by beatriceotto | Jan 29, 2019 | triologisms
Here Zeus spurs Athene to intervene in the Trojan war, and she descends to earth in the guise of a glorious soaring hawk, nose-diving. See also the bestellar reviews, complete with rich quote-mosaics, of Adam Nicolson’s magnificent Why Homer Matters, and...
by beatriceotto | Sep 5, 2018 | put in a good word
‘Where pigeons sat and croodled.’ A cooing cosy word for a bird, but also meaning to snuggle up, nestle in, cuddle or crouch, for love or warmth. Source: Henry Williamson, Tarka the Otter: His joyful water-life and death in the two rivers, illus. C.F....
by beatriceotto | Aug 28, 2018 | triologisms
A symbiosis of hovering birds and fly-pestered bullocks, the darting martins hoovering up bothersome crisp-winged flies. ‘Martins twittered along the river-bank, and hovered about the heads of bullocks, taking crisp-winged flies from their muzzles and between...
by beatriceotto | Aug 27, 2018 | metaphors
Another simile for silence, here combined murderously with talons sharp as black frost. See other silent similes by Williamson and by Charlotte Bronte. ‘Silent as snow and fog, staring like the Northern Lights, taloned like black frost, the Arctic Owl flew over...
by beatriceotto | Aug 15, 2018 | put in a good word
‘… the whippering cries of golden plover.’ This seems to be a Williamson coinage to describe the cry of a bird. I haven’t found it in the Big Fat OED, source of all (English) words. See also ‘stitter’ and ‘chitter’....
by beatriceotto | Aug 9, 2018 | a quote to note
This observation of a family of swallows over 150 years ago struck me, along with another surprising tale by Thoreau. Apart from the impressive behaviour of the birds on both counts, in reading these immediate, living accounts, I wonder whether Thoreau had any idea...
by beatriceotto | Aug 9, 2018 | a quote to note
This touching account in Thoreau’s journal has a swallow, injured by a shot from a gun, being given airborne support by another swallow. The duly contrite swallow-sniper thereafter showed reverence towards these lovely small birds. I hope the injured one...
by beatriceotto | Aug 8, 2018 | put in a good word
‘The crackeys and ackymals and ruddocks – Devon names for wrens and tomtits and robins …’ All words for birds, delightful Devon names of which only ‘ruddock’ appears in the OED. Glad to feature the other two lest they fall into...
by beatriceotto | Aug 8, 2018 | put in a good word
‘… other noises were mingled with the chakkering.’ In this form, I couldn’t find this word in the OED, but assume it might be related to ‘chack’ and ‘chacking’, a mainly Scottish verb meaning: ‘To snap with the...
