Diary of a Word Nerd

Nautical Terms You Should Know for a Cruise

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 14 Comments

Hi! After a week of visiting gorgeous islands in the Caribbean and indulging in way too much dessert, I’m back to share nautical terms I learned aboard the Disney Fantasy. As I stand at my writing desk and type, I can still feel the roll of the waves, even though I’ve been off the ship for three days. Aging is doing nothing good for my vestibular system.

5F8A2201 — Our last stop, Castaway Cay, The Bahamas. The “Disney” Island.

My family had a fabulous time, and, I’m please to note, we were able to learn even while on vacation! For this week’s Wondrous Words Wednesday, here are Word Nerd Words we picked up while cruising the Caribbean:

Starboard– [noun from Old English stēorbord, from stēor– steering oar + bord ship’s side]; the side of a ship or aircraft that is on the right when you are looking toward the front
Port– [noun from Anglo-French, gate, door, from Latin porta passage, gate]; the left side of a ship or aircraft looking forward —called also larboard.
- *Word Nerd Note: to help remember the difference, note that port and left both have four letters.
Forward [adjective from from Old English foreweard, from fore– + –weard -ward]; near the front of something, like the ship
Midship – I couldn’t find it in the dictionary, but this term is self-explanatory: in the middle of the ship
Aft- [adverb from Middle English afte back, from Old English æftan from behind]; near the back of a boat, ship, or aircraft; in the stern portion of the ship
Bow [noun from Middle English bowe, bowgh, probably from Middle Dutch boech bow, shoulder]; the forward part of a ship
Stern– [noun from Middle English, rudder, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse stjōrn steering, rudder]; the back part of a boat or ship.
- *Word Nerd Note: the stern IS the back of the ship; aft describes the back area of the ship.

5F8A1960 — Dumbo adorns the stern of the Fantasy

Leeward– noun; the side that is sheltered from the wind
Keel- noun from Middle English kele, from Old Norse kjǫlr; akin to Old English ceole throat, beak of a ship]; the part of a boat or ship that extends longitudinally along the center of its bottom and that often projects from the bottom

Thank you, Merriam-Webster

Specific to Disney cruises

Nominal fee = $20, as in, they charge a nominal fee to participate in a margarita tasting session. I think a “nominal fee” should be $5 or less, but I don’t run the cruise line.

Words that came to mind during the cruise

Excess and indulgence (Access to free soft serve ALL DAY!)
Polite, friendly, happy (We never met a grumpy crew member).

Word Nerd Workout

Can you add to my list of nautical terms? Or can you share interesting words you’ve learned during a vacation?

Don’t forget to stop by Kathy’s blog for Wondrous Words Wednesday!

Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!

Book reviews/How to encourage reading/Recommended kid lit

Audio Books for the Family Road Trip

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments

My clan will be heading out on a TEN hour road trip very soon, and with summer on its way, my guess is you might be also. Just this morning, a friend asked for audio book suggestions for her family road trip, and I realized, I need to stock up myself!

So here are some Word Nerd recommendations for audio books that will help you pass those long hours on the highway.

Audio book tips:

Before you buy, LISTEN TO THE SAMPLE. A narrator can make or break an audio book, and if the storyteller has a whiny voice that grates your ears, you’ll hate the book no matter how good the story is.
I use Audible and either download the books to my iPod nano (which plugs into my van’s USB port) or blue-tooth them to my van stereo system via the Audible iPhone app. For general Audible info, see my post Why Audible is Worth It.
Check with Common Sense Media to make sure there isn’t any controversial content in the book you choose- or you might have to explain terms like “French kiss” before you want to. 😉

Family Friendly Audio Book Recommendations:

The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Artemis is a 12-year-old evil genius who steals gold from fairies to keep his family’s fortune strong. Over the course of ten books, he battles pixies and demons and grows a conscience. Nathaniel Parker does an excellent job narrating this series and incorporating different accents to distinguish characters. The writing is funny and smart and should appeal to all family members.
The Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan. Will wants to be a knight, but he’s too small, so when it’s time for the children of the castle to pursue a vocation, he’s invited to join the Rangers, an elite class of men who gather information and operate behind the scenes to protect the kingdom. These books have a medieval setting and lots of action. My boys love them, but so did my daughter and I. There are strong female characters, but most of the focus is on boys. Excellent narration from John Keating.
Wonder by R. J. Palacio. August Pullman, a ten-year old boy with a severe facial deformity, attends his first year of school, and it changes him and everyone around him. A thoughtful story about kindness and acceptance.
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. Do I really need to explain? Get the books narrated by Jim Dale.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

I haven’t listened to these yet, but I think they would be good options:

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. A wonderful story of transformation from self-importance to selfless love.
All Four Stars by Tara Dairman. The first book in a series about Gladys Gatsby, a top-notch food critic who is only in the sixth grade. Shh! Don’t tell!
Nooks and Crannies by Jessica Lawson. Tabitha Crum loves a good mystery, and when she receives a curious invitation to a country estate, she learns a secret that will put her detective skills to the test!
Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke. Igraine dreams of being a famous knight, but life in the castle is boring, until her parents turn themselves into pigs and her castle is threatened by capture.

Can you share any audio book recommendations?

And, if the kids get too rowdy, just slide up the soundproof glass behind the driver’s seat. Wait… your van/SUV doesn’t have that yet? Mine either! We need to give the car companies a tip…

Also, since I’ll be prepping for and enjoying vacation, the Word Nerd will take a blogging break for the next few weeks. I’ll be back in June with more nerdy tips!

Improving vocabulary

The Origin of Jumbo

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 9 Comments

It’s really cool when you’ve been blogging about words long enough that your children suggest Word Nerd Words to feature. How’s that for validation? 🙂

My son found an interesting story behind the word “jumbo” in the short story collection Guys Read: True Stories. If you, like my son, enjoying learning about words, join the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme, where bloggers share new words they’ve discovered while reading.

I’m sure you’ve heard of “jumbo” before, but do you know where it comes from? Is there a Latin root to explain jumbo? Nope.

Photo credit: Stuart Bassil via Flickr CC-BY

Jumbo, noun, a very large specimen of its kind; or adjective, very large

Origin: Jumbo was the name of a huge elephant exhibited by P.T. Barnum in his circus. First known use 1883. (Merriam-Webster)

This shouldn’t be confused with mumbo jumbo, meaningless or superstitious words or activity. This term comes from Mumbo Jumbo, a masked figure among Mandingo peoples of western Africa.

Who says you don’t learn anything reading fiction?

Word Nerd Note: My son enjoyed the Guys Read collections. If you need book suggestions for a guy in your life (of any age), check out the Guys Read website. It’s run by a community of dudes who believe that guys will read when given books that interest them. The site has tons of information, including great reviews and book lists like “Classics that Actually Hold Up” and “People Being Transformed into Animals.” See my full, adoring post on Guys Read here.

Word Nerd Workout

Since it’s standardized testing season, let’s try an analogy. No need for the kids to have all the fun. 😉

taciturn: laconic :: jumbo : _____________

See how I worked in some vocab review? Thanks for “playing” with me.

Improving vocabulary

What Does Capacious Mean?

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments

My friend Valerie shared a Word Nerd Word she came across while reading: capacious. Then, funny thing, it turned up in the audio book I was listening to, Halt’s Peril, The Ranger’s Apprentice, Book 9. Clearly, I was meant to learn this word!

If you like to learn new words, join the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme in which bloggers share new words they’ve learned from their reading.

Valerie originally found capacious in Everything She Thought She Wanted by Elizabeth Buchan:

Charlie was right, but all I could see were the wardrobes of Lucy Thwaite and her trapped sisters waiting to imprison me in their sad smells and capacious misery.

I don’t have the exact quote from Halt’s Peril, but it had something to do with a capacious cloak. Have you guessed the meaning yet?

Capacious \kə-ˈpā-shəs\ adjective from the Latin capac-, capax, capere (also associated with capacity)

Containing or capable of containing a great deal;

Merriam-Webster.com does a nice job of comparing synonyms to highlight subtle differences in meaning. While ample and spacious are synonyms for capacious, ample implies greater than adequate size or amount, spacious means expansive length and breadth, and capacious suggests being able to hold or contain more than average, like a capacious suitcase.

Word Nerd Workout

Use capacious in a sentence and show me you get the difference between capacious and spacious or ample. My example:

My son’s capacious back pack holds his laptop, three binders, and his lunch box, and, I swear, weighs more than I do.

Seriously, it's huge! — Seriously, it’s huge!

Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!

Awesome Young Adult Books/How to encourage reading/News from book business

Three Ideas for Getting Kids to Read

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 6 Comments

Looking for ways to get your kids excited about books, especially with summer break approaching? The Word Nerd is here for you. This week (May 2-8, 2016) happens to be Children’s Book Week, and the organizers have tons of ideas for encouraging some bookish enthusiasm. To see them all, visit the Children’s Book Week site. I’ve highlighted three here for you:

Idea #1: Get the right books

The best way to get kids to read? Put books in their hands. On their beds. In their backpacks. Unfortunately, it can be hard to choose ones they’ll like. Enter the Children’s Choice Book Awards, the only national book awards program in which kids and teens choose their favorites. A panel of librarians, book sellers, editors and other literary folk choose finalists, then the kids vote.

The polls are closed for 2016 books, but you can check out the Awards site for past winners (and reading ideas). The 2016 winners will post sometime during Book Week, but here are some of the 2016 finalists, by category:

Elementary school:

Clark the Shark: Afraid of the Dark
To the Sea
I’m Trying To Love Spiders

Middle Grade:

Backlash
The Terrible Two
Hilo Book 1: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth

Teen:

All the Bright Places
P.S. I Still Love You
Red Queen
We All Looked Up

Past winners/finalists include:

Middle Grade:

El Deafo (see my review)
Sisters
The Dumbest Idea Ever

Teen:

We Were Liars (see my review)
One
Cress

Idea #2: Bookish Activities

Bookweekonline.com has a ton of great ideas for book related activites, including:

A down-loadable bookmark created by Cece Bell, author of El Deafo.
Story starters
Word finds and crossword puzzles with bookish themes, like “Author, Author” and Children’s Choice Award Winners.
(I’m going to print up story starters and puzzles for our 10 hour road trip to Florida next month. 😉 )

Idea #3: Stage a Read-In

This is the boldest book activity I’ve seen: an entire high school having a “Read-In” during Children’s Book Week. The site describes everything you’ll need to stage a “Read-In”, including a detailed schedule. The Read-In takes a little over an hour and includes thirty minutes of silent reading time book-ended with teacher/librarians reading aloud. Non-academic staff should participate too, promoting the notion that “everyone reads”.

Although I can see the challenges in this scenario, I think it would be a powerful way to promote reading. Perhaps a local non-profit could provide some books for those who wouldn’t normally have any. Unfortunately, Children’s Book Week always occurs the first week of May, just when my local school system is gearing up for standardized testing. Perhaps I could suggest they do it after all the tests, during those last two weeks of school when teachers are showing movies or running field trips.

When I was in elementary school we had something like Read-Ins: “USSR”- uninterrupted silent sustained reading. Interesting acronym for the 1980s. On designated USSR days, we all read silently in our classrooms for twenty minutes.

Do you know of any special activities to promote children’s reading in your community, especially during Children’s Book Week? Will you try any that I’ve listed?

Thanks for getting bookish with me!

How to encourage reading

Vocab from Washington DC: Stanchion

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments

We were a weary, well-traveled crew of parents, administrators, and eighth grade students, trudging through the polished halls of the US Capitol. Our guide led us into the domed “Rotunda” room, filled with statues and paintings of our Founding Fathers, and firmly instructed us to “stand to the right of the stanchion.” Well, if The Word Nerd didn’t know what a stanchion was, I’m sure the eighth graders didn’t.

Luckily, we figured out where to gather. But I had to follow-up.

If you like to learn about new words, join the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme at Bermuda Onion. Bloggers share words from their reading that have caused them to reach for the dictionary. (Or, more likely, the dictionary app.) 😉

Stanchions and velvet ropes in preparation for the 37th G8 summit in the Centre international de Deauville, France. Guillaume Paumier via Flickr CC-BY

Stanchion \ˈstan-chən\ noun, from French Old French estançon, diminutive of estance: stay, prop

an upright bar, post, or support (as for a roof or a ship’s deck)
a device that fits loosely around the neck of an animal (as a cow) and limits forward and backward motion (as in a stall)

Thanks, Merriam-Webster. Now we all know the fancy name for the poles that hold velvet ropes and tell us where to stand or line up.

Here’s another cool picture of stanchions, taken at the State Capital in Richmond, VA.

Photo Credit: OKFoundryCompany via Flickr CC-BY

I didn’t get a picture of the stanchions inside the Capitol, but I got this nice shot on the outside… I believe we can call the poles framing the tulips “stanchions”…

Word Nerd Workout

Can you share other interesting architectural terms, like parapet or buttress?

Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!