"You have weak mandibles," the dentist told me, sorrowfully. "Good teeth, though."
He had first mentioned my mandibles more than 20 years ago and I scowled because "mandibles" sounded like something a grasshopper would have.
Weak mandibles mean that, genetically, I was at the end of line when dental blessings were being handed out. Nothing I could do about the wimpiness of my jawbones, except see a specialist twice a year and hope for the best.
Meanwhile, I am adding "mandibles" to my list of Names For Things I Never Thought I Would Need to Know.
The other latest additions include pipette, which is not a cute diminutive pet name for a close friend whose real name is Philippa but a tiny tube used to give babies medicine; and douter, which is the name for that long-stemmed thing used to put out candles; and aiglet, the plastic keepsafe at the end of shoelaces, which was taught to me by an over-achieving eight-year-old girl last week, who has a hobby of learning five new words a day.
Being word-shamed by a mini genius with a dictionary is not my idea of a good time.
So take this, my little future island scholar: The Monday List of Names for Things You Had No Idea You Wanted To Know:
1 Peen–not a French urinal, but rather the end opposite a hammer's striking side.
2 Feat–the dangling piece of a lock of curly hair. Shouldn't that be curlicue?
3 Wamble–the sound of a stomach rumbling. (Now somebody is just making this stuff up and having a joke on the rest of us.)
4 Floaters–the specks you see in front of your eyes that you try to swat away thinking they are insects.
5 Ferrule–the metal part of a pencil that crammers chew down on during exams.
6 Glabella–the space between your eyebrows, which should be waxed if there is no space.
7 Rhumba–a group of rattlesnakes, which is almost as important to know as a "murder of crows." This could actually be a handy word to drop at parties, as in "That man should not be trusted any more than a rhumba,'' and then wink conspiratorially and walk away.
8 Grawlix–the string of meaningless symbols cartoonists use to represent colourful language, as in "What the *&%#@ is grawlix?"
9 Barm–the foam on a beer, which might account for the British slang "barmy," meaning crazy.
10 And my all-time favourite, overmorrow–the day after tomorrow, which sounds like something a leprechaun would say instead of "Goodbye," as he skips along a rainbow.
�2 Send me your wacky words atwrenchelsa@hotmail.com