ver the break, I catsat for my sister Lenore. Most of the time, Bella and Midge were just quietly sleeping or stretching. Until, that is, the middle of the night, when team off into an hilarious conversation about funny old words. Julia chimed in with schemozzle, which everyone agreed is pretty good. Some of the team weren’t even sure if it was a real word, but we all understood it to be a great way to describe a bit of a muddle. Kerfuffle, which is a commotion or fuss, was also much-used and loved. ‘And it’s so good to say with all those effs!’ laughed Jude. Claudia’s been using poppycock for years after hearing it in a movie, and both Julia and Jude call cats’ shenannies, zoomies. Lisa said her Yorkshire born hubby is full of funny words. They include mizzle, which is a fine rain, but can also mean to disappear quickly. Another is snicket, which is the narrow space between buildings. I did a bit of googling on old words and spondulicks made me laugh. It’s a word from the 1800s for money. And my lovely dad still uses the more recent variant of this wonderful word for cash – spondoolies!
