Monday 21 October 2013

New Word...Gobsmacked


Gobsmacked.

Now there’s a word that sounds just like its meaning.

Gobsmacked adj. Brit, informal utterly taken aback; overwhelmed with astonishment.

I read that word in a book I was reading and just had to look it up, to make sure it was a real word, not something made up.

There are a lot of ‘gob’ words in the dictionary. There’s gob, a shapeless or sticky lump. Which then leads to another British term, gob, meaning to spit.

Quickly moving on, we have gobble, a verb, to make the guttural sound of a male turkey. Gobble, gobble, gobble.

Gobbledygook. I love that word. Also spelled gobbledegook, it means wordy and generally unintelligible jargon. Maybe you’re thinking my blog is a bunch of gobbledegook.

Goblin n a grotesque mischievous elf. With Hallowe’en coming, I guess we’ll be seeing lots of goblins, and ghosts and other creatures of the night.

Gobshite n chiefly Irish, coarse slang a stupid or contemptible person. When I read that word I hear it in my head with a decidedly Irish accent, otherwise it doesn’t work for me.

Okay, one more, gobstopper. A large round hard sweet. That made me think of ‘jawbreaker’, those huge big bubble gums balls that practically break your jaw to bite down on, hence the term. But jawbreaker’s not made listed in my dictionary.

 

 

 This is basically how I feel today.

But the coffee's done and I'm going to pour myself a mug and take it out front, to sit and enjoy one of autumn's last days of bright sun, blue skies and bright fall colour.

Have a good day.

1 comment:

Connie said...

Gobsmacked, what an awesome word, and yes I also remember jawbreakers. Thanks for the memory!