Shakespeare's Insults - 1 June 2015

<p>If you don't have anything nice to say, say it like Shakespeare: Thou unhandsome smush-mouthed mush-rump! Thou obscene rug-headed hornbeast! The Shakespeare Insult Generator helps you craft creative zingers by mixing and matching the Bard's own words--perfect for the wanton swag-bellied underskinker in your life.  Plus, how do you feel when you say "Thank you" and the person replies "No problem"? That response bothers many people--but should it? Plus, what happens when a married couple doesn't gee-haw together. Also: the origins of shimmy and smidge, ham-and-egger, a techie word quiz, double possessives, and enough food to feed Coxey's army.<br /><br />FULL DETAILS<br /><br />For a compendium of slanderous Elizabethan expressions, try Barry Kraft's book, Shakespeare Insult Generator. There are more sources online for sneering Shakespearean phrases and randomly generated insults inspired by the Bard, perfect for the obscene rug-headed hornbeast in your life.<br /><br />Don't capitalize names of seasons unless they're part of a proper noun, such as Summer Olympics or Spring Formal. Unlike the names of months and days of the week, seasons aren't eponymous, meaning they don't derive from proper names. <br /><br />Here's a fun paraprosdokian: I like work. It fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.<br /><br />Swag is not an acronym for Stuff We All Get. In fact, most acronymic "etymologies" are complete hogwash. Swag, commonly used to mean "free stuff," goes back to the 1700's and refers to the ill-gotten swag, or booty, of a thief or pirate.<br /><br />The Shakespeare Insult Generator tipped us off to a handful of booty-themed disses, including rump-fed, which refers to someone who is less than callipygian.<br /><br />Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a game of portmanteaus for the tech age, like a fanciful word for when you spend hours buying books online to the point where you're unconscious. <br /><br />When two people can't gee-haw together, it means they don't get along. The terms gee-haw, or gee and haw,