Well, it’s been a grand old year for HaggardHawks. First, there was the fact book (stay tuned US followers, your edition is on its way...). Then there was the 10K milestone. And now, at the tail end of 2015, we’re well on course to tweet our 10,000th tweet and welcome our 15,000th follower early in 2016.
Along the way, we’ve learnt what to call a flock of flamingos, why you would never want to sit next to a Vice Admiral of the Narrow Seas, what happens when a ship sinks and the ship’s cat survives (still my personal favourite fact—ever), and why you might spot a lady-with-the-twelve-flounces on your bird table. But as great as all those tidbits of trivia are, not one of them made this year’s top 10. Nor did the best Latin palindrome you’ll probably ever come across, nor that fantastic old Scots expression that serves as a warning to daydreamers.
Along the way, we’ve learnt what to call a flock of flamingos, why you would never want to sit next to a Vice Admiral of the Narrow Seas, what happens when a ship sinks and the ship’s cat survives (still my personal favourite fact—ever), and why you might spot a lady-with-the-twelve-flounces on your bird table. But as great as all those tidbits of trivia are, not one of them made this year’s top 10. Nor did the best Latin palindrome you’ll probably ever come across, nor that fantastic old Scots expression that serves as a warning to daydreamers.
So, brace yourselves arithmomaniacs, and get ready to dactylonomize—from 10 down to 1, here are @HaggardHawk’s Top 10 Tweets of 2015…
10. MUFFLEMENTS
MUFFLEMENTS is an old English dialect word for coats, jumpers, and other insulating clothes.— HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) December 6, 2015Moble your mufflements, people, it’s cold outside. When a word not only sounds great but has the potential to prove eminently useful, it’s onto a winner.
9. OBDORMITION
The proper name for the numbness felt when an arm or leg 'falls asleep' is OBDORMITION.— HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) January 18, 2015You can also use that one for the act of falling asleep generally. And the very moment you fall asleep? That’s the overgoing.
8. VULPECULATED
If something has been VULPECULATED then it has been stolen by a fox.— HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) November 26, 2015You can provide your own example...
7. COLD COFFEE
"Cold coffee" was Victorian slang for misfortune.— HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) March 10, 2015Jettatores unite—while you’re meeting the cat, feel free to also call bad luck wanhap, miscasualty, or unfortunacy.
6. POTOOOOOOOO
POTOOOOOOOO was the name of a renowned 18th century thoroughbred racehorse. It was pronounced “pot-eight-Os”. pic.twitter.com/mnclOZ9nXx— HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) June 12, 2015Probably the best tweet combining racehorses, root vegetables, and a terrible pun that you’ll see this (or indeed any) year.
5. JANUARY
JANUARY is named after Janus, the dual-faced Roman god of doorways, gateways and entrances.— HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) January 1, 2015Everyone loves a good etymological story, and it doesn’t come much better than one about two-faced Roman gods. One face was said to look back at the year just gone, and the other forward to the year that was ahead, in case you were wondering…
4. CLATTERFART
CLATTERFART is a 16th century word for a gossip or telltale.— HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) November 17, 2015Best. Word. Ever.
3. PIJARALIVUQ
The Inuit word PIJARALIVUQ means ‘someone who is fed up because something tedious or unpleasant has gone on too long’.— HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) October 23, 2015As well as having 50 words for snow, it appears the Inuit (or the Inuktitut, to be entirely accurate here) seemingly have a word for everything else. Bonus fact: the Sami people have 1000 words for reindeer.
2. JACHELT
The old Scots word JACHELT was used to describe trees that have grown with the direction of the wind. pic.twitter.com/bqlqW9buUf— HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) April 29, 2015If you’ve been following @HaggardHawks for a while, you’ll likely have worked out by now that Scots dialect dictionaries contain their fair share of linguistic gems—of which jachelt (derived from dackle, an even earlier dialect word meaning “to impede”) is just one.
1. APHERCOTROPISM
The term APHERCOTROPISM refers to the response an organism makes as it grows to overcome an obstacle in its way. pic.twitter.com/DD7jN4a3kP— HaggardHawks Words (@HaggardHawks) July 5, 2015The clear winner by far. And with a picture like that, who could resist? As well as being this year’s top tweet, the explanation of just how this fantastic word came about has also rounded out the year as one of HaggardHawks’s most popular blog posts—you can read more about that here, or else just enjoy that brilliant picture in all its glory.
And that’s that—except, of course, that it isn’t. There’s a lot more to come in 2016, so keep an eye on the Twitter page for some big developments coming soon. Until then all that’s left to say is thank you, everyone, for following, commenting, favouriting, RTing, and just generally helping make @HaggardHawks what it is. It really is very much appreciated.
And a very Happy New Year!
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