loriannlivingstonApr 3, 20194 minWordie Wednesday: mondoI'd never heard of the word "mondo" until this interview with Irish author Patrick McCabe 20 years ago. Does anyone remember the mondo mo...
loriannlivingstonMar 29, 20194 minAn interview with the late John O'DonohueIn 1999, when this was first published, one book, entitled Anam Cara, sat at the top of the Irish Times Bestseller List for 20 months. L....
loriannlivingstonMar 27, 20193 minWordie Wednesday: Thalassophobia tha·las·so·pho·bia: Fear of the ocean. Thalassophobia doesn't necessarily restrict itself to oceans; Thalassa actually means "sea" in Gre...
loriannlivingstonMar 20, 20192 minWordie Wednesday: petroglyphnoun pet·ro·glyph | \ ˈpe-trə-ˌglif \ Definition of petroglyph : a carving or inscription on a rock It’s strange to think I would never...
loriannlivingstonMar 13, 20192 minWordie Wednesday: reverierev·er·ie /ˈrev(ə)rē/ Noun: a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream. I’m out for a winter’s walk. The road is icy,...
loriannlivingstonMar 6, 20193 minWordie Wednesday: serendipity/ˌserənˈdipədē/ noun 1. the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. "a fortunate stroke of serendipi...
loriannlivingstonFeb 27, 20194 minWordie Wednesday: antiquingAntiquing [an-teek-ing] verb (used with object), an·tiqued, an·ti·quing. to make or finish (something, especially furniture) in imitation...
loriannlivingstonFeb 20, 20192 minWordie Wednesday: amuckrun/go amuck 1. to rush about in a murderous frenzy: The fanatic ran amuck in the crowd, shooting at random. 2. to rush about wildly; los...
loriannlivingstonFeb 13, 20193 minWordie Wednesday: gardyloointerjection gar·dy·loo | \ ˌgär-dē-ˈlü \ Definition of gardyloo n Used by people in medieval Scotland to warn passers-by of waste abo...
loriannlivingstonFeb 11, 20191 minFormer sex-trafficking victim says Canadian parents need to know warning signsI've been volunteering on a community engagement committee to raise awareness about human sex trafficking in Waterloo Region. The Waterlo...
loriannlivingstonFeb 6, 20193 minWordie Wednesday: shivareeshiv·a·ree SHivəˈrē/ Noun 1. a noisy mock serenade performed by a group of people to celebrate a marriage or mock an unpopular person. "t...
loriannlivingstonJan 30, 20194 minWordie Wednesday: schadenfreudeNOUN mass noun Pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune. Origin German Schadenfreude, from Schaden ‘harm’ + Freude ‘j...
loriannlivingstonJan 23, 20191 minWordie Wednesday: insidiousadjective UK /ɪnˈsɪd.i.əs/ US /ɪnˈsɪd.i.əs/ (of something unpleasant or dangerous) gradually and secretly causing harm: High blood pr...
loriannlivingstonJan 16, 20191 minI watched my church become a pile of rubble and it gave me hope.I know a lot of people watched the slow demolition of the Trinity United Church building on Frederick Street in Kitchener, as I did. Whet...
loriannlivingstonJan 16, 20192 minWordie Wednesday: omnishamblesChiefly British Informal. A situation, especially in politics, in which poor judgment results in disorder or chaos with potentially disas...
loriannlivingstonJan 7, 20192 minSnug as a bug in a bunny hugI came across a set of linguistic maps on Facebook recently. They’re maps of Canada – there are 23 of them highlighting the regional vari...
loriannlivingstonJan 4, 20193 minResolving to read I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions. I think they’re shortlived, sometimes counter-productive, and can lead to an awful lot of guilt....
loriannlivingstonDec 19, 20183 minWordie Wednesday: coddiwompleCoddiwomple (v.) To travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination Let’s coddiwomple over to the river or market. “Pack your b...
loriannlivingstonDec 12, 20181 minWordie Wednesday: mar Verb \ˈmär \ [WITH OBJECT] Definition: Impair the quality or appearance of; spoil. Origin: Old English merran ‘hinder, damage’, of German...
loriannlivingstonDec 11, 20182 minShirts, collars and spending: what’s a laundry list?This morning I heard a politician talking about a “laundry list of spending.” It’s a funny term, laundry list. I make to-do lists and gro...