Sometimes we give you lists of words that are targeted to help you learn vocabulary for a specific purpose or topic. Sometimes we tell you about words that have been added to the “official” English vocabulary (according to the OED), or ones that have slipped out of use over the years, or changed their meaning. And sometimes we give you words to learn because they’re just fun to use and say. Here are three words we like to play with – have fun!

akimbo (uh-KIM-boh) adjective
In general, this means “bent in the shape of a bow.” It’s used most often to refer to the position of a person’s arms when they are bent at the elbow and in line with the body, with the hands resting on the hips (see here for an illustration). The etymology of the word is probably traceable back to the Middle English phrase in kene bowe, or “at a sharp angle,” but other linguists speculate that the word comes from the Icelandic word kenboggin (literally “bow-bent”).
Example: The nanny stood in the doorway, arms akimbo and with a frown on her face, until the children had finished cleaning the nursery.

bugaboo (BUG-uh-boo) noun
This word may have come from some of the earliest inhabitants of the British Isles, the Celts who lived in what is now Cornwall; the Cornish word bucca means “goblin,” or a small but frightening creature. A bugaboo today is a fear or worry that has an effect that is out of proportion to reality.
Example: Lisa wanted to be part of the theatre group, but her fear of forgetting her lines and being laughed at was a bugaboo that kept her off the stage, even though her friends assured her she’d be an excellent actress.

And speaking of the theatre …

fiasco (fee-AH-skoh) noun
This word entered the English language in the 19th century via the world of theatre, and means a complete and total failure of a performance, or a flop. It probably came from the Italian idiom for losing a game, fare il fiasco, meaning “to make [buy] the bottle.” That is, the person who lost (failed) would have to buy the drinks.
Example: The opening performance of the play was a complete fiasco: the lead actor was ill, and his understudy wasn’t prepared; the musicians kept missing their cues; and one of the stage lights fell in the middle of the last act, spraying pieces of glass into the first row of the audience.

We wish you every success in your vocabulary study! Come back tomorrow for more words and ways to use them.