Blogging Insights — Unusual Words

Posted on June 28, 2021 by pensitivity101

Dr Tanya is our host for Blogging Insights. You can find out more and join in here

TODAY’S QUESTION

When you use a word/term that you think your readers might not know do you think you should add a link to it, or is it a better idea to let people find out on their own?

Ah, I hold my hand up to assuming people know.
Being a Brit, some of our terminology is somewhat different to those of my American readers. Hood/bonnet, trunk/boot on cars are a given, but I have been caught out several times and been asked what was meant by ‘roof’ when I was referring to our attic/loft or more recently ‘hair slide’ for a clasp to hold my hair back in a pony tail.  I use to make hair bands at school for my friends, which I believe is known as an Alice Band across The Pond.
If my readers might be confused about something, I either try to explain what it is in my post, or respond should they ask in the comments.
On the other hand, there are some things I read in other bloggers’ posts that I look up.
Some are words I literally have never heard of, or I am trying to find alternative meanings for them for something I;m trying to write.

As for links, I think that is up to the individual, both writer and reader. A link to a dictionary could seem a bit rude but if I’m writing about something and there is an interesting story behind it, I may include a link then, but not usually for a single word.

Advertisement

About pensitivity101

I am a retired number cruncher with a vivid imagination and wacky sense of humour which extends to short stories and poetry. I love to cook and am a bit of a dog whisperer as I get on better with them than people sometimes! In November 2020, we lost our beloved Maggie who adopted us as a 7 week old pup in March 2005. We decided to have a photo put on canvas as we had for her predecessor Barney. We now have three pictures of our fur babies on the wall as we found a snapshot of Kizzy, my GSD when Hubby and I first met so had hers done too. On February 24th 2022 we were blessed to find Maya, a 13 week old GSD pup who has made her own place in our hearts. You can follow our training methods, photos and her growth in my blog posts. From 2014 to 2017 'Home' was a 41 foot narrow boat where we made strong friendships both on and off the water. We were close to nature enjoying swan and duck families for neighbours, and it was a fascinating chapter in our lives. We now reside in a small bungalow on the Lincolnshire coast where we have forged new friendships and interests.
This entry was posted in blogging, questions and answers and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

10 Responses to Blogging Insights — Unusual Words

  1. Sadje says:
    June 28, 2021 at 3:58 pm

    Same here Di.

  2. larry trasciatti says:
    June 28, 2021 at 5:08 pm

    I live in New York. An English woman who’s in charge of the soup kitchen I go to once asked me to get her a trolley. Here, that’s our word for type of public transportation. We call what she wanted a shopping cart.

  3. lssattitudeofgratitude says:
    June 28, 2021 at 6:17 pm

    I figure if I can’t make something out using context clues, I ask in the comments. I hope the writer gets that I want to understand their post.

  4. murisopsis says:
    June 29, 2021 at 4:59 am

    I do think most of the time I can figure it out from context but it is always nice to have an footnote or a link if clarification is necessary… Of course I’m never shy about asking for a definition! I’ve learned so many interesting things just by asking!!

  5. drtanya@saltedcaramel says:
    June 30, 2021 at 3:29 am

    I think you have summed up the whole issue beautifully in the last paragraph.

Comments are closed.