By: Blonde Two
I am wondering how many of you know what a listicle is. I didn’t until quite recently which is ironic considering I have been writing them for some time (here is a Blonde example). Listicle is a portmanteau word, i.e. a word made up of the bits of two other words. In listicle’s case the two parent words were ‘list’ and ‘article’. A listicle is basically a blog post or article written in the form of a list. You know the type of thing:
1. ‘The six best reasons to get outside this winter.’
2. ‘Our five favourite Dartmoor routes.’
3. ‘Blonde adventurers we admire.’
‘Listicle’ made it into the Oxford English Dictionary in June 2016 alongside ‘big-arsed’ (which is surely two words), glamper (which is another portmanteau word) and micronation (see Bumbunga, Forvik and the Glacier Republic). Listicle had a party to celebrate. It invited:
1. ‘The six most interesting English words.’
2. ‘Five untranslatable languages.’
3. ‘Three countries that can’t spell.’
I believe that I have invented (alongside another outdoorsy friend) something much more exciting than the listicle. This is going to take the blogging world by storm and make us lots of money (or get us into lots of trouble). It is… (cue drum roll)… THE RANTICLE.
This man is writing a RANTICLE. Any moment now, steam will come out of his ears.
The ranticle is the type of article/email/blog you write and then ask someone else to check because you know that you have poured all of your topic-related venom into it. For example around these Devon parts there are bound, at the moment, to be hoards of usually taciturn people who have written, in their own blood, clandestine midnight ranticles and hidden them under floorboards and behind mirrors. These ranticles will be about the proposed developments at Bantham Beach.
I wrote a ranticle once and forgot the bit about asking someone else to check it. That really didn’t go very well!
Doubt it (about steam, that is). See how symmetrically everything is laid out; note his upright posture and thus no back problems in later life; infer how much he spends on keeping his hair trimmed. He may even be a touch-typist (which brings his creativity into question) although there’s nothing on the screen and I suspect he may be faking it. Should steam ever arrive in his well-ordered world he’ll pipe it off and use it to power a locomotive. The green bit’s a mystery; post-surgery dressing? And, of course, he’s right-handed.
Here goes: last night I watched SS-GB because it is based on a Len Deighton book and I am a great fan but had not read that book. I gave it nearly a full hour and then switched off. I had only the vaguest idea of what was going on, and had only been able to understand about forty percent of the dialogue which was mostly whispered, and as for that elderly Scottish guy…. There seems to be a fine line here between acting in this method style and at the same time making the words comprehensible.
“Frustrated”, from Arnside.
A most excellent ‘ranticle’ one with which I agree, SS-GB was disappointing.
Roderick! I’ll have you know I can create with the best of ’em – and touch-type.
In fact, I have created a great many rantyverses in my day, and even the occasional rantydoodle.
Love the word “ranticle” B2. A proper half-and-half word.
She’s right you know. My theory is that few men can touch type whereas women were probably born doing it… the younger generation of course have their own incomprehensible keyboard methods.
Born touch-typing? Doesn’t say much about the Male Creator’s priorities, but then few things do. I mean when it comes to reproducing life why couldn’t infantile development be confined to a pod hanging on a wall for nine months, the responsibility of both those whose moment of carnality brought about the situation.
Certainly women touch-type faster. I never learnt. Instead I spent the time learning to write. The results may not deserve any great hoo-ha but I suspect it was more fun.
The headline contains a redundant C.
It might make sense with a couple of “k”s added.
Off cause, this righting lark cums inn verying de-grease. Eye spec wee orl lurned sum at skool, butt watts the youse off righting wiv owt eyedears?
Starfire: Eyedears come two a penny; many’s the time I’ve been told, “Oh, you write novels. I’ve always thought I might, I get lots of ideas.”
While these same powerhouses somehow baulk at the basic equation: Novels = 5% inspiration, 95% perspiration. They add, “After all, it’s not like work, is it? If you’re bright enough the words just flow, don’t they?”
To which there is only one answer: Easy writing = hard reading.
But here’s something truly weird. Your re-comment is timed at 12.51 pm while I started this at 12.47 pm. One of us is clearly cleverer than the other, capable of manipulating time. It must be you, your blogonym implies this.
Of course you could be resident in Frankfurt.
I do like the odd Frankfurter!
Even old ones? (Might be mouldy.)
Hee – been up to my neck in choir, hence delayed reaction! (Tunicles) (oh no – tunicles are a garment worn by a clergyman!)
Re: timing – something to do with bioenergetics, maybe? Or a time-warp? Maybe Blonde Blogging sets up a distortion of the time-continuum? Or is the time actually put on the post by the posting computer, in which case mine is probably set incorrectly, being ancient like me.