Growing up in England

I was always hungry to learn new words

We had a hard copy of the Oxford English Dictionary

Always on hand during a game of scrabble

If it was not in the book then your word did not exist

Of course each year they have to add new words

In my youth you could never use laptop or internet in a game of scrabble

I am totally fine that the Children’s edition of this dictionary evolves annually

However its shocking to learn  that words are arbitrarily retired from this book to make way for new ones

Here are some of the words that kids today may never discover:

RIP Newt– We caught them in jars from the local creek

RIP Minnow – Chased with a net on the end of a pole and put in the same jar with the newt

RIP Herring-We ate them for breakfast in their smoked form as Kippers

RIP Kingfisher-That flash of blue flying over the creek will now have no name

RIP Lark– Not just a songbird for me because it also meant having fun or larking about

RIP Leopard– Not many leopards roaming about Liverpool in the 1960’s except for the fake fur coats worn by middle aged ladies that were described as mutton dressed up as lamb

RIP Lobster– It was never on the menu menu in our house but often I fantasized about being chased by a giant lobster with pinching claws

RIP Magpie– You black and white thief of shiny objects now arrested and thrown into word jail for life, maybe your sentence will be reduced upon appeal

Mussel– Oh poor sweet Molly Malone will no be allowed to sing “Cockles and mussels alive alive oh”