BUT.

Sometimes I have to wonder where the words come from in the clues or answers! Even when I look them up in a dictionary (yourdictionary.com), I’m often really surprised to find out that the word actually, really exists.

Today’s words all begin with “o” for no reason other than they’re the three I couldn’t figure out recently without cheating:

 

odist
olios
onomatopoeia

The first two were the answers; the third was part of the clue.

Odist: The clue for odist was “a poet who writes odes.” Even when I filled in the word from the other ones crossing it, I couldn’t believe it was real; it sounded very made up. Odist isn’t in many dictionaries, but in the freedictionary.org it is listed. I can see the logic for creating the word, but I had never been aware of it before.

Olios: The clue was “a medley.” Trust me; that didn’t help, even when I again filled in the word. Olios? Well, yes. It also means a dish of many ingredients, and if you want to see all of its definitions, click here.

Onomatopoeia: And then there is my new favorite, onomatopoeia, a word that is impossible to spell. The clue said “An example of onomatopoeia.” That was all, and it did not help a bit! The answer turned out to be “hiss,” which is the sound a snake makes. The definition of onomatopoeia is “a word that sounds like the common sound of the object it is describing.”

Maybe you’ve never noticed it before, but many words make the sound of the noise or action they are describing. Crack! Wham! Hiss. Shhhhhh. Gurgle. Gargle. Sneeze. Howl. Hum. Whisper. Read more here.

So, that’s it for today, folks! If you see any other odd words cropping up in your crossword puzzles — English ones, please — let me know. Let’s all laugh and learn together.