Apr

26

Word Of The Week: April 26th, 2008

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

April 26, 2008 |

This week’s word of the week is: quirky. It’s the adjectival form of the word “quirk”, which has several meanings. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives “an abrupt twist or curve” as its first definition for “quirk”, which gives “quirky” the meaning “abruptly twisting or curving”, while the Oxford English Dictionary’s first definition is, “Characterized by quirks or quibbles; given to quibbling; tricky, wily, cunning”. And yet it’s the OED’s second definition that I’m familiar with in common parlance: “Characterized by certain unexpected, odd, or unusual traits; idiosyncratic, eccentric; peculiar, unusual.” Maybe that’s because I’ve personally been described as quirky…Anyway, the word’s origins are unknown. Maybe this was just an example of onomatopoeia in action: a sudden twist can make you feel like saying, “quirk!”

I’m in Cincinnati this weekend, perhaps visiting the zoo, maybe even checking out the local music scene. Cincinnati was dubbed, “Queen of the West” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and is now often known as “the Queen City”, although any city where pigs fly should also, to my mind, be called quirky.


Comments

2 Comments so far

  1. Commander Mommy on April 28, 2008 9:22 pm

    “Quirky” is one of my favorite words to say. It’s fun!

    Hope you had fun here in Cinci. :D

  2. Christopher Waldrop on April 29, 2008 9:42 am

    I had a wonderful time. It’s really a great city–with or without flying pigs.

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