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Nov 12, 2013
This week's theme
Words that are names

This week's words
josh
biddy
harry
mulligan
rube

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with Anu Garg

biddy

PRONUNCIATION:
(BID-ee)

MEANING:
noun:
1. A young chicken.
2. A woman, especially an elderly one, who is talkative, interfering, or annoying.
3. A cleaning woman.

ETYMOLOGY:
For 1: Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1616.
For 2, 3: Short for the name Bridget. Sense 3 is from Irish maid-servants in the US. Earliest documented use: 1785.

USAGE:
"Les Dawson's most lasting legacy is probably Cissie and Ada, the gossiping old biddies whose innuendo-laden sketches graced his television shows for many years."
Andrew White; Cissie & Ada: An Hysterical Rectomy; Northern Echo (Darlington, UK); Oct 4, 2013.

See more usage examples of biddy in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Patience is also a form of action. -Auguste Rodin, sculptor (1840-1917)

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