Friday, June 30, 2017

Four-letter Words: U and V

Except for ugly, upon, user, and undo, most of the four-letter words beginning with "u" have never graced my blog; no, most have never so much as entered my vocabulary.  Of the examples given, I do not like two of them, and the other two seem a bit pedestrian.

So in honor of my hair-sylist spouse, I have chosen:

updo.

Image result for updoThe word hardly needs a definition.  It is almost obvious that an updo would be a style in which the hair is combed upward away from the face.  While it has been stylish, both for men and women, in the past, I think it has fallen into disfavor.  But despair not--  what goes around comes around.



"Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb."

*****

 Four-letter "v" word for this July morning is:


vamp.

Vamp is a multipurpose word having several distinctly different meanings.   The first thing to cross my mind when I hear the word is Ella Fitzgerald singing "Hard hearted Hannah, the vamp of Savannah, the meanest gal in town. . .   she'd pour water on a drownin' man."  The word here is used to indicate

vamp (n.) a woman who uses feminine wiles seductively.

The word can be used as a verb:

vamp (v.) to seduce, esp. to gain an advantage.

I had a great uncle who was a cobbler and a businessman whose skill made his business very successful.  A cobbler is a shoemaker.  Here we encounter our word as

vamp (n.) the part of the shoe that covers the instep and toes.

Another usage of the word occurs in the music world:

vamp (v.) to accompany by improvisation.

Thus enough space has been devoted to our four-letter "v" word.
 

5 comments:

Secondary Roads said...

The song says of Hanna, "Talk about your cold, refigeratin' mamas, brother she's the polar bear's pajamas."

vanilla said...

Chuck, Hannah was a cold one, for sure.

Grace said...

When I hear the word 'vamp' I automatically think 'shoe'. Up-do is a word that has never entered my vocabulary LOL

Vee said...

I think the V should stand for Vee, the reader who has forsaken you for almost two weeks while preparing to travel, traveling, and recovering from traveling. Will get caught up soon on my reading!

vanilla said...

Grace, Mama put a stocking on my head at night to train my hair to lay back from my face. Always called it a "pompadour," didn't know it was an updo. I still comb it straight back. I know you do your own hair and it works well for you!

Vee, yes, it should, but you see, "Vee" is not a four-letter word, nor is the full name which Vee represents, so. . .