Like the love that we spoke of forever

[venta]

I first discovered that LJ was being DDoS'd when I tried to post something. It was something terribly important. Sadly, I've now totally forgotten what it actually was.

So, in the interim, something I might have posted had the facility been available:

[Poll #1765232]

Wambly normally appears in the phrase "weak and wambly", which probably tells you all you need to know. Is there a word for words which only ever appear in conjunction with another? Like "serried". Nothing is ever serried except ranks.

Comments

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

I think I've heard the phrase "weak and wambly" before, but would probably not have known the word "wambly" out of context.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Since I was using it to describe weak, over-milky tea at the time I was last challenged I may have been pushing the envelope on usage as it was :)

[(Anonymous)]

Want to answer, "I've heard the word, probably from your blog, but can't remember what it means," to the first question. - from Jeanette.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you missed the above-mentioned kerfuffle, but it resulted in Jamie demanding to know if swithering was dithering with a sword :)

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

I think there's a lot more swithering north of the border. Probably the weather and the dark winter nights.

'Havering' is a verb that I never actually use, for fear of being misunderstood: some people think it means swithering, some people think it means blithering, and some people think it means Romford.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I always think of swithering as being vacillating between two equally appealing alternatives, where havering is generalised vacillating. Specifically, vacillating generalisedly when there isn't time for such things. I suspect that's my own distinction, though. And I never understood why someone promising to be the man who was havering to me was meant to be appealing.

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

I've always heard 'havering' in a context that made it synonymous with 'swithering' (with added indecision), which made the line venta refers to rather confusing to me.

(I was brought up in Blairgowrie, in case you have ambitions of creating a map of havering interpretations)

[mansunite.livejournal.com]

Yay for the use of swithering!
I've not heard of 'wambly' before though - seems to be a bastardisation of "wobbly amble". Also, I always knew the phrase as "weak and wimbly"... hmmm *ponder*

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Another one here for "weak and wimbly" - I would have recognised that version straight away.