“Have you heard the latest goodies from the grapevine?” Jane teased with a twinkle in her eye.
Young Woman with Hat and Grapes by Pierre van Hanselaere, 1820, via Wikimedia Commons
Sally shrugged.
Yolanda yawned.
But Nosy Nellie just had to know. She sidled up to Jane with her ears practically pleading. She couldn’t wait to gather the gossip and nosh on the natter …
Quiz:
Knowing what you now know about natter-noshing Nosy Nellie, you might refer to her as which of the following?
- A zymurgist
- A shadcan
- A quidnunc
Sufficiently stumped?
Well, while Nosy Nellie may, indeed, study fermentation in the processes of brewing and distillation (zymurgist) or perform matchmaking in the old Hebrew style (shadcan), the most apropos label for the lady in this situation would be “quidnunc,” someone who is eager to know the latest news and gossip; a busybody.
Yep, I was sufficiently stumped! What a cool word because I bet very few people would know what it meant. For that matter, all three words were new to me!
My first guess was number 3. Yay!
I love your word quizzes, thank you very much for doing them. 🙂
Zymurgist, shadcan, quidnunc. Wouldn’t you know the correct answer is the one that is the most challenging for me to pronounce. I always wanted to speak another language. Since I’m having so much trouble with this one, I’m rethinking.