Smuck

August 23rd, 2012 by admin

Furthermore, as long as I’m being cranky, I understand that the fact that jellyfish are not actually fish (quelle surprise!) has led some aquariums in the US to adopt the term “jellies” or “sea jellies” instead. Oh, please. Newsflash: crayfish aren’t “actually fish” either. And groundhogs aren’t really hogs, prairie dogs aren’t even close to being dogs, and woodchucks, alas, don’t actually chuck wood. Somebody needs to get a grip.

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Posted in August 2012, columns | 3 comments

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  1. Elaine:

    August 24th, 2012 at 11:37 am

    Very interesting! But, you did not bring up the word “schmuck” which was the first thing I thought of when I saw this issue of the Word Detective! And, is also the first work brought up when you do an auto search for the word “smuck”

  2. Lynne Street:

    January 31st, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    “A smuck of jellyfish” was presented in the “First Aid i English” text, referred to by teachers and students alike, between 1960 and 1997.
    Publication details not recalled, sorry.

  3. Lynne Street:

    January 31st, 2018 at 7:35 pm

    “A smuck of jellyfish” was presented as correct in the “New First Aid in English” reference book used by teachers and students alike, between 1974 and 1997.
    (Publication details not recalled, sorry)