Word Challenge: W

~ beetleypete

Please play along with your own choices for ‘W’. American spellings are allowed, and foreign language words (with translations) are welcome too.

Wittering.
Some people have a tendency to witter on about things. “There he goes again, wittering on about the weather”. Who? Me?

Wreak.
I like this because the ‘W’ is silent. And I have been known to wreak a little havoc in my time.

Wrought.
Another silent ‘W’, and a word with different meanings. It means to fashion something, usually from metal. But add ‘Over’, and you get something that most of us might have felt at some time, as well as a description of an item that is too fussy. It is also the past tense of Wreak, as in ‘They wrought havoc’. (So a bit of a cheat, but I don’t care) All in all, a very useful word. Let’s all try to use it more.

71 thoughts on “Word Challenge: W”

  3. Pete, great words once again. I thought one was:

    “withering” – can be a dying plant, I think of it as a deadly stare or comment
    “wonky” – used to be an insult, but we sure need more people who are smart and obsessed with facts
    “wanderlust” – it’s why i read so many travel books!

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    1. Thanks, John. We use Wonky differently, as in something uneven, or not balanced. A Wonky table, for example, or a picture hanging on the wall a bit ‘Wonky’.
      I can imagine that you are able to muster a Withering stare, when necessary!.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  9. Oh W is our best set in Geordieland!

    Wey-Aye ~ A famous phrase I think, meaning “Well Yes, of course!” occasionally coupled with the word ‘man’ as in the perceived archetypal Geordie phrase “Wey-Aye Man” (most often overused by novice Geordie imitators).

    Wor ~ Used mostly on Tyneside and usually pronounced ‘wuh’. Originally it meant ‘our’ and is still used mostly for that, but it can also be used instead of ‘me’ or ‘us’. Wor is from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘oor’ meaning ‘our’ but the W has crept into speech naturally. (In Scotland they use the older pronunciation ‘oor’ as the Scots are generally – and ironically – much more fluent in Anglo-Saxon than the English.)

    Worm: Pronounced ‘warm’ on Tyneside. A dragon, or wyvern as in North East legends like the Lambton Worm, Sockburn Worm and Laidley Worm. Possibly of Old German origin wyrm, or Scandinavian – orm.

    our phrase today..
    Whisht! Why-Aye, aw wes wi’ wor lass ~ Shhh! be quiet! Yes of course I was with my girlfriend.

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  10. Warfare – battles
    Warrior – soldier
    Whippersnapper – squirt
    The young Whippersnapper wanted to be a big, strong Warrior, so he started some Warfare with his water-pistol at the ready.

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  11. Looks like wallop is already on the cards, even though I use it when hitting nails. Or I could give it some welly, but then that’s normally when I driving (my tractor)
    I do like wisp, if only because it sounds like the thing it describes.
    And as a bonus word I’m going for winko, which in Polish means ‘a little wine’, alcoholic of course, even if I do complain there isn’t enough 🙂

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    1. Ha! A little wine. I only ever have a ‘large wine’. I always wondered what it meant. I was going with a todger, as you may have suspected. I use wallop mainly for hitting something, though I also know it as beer. I had wellies on today, as it was tipping down. (Again!)
      Cheers, Eduardo. Love to all in Poland. Pete.

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  12. Good Morning Pete:
    WELFARE, WORK, and WAGES are my economic terms for W. People often hear others wittering about welfare and work, saying one stifles the other. Well, low wages wrought welfare and work wreak wages, so I recommend a glass of red wine and moving on to another topic.
    Warmest regards, Theo

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    1. I have been through all those Wallops in my time, Sarah. West Wittering is in Sussex, near Chichester, and I have been there too. 🙂 (West Sussex, strictly speaking)
      Thanks for Winsome, (and the others) that’s another ‘lost’ word.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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  16. wanderlust: naturally as I have had it all my life though I must admit that my dislike of flying recently has curbed it somewhat.
    wheeze: I seem to do this a lot as I stagger up the hills and cliffs around here!! (Gasping for breath!)
    wampum: small cylindrical beads made by North American Indians from shells, I once knew an American couple who owned a British Bulldog called Wampum. He used to love to lie on my lap even though I was very pregnant at the time!

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  17. Based on how much I use it, “wonderful” has to go on my list. I’ll throw my home state on the list, as “Wisconsin” apparently sounds very amusing when I say it (which, as I am from here, is clearly the correct way to say it, and everyone else actually sounds funny when they say it). Thinking of “w” words, I am thinking of lots of homonyms – whether and weather; wither and whither; which and witch.

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    1. Those double meaning/same sounding words are great. They do confuse people trying to learn English though. I had a dream about Madison, Wisconsin though I have never been to America.
      I pronounce it ‘Wiss-con-sin’. Is there another way?
      (Give Choppy a treat from me. A small biscuit will do. 🙂 )
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  19. Wallop is beer?
    I like “waffle,” although I’m kind of on the fence whether it’s because I like to eat them, or because it’s a fun way to say vacillate. There’s a chain of diners in the U.S. called “Waffle House” that you may have seen mentioned, as an FEMA index of how severe a natural disaster has affected a town – – basically, if even the local Waffle House is closed, your area is toast.

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    1. Wallop is slang for beer, also for a blow from the hand, like a slap or punch.
      I like waffles, but we don’t have chains of waffle houses. The best waffles are to be found in Belgium.
      Thanks, Robert.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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