Al again

Dear Word Snoop,

It's me again. Al. Just checking in. How are you doing?

Al


Dear Al, my pal,

I'm doing fine
(I think)

Yours in word and deed, the Word Snoop

Why why why? from Mia

Hi Snoop,

Why is frosting on a cake called frosting when it's not cold? Why? Why?

PS I like frosting better than the cake

PS this is from Mia


Dear Mia,

Well, I think it's called frosting because of how it looks - a bit like a layer of frosty ice or soft snow on the roof of your car after a very cold night.

Actually in Australia (where I come from) we don't call it frosting - we call it "icing". For the same reason I guess.

And I know what you mean - sometimes I just lick all the icing (I mean frosting) off the top of the cake and then leave the rest on the plate...

Feeling hungry now, from your friend, The Word Snoop

Run run as fast as you can from Elinor

Dear Word Snoop,

Do you know the story of the little gingerbread man? This is what happens. A little old woman and a little old man cook this little boy out of gingerbread, but when he's cooked he jumps out of the oven and runs away. He says, "run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man."

My auntie told me this story. She knows lots of crazy stories.

goodbye from Elinor


Dear Elinor,

I do know that story - and I really like it, it's one of my favourites. Although the ending is a bit sad... Still, he had fun while it lasted I guess!

If anyone reading this doesn't know the story, you can read it here http://www.enchantedlearning.com/stories/folktale/gingerbreadman/story/

Thanks for writing to me Elinor, and say hi to your crazy auntie for me!

your friend, the Word Snoop

Wish swish from Andres

Dear Word Snoop,

These are my favourite words. Wish and swish. But not fish. I don't like fish. I am allergic.


good to get you know you from Andres


Dear Andres

These are all great words (even fish, but then again I am not allergic.)

Talking of wishes, I'll tell you something funny about the word "wishbone". You know, that little bone in a roast chicken, that you hold one end of it and someone else holds the other end, and you snap it and make a wish? Well, in the olden days (like a couple of hundred years ago) this wasn't called a wishbone, it was called a "merrythought" !

yours merrily and with good wishes, The Word Snoop

Wormy thoughts from Kerny

Dear Word Snoop,

I was just reading what Dian said about worms. This is what I want to know right now. Why are worms called worms?

I can't wait till you answer my question. All my family says I am really pushy. Sorry.

lol Kerny

Dear Kerny,

Gee, I hope this answer is quick enough!

The word worm is from an Old English word (that's the sort of English people spoke in England over a thousand years ago.) In those days worm meant a giant snake or a dragon. Somehow over time the idea of a worm grew smaller and smaller.

Still, it's something to think about next time someone tells you they've got a worm farm at home...

from the super-serpentine Word Snoop

A new friend from Al

Dear Word Snoop,

Do you have any friends called Al?

Now you do.

from Al

Dear Al,

Hey, great to meet you Al! I hope you will write to me again.

from your ever-friendly friend,

The Word Snoop

A Quiet Worm from Dian

Dear Word Snoop,

Do you ever get sick of words?

I have a pet earthworm. I just got him today. Worms are very quiet.

Thank you from Dian


Dear Dian,

Sometimes I get sick of words, if I have spent a day talking, talking, talking. Then I just like to sit very still and not say or read or write anything.

Thanks for telling me about your pet worm! That's one pet I've never had, although I've kept silkworms from time to time. They were pretty quiet too...

yours softly, The Word Snoop

Fully sick, from A Worried Fan

Dear Word Snoop,

Where are you? Are you sick, ill, unwell, indisposed? Just you haven't answered any questions lately,

from a worried Fan


Dear Worried Fan,

Sorry! I haven't been sick, ill, unwell or indisposed, just on holiday in California! But now I am back bent over my desk, ready to answer questions.

Talking of the word "sick", it's certainly changed over the years. It started off meaning not feeling very well, which of course is still the main meaning of it. But then it came to mean in bad taste or even nasty, like "a sick joke." And now it also means something really fantastic, like, "I love that song - it's fully sick"!!

I wonder what it will mean next?

yours, in the best of health, the Word Snoop

Are umpires vampires? from Gordon

Dear Word Snoop,

Has umpire got anything to do with vampire?

from Gordon

PS I hope not

Dear Gordon,

Hmm. Let's take vampires first. (Eeek!) The word vampire is thought to come from a Hungarian word - which is more or less where vampires were meant to have come from - originally meaning "witch" or some similar sort of bad spirit.

Now as for umpire, you can relax (phew). It's from an Old French word "nonper" meaning an odd number. It came to be used for the third person (or odd person) that you might bring into an argument between two others, to decide who was right.

The word travelled across into English as "a noumpere", and then after a while people started saying "an oumpere" and then finally "an umpire".

That's a relief! You can play tennis in safety now. Thanks for a very interesting question, Gordon.

best wishes from The Word Snoop

What was that word again? from Lost Memory

Dear Word Snoop,
I had forgotten, what was 'kick the bucket' an example of? All I remember, unfortunately, was that whatever the example was of, it had to do with not directly saying it (in this case-died/dying).
Thanks,
LostMemory

Dear Lost Memory,

Well it's an example of a euphemism - a way of saying something without saying it, if you know what I mean. Like I guess if you couldn't remember something, you might say that you had a "senior moment" - although that only works if you are a senior in the first place!!

Hope that helps

happy word spying, from the Word Snoop

Ouch from Zoe

Dear Word Snoop,

I read something very interesting in the dictionary. It's about ouch. Did you know that an ouch means a kind of brooch? Not just what you say when something hurts.

I think this is very interesting. I am going to read the dictionary again.

Do you ever read the dictionary?

Zoe


Dear Zoe,

That is VERY interesting. I had never heard of an ouch before - but I've just gone to the dictionary and I see what you mean! Isn't that strange?

So now if someone says they are going to give you an ouch for your birthday, you will know they are not planning on kicking you in the shins...

I love to read the dictionary. You never get bored!

Thanks for telling me about this Zoe.

your pal, The Word Snoop

Rain, hail or snow from Gerald

Dear Word Snoop,

Which word do you like better - hail, snow, sleet or rain? I like them all. But maybe snow the best.

yours sincerely, Gerald



Dear Gerald,

You have picked some great words! I think I like hail. But then, that's because I like words with "h" in them...

Talking of snow - you know how we say "it snowed" - well did you know back six or seven hundred years ago people said: "it snew"? A poet from those times called Robert Mannynge wrote this in his poem "Chronicle": (remember spelling was different then too)

"Also thikke as snow that snew,
Or also hail that stormes blew."

Thick as snow that snew, what a great line!

from your sincere pal, The Word Snoop

From Evana the scrabble freak

Hi Word Snoop,

Do you like playing scrabble? It seems like it would be the sort of thing you would like.

From a scrabble freak, Evana

Dear Evana,

Yes! I love to play scrabble. Only I never win because I spend too much time thinking about all the wonderful words I could make, and am not very good at the little tiny words that you get lots of points for. But it's one of my big favourites.

I know people who play scrabble on Facebook. Have you ever played on line?

And have you heard of a way of playing scrabble called "squabble"? You have to snatch up the letters to make words very quickly - a bit too exciting for me...

from your scribbling scrabbling pal, The Word Snoop

Wilting from Bram

Dear Word Snoop,

I like the word wilt. Whenever I hear the word wilt I want to laugh.

I guess it's not so funny if you are the one wilting.

Goodbye for now,

Bram

Dear Bram,

Well thanks for that, my friend.

Of course if you were wilting I could pour water all over you!

yours, The Word Snoop

What is the answer? from Anthony

Dear Word Spy,

What are the secret messages for the book "The Word Spy"?
Please write back soon.

From Anthony, one of your readers

Dear Anthony,

Well this could be a long answer! Have you looked at the end of the book? From page 243, it gives you a key to help you crack each code for each chapter. Maybe if you tell me first what sort of answers you've managed to get, then I can tell you if you're on the right track...

It's a SECRET code after all (tee hee). But I'll give you a hint - it's all about being a good spy.

your secretive pal, the Word Spy

Talking chickens from Bree

Dear Word Snoop,

I have two pet chickens. Their names are Okey and Dokey. They are both girls. They make a lot of noise. Can I teach them to talk like a parrot? Then they could tell me what they are thinking.

It's over to you Snoop.

lots of lollipops from Bree

Dear Bree,

Wow. What an amazing question. Talking chickens...I've had chickens myself (a boy and a girl, called Lovely and Gorgeous) and I agree, they are very very noisy. I talked to them a lot but I never thought of teaching them to say anything. I tried to work out what they were thinking by staring into their beady little eyes, but they didn't give much away.

I think probably you can't teach chickens to speak. And I guess you know that when you teach a parrot or a budgie to speak, they don't really start talking like you and me. They usually just repeat words, and it's kind of hard to tell if they know what you mean the words to mean. But, hey, you could give it a try.

Let me know what happens. After all, this could be the beginning of an amazing conversation....

lots of lollipops to you too, from the The Word Snoop

Three Questions from A.Non

Dear The Word Snoop,

Is "The" your first name? So is "Word" your middle name? And is "Snoop" your surname?

These are my questions. What are the answers?

yours sincerely,

A. Non

Dear A,

These questions are VERY mysterious. I don't quite know how to answer. Um. Thinking thinking.

In the meantime, you can call me "The" if you like (But not hte, please!)


your pal, The

(Word Snoop)

Unpopped popcorn from Hannah

Dear Snooper of Words,

In that book you wrote it says in the section on palindromes that popcorn goes POP when it pops. (Which is a palindrome.) But sometimes popcorn doesn't pop. What is the word for popcorn that doesn't pop? Is it a palindrome too?

I am waiting for your answer.

Hannah

Dear Hannah,

(Aha! I know why you liked the section on palindromes H A N N A H)

Unpopped popcorn is such a sad thing. It needs a sad word. I don't know if there is a word already for it, but we could make one up.

How about - UNPOPNU.

What do you think?

from your snoopy old friend, The Word you-know-what

More on jigsaws from Eid

Dear Word Snoop,

This is not about words, it's about jigsaw puzzles. Did you know that I had a jigsaw puzzle of a shark and one of the pieces went missing? I think my little brother ate it. But I don't really know. But it is the sort of thing he does. He is only two.

My sister has your book and she showed me your blog.

CU when I CU
Eid

Dear Eid,

Wow. I hope you put the rest of the puzzle in a safe place. You never know when someone might feel like a snack between meals...

Thanks for writing! (Say hi to your sister.)

from your pal, The Word Snoop

Puzzled from Maylee

Hello to the Word Snoop,

Today I am doing a jigsaw puzzle. It is a picture of a very big black cat. There are one hundred pieces.

Do you like doing jigsaws where you live?

Thank you for the funny book. I wonder, why are jigsaw puzzles called jigsaw puzzles? Maybe you know.

Goodbye. Maylee


Dear Maylee,

I love doing jigsaw puzzles. I love the way the picture grows so slowly, sort of the opposite of turning on the tv. (Unless your tv doesn't work very well of course.)

A jigsaw is actually a special kind of saw. It's good for cutting curves, not just straight lines. When jigsaw puzzles were first invented over 200 years ago in Britain, the wooden pieces were cut with a jigsaw. So that's why they began to be called jigsaw puzzles.

Nowadays most jigsaw puzzles are made with machines in factories. Sometimes they are cut by lasers. So maybe they should be called "laser puzzles"....

I bet you like doing jigsaw puzzles on the computer. It's easier, because you can't lose any pieces, or accidentally tip the table over and have all the pieces fall on the floor.

Still, sometimes nothing beats a good old-fashioned wooden or cardboard jigsaw puzzle! Good luck with your big black cat.

from your puzzled pal, The Word Snoop

Why is there a double L? from Lucas

Dear Word Snoop,

I was wondering why the word "llama" has a double L?

Yours in fandom, Lucas (with one L)


Dear Lucas (with one L),

Well, (oops, there's a double L!) the thing is,llamas come originally from Peru, so that's where the word comes from too.And in Spanish, which is the language now spoken in Peru, double L actually makes a different sound when you say it. So "llama" is pronounced "Yama". Although if you're a Spanish-speaker from Argentina or Uruguay you pronounce it like a "sh" sound. So "llama" becomes "shama".

Hmm. If you DID have a double L at the start of your name, you could be "Yucas" or "Shucas." (!)


Thanks for being my fan, your friend, The Word Shnoop

Spy or Snoop from Diban

Dear Word person,

This is what I don't understand. Y R U sometimes the Word Snoop and sometimes the Word Spy? R U one person or two people?

from Diban.



Dear Diban,

I'm sorry to be so confusing. People usually only have one name I guess - but in my case, I have a different name depending which country I am in. So when I am in Australia, I am the Word Spy. When I am in the USA and Canada, I am the Word Snoop.

Mm, if I was in France, maybe then I would be L'Espion de Mots. Or in South America I might be El Espia de Palabras.

Hasta la vista,

The Word Something or other.

Nick the name from Nick

Dear Word Snoop,

I like your book. I like the nicknames in your book. I like nicknames.

Guess what my nickname is? Nick.

Or sometimes I also get called Cracker. Or Wassupdude. I don't know why.

I like Nick. My friend calls me Nick the Name. I like that too.

Was your nickname at school really Urk?

I am your fan, Nick


Dear Nick,

Thanks for this very nice letter, full of information!

Now I don't know what to call you, with all that choice.

And yep, my nickname really was Urk. Some of my friends still call me Urk. You can too, if you like.

Glad to know about all your nicknames,

from your urky pal, The Word Snoop

What's cooking? from Inbal

Dear Word Snoop,

Did people used to cook cupcakes in cups?

Maybe this is a cooking question.

from Inbal

Dear Inbal,

I think it's a cookingword question, actually.

The word "cupcake" is nearly 200 years old. Now it may be that people used to cook them in cups, so that gave them the shape of a little cup.

Or it might be to do with the ingredients. Have you ever heard of something called a "pound cake"? This sort of cake got its name because it was made from a pound of butter, pound of sugar, pound of flour, and a pound of eggs. (A pound, for those who don't know, is about 450 grams.) So maybe cupcakes were made from a cup of butter, a cup of sugar, a cup of flour and a cup of eggs.

Nowadays most recipes for pound cakes and cupcakes don't follow this description!

When I was little we used to call them "fairy cakes". Or sometimes "butterfly cakes" - but that was if you cut the top off and made a little pair of wings out of the little bit of cake. Then you put the wings on the cake with some cream and jam.

You know, you've got me thinking now. I'm going to see if I can invent a recipe for "Word Snoop Cakes."

see you later (in the kitchen)

your friend, the Word Snoop

Too short for words from Barton

Dear Word Snoop,

Talking of very short words, "I" is a very very short word, isn't it?

from Barton


Dear Barton,

I agree - "I" is a seriously short word. It used to be longer though, you know. It used to be "ik" or "ich". (In Old English, which is what people spoke in Old England.)

Actually, that's why we write "I" with a capital letter. (Ever wondered about that?) You see, when people stopped saying "ik" and started saying just "i" instead,they wrote it as a capital so that you could see it on the page and not just think it was a mistake!

Thanks for writing to me!

from your friendly Word Snoop

The Hot Cat from Freya

Dear Word Spy,

Today I tried to write a story where every word only has three letters. This is what I've done so far.

Can you put the cat out now? It's far too hot for him.

It was really HARD to do. I tried to do another sentence but I couldn't but maybe I'll try again later when my head doesn't hurt.


from a spying spy, Freya



Dear Freya,

Wow! What an interesting thing to try. I agree, it's really hard to do.

The cat can not get off the box. The cat and the pig try -

Oh, I can't do any more - my head hurts too!

from another Spy

What's your favourite letter? from OOOOOOOOOOOOOliver

Dear Word Snooooooooooooooooop,

My favourite letter is O.OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

What's yours?


from OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOliver


Dear OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOliver (um, I hope I spelled your name right),

I think maybe my favourite letter is Q. Or mabye it's Y. I also like L. But I'm a bit scared of X. Except when it's a kiss at the end of an email or something.

It's VERY hard to choose.

from your friend the Word Snoop (x)

A new word from Thom

Dear Word Spy,

I have invented a new word. It's GLOGLUP.

One problem - I don't know what it means yet.

Any ideas?


yours faithfully,Thom

Dear Thom,

Great word! Um, let me think. GLOGLUP.

While I'm thinking, did you know that a brand new word that gets invented like this is called a NEOLOGISM? (That's ancient Greek for "new word". )

Gloglup.

Maybe it could mean the sound a cat makes when it's gobbling up a bowl of tuna. What do you think?

yours thoughtfully, The Word Spy

Too many words from Anat

Dear Word Spy,

It said in the paper that there are now ONE MILLION different words in English.

I think maybe that is too many words.

What do you think?

Bye for now, Anat


Dear Anat,

You know, there are probably even more than a million different words in English - I mean, how would you count them? And new words are being born every day (just like babies.)

But you can relax, nobody uses all those words. Even a very very VERY big dictionary would only have a quarter of those words inside it. And as for words that we really use and understand every day, well that would only be a matter of thousands. Of course, some people know more thousands than others!

Anyway, it's not the number of words, is it? It's how you use them. That's what I reckon. After all, Dr Seuss managed to write the wonderful "The Cat in the Hat" and he only used 236 different words. That's what I call clever!

Till next time,
The Word Spy

Freaking out in Old English from Eliza

Dear Word Spy,

That post you put before was good. When I grow up, I want to learn to speak Old English. I think it would be interesting to freak everybody out.

From Eliza

P.S. Did Merlin speak Old English?

Dear Eliza,

That will be fantastic! (And interesting.) You can learn Old English at university, but remember sometimes it's called Anglo-Saxon.

In the meantime, there's plenty of information on the internet. This is just one website that will teach you some Old English: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/evolenglish.html.

And here's a few words to get you started! (Don't forget that funny looking "P" is a "th" sound.)

Min nama is - My name is
Hwæt eart þu? -- Who are you?
Ic nat -- I don't know
Wa me -- Woe is me!

from your leof, the Word Snoop

PS I guess Merlin would have spoken Old English, if he had been a real person...Or was he?

Give up?

Dear Snoops and Spies,

Have you worked it out yet, what language these words come from?

Me lifes onlah se þis leoht onwrah,

The answer is - English!

It's true! Well, a certain kind of English, called Old English. Sometimes it's called Anglo-Saxon. This was the language that people used to speak in England over a thousand years ago.That funny looking "P" was actually a special letter that made the sound "TH".

As time passed Old English turned into Middle English which turned into Early Modern English which turned into Modern English - which (phew!) is what we speak today. This is what the words mean in Modern English:

"To me he granted life He who showed this light."

It's opening line of a poem called "The Rhyming Poem." It was called this because at the time and place it was written, believe it or not, it was unusual for poems to rhyme, so the fact it did made it special.

In those days, you mainly knew a poem was a poem because it used a lot of alliteration. You know alliteration, when words all begin with the same letter - like:

"Wanda watched while wild Wilbur wiggled waspishly westwards"

and all that sort of thing.

Hmm, more of that perhaps ANOTHER day.

bye bye for now from The Word Spy

What language is that? from the Word Snoop

Dear Spies and Snoops,

Yes, today I'm writing YOU a letter. Have a look at this. What language do you think it is?

Me lifes onlah
se þis leoht onwrah

Look forward to your answers!


from Me (the Word Snoop and Spy)

I will put your answers up when they come through my gmail comment box. It may take a little while...

Possibly a fan, from Terence

Dear Word Spy (aka Word Snoop),

I'm thinking of becoming your fan. But first I'd like to know, why are fans called fans? Like, are they supposed to go around with fans and keep the air cool or something?

from Terence, a possible fan

Dear Terence,

That sounds nice! (keeping the air cool I mean.) But actually, the word fan here has nothing to do with fans that keep you cool on a hot day. That sort of cooling fan comes from an old Latin word for wind - "vannus".

The other kind of fan comes from somewhere else altogether. People who study words think it is most probably short for the word "fanatic", which means someone who's really obsessed with something.

Or it could also be short for the word "fancier", which means someone who likes a particular thing or has a special hobby. You know, like "pigeon fancier" means someone who likes pigeons.

As Bert from Sesame Street (you know, Ernie's pal) once said: "Greetings, pigeon fanciers of America and guest pigeons!"

Looking forward to maybe adding you to my fan base,

your respectful friend, The Word Spy

Famous, for all the wrong reasons, from Alec

Dear Word Snoop,

Are you famous or just notorious?

from Alec, a fan


Dear Alec,

Mmm, tricky question. I hope, if I'm famous, that I'm not famous for being bad, which is what notorious means! How about we just settle for "well-known in wordy circles" or something like that.

Whatever I am, I am VERY glad you are my fan.

Now I will go and put on a big hat and dark glasses in case I get MOBBED in the street by all my admirers....

your incognito friend, The Word Snoop

Rude words from Julian

Dear Word Spy (or Word Snoop, for those of us who got the American edition),

Do you know how swear words became rude, instead of just ordinary words? Also, where did the term ‘Swear Word’ come from, instead of just ‘Rude Word’?

I am a curious 11-year-old, and I think that the way you wrote it to be suitable and interesting for today’s sports-obsessed generation was a stroke of genius.

Oh yeah, and was a lack of section on the origin of swear words requested by your publisher?

Your (polite) fan,
Julian.

P.S. Have you read the Inheritance series, by Christopher Paolini? If you haven’t, I would recommend doing so. He has created a multitude of interesting new words there, for instance ‘Brisingr’, which is also the name of the third book in the series.

Dear Julian,

This is a great letter, thank you.(I'm SO glad you've enjoyed the book.)

I'm very interested in swear words too – also known as “four letter words” or “expletives” or “cursing”. And have you ever heard someone (usually quite old) say, “Pardon my French?” They actually mean, “Oops, sorry for swearing.”

Now, why is it called swearing? Well, it comes from an Old English word which meant “to take an oath”. An oath is a very solemn promise, usually made in the name of God. Early swear words were based on religion. Religious words are often thought of as taboo - a word for things you are not supposed to talk about. Religion can be a big taboo, and so are other things (I’m sure you can think of them!!)

This is where the mystery of the human personality comes in. When someone is angry or shocked or anxious about something, to relieve that tension they might suddenly say a taboo word and woooh! suddenly they feel a bit better. That’s why swearing is also found a lot in jokes, which relieve tension as well.

Mmm, I'm writing a sequel to "The Word Snoop" right at the moment - I was actually thinking of putting in a section on swear words...

And I definitely need to go and have a read of the "Inheritance" series - thanks for the tip.

Your sworn friend,
The Word Snoop

Are boogles real? from Sandy

Dear Word Spy,

I read recently on a number of websites that a group of weasels is called a 'boogle'. Lots of groups of animals have strange names but this is the funniest one I have found. I was disappointed when I looked it up in my dictionary (The Macquarie Dictionary) - it wasn't there. Is it a real word and how can I tell in future if a word is real or not?

:) Sandy, who thinks boogle is a great word anyway!!! *grin*



Dear Sandy,

I have to say I've never heard of a boogle! There are quite a few words like this for groups of animals - they're known as "collective nouns". Some of them you will definitely find in the dictionary, like a flock of sheep, or a mob of kangaroos. (You can all think of others, I'm sure.)

But it's true, the stranger, funnier ones, like a “leap of leopards” or a "glaring of cats" or a "boogle of weasels" you probably won't find in a dictionary. The reason is they are not words that anybody really uses, but have been made up by people just for fun. Playing with words like this goes way back at least to the fifteenth century to "The Book of St Albans", which lists a whole lot of invented collective nouns. Have you heard of a pity of prisoners, or a float of crocodiles? Or a prickle of porcupines, for example?

So I guess, in a way, probably boogle is not exactly a "real" word. A word is only put in the dictionary when enough people use it and understand it. But you never know, if you keep throwing boogle into enough of your sentences, maybe more people will catch on, and eventually maybe you will open up the dictionary under "B" and there it will be!

In the meantime, I must go now and close the window - there's such a pandemonium of parrots out in the tree I can hardly think...

your pal, the Word Spy

Just too funny from Alanna

Dear Word Spy,

The word I like at the moment is SNORKEL. Whenever my brother says it, I just laugh and laugh.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (that's me)

from Alanna

Dear Alanna,

Whew! I know what you mean about - sorry, I have to catch my breath from laughing first.

Snorkel is DEFINITELY a very funny word. It seems to have started during World War Two in German submarines, as a kind of nickname for the tube of air that kept the engine of the submarine ventilated when it was underwater. Apparently it made a funny gurgling sound like someone snoring, so it might be that the word "schnorkel" comes from the the word to snore in German - "schnarchen."

Soon after this it began to be used all over the world as the word for the tube you put in your mouth that sticks above the water so you can breathe when you go - you've guessed it - snorkelling!!

Okay, I'm going now to do some more laughing.

Ho ho ho, from me, The Word Spy

Dangerous volcanoes from Scoot

Dear Word Spy,

Do you like long words?

I do. Look at this one - Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

That's a disease you get if you breath in the fumes from a volcano. So be careful.

your big fan, Scoot

Dear Scoot,

Thanks for the tip! I'll remember that on my next volcano visit...

your intrepid pal, The Word Spy

But WHY?

Dear Word Spy,

All these words rhyme but they are spelled differently.

Spy
Sigh
Hi
Guy
Lie

And, even EYE!!!

So my question is - WHY????

From Greg (ory)

Dear Greg(ory),

That is some question. I guess you don't need me to tell you that spelling in English is a bit strange. Okay, VERY strange. One reason for this strange spelling is all the silent letters we have - like in sigh and lie and eye. Silent letters came into English in a few different ways - some came because of borrowing from other languages, and some were just plain mistakes that we all got used to! But probably most of them are there because the way people used to say words in English changed, but we have kept the old spellings.

I kind of like the old spellings, even though they can be hard to learn. It reminds you of all the millions of people who spoke English hundreds of years ago...

your olde worlde friende, The Word Spy

When you start, you can't stop reading it, from Benjamin

Benjamin in Mrs Perry's class at Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon, Maine, has written a review of the brand new "The Word Snoop"! Here is what he says:

This book was a book about the history of the English language and special styles of writing . It even teaches you Pig Latin . When you start, you can't stop reading it and it has more than about 50 cool facts. Did you know that Benjamin Franklin wanted to get rid of the letters Y , J,W ,C ,X ,and Q?
Rating: 10

You can see this review on the website of Devaney Doak and Garret Booksellers, Farmington, Maine. http://www.ddgbooks.com/


Thank you Benjamin - that' s fantastic!

from your proud pal,

The Word Snoop

Cluck cluck! from the Book Chook

Congratulations on Word Spy's award!

from the Book Chook

Thank you Book Chook - it is very exciting. For those of you who don't know, "The Word Spy" (aka "The Word Snoop") just won a special award for literature in Australia. Here is what the Premier, Mr Rees, said about it:

"Mr Rees said that as someone who is passionate about promoting reading among children and young people, he took great pleasure in naming The Word Spy, by Ursula Dubosarsky and Tohby Riddle (illustrator), winner of the $30,000 Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature.

“This wonderful book explains the use and history of words in a way that is as enjoyable as it is informative. While it was written for primary-aged children it will appeal to all ages,” he said. “This, her fifth NSW Premier’s Literary Award, means Ursula Dubosarsky has now won more NSW Premier’s Literary Awards than any other writer in the awards’ 30 year history."

http://www.pla.nsw.gov.au/awards-shortlists/patricia-wrightson-prize-for-childrens-literature/48?task=view

Disgusting? from Anonymous

Dear Word Spy,

What word sounds really disgusting 2u but isn't?

from Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Now that is a fascinating (if strange) question...

Aha! I know. There's a word "degustation" that you sometimes see on the menu in a restaurant. I always think it's saying there's something disgusting to eat. But actually it means a plate of lots of little delicious things to eat. Yum!

The reason the two look so alike is because they come from the same word, (yep, Latin again!) "Gusto" means "I taste." The "dis" means something bad, so a bad taste. Whereas "de" means "from", so little tastes from something.

And do you know the word "gusto"? It's one of my favourite words. It means being enthusiastic and eager - having a "taste" for life!

(But nothing to do with "gust", which is from an old Viking word, meaning a blast of cold wind...)

Yours gustily any old way,

The Word Spy

The first language from Marley

Hi (Word Spy)
This isn't really a question about the English language, but about language in general. You may remember I asked you about how thinking worked before language. Well now I have another. It's just I find language very interesting. What was the first official language,and was it written verbal or physical (like movements eg sign language)?

yours interestedly, Marley

Dear Marley,

You sure ask very interesting questions! This is something people have wondered about for a long time - philosophers, scientists, linguists - well, probably all of us in one way or another.

One thing we do know is that the first known form of written language is something called CUNIEFORM. This goes back to around 3-4000 BC, so that's pretty old. It came from the region where Iraq now is, and was a kind of writing made by pressing shapes into clay.

That's writing - but people must have been speaking for thousands of years before that. Some researchers believe that speech began 50,000 years ago - or longer. And it still seems to be one of the main things that makes people different to animals...(although there are arguments about that too of course!)

I'll have to do some more thinking...

yours, frowning in thought, The Word Spy

I bet I know from Candy

Dear Word Spy,

I bet I know what your favourite game is - "I Spy with my little eye."

your extra-big fan,

Candy


Dear Candy,

How right you are! In fact, I like it so much, I even play it by myself. (It's not easy...)

And you know what else I really like? Hide-and-Seek!

yours, coming ready or not,

The Word Spy

A snoopy question from Jerome

Dear Word Snoop,

Where does the word "snoop" come from"?

(You ought to know.)

from Jerome

Dear Jerome,

Hmm, after a bit of snooping I have discovered that "snoop" comes from a Dutch word - Dutch is the language people speak in Holland. This Dutch word "snoepen" means to eat something secretly, like stuffing your mouth with green meringues under the desk when nobody is looking. (I speak from personal experience - at least I hope nobody was looking...)

Anyway, when the word moved over to English, it meant doing anything a bit secretly, or even trying to find out other people's secrets. And so there we have it - to snoop!

yours Snoopily,

You-Know-Who

For a while I have been wondering from Anonymous

Hello,

For a while I have been wondering how thinking worked before language and speaking began. I have been wondering because when people think, it's usually in word form - so if there were no words how would this work?

Anonymous

Hello (or should I say hallo?)

This is one of the greatest wonderings of all time. I suppose you have to look at animals - are they thinking? What exactly do we mean when we say "thinking"? Do we mean being able to explain our thoughts?

I'm going to have to think about all this...(and that's no joke)

from the Word Spy

Wondering Wilma

Dear Word Spy,

This is what I wonder about. I wonder why for "can not" we say "can't" and for "do not" we say "don't." So how come for "will not" we say "won't"? Why don't we say "willn't"?

From Wilma (that is my name it is not a joke.)


Dear Wilma,

You will be glad to hear that if you look in an old book, maybe about 100 years old, you will sometimes see the word “willn’t” for "will not" written, so some people have had the same idea as you!

But the answer to the “won’t” question is this. The word “will” actually used to be “woll”. Then “woll not” was shortened to “wonnot”. So this means "won't" is actually short for "wonnot".

OR SO THEY SAY!!!!

wondering with you,

The Word Spy

Graffiti from Belinda

Dear Word Spy,

Do you like graffiti?

from Belinda

Dear Belinda,

Hmm, graffiti...I should like graffiti, seeing I'm a Word Spy. I should like words wherever they appear. Sometimes I see graffiti that is funny or interesting or moving or beautiful and I like it. But sometimes I've seen graffiti that is frightening or ugly and I don't like it at all. So let's just say I like some graffiti!

Graffiti is an Italian word, and it means something scratched or scribbled. It actually goes all the way back to an ancient Greek word, "grapheo" meaning "I write". People have been scratching graffiti into walls, rocks, floors and trees for thousands of years. Just doing what comes naturally, I guess...

I think my favourite graffiti was one scrawled on a wall near where I used to live. It was very humble - it just said "Merry Christmas". (!)

Scratching away, your friend, the Word Spy.

Waiting waiting from Dyanna

Dear Word Spy,

I like your blog.I'm waiting for your new posts

from Dyanna

Dear Dyanna,

I am very glad to hear from you and I am always sorry to keep my spies waiting. Sometimes a new post takes a while because I have been away on holidays, but sometimes it's like waiting for a bird to fly down from a branch and land on my shoulder and whistle something in my ear, then flap away again. If you know what I mean!!!

So now I will go outside and stand under a tree. Waiting, waiting.

your faithful friend, The Word Spy

What in the world from Aiden

Dear Word Spy,

A nurse came to visit my grandma who's not feeling very well. The nurse said, "Can you spell the word "world" backwards?" and my grandma said, "Yes, d-e-l-r-i-h-w."

I thought that was pretty weird and so did the nurse.

from Aiden


Dear Aiden,

Your grandma sounds a pretty clued-up old lady!!!

Yours, the Whirled Spy

Screaking it out! from Sandy

Dear Word Spy,

One of my favourite new words is screak. It means a high pitched screaming shriek. I wonder if it was made by joining parts of scream and shriek? Is this how new words are born? I tried to think others that might have been made this way but couldn't come up with any.

From Sandy


Dear Sandy,

Screak! that's fantastic. And a new one to your friend the Word Spy.

This sort of word that is born by joining two words together is sometimes called a portmanteau word. (That's pronounced port-man-toe in case you were wondering - it's French.) A portmanteau was an old-fashioned suitcase that you could fit lots of things into. So when a portmanteau word is born, it's because someone has squeezed more than one word into a space.

There's tons of portmanteau words out there, once you start looking for them. There's words like splatter - (splash and scatter) or brunch (breakfast and lunch) - liger (lion and tiger) or even blog itself! (web and log.) I bet you can think of some more.

Or better still, as the Word Spy always says, make some up yourself! How about a bromb? (yep, a mixture of a brush and a comb). Or what sort of animal do you think a girabbit might be? (Hint:it's got a very long spotty neck, big ears and hops around the garden.)

I'd love to hear of any portmanteau words you make up!

From the wordsessed Word Spy

Back to fun...

Dear Word Spies and Word Snoops,

The day it is hot,
The sun it is sunny,
And we can have lots of good fun that is funny!

This is one of my favourite lines in all the books I have ever read. I bet you know it. That's right - it comes from The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss.

"Fun" is quite an old word - it goes back about five hundred years at least. (Wow!) In those (very) olden days, it meant tricking or fooling someone, which can sometimes be funny I guess. Bit by bit it started to mean what we meant by it - well, fun!

It's almost a slang word, isn't it? (Slang means the sorts of words you're not usually supposed to write down in your homework assignments.) In other languages words for "fun" are also like this. You might have heard Irish, Scottish or English people say crack - yep, that means "fun." And in Israel they say kef. I wonder if you know a word for "fun" in another language?

So long, and
Fun Fun Fun
From the Word Spy

Having fun on a tightrope

Dear Word Spy,

Do you know what a funambulist is? I do.

from Gerta

Dear Gerta,

Aha - now that is a wonderful word, and strangely enough, I do happen to know what it is. This is because secretly, from when I was little, I have always wanted to be one... (Hint for those who don't know: look at the title of this post.)

By the way, in case anyone was wondering, it doesn't have anything to do with having fun! It comes from two Latin words (remember the old language the Ancient Romans used to speak?) Funis, which means "rope" and ambulo, which means "I walk".

So where do we get the word "fun" from? Is that something to do with a rope too?

Watch this space!!!!!!

from the funambulating Word Spy

Ever so Umble from Ed

Dear Word Spy,

I hope you don't mind but I just discovered an amazing word in the dictionary. Can you guess? (I know you can't.) It's:

UMBLES

This is what it means - the inside parts of a deer that you can eat.

That's pretty sick. But I just thought you might like to know.

from one of your biggest fans,

Ed

Dear Ed,

I am VERY glad you let me know about this word and it's definitely one I had never heard of before. In fact, I've never even thought of eating the outside of a deer let alone the inside, but you never know how hungry you might get one day...

Yours, not quite that hungry yet,

The Word Spy

Hospitals and hospitality from Layla

Dear Word Spy,

Why do people say "thank you for your hospitality" when they come and stay? I mean, our house is definitely not a hospital.

yours sincerely, Layla

Dear Layla,

This is one of those questions that can be answered by going back to the beginnings of where the words came from. (This is called etymology by the way.)

Both "hospital" and "hospitality" started off with the same Latin word, "hospes" which means "guest." Lots of words in English come from Latin, which is the language the ancient Romans used to speak.

Anyway, "hospitality" sort of means having guests over - so you can see the connection there. But what about hospitals? Well the first "hospitals" were kinds of guest-houses, where you went if you needed looking after. As hundreds of years passed (that's how long it takes to make a word!) it started to mean the place we go to if we're not feeling well or are suddenly about to have a baby or something like that.

Just as long as your guests realised that the guest bedroom isn't an operating theatre!!!


happy healthy wishes from The Word Spy

But why did you write it? from Brenton

Dear 'The Word Spy'

I am a big fan of your work. Your book 'The Word Spy' was great. Why did you write it? and how long did it take for you to complete? Many drafts, or research?

Brenton

Dear Brenton,

Thanks for the message and so glad to hear you liked my book.

Now, why I wrote it is a mystery. One day I just sat down at the computer and out it came. But it was pretty slow! because yes, you're right, there was LOTS of research and LOTS of drafts. Writing, writing, writing, reading, spying, clicking, listening, writing, writing,writing.

But like all good spies, I'm pretty patient. I kept watching and spying and writing and at last it was finished.

Hmm, now I think I'll have to write ANOTHER book.

from the Hypergraphic* Word Spy

* Um, this means someone who writes a lot

My lips are sealed, from Bret

Dear Word Spy,

Can you read lips?

From Bret, a fan.

Dear Bret,

I've never actually learnt to read lips, but I've noticed I can understand people much better when I'm looking at them. If I'm going to a class or a lecture or something, I always sit up the very front and stare really hard at the teacher's face. It makes the teacher nervous, I admit, but it means I hear so much better. I'm slightly deaf, you see. So maybe I can read lips, just a little.

But the question is, can YOU?

yours lippily,
The Word Spy.

Hello hallo hullo....

Dear Word Spy,

Which should I write - hallo, hello or hullo? They all sound the same to me.

Thinking about words, Levin.


Dear Levin,

This is something I have often wondered myself! Both hallo and hullo are older words that came from Britain and Europe. Hello, on the other hand, started in the United States. But it has been used everywhere since the nineteenth century.

Some people think hello really took over when the telephone was invented a hundred years ago. When you got a new phone, you were instructed to say hello into the receiver when you picked it up. Now that seems pretty obvious to us! but actually the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, didn't want people to say hello. He wanted them to say Ahoy! Ahoy! But strangely, it just didn't catch on....

So really you can use whichever one you like. Personally, I prefer hallo - that's what I usually write. It looks sort of happy and friendly to me.

Hallo and goodbye (and ahoy)
From the Word Spy

From Amelia

Dear Ursula Dubosarsky,

My name is Amelia and I am one of your readers at Kingsville Primary school. The book I read was The Word Spy.

I would like to thank-you for inspiring me in my reading. When I read The Word Spy I felt like I was in heaven. I learnt a lot I did not know.

In class we are reading one of your other books called The Strange Adventures of Isador Brown.

The Word Spy helped me a lot with my writing.

Yours sincerely Amelia


Dear Amelia,

THANK you for this lovely message. It makes me very very happy to know that you have enjoyed reading my books.

I hope you are doing lots more writing and reading - and having lots of fun as well!

loads of good wishes
from your pal,
Ursula
(A.K.A.* The Word Spy)

* Also Known As

Video question

Dear Word Spy,

Why does everyone still use the word "video"? I mean like in video games, video news, video camera, when everyone knows that video cassettes are SO yesterday.

From Pell


Dear Pell,

Ah! I know what you mean in a way, but let's look at that word, video. It comes from a Latin word which means "I see". Latin is the language people used to speak in ancient Rome (when they definitely didn't have any videos!)

Anyway, as it means "I see", really, you can use it to mean anything that we see, including games.

While we're on the subject, the word audio also comes from Latin - it means "I hear". We tend to use it for anything recorded that we hear.

Following that logic, we should call books and newspapers lego, which means "I read."

Hmm, but we might get confused with all those little plastic bricks. You know, the world-famous toy that was invented in Denmark. That Lego comes from two Danish words joined together - leg meaning "to play", and godt meaning "well".

Words squashed together like that are called portmanteau words. Like breakfast and lunch to make brunch. You can probably think of some others. Or if you can't just make one up! Here's one I made up, a brand new fruit called granana - a mixture of grape and banana. Yum!

(Sorry to have got rather off the topic.)


Audio, video, lego,
The Word Spy.

But where are the batteries?? from Khoa

Dear Word Spy,

My school just went on an excursion to Tasmania. It was pretty good except when we got to Battery Point I was really disappointed because there weren't any batteries anywhere, and my camera was all out of power. The teacher said it wasn't that kind of battery.

Now what's THAT supposed to mean?

from Khoa


Dear Khoa,

Yes, I wonder how many other people have been sadly disappointed on arrival at Battery Point, just like you were... (But it is quite a pleasant place otherwise.)

The confusion comes about like this. The word "battery" is related to the word "to batter" - you know, to hit someone or something. "Battery" was used in the army as far back as 500 years ago, to mean a storage place where the soldiers kept things that battered the enemy - guns and cannons and all that.

Then in the eighteenth century, it started to be used to mean a storage place for electricity. I suppose you could think of all those little electrical charges coming out of a battery as a kind of weapon (!).

But when Battery Point in Tasmania was settled at the beginning of the 19th century, the main use of the word "battery" was still the army meaning. Battery Point itself was a place where soldiers at the time stored weapons to fight off any enemies that might appear. (Not sure if any did, but I guess they thought it was better to be on the safe side.)

Nowadays of course there are no weapons being stored in Battery Point. And alas, apparently no triple A batteries either!


yours, fully charged, in sympathy, The Word Spy

A fruity problem from Nat

Dear Word Spy,

My mum says you can't say grapefruits, you have to say grapefruit, even if you've got a hundred of them. Is that TRUE?

Please answer me, from Nat

Dear Nat,

Hmm, this is one of those things that people disagree about.

Putting an "s" on the end of a word is what we do to make something plural - that is, when there is more than one.

Now, the word "fruit" is a noun - a name for something. There are some nouns in English that we don't think of as having a plural. Like "poetry" or "garbage" or "relaxation". You wouldn't put an "s" on the end of any of them, would you? These sorts of nouns are sometimes called non-count nouns, because you can't count them.

"Fruit" is like that too. Usually we don't say "fruits". Like, you mum would say, "Nat, do you want some fruit with your jelly and icecream and caramel sauce?" - she wouldn't say "do you want some fruits".

So this means that when we hear the word "fruits" even if it's on the end of "grape", it doesn't sound right. That's why some people say you should only say "grapefruit" no matter how many there are.

BUT other people think that grapefruit is a whole new word and so that really you should put an "s" on the end if there's more than one.

Hmm, personally, one grapefruit is quite enough for me...

yours fruitily, The Word Spy

Shhh! it's a secret from Genia

Dear Word Spy,

Three of us at school have made up a secret language. It's really really good except I can't tell you how to speak it because then it wouldn't be a secret any more. But I just thought I'd let you know.

from a fellow spy, Genia

PS But is that my real name?

Dear Genia,

Now I am really really curious - can you give me a hint? I promise I won't tell anyone - except anyone who reads this blog of course. (He he)

yours spyfully, The Word Spy (one of my real names.)

My tiny hand is squozen... from Renny

Dear Word Spy,

This is what I want to know. If I put my orange in the freezer, I say it's frozen. So if my orange is run over by a steamroller, why can't I say it's squozen?

BTW I like your blog.

from Renny

Dear Renny,

If you ask me (and in fact you have) I think you can say your orange is squozen. After all, everyone will know what you mean. And maybe if you keep saying it, other people will start saying it, and more and more and more and more and one day it will even be in the dictionary!!!!

That's how words happen you know. When a new word is born, it's called a neologism. Neologisms appear every day - I bet you can think of some words that everyone uses now that nobody even knew what they meant a few years ago. (Hmm, like blog, for example)

Of course, if you put squozen in your story for homework, probably your teacher will underline it or put a question mark. So maybe you shouldn't put it in writing for school assignments or exams just yet. But keep on saying it! I like it.

BTW glad you like my blog.

your friend, The Word Spy

Feeling groovy from Marty

Dear Word Spy,

My friend and I want to know - how come the word groovy means groovy instead of "lots of grooves"?

your fan, Marty

Dear Marty (and friend...)

Well, I guess groovy can mean lots of grooves sometimes. I mean, you could say "the road was so groovy I fell off my bicycle." But you're right, mostly when people say something is groovy they mean it's cool. (I mean cool cool, not slightly cold cool...)

People who have thought about this word say that it comes from the grooves in records - you know those round things that used to play music before tapes and cds and mp3s etc etc? So musical people would say something was "in the groove" if it sounded really good. That turned into "groovy."

Hmm, so that's groovy. But what about gravy? Why doesn't that mean lots of graves? We'll leave that interesting question till next time.

Must fly,
your pal,
The Word Spy

fingers and toes from Meena

Dear Word Spy,

Why is there a special word for "thumb" but not for "big toe"? I think it's weird, when I think about it, that is.

from Meena


Dear Meena,

I know what you mean, once you start thinking about a word - any word - it starts to look weird.

"Thumb" seems to have come from a word hundreds of years back that meant "fat" or "swollen" , so thumb was short for "fat finger." In Spanish, that's what they call the thumb - dedo gordo "fat finger."

And actually in Spanish, and quite a few other languages, they don't have a separate word for "toes" either - fingers and toes are both called dedos. Etymologists (people who study the history of words) think that the English word "toe" way back came from a word "ta" which was also used for fingers.

And then they think MAYBE the word for finger came from a word that meant "five". Because people (even nowadays!) use their fingers so often for counting, you could see how the two ideas could start to get mixed up.

Gosh, what a complicated answer - and I still don't know why we don't have a special word for "big toe". Hey - I know - why don't you make one up? Like, um, "groog". So you could say:

"Ouch! I just stubbed my groog on the wall!"

What do you think? I bet you could think of some other ideas....

your pal, the Word Spy

hare and hair from Andrew

Dear Word Spy,

I was wondering, are hares called hares because they have a lot of hair?

from Andrew, wondering...


Dear Andrew,

Well, hares are pretty hairy, but even though the two words sound the same, that's the only way they are related. "Hare" comes from an Old English word "hara" and "hair" comes from a different Old English word "haer".

Words that sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things are called HOMOPHONES. Which is quite a strange word in itself...

ever yours, The Whirred Spy

Question from Hannah about "lay" and "laid".

Dear Word Spy,

I'm writing a story and want to know is it "the girl lay down the knife", or is it "the girl laid down the knife"?

Hannah

Dear Hannah,

Gosh - is this a scary story? or just about someone spreading peanut butter on their toast for breakfast...

Anyway, what you should write is "the girl laid down the knife", because it is the past tense of "to lay". If you lay the table, lay an egg, lay a knife, lay a jelly bean on your sister's nose etc - in other words you put something on something (or someone) else - if it happened in the past you write "laid".

The other kind of "lay" is the past tense of "to lie". So yesterday I lay on the bed, lay on the floor and lay in the path of a raging dinosaur.

An easy way to work out which one you should use is to put your sentence in the present tense. What sounds better?

The girl lays down the knife vs The girl lies down the knife.

The crazy red hen lays an egg at midnight vs The crazy red hen lies an egg at midnight.

Well, you can't "lie down" a knife or "lie" an egg - so it's got to be "laid."

your good friend, the Word Spy

P.S. Talking of lying, do you think I lied when I said I lay in the path of a raging dinosaur?????

Brigdet wonders hwy - I mean why...

Dear Word Spy,

I've always wondered - why is there an "h" in the word "why"?
your curious friend Bridget


Dear Bridget,

Good question! (not to mention when, where, and what). The answer is that in Old English the word "why" was actually spelled (and pronounced) "hwi" - over time we stopped saying the "h" sound, but moved the letter after the "w" - maybe people felt the word just didn't look right without it...

good wordy wishes from The Word Spy

Question from Igloopia

Dear Word Spy,

No offence, but "Word" is a pretty weird first name. Do you know why your parents called you that?

From Igloopia


Dear Igloopia,

A great question - and I make it a point never to take offence. I was named "Word" after my great-auntie Wordenia, to whom my mother was deeply attached. She had a rather tragic life, but I won't go into that now... Of course, Word is actually my middle name, my first name being The.

Um, dare I ask, why are you named Igloopia?

your inoffensive friend, The Word Spy


Dear The,

I was born in an igloo.

from Iggy

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