WordMonger

Deleb

Dead Celebrity.  As in Delebs that still earn a tremendous amount of income such as Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson and even Albert Einstein.

Occupassion

I can't take the credit for this interesting term.  Instead my super fun colleague coined it.  She meant it as a career that you love.  I also thought it could mean office romance.  You choose.

Herding Cats

First let me apologize to all my friends who use this expression.  I'm sorry to offend you and sorry that you use this middle-management corporate-speak circa mid-80's.  I know the phrase has a quirky economy akin to the inspirational "hang in there!" poster of a kitten hanging from a tree branch.  For some reason it puts me off.  Maybe because it's used so often that I'm starting to think that cat herder is a job title, like Chief Cat Herder.  Why do they need herding anyway?

Disputatious

I first heard this word uttered by a righteously indignant literary agent at a publishing industry  conference on the proposed Google Book Search Settlement at Columbia Law School.  At first I thought Disputatious wa s not a real word.  Turns out it is.  It's an adjective meaning "inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree."  I'm not sure I would use it in conversation much less at a public speaking event. 

Nursery Slope

  Though this expression is connected to a tragic event, I still like it.  It sounds very proper and British.  I think I read it in The Daily Mail, barely a newspaper, but sinfully satisfying.  I like it better than "bunny slope" for some reason.  The Brits make many things sound so dignified though they're just like you and me in real life, sometimes sloppy and sometimes stupid.

Tweethearts

I don't twitter.  I've toyed with the idea of twittering.  It just seems too timeconsuming.  I was reading some artice in Entertainment weekly about Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore twittering to each other about some subject while they were sitting across from each other at the breakfast table.  The article referred to them as "Tweethearts" which I love.  It's frakkin' hilarious!  I think they should put their blackberrys down and actually talk to each other while they eat.

The Fellmonger is coming to town

     "Fellmonger."  It sounds so scary, so medieval.   I love it.  I just read it today in a very sad article in The Daily Mail about pet horses that were being sent to slaughter because their owners could not keep them any longer during these troubled times.  Apparently fellmongers will pay 250GBP for a horse carcass.  You can lookup the definition of "fellmonger" on Wikipedia.   

Welcome to WordMonger!

First, thanks to all my friends who encouraged me to indulge myself by writing about my love of language.  I've always been fascinated by spoken and written language, especially idiom.  I hope that my selections amuse and delight you.  Thanks for reading!