English | Finding delight.

What are you up to this week? Suffice to say, our slow reintroduction phase after our Whole 30 sorta went out the window as Hurricane Irma blew into town. (We evacuated on Day 31…yikes!) So I’m trying to get back on track and figure out what permanent dietary changes I want to make moving forward. I’m planning to make a pizza without cheese tonight. I’ll let you know how that goes (sorta feels like blasphemy!). I’m also plowing my way through this book, and I can’t wait to find out how it ends. Hope you have a great rest of your week, and here are some links for perusal purposes…

Inside a quiet revolution in the study of the world’s other great kingdom.

Michael Twitty’s new book explains how the story of Southern food is the story of the African-American experience, starting with slavery.

Related: Order the book HERE.

Reclaiming my time.

Dude. This book looks like SUCH a page turner.

Melania Trump, hurricane heels, and the artifice of fashion.

When we experience art, we feel connected to something larger. Why?

On the ground in Pyongyang: Could Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump goad each other into a devastating confrontation?

101 ways to cheer yourself up, if you’re down in the dumps.

Hurricane Irma: historic and harrowing.

The bad science behind campus response to sexual assault.

Academics uncover 30 words “lost” from English language.

My favorite mascara.

P.S. A few Finding Delight posts you may have missed — Are you a word nerd? and A College English Teacher’s Take on Last Chance U.

I recently started following the Twitter account @HaggardHawks and I can’t get enough. They tweet old and unusual words, language facts, and a daily Word of the Day. Here are a few random nuggets of knowledge I’ve learned as a result…

A nooklet is a little nook or corner. i.e. The most adorable sounding place to send your toddler for Time Out.
In 17th century English, balderdash was a mixture of beer and buttermilk. Now I can win the board game of the same name with all my useless knowledge!
The word hoverboard was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in September 2015. But still not added to my LIFE.
The place a hibernating animal hibernates is called its hibernacle. i.e. How I will be referring to my bed until Spring.
Increasing the size of a typeface by one point means increasing it by precisely 1/72nd of an inch. Your professor will neeeeever notice.
A paraphernalia was originally all of a woman’s possessions that didn’t automatically become her husband’s property after marriage. i.e. What I will yell at Chet when he tries to use my stuff once we’re wed…”Get out of my PARAPHERNALIA, babe!”
Straughty-squinty is an old Scots dialect word describing a route that is intermittently straight and then winding. I know a few folks’ life paths which could be described as such as well.
“Butter upon bacon” was 19th century slang for needless extravagance. i.e. The Paleo Diet.
In 17th century English, a piss-prophet was a doctor who diagnosed diseases by examining patients’ urine. i.e. Me, when my pee is crystal clear; “Wow, I am the MOST healthy today.”
The Inuit word iritajangajut means ‘hands that appear wrinkled because they’ve been immersed in water too long’. I prefer “prune fingers” but I’ll give this new one a go…it sounds a lot less creepy.

If you hear me busting out any words like these at a future dinner party you’ll totally know my secret. Haha! Hop on over to Twitter and give Haggard Hawks a follow if you want a fun and informative bit of word nerdiness to look forward to as you scroll through your feed! And if you’d like to follow yours truly, you can find me HERE. Make sure to say “Hello!” if you do. xoxo

What are your favorite accounts to follow on Twitter? I’d love recommendations!