Pettifogger – Wordplay Wednesday™ 05/08/2019

We’ve All Met the Petty Type 

Some words are just fun to say, even if they are not fun to know. It isn’t a compliment when you’re called a …

PETTIFOGGER (petʹI fägʹɘr) n. – 1) a lawyer who handles petty cases, esp. one who uses unethical methods in conducting trumped up cases; 2) a trickster, cheater; 3) a quibbler, caviler. [WW #215]

Breaking down pettifogger we have “petti” derived obviously from “petty”—irrelevant, inconsequential; and “fogger”—something that acts to obscure reality. That fairly well sums it up!

But we don’t need to limit the word as defining certain lawyers—pettifogger makes a dandy description for any ne’er-do-well or as we used to say in the “good ol’ days,” one who “nickels and dimes you to death.”

Sometimes there is a fine line between a pettifogger and those who insist on haggling for the best price, product, or service, until exhaustion lowers the resistance of their target, to the point of obfuscating the original offer. A pettifogger may simply want the best deal, but it turns them into an unwitting charlatan.

If you’re writing fiction, you may have a character in mind to which pettifogger could be aptly applied. Writing nonfiction? It’s a great word to describe people in the real world, too.

Word Challenge: PETTIFOGGER. Find a way in your casual conversation to slip this fun but not always funny word into your discourse, as you give pettifogger a standout part in your writing.

Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening! Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 

Cheers to learning a new word on Wordplay Wednesday!

           

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

[LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past series about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. The true behind-the-mic tales make GREAT Holiday Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!]

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz  

Footling – Wordplay Wednesday™ 05/01/2019

From April Fools to Mindless May 

Let’s face it. We’re too busy for words in the Fall, suffer through Winter as best we can, and skip jauntily through Spring … just to get to SUMMER!!

 

Yes, Summer is just around the corner, with Memorial Day weekend the unofficial start to beach time, vacations, outdoor concerts, and backyard BBQs.

But first, take a deep breath of the heady blooms’ perfumed scent. May is pre-summer warm-up and a great month to simply slow down and smell the flowers, as a wise adage reminds us. May is not quite mindless, however, and certainly not …

FOOTLING: (fōōtʹliŋ) adj. – silly and unimportant, trivial, trifling. [WW #214]

Mellow May hosts month-long events that are far from the footling crowd, but worth our attention: Military Appreciation Month (salutes in order), National Bike Month (to work off weekend picnic goodies), and National Water Safety Month (here comes summer!).

Others are a mix of footling festivities and pre-summer warm-up excitement: Reading is Fun Week (12^th – 18^th; close to my heart), American Craft Beer Week (13^th – 19^th; cheers!), and National Public Gardens Week (13^th – 19^th; smell the flowers).

 

Sometimes silly is good in the merry month of May. Where can you join in the footling happenings and medieval or pirate tomfoolery, too? Several U.S. Renaissance Festivals are set up now. 

Smear turkey-leg juice on your face before Thanksgiving and become a jester or queen for a day! Make footling activities a necessary part of your life … it’s good for your soul.

Word Challenge: FOOTLING. In fiction, it’s an alternative to the tired standards. In nonfiction, it’s a kinder way of expressing the inane. Make May your favorite month, as you slip footling into your week of lighthearted writing.

Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening! Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 

Cheers to learning a new word on Wordplay Wednesday!

           

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

[LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past series about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. The true behind-the-mic tales make GREAT Holiday Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!]

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz