So, Rad, have you come across this word which is often related to carousing: canoodling.
What new word did you learn today?
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I've always wondered if shared a lineage with "carousel"... it invokes an image of people laughing as they go round and round.
I have heard of that one before, but I just had a strange thought (that might be best for "Wonky Dictionary"): what does the activity implied have to do with noodles in a can?
Canoodling is what all those strings of Chef Boyardee spaghetti are doing there in the tomato sauce.
Gave me food poisoning when I was 19. Half a day in the hospital with the Tony Soprano delirium and all.
Nope; haven't come across that word until now. I looked up the meaning - interesting!
Coming from South Africa we used different words for that e.g. vry /soen etc. As a joke we also use the term 'Couch Rugby'
I'm assuming you come from North America - USA / Canada. As they are both huge countries, is the word Canoodling and its meaning used across the whole country, or is it a regional expression?
The word "canoodle" has been around since the mid-19th century, likely appearing in the U.S. before spreading to Britain by the 1860s. Its precise origin is debated. Some explanations are:
- A blending of "caress" (hug lovingly) and "noodle" (a foolish person);
- Derived from an English dialect word for a "foolish lover";
- It might be derived from the German knuddeln ("to cuddle," "to knead"), as suggested by H.L. Mencken;
- A popular but unlikely folk etymology suggests it originated in the 19th century as a pun on "canoe," referring to couples escaping chaperones in a boat;
- It may be related to "canny" (gentle/affectionate) or "firkytoodle" (a similar, older slang term for fondling);
- Wiktionary claims “origin unknown”, but it offers two possible origins: either Swedish knulla (“to fornicate”), or German knuddeln (“to cuddle”);
- Webster's suggests that canoodle originates "perhaps from English dialect canoodle, noun, donkey, fool, foolish lover" (but gives no proof of this).
Regardless, the word "canoodling" and its meaning has been around for so long that I think almost everyone in America/Canada knows what it means.
It's widely understood, even if other slang slips in and out of use. However, younger people might be more familiar with "snuggling", "cuddling" or "making out", and would find "canoodling" to be dated or old-fashioned.
- A blending of "caress" (hug lovingly) and "noodle" (a foolish person);
- Derived from an English dialect word for a "foolish lover";
- It might be derived from the German knuddeln ("to cuddle," "to knead"), as suggested by H.L. Mencken;
- A popular but unlikely folk etymology suggests it originated in the 19th century as a pun on "canoe," referring to couples escaping chaperones in a boat;
- It may be related to "canny" (gentle/affectionate) or "firkytoodle" (a similar, older slang term for fondling);
- Wiktionary claims “origin unknown”, but it offers two possible origins: either Swedish knulla (“to fornicate”), or German knuddeln (“to cuddle”);
- Webster's suggests that canoodle originates "perhaps from English dialect canoodle, noun, donkey, fool, foolish lover" (but gives no proof of this).
Regardless, the word "canoodling" and its meaning has been around for so long that I think almost everyone in America/Canada knows what it means.
It's widely understood, even if other slang slips in and out of use. However, younger people might be more familiar with "snuggling", "cuddling" or "making out", and would find "canoodling" to be dated or old-fashioned.
I don't know. I've heard it in California, Wyoming, and Texas. It's generally used humorously, and carries the connotation of being illicit. Snuggling or cuddling don't have the same tint of impropriety.
I'd go with the German derivation. The difference between that and snuggling or cuddling is that it's not something you would do with a child or a pet, but you'd do it with a lover. So it's a sort of code word for what we used to call "sucking face."
Don't think I've ever heard it spoken before. Seen it in print and heard it in movies, but maybe never live?
"Sucking face" is a new one to me. It makes me think of the Facehuggers from the Alien franchise. 
Motific : the adjective of "motif." I guess I knew it existed, but never heard it used before until it came up in a musical context. But wait... there's more
Motivic: the adjective spelling for motif when used in a musical context.
Far. Out. Man.
Motivic: the adjective spelling for motif when used in a musical context.
Far. Out. Man.
Biannual and biennial are two different words. Like in frequency vs interval.
I mean, nipple and shotgun are two different words, too.
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"Omphalist" philosophy refers to the Omphalos hypothesis, which proposes that the universe was created by a divine creator with the immediate appearance of age, including pre-existing evidence of a long history (such as fossils, geological layers, or even light already in transit from stars).
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omphaloskepsis - the practice of contemplating one's navel in order to aid meditation
Well, there're no dinosaurs in the Bible.
They're somewhere in the Apocrypha, I'm sure. Bill Hicks did a terrific bit about that. Dinosaurs in the Bible. (Warning: NSFW, a few swears)
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