Words Worth: What-ology?

Most JBRish readers probably know that the suffix “ology” denotes the study of something. Well, here is a challenge…if you accept it.

BuzzFeed has an “Ology” quiz. They will present you with thirteen words ending in “ology” and you need to guess the correct area of study. I anticipated doing pretty well, but I missed three of them. I guess I have more studying to do. Is there an ology, ology?

For example, here is one of the items I did not answer correctly:

 

Horse Picture courtesy of Jeffrey B. Ross

WHICH OLOGY IS THE STUDY OF HORSES?

A – Hippology
B – Hoppology

Now don’t go looking this up IF you want to accept the challenge. If you think you are an “ology” expert, you can test your knowledge here:

Do You Know What All These “-Ology” Words Actually Mean?

 
See previous Words Worth entries HERE

Words Worth – Confusing Word Meanings

I am not a member of the grammar police and I am not particularly fond of their worker’s union (wink, wink). All kidding aside, I do like to think I know a fair amount about grammar and word usage, but I must confess, I have some weak areas. If you would like to try your skill at a grammar and word usage test, check out the link below. Fair warning, however, some of the word pairs have fairly nuanced meanings which are often overlooked in common usage.

Ahem! I did manage to earn a “Grammar Pro” ranking.

Here are a few from the quiz to give you a hint. You are on your honor not to look these up for the correct answer beforehand; you’re being watched!

Which of the following words would fit in the blank space?

“The weather just gets worse the ______________ west you go.”

A – farther B – further

Do you know the difference between infer and imply?

What is the difference between the abbreviations e.g. and i.e. is a bit more tricky.

Try your luck at the linked quiz below:

How Well Do You Know These Commonly Misused Words?

How well did you do?

 

JBRish.com originally published this post

See previous Words Worth entries HERE

Words Worth – 20151102 (Epitaphs)

From time-to-time JBRish will post items under the heading of Words Worth that demonstrate the quirkiness, humor, beauty and flexibility of the English language.

To initiate this category of posts, what could be more fitting on the heels of Halloween than to present interesting epitaphs that are punny, witty or just plain humorous? I cannot verify that these are valid, but I think you will agree that they are indeed clever.

 
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Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York:
Born 1903–Died 1942.

Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the
car was on the way down. It was.

 
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In a Thurmont, Maryland:

Here lies an Atheist, all dressed up
and no place to go.

 
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East Dalhousie, Nova Scotia:

Here lies Ezekial Aikle, Age 102.
Only the good die young.

 
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London, England:

Here lies Ann Mann, who lived an old maid
but died an old Mann. Dec. 8, 1767

 
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Ribbesford, England:

The children of Israel wanted bread,
And the Lord sent them manna.
Clark Wallace wanted a wife,
And the Devil sent him Anna.

 
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Ruidoso, New Mexico:

Here lies Johnny Yeast.
Pardon him for not rising.

 
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Uniontown, Pennsylvania:

Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake,
Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.

 
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Silver City, Nevada:

Here lays The Kid,
We planted him raw.
He was quick on the trigger,
But slow on the draw.

 
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England:

Sir John Strange.
Here lies an honest lawyer,
and that is Strange.

 
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Wimborne, England (John Penny’s Grave):

Reader, if cash thou art in want of any,
Dig 6 feet deep and thou wilt find a Penny.

 
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Hartscombe, England:

On the 22nd of June,
Jonathan Fiddle went out of tune.

 
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Enosburg Falls, Vermont:

Here lies the body of our Anna,
Done to death by a banana.
It wasn’t the fruit that laid her low,
But the skin of the thing that made her go.

 
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Nantucket, Massachusetts:

Under the sod and under the trees,
Lies the body of Jonathan Pease.
He is not here, there’s only the pod,
Pease shelled out and went to God.

 
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England:

Remember man, as you walk by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so shall you be,
Remember this and follow me.

To which someone replied by writing on the tombstone:

To follow you I’ll not consent,
Until I know which way you went.