Blog Schedule

I post on Monday with an occasional random blog thrown in for good measure. I do my best to answer all comments via email and visit around on the days I post.

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Your Room is a Shambles! IWSG, Origins, LoanWords, Dribble


Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate.

Every month a question will be posed that may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Remember, the question is optional. You can write about anything that relates to your writing journey.

Let's give a warm welcome to our co-hosts:    Diedre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, Olga Godim, and JQ Rose!

Yes! That's my name among the co-hosts. It's been a while.

This month's question is:  Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy? Oh heck yes. I've read tons of books, not just novels, where I wanted so badly to write like that. Here are a few authors who almost always blow my socks off, who make me sigh: Kahlil Gibran, John Steinbeck, Jack London, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Ursula K. Le Guin, Mary Stewart, Tolkien...the list is long.


Origins: a recurring post in which I delve into the history of a word or phrase.

Today's word is: SHAMBLES

Perhaps your mother, like mine, got frustrated with you and your messy room. Perhaps she told you it was pigsty. Or, like mine, told me it was a shambles and that I'd better clean it up or I'd find everything that was on the floor that didn't belong there, outside on the ground. (That happened twice.) 

Shamble comes to us from the Middle English word shamel or shamil which was a kind of table used to display meat. There are similar words in Old Saxon skamel, (stool) Middle Dutch, schamel, Old High German, scamel, German, schemel, Danish skammel (all meaning a kind of footstool) all of which ultimately were borrowed from the Latin scamillus, which is a low stool or little bench. 

Apparently in the day, a shemel had very distinctive legs and began to be used to describe a person who's legs looked like the meat table; they were bowed or malformed. Because of the deformity the person couldn't move around easily. So, from a shemel, we get the verb, "to shamble," which is one way to walk. Eventually a shamble table came to mean a kind of butcher block, which in turn became another word for a slaughter house. So when my mother called my room a shambles she was really saying, "Your room's a bloody mess!"


LoanWord: A word adopted from a foreign language with little or no modification.
Today's loan words are from the Niger/Congo region which is a goodly portion of West and most of Central Africa. Banjo, Chimpanzee, Goober, Gumbo (which means okra), Impala (a car don't you know?), Marimba, Tilapia, Banana, Bongo, Chigger, Jazz, Jive, Merengue Mumbo Jumbo, Mojo, Okra, Tote, Yam.

Jumbo and Matthew Scott giving a ride to children about the Zoo

And let's not forget 
Jumbo, which means elephant. Here's a picture of the one and only Jumbo the Elephant (which is redundant because what you're saying is Elephant the Elephant).

His story is rather sad. 

A Dribble for Jumbo
1860-1885

Orphaned in the Sudan, he was sold to an Italian, then bought by a German and moved to the Paris Zoo, then the London Zoo where both tusks were broken. Sold to Barnum and Bailey, he was put on display. He was hit by a train and died.

  
Being Thankful
Today I'm thankful for being able to work on a family project. Many years ago my grandmother (mother's side) wrote and published a cookbook. Me, my sister, and a cousin are going through the process of making all the corrections and edits that never got put into the book. Her book is unique as it tells the story of her life in the Caribbean and  how she ran a guest house, used local foods, and fed fussy American tastebuds. She could feed as many as 60 people a day and she did it all without electricity. She became so "famous" that twice she had articles written about her in the New York Times. Many well known people, like the author John Dos Passos, and Dr. and Mrs. Robert Oppenheimer, stayed at her guest house. This revision is long over-due and so worth it. 

Twice now, as I've been typing it up and making corrections, I have been brought to tears remembering. 

56 comments:

  1. Tossed your toys outside twice? Ouch!
    Poor Jumbo. Such mistreatment.
    Thanks for co-hosting today!

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    1. You are most welcome! I was a teen by the time she tossed stuff outside, so it was mostly clothes, books (gasp!) records (GASP) and more clothes. :D

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  2. Love the idea of your family cookbook, Bish! Your mom was tough. My mother just piled all the stuff on my bed, thinking I'd have to clean it before I went to sleep. Sadly, I just knocked it all back on the floor. Would have been more effective if I'd found it all outside! Thanks for hosting IWSG this month!

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    1. Yeah, I think my mother tried piling stuff on my bed once... The cookbook has been a joy to go through, bring up lots of memories and happy/sad tears.

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  3. What a brilliant idea--a family cookbook! My mom had a few recipes I'd have loved to know, but she died when I was fourteen, and I never knew what happened to her cookbook. :(

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    1. I'm sorry you lost your mom's cookbook. We are truly blessed to have my grandmother's recipes!

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  4. That's wonderful you're revising the cookbook. I'm doing a special project for my father-in-law for his birthday and will surprise him with that book next month.

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  5. A cookbook memoir, sounds fascinating.

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  6. So many fabulous writers to lead the way to the literary stars! Thanks for the word list (gumbo being my favorite as I'm heading to New Orleans for Halloween!).

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  8. Thanks for co-hosting. Yes, I wish I could write like some of the authors I admire.

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    1. I think if we are, each of us, truly honest with ourselves we all have a little bit of envy. It's what you do with it that matters.

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  9. Yes, many authors make my socks fly off in surprise, reading the twists and turns in their books.

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    1. Indeed! And I think we can use that as inspiration!

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  10. I hope you do finish revising that cookbook. Given your gift for bringing much to telling stories, I hope more of your grandmother's life makes it into the 'cookbook' as well. Is there such a thing as a 'memoir cookbook'? Thank you for hosting. You bring a unique perspective to the question and to our love of words/writing.

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  11. What a worthy list for #IWSG, Bish. Jack London--you're so right about him yet I haven't thought about that man in ages.

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    1. I reread Call of the Wild a few months back. It was the first book that made me cry and taught me the power of words. I read it when I was 10 or 11. It's still powerful.

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  12. Interesting origin for shambles. And that's terrible what Jumbo went through. Poor elephant.

    Thank you for co-hosting!

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    1. Yes, unfortunately Jumbo's story is a tragedy.

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  13. Word origins are sometimes much more terrible than the actual word would suggest. It's always a gamble, trying to pinpoint a word origin. Thanks for co-hosting this month, and happy IWSG day!

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    1. Discovering the origin of a word is rather like unraveling a bit of knitting until you come to the "mistake."

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  14. A fascinating discourse on 'shambles.' I love word history.

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    1. And every word has a history, be it simple or complicated.

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  15. I always thought shambles was a fun, harmless word but the slaughterhouse aspect makes it seem more gritty. What a great way to honour your grandmother, keeping her legacy going.

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    1. When I first learned that shambles was another word for a slaughterhouse I was shocked!

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  16. Okay, it's true. Many times, I wanted to throw the things that my kids left on their bedroom floors outside in the yard. But I never did.

    Great critique on words here. Thanks, Bish! I always learn something new visiting your blog. All best to you!

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    1. Raising 5 kids, I bet you did want to throw their stuff outside!

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  17. There are so many brilliant authors that write awesome novels. I can only hope that I can learn from them. Thank you for co-hosting!

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  18. I love that you and your sister and cousin are working on your grandmother's cookbook. That makes her happy.

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    1. Wherever she is, drifting about the universe tasting new foods, I'm sure she's happy that we are revising/editing her book.

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  19. I admire you and your family for wanting to edit your grandmother's cookbook and bring it out for others to read. What a fabulous project. Thanks for cohosting this month.

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    1. It's a love-project, for sure. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  20. Thanks for co-hosting this month. I enjoyed your history of words, even the sad story of Jumbo. I'm glad you are updating your grandmothers cookbook. Sounds like a heartwarming experience.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Toi! Yes, working on my grandmother's cookbook has brought up a lot of memories and emotions. All of them good.

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  21. Thanks for co-hosting today, Bish! I enjoyed the word history of '"shambles." My Dad was in the military, so we didn't have the option of leaving our bed rooms in shambles. Sometimes all five of us shared the same bedroom. It's so different today. How wonderful that you and your family members are revising your grandmother's recipe book. That's a true family treasure!

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    1. I can only imagine what it was like with 5 kids in one room and a dad in the military. I don't think I would have survived! :D

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  22. Hi Bish! I love your list of writers!

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  23. How cool about the cookbook and your grandmother! That's an amazing thing to have left behind for those who came after her.

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    1. We are blessed to have it. Thanks for stopping by.

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  24. As I read your examples and definition of LoanWord, it reminded me of cognates. I live in Mexico and I'm not fluent in Spanish. A local taught me to speak in cognates where ever possible. Cognates are words in two languages that share a similar meaning, spelling, and pronunciation.
    I manage La Cruz Writers' Group, the next time we meet, our writing prompt will be "shambles." Great post.
    Thank you for co-hosting IWSG this March.

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    1. I have Puerto Rican family who are fluent in both Spanish and English. When I'm around (I don't speak Spanish) they often slip into a kind of family Spanglish that I can mostly understand. As my cousin once said, "Ay, que cute!"

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  26. Oh my, as one who is a life storytelling evangelist, I appreciate your work on her cookbook and allowing future generations to know her through that book. Enjoyed this blog post so much--expanded my word-nerd horizons. Thank you.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed my post. Working on my grandmother's book has been amazing.

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  27. Like you, I have a long list of authors whom I appreciate. They inspire me and give me something to aspire to.

    I love word origins. It's also interesting to see how the meanings of some words have changed over the years.

    Lee

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    1. It is amazing how word meanings change. Nice used to mean someone who was stupid... :0

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  28. An extraordinary post, Bish. For me, not you - since I can tell this is simply how you roll. Awesome! Poor Jumbo. My great g-ma used the word shambles on occasion, but the "bloody mess" part was a surprise twist ;-) Gosh, just reading about you and the cookbook had me tearing up too.
    Thank you for co-hosting, and thank you very much for such an engaging post!

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, Diedre!

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  29. Oh Bish - how wonderful to have your grandmother's cookbook and stories ... I'm so pleased for you - enjoy the update with your family. Shambles - a very interesting historical take ... while we do use it for 'a mess' ... such a fun post - cheers Hilary

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  30. What a wonderful project! My cousin put together a cookbook after our grandmother passed away of all her best recipes (and other family favorites). It is something I treasure, and it will keep those recipes from getting lost.

    (Sorry I missed making return visits for IWSG. My internet went out for over 40 hours.)

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  31. I love the idea of 'loan words'. I find myself using them more often than usual. Like 'on offer' and Hercule Poirot's way of using adjectives--'seeds of the fennel' instead of 'fennel seeds'. They make language so much fun.

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