New Word #98: Event

Valentine’s day and the Super Bowl are great occasions for learning new words. And for this year, the two almost fall on the same day. What are the odds?

I typed “valentine” in google search, which tells me that it means “a card sent, often anonymously, on St. Valentine’s Day (February 14) to a person one loves or is attracted to.” Really? I didn’t know that. One can send anonymous card? Is this a tradition?

Super Bowl

Ram, Goat, Billy Goat, Sheep, Ewe, Lamb

• A ram is a male goat or a male sheep. A billy goat is also a male goat, although I don’t know why it is called “Billy”. Same as jackfruit–I don’t know why the fruit is given a name “Jack”. Ewe is a female sheep, but not a female goat. A lamb is a young sheep.

Bengal, Siberian, Sumatran, Javan, Caspian

• There are many different tigers and each is named after the region it inhabits. Bengal tigers are from around Bengal in India and Bangladesh; Siberian tigers are from Siberia. And the same is for Sumatran, Javan, and Caspian tiger.

Defense, Offense, Scrimmage, Fumble, Tackle

• Scrimmage is referring to a confused struggle between many people. I guess in many team sports, scrimmage is unavoidable since there’s only one ball.

Gridiron, Stadium, Court, Field, Rink, Ring

• The field that American football is played on is called gridiron since it is divided into sections and grids. Usually a sports game is played in a stadium and there are different names for the area that the players of two teams play the game. In basketball, it is called court, in skiing, it is called slope, in figure skating, it is called rink, in boxing it is called ring.

Love

Love and Affection

• love struck, heart over heels: Both of these phrases mean an intense feeling of love. One is referring to love as a stick who beats people into a state of infatuation; the other one seems to describe a process of a human heart being misplaced on the back side of the human foot. What will happen next is anybody’s guess.
• lovebirds: People who are lovers are called lovebirds.
• all’s fair in love and war: This means people can go crazy for love or war, and they will try all kinds of tricks to achieve their objective. It is implying that there’s no fairness in love or war.
• love triangle: This is a love scrimmage between three people.

Amity, Comity, Enmity

• amity: a good friendly relationship
• comity: a relationship with mutual benefit
• enmity: a hostile relationship

Love’s Unexpected Consequences

unrequited: a feeling of love not reciprocated

lovelorn: sadness caused by unrequited love

stalker: A person who follows his or her love interest with obsessiveness.

vicarious: experiencing something through other people’s actions, like watching a movie, video or reading a book.

voyeur: A person who watches others, often illegally.

pistanthrophobia: fear of getting hurt in love

philophobia: fear of falling in love

Haphephobia: fear of being touched.

gamophobia: fear of commitment or marriage