will be something for everyone. We’re just getting started, but I’m hoping it will be a real journey where I stretch myself a little as I attempt a different style of writing, and hopefully it will turn into something really cool.
Oh, and if you like what you see, add us to your blog roll, linky love is always very welcome. 
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March 17th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
You were brilliant even then. The seeds of the Jo we now know. How giggle-worthy!
March 17th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Pickle always asked for a ‘duddle’ instead of a ‘cuddle’. We always thought it cute and the whole family took the phrase on. Pickle is now seeing a speech therapist because of her problems pronouncing the letter ‘c’. OOOPS! Bad Mummy!
March 17th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Aren’t you so glad to still have examples of your early work? A wordsmith in the making. Young Jo would be proud of older Jo, I’m sure.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
my nanna was a teacher and had that teacher look. i didn’t like it as much as i liked the lovely nanna look. you’d think i’d have stopped doing the thing that got the look. sadly, no. a bit naughty, i was.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I love “huggle”! What a marvelously descriptive word!
Would those be your eyes giving us The Look?
March 17th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
This was wonderfic! (wonderful and terrific)
March 18th, 2008 at 1:11 am
I love made up words! My children used huggle too
) And we had noke for milk – no idea how that one came about. Oh oh oh and squdge too. That’s a kind of hug, a sort of squeeze that involved budging up on the sofa. Have you read The BFG? Lots of made up words in that. In fact it’s scrumdiddlyumptious!
March 18th, 2008 at 4:41 am
Ooh, are you familiar with Sniglets, which comedian Rich Hall started? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniglet
Very similar. But yes, we have a slew of “sniglets” in our family, mostly words coined by our daughter when she was little.
Ah-bi-gah (alligator…it’s a cross between the name and the sound she believed it made…best pronounced like a menacing growl)
Rain-brella (which makes more sense to me than umbrella…what’s an um?)
Another popular one in my house is “snuffle” which is what our bulldogs give us when they want to express love. It’s a snuggle with their chuffing snouts.
Great post!
Peace – D
March 18th, 2008 at 5:02 am
Kim, thanks. Hope you had a chilled out weekend. x
Picklesmum, duddle is so cute. My 3 year old niece always called my mum raggy instead of granny which really made us laugh. She is also under a speech therapist now, but she’ll be fine, and it’s still a cute memory of her.
Faye, it was so cool that my mum and dad kept it. It’s funny, but I remember writing so much of the stuff in it too. I loved English.
Holly, we didn’t stop either, but when you got ‘the look’, oh it was scary. She uses it on my dad too sometimes now, hee hee.
DP i love those examples, and you’re right, rainbrella is so much more sensible. Rich Hall is wicked and I will be checking out the sniglets. I love watching him on QI and Never Mnd the Buzzcocks.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I can see how you grew up to be the clever wordsmith of today. I like the pictures the best though!
March 18th, 2008 at 10:16 am
How sweet of you to leave a comment on my blog! I will come back here often…great blogging!
I love “huggle” however, I’m not sure how my son will respond LOL
March 18th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Jo you are so cute! I have some made up words, but they are mostly medical ones that “normal” people might not want to know
March 18th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Huggle is the best! Thanks for playing! You should host for 3/31!
March 18th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I feel so normal now!
I have loads of invented words – spobble bobble spibble bibble and co…
Thanks Jo!
March 19th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Your old school notebook is amazing! Worthy of a huggle. But no Eyebrows.