Wednesday, May 6, 2020

May A-Z Challenge: A Pair of Favourite English Words [C]

Blog entry #31

Confetti | Charlatan


Confetti
These are the streamers you see at parades, thrown as a mark of celebration. I love Taylor Swift singing it in her song Long Live. I learnt (from TBBT again; it’s greatly informative for geeks like me, so don't be surprised when you see many more references being made from this show in the upcoming posts on my favourite words) that the singular of confetti is confetto. Origin: Latin name for small Italian sweet. Similarly, the singular of spaghetti is spaghetto!

Charlatan
Have you noticed how words starting with 'ch' but pronounced with a 'sh' sound always seem sophisticated when spoken out loud? Chic pronounced as "sheek" at a fashion show, Chardonnay, a bottle of wine opened by a VIP at an event, Chanel the luxurious French brand for LBDs and accessories, and so many others - champagne, chagrin, chef, chandelier, chateau, chauffeur and chivalry. Try saying these words to yourself aloud - don’t you feel high and mighty?

Image courtesy: Google ©

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