Word of the Day : June 29, 2019
higgledy-piggledy
adverb hig-ul-dee-PIG-ul-dee
[h1]Definition[/h1]: in a confused, disordered, or random manner
[h1]Examples[/h1]Maya took a deep breath and began the daunting task of sorting through the hundreds of photos scattered higgledy-piggledy across the floor.
"Indeed, the hallways of Geokon's offices are lined with metal filing cabinets, and workshops have been added in higgledy-piggledy over the years, giving the premises a haphazard feel." — John Lippman, The Valley News (White River Junction, Vermont), 11 Nov. 2018
[h1]Did You Know?[/h1]We really have no idea where higgledy-piggledy came from, but we do know it's a perfect demonstration of English speakers' fondness for reduplication—that is, for forming new words by repetition of a base word often with a slight change of sound. In this case, the base word might actually be the second term, which encompasses the word pig and calls to mind the association of pigs with disorderliness. Although we don't know when exactly higgledy-piggledy first appeared in print, we do know that the word has been around since before 1600. John Florio's A Worlde of Wordes, an English-Italian dictionary first published in 1598, used higgledy-piggley as a defining term for the Italian word alla rinfusa, along with two other examples of reduplication, pell-mell and helter-skelter.
[h1]Test Your Vocabulary[/h1]What is the meaning of the verb higgle?
ps：上述文字图片音频均来自于网络
下述译文只供参考
[h1]Definition[/h1]：混乱，混乱或随机的方式
[h1]Examples[/h1]玛雅深吸了一口气，开始了艰巨的任务，整理了数百张散落在地板上的斑驳的照片。
“事实上，Geokon办公室的走廊两旁都是金属文件柜，多年来，这些工作室已经加入了各种各样的工作场所，让这个场所变得随意。” - John Lippman，The Valley News（White River Junction，Vermont），2018年11月11日
[h1]Did You Know?[/h1]我们真的不知道higgledy-piggledy来自哪里，但我们知道它是英语使用者对重复的喜爱的完美展示 - 也就是说，通过重复基本单词来形成新单词，通常会略微改变声音。在这种情况下，基本词实际上可能是第二个词，其中包含猪这个词并且让人想起猪与无序的关联。虽然我们不知道究竟什么时候才会出现印刷品，但我们确实知道这个词自1600年以来一直存在。约翰弗洛里奥的英国 - 意大利词典“沃尔德世界”（Worlde of Wordes）于1598年首次出版，使用了higgledy-piggley作为意大利语alla rinfusa的定义术语，以及另外两个重复，pell-mell和helter-skelter的例子。
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