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Happy Friday!First of all, I would like to share something with you. I love words! When I was in elementary school and we worked on our vocabulary lists (using a real live dictionary, not a computer) I could never get done because I would find all of these intriguing words to read about instead of finishing my work. Did you ever do this? Anyway, all of my rambling brings us to the fun word I found for today!Flibbertigibbit! (pronounced \flib-er-tee-JIB-ut\) Have you ever heard this word? I was thinking maybe it was an Irish word, but according to Merriam-Webster it actually comes from Middle English. It means a silly, flighty person. It is a word of onomatopoeic (I love that word!) origin, created from sounds that were intended to represent meaningless chatter. Does anyone come to mind when you see this word? 
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So, my word of the day from Merriam-Webster is: Pleonasm. Pronounced: \PLEE-uh-naz-um\ It means: The use of more words than necessary to denote mere sense: redundancy. For example: "free gift".
This word got me thinking about something slightly different. I was thinking that I often use a paragraph when a sentence will do quite nicely. I do this a lot with my husband. He is more a "just the facts" kind of guy. I also do this with my children. I feel the need to elaborate on why they need to clean their room. I truly want them to understand completely why they cannot spend the night with a friend on a school night. If I am paying close attention, I will notice when they have gotten my point and when they have then tuned me out. Why do I do this? Is there a twelve step program or a name for this? Is it a condition of some kind? Am I alone out there?
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Daisies are my most favorite flower. They have such an air of innocence, purity, and simplicity. They are unpretentious and sweet. Daisies remind me of all the nice things in this life, like a mother with her child, a new puppy, a summer breeze...The word Daisy comes from the Old English and dates back to before the 12th century. When the Old English translation is broken down, it means day + eye. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary one of the meanings for daisy is: a first-rate person or thing.Hoping everything is coming up daisies for you today! :)
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I receive the Merriam-Webster's word of the day through my email. I thought today's word was interesting. The word is: Spoony, pronounced, \SPOO-nee\Meaning: 1. silly foolish; especially: unduly sentimental 2. being sentimentally in loveIn 19th-century British slang, "spoon" meant "simpleton" (a meaning that may have been influenced by the "shallowness" of some spoons. That use of "spoon" brought about the adjective "spoony" to describe a silly, foolish person. In time, the foolish manner implied by "spoony" began to take on sentimental and amorous overtones, and it soon became the perfect word for those foolishly head over heels in love. Another "spoon" is a verb referring to love-making or necking. That use of "spoon" may stem from a Welsh custom in which an engaged man presented his fiance with an elaborately carved wooden spoon.Wishing you a "Spoony" Valentine's Day! :)
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