today's wwftd is... carritwitchet - 04/13/06 03:05 AM
the worthless word for the day is: carriwitchet
[origin unknown] /kar eh WICH et/
a hoaxing or riddling question; a pun, quibble
"There is a certain exhilaration in meeting a new word
and recognizing its capacities. Frequently it changes
that for which it stands from the intolerable to the
attractive in your estimation. I find the carriwitchet
endearing, for example, though I find the pun -- which
is almost the same thing -- detestable."
- Scribner's Magazine (1939)
"Carriwitchet, a hoaxing, puzzling question.. as 'How
far is it from the first of July to London Bridge?'"
- John C. Hotten, A dictionary of modern slang (1874)
so I guess that riddles such as What's the difference between a duck? are carriwitchets.
-tsuwm
[origin unknown] /kar eh WICH et/
a hoaxing or riddling question; a pun, quibble
"There is a certain exhilaration in meeting a new word
and recognizing its capacities. Frequently it changes
that for which it stands from the intolerable to the
attractive in your estimation. I find the carriwitchet
endearing, for example, though I find the pun -- which
is almost the same thing -- detestable."
- Scribner's Magazine (1939)
"Carriwitchet, a hoaxing, puzzling question.. as 'How
far is it from the first of July to London Bridge?'"
- John C. Hotten, A dictionary of modern slang (1874)
so I guess that riddles such as What's the difference between a duck? are carriwitchets.
-tsuwm
