Words Worth Knowing, Part Two

Having previously ventured into the world of word origins and figures of speech, please allow a secondary journey into these unusual and provocative histories. All of the words in this exercise begin with the same letter, initially by accident and subsequently by design.

The first word of interest is 'brainstorm." Numerous definitions of this word exist, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary. In the latter category, I was inspired to learn that there are at least three rock and two hip-hop bands with this name. The word also applies to two films, one trade publication, software programs, a television game show and a fictional character. The wordnetweb.princeton.edu definition is "...try to solve a problem by thinking intensely about it; insight: the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation."

As in the case of many graphic words, this presents a near oxymoron. If an activity is occurring in and around the brain, normally we would expect something that is consistent with the traditional brain activity: linear, logical and lucid. A storm, on the other hand, denotes chaos and destruction.

Dictionary.com's definition confirms my confusion: "a conference technique of solving specific problems, amassing information, stimulating creative thinking, developing new ideas, etc., by unrestrained and spontaneous participation in discussion." That would explain it. One brain equals restraint, more than one creates chaos. This says volumes about organizational committees and political bodies.

"Bonehead" is another fun word, generally used to describe one who is not the brightest or most gifted. It is a truly American word, dating from the early twentieth century with unmistakable reference to nothing in the head but bone. This of course conflicts with the linear, logical brain previously mentioned, but the words that are synonymous in my research include: hammerhead, knucklehead, blockhead, dunce and dunderhead.

We appear to be skilled at passing judgment on the apparent intelligence of others. I continue to wonder, however, what resources we use for these judgments, all of those frames of reference being relative to the issuer. More importantly, if are we once a bonehead (blockhead, etc.), is that a permanent condition? And what happens in the event of arthritis of that particular bone?

On the opposite end of the intellectual spectrum is the word "bookworm." My affection for this term is associated with the fact that the same word is used for someone who is devoted to reading (loves books) and a collection of insects that literally feed on books.

Robert McLaren (per Answerbag.com) provides an explanation that makes me feel somewhat consoled about this metaphor. He states that a bookworm is not one specific insect but is in fact many insects that love to eat books and other documents. When the moniker is applied to a human, however, it can be graciously described as an intellectual appetite where one "devours" books and printed matter.

This is another of those words that I don't hear often. One day I'll ask a group of assembled kids or teenagers what they think of when they hear "bookworm," and I suspect that if they have been listening to parents and grandparents, they will respond with the word, "geek." The younger children probably don't know this word at all, thanks to the availability of internet information and popular insecticides.

On a final note, if you want to have all sorts of people give you strange looks, use the word "balderdash." It's a much classier word that some of the alternatives, and simply put - it means "nonsense." I may be the only person I know who uses this word, probably because of my background in classical literature.

Balderdash in fact traces its beginnings to the 17th century. But at that time, it was (per Yourdictionary.com), "a senseless mixture of liquids, as of milk and ale." One of the reasons that this is such a fun word is the serious lack of rhyming options. Tabernash (a town in Colorado) comes to mind. But any others that come to mind are "succotash" (sorry, Sylvester) or "slapdash," another word that is seriously out of circulation.

The most fun I can have with this word, however, is referencing Ask.com's synonyms for it: they include such tasty terms as: bunkum, claptrap, tomfoolery, twaddle, tommyrot, bilge, hooey, garbage, idiocy, fiddle-faddle and piffle. If the response to "balderdash" is startling, imagine walking into a cocktail party environment. "Hi there, Jeremy. Have you heard the latest piffle out of Congress?" I suspect this would not generate a response similar to one concerning the local baseball team.

By no means do I recommend recycling these words. They are interesting to ponder, especially if one might want to take the next step and do something with the recently acquired information. I can visualize a party game to come up with as many synonyms as possible for any of these. Or how many words can you construct from the letters in "balderdash?" At the very least, it's a small learning event, something that I find extremely more entertaining than political dialogue or revolutionary new diet programs.