This blog is for everyone who uses words.

The ordinary-sized words are for everyone, but the big ones are especially for children.



Tuesday 4 October 2011

Thing To Do Today: scamper.

The world would surely be a better place if there was a bit more scampering - that is, joyful running.

I suppose it's one of those actions with an age-limit, but this is surely deeply, deeply unfair, so let's reclaim scampering for older people.

(In this case this probably means everyone over the age of about seven.)

Yes, it'll make us look complete idiots, but think of the happiness that will be spread far and wide. What will add more joy to a supermarket visit, a day in the classroom, or a trip down a corridor to a meeting, than a good scamper?

You know it makes sense, don't you.

Thing To Do Today: scamper. This lovely word comes from scamp, which means mischievous child. Unfortunately scamp comes from the verb to scamp, which meant to be a highway robber.

(I must make it clear that I do NOT recommend highway robbery under any circumstances. After all, we pay our governments good money to install speed cameras to do that.)

Scamp probably comes via the Middle Dutch scampen, to decamp, from the Latin campus, which means field.

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