Zhaba Zhournal
Monday, May 05, 2003 
Dictionary fun 
Don't worry, I'm not going to start posting obscure words-of-the-day. But I do find this amusing. I did a search for "cardreader" in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged on-line (subscription only, so I'm not linking it); it wasn't included, but they gave me the following suggestion as a "similar word": "swartrutter." The entry for which is:
Main Entry: swart·rut·ter
Pronunciation: sw(r)t.rd.(r) [there's supposed to be some schwas in there but they didn't copy right]
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): -s
Etymology: alteration (influenced by Dutch swartrutter black rider) of German schwartze rotte, literally, black gang
: a member of any of various 16th and 17th century marauding bands in the Netherlands who blackened their faces and wore black garb
Their idea of a "similar word" is clearly not the same as mine...

Update, 01/20/04: Hey, why are so many people searching for "swartrutter"? I've gotten 16 search requests in the past four days—most of them from the UK, with one each from Australia, Canada, and the U.S. Did it show up on a quiz show, in a crossword puzzle, on a history program? If anyone knows, drop me a comment.

[ at 2:03 PM • by Abby • permalink •   ]


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