Vocabulary for
Aesop's Fables
with Sniffy the Hamster, resident wordsmith
Printable Version (opens in new window).
Sniffy Says: "Muddle. Hmmm. Sounds like puddle. A muddle puddle? Of sorts yes, but definitely a verb, something you do. Hmmmm." Splash! Splash! Splash! Sniffy jumps up and down in place as though he were mucking about in a mud puddle. "Muddle! Muddle! Muddle! Look! I'm stirrin' it all up. Makin' it muddy. Can't see my feet any more. . . " He bends over and squints into the puddle. "When you muddle about in a puddle you mess it up, stir it around, get confused as to where things are." He feels around in the invisible murky water for his feet. "Ouch! Yep, that's a toe -- found them."
Sniffy Says: "Frisked. Hmmm. A verb, something you do. He frisked while he whisked like a brisk basilisk! What! Don't know what a basilisk is? An imaginary lizard. Very dangerous. Extremely bad breath. One Poof! from the old boy and you are dead as a doornail. So basically its a sweeping lizard. Works, but definitely not helpful. OK I'll just have to hike up m'shorts and show you some friskin'." He grabs the fur about his chubby little waist, hikes it up as if it were an elastic waistband. "Frisk, dance, frisk, leap, frisk, skip, frisk whoooooooooops! "Sniffy frisked a little too close to a tunnel opening. He falls in. "Got it?" he yells in a muffled sort of way from the end of the tunnel below. "Frisked. Okay. Jolly good. Tally Ho. See ya."
Sniffy Says: "Pate? Hmmm. Rhymes with date and mate and crate. It's a noun, a thing, an important thing. My pate has fur on it, but yours has hair on it—on the top. Your grandpa's might not have any hair on it, but it used to. Some grandpas cover their bald pate with hair. When I bang my pate inside my wheel when I'm skittering so fast my little feeters can't keep up with my pudgy little body I say, 'Ohhh my aching pate!' Then I go back inside my cage to lay my pate on a soft cotton ball and dream about big, bald pates."
Sniffy Says: "Cudgelling? Hmmmmm, let me search my vast brainium inside my cranium! Cudgelling—cudgelling—ahhhhh yes! Helps first to know what a cudgel is. It's a stick, a short heavy stick usually used by people (or hamsters) who aren't very nice, people who want to cudgel your pate! My Uncle Pelljarber gave me a sound cudgelling when I stuffed so many of his almonds into my cheeks that I looked like I had two water balloons in my mouth. I talked funny too. When he cudgelled my behind the almonds shot out so fast I thought my teeth flew out with them!"
On-Line Dictionaries
The Free Dictionary: This is now my favorite on-line dictionary (the box above links to this dictionary). Not only does it provide you with audios to pronounce the word, but it also gives you examples of the word used in context. They also have a "References in classic literature" section which provides entire sentences from classic literature in which the word is used. Also includes a thesaurus, encyclopedia and more.
Answers.com: This is not just a dictionary, but it has a dictionary and the reason I list it is because the dictionary has an audio pronunciation feature which is very helpful when one comes across words that are difficult to pronounce or have never been seen before. Access is free.
The Dictionary of Difficult Words: Good resource for those words that your dictionary doesn't have or that other on-line dictionaries do not have.
A Latin Dictionary: This is great resource for Latin. There is even a downloadable version for your computer that will do both Latin/English and English/Latin.
Dictionary.com Free Access. You can purchase additional features.
Merriam-Webster Free Access.
WordSmyth A children's dictionary is also available. This dictionary requires registration. Free Access.
Oxford English Dictionary The best English dictionary in the world! This dictionary requires paid subscription. $29.95 per month or $295.00 per year.
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