18th June 2014 - Of Vocabulary, Vikings and Vinyl...

Thought for the day: "If the entire human race held hands around the equator ......
A large number of them would drown!!!"

Been thinking about some words today - for no real reason other than a day in Burry Port Folk Club and revised viking songs brought me to some sources - not of old songs re-written, but of words and insults..
It appears that Skiver actually comes from a Norse word..

Skivers and shirkers are one and the same. Someone who manages to duck under any responsibility and loaf around, doing very little, is a skiver. The origins of this particular insult are contested: some think it’s from an Old Norse word—skifa—meaning “slice,” whereby the worker slices off as much work as possible.

From there I found certain other words that have an interesting background.... It was "Nincompoop"
For such a colloquial word, nincompoop actually has a very learned past. Samuel Johnson, the compiler of England’s first proper dictionary, claims the word comes from the Latin phrase non compos mentis (“not of right mind”), and was originally a legal term.

Another interesting viking reference is of Pillock.

As words are used more regularly, the laziness of pronunciation can often warp them slightly. So it was with pillock. Originally pillicock (a Norwegian slang word for penis), the word has since been condensed to plain old pillock—though its meaning remains.

One I do not know but find interesting is "Dunaker"
Grose’s Dictionary of vulgarities is a rich seam of overlooked insults. In the 200 years since it was published, there have been several terms that have fallen out of favor. One of them is dunaker, a common thief of cows and calves.

But Burry Port Folk club, the derivation of another old Viking Song  - The Coast of Caledonia...

On other matters, was a bit productive today  - decided that I would finally do something about the kitchen floor which has been deteriorating for many years... A visit to the local pound shop found sets of 4 x 1ft vinyl floor tiles - seemed like a good idea...

So this was the problem - a very old floor with gaps and bits of gaffa tape and a whole section (to the right of the picture) with no flooring at all - ripped by a previous dog maybe...
Cost of kitchen flooring around £180  last time ...

The Problem - Pound Shops locally do not have enough sets to do the whole area in one design - so trying to find the design that will allow a mix and match between those available...

Point of no return - the first set are laid down  - form here on it is a case of adding like a jigsaw... with a few adjustments with scissors at the edges...

And the final result... Not bad for £23 - a little imaginative in the design but it is generally symmetrical - honest!!

And a final kitchen for dinner tonight....

Ooh - look - On the right hand side of the kitchen - I am sure that is a bottle of Gin !!  and a few bottles of tonic...

Don't mind if I do..

-o0o-

Place and sign of the day