Attack of the tuneless earworm

I’m quite often under attack by the earworm. You know the one – he usually brings music to your ears but not in a good way. He’ll sneak in and, before you know it Twenty Love-sick Maidens We, Agadoo, doo, doo or Do The Shake N Vac is on some kind of hellish loop.

What’s been happening of late, though, is that the worm is bringing words or tiny phrases into my head. It’s most peculiar.
Here are the latest.

Ornery – stubborn, vile tempered or low. For example, I was in an ornery mood when I told the baby it was time he sorted out his own milk.

Redacted – which mostly means a political kind of crossing out where all the interesting bits are missing. It also means to edit or prepare for publication. I’ve come across it most in information arriving under freedom of information requests.

Didactic – with a message or teaching. For instance, my didactic lecture about avoidance of vegetables fell, with many of its sister lectures, on deaf ears.

Sidewinder – nothing to do with sides or winding but is, in fact, either an American snake or an untrustworthy person. That honest politician is a bit of a sidewinder, isn’t he?

Jukebox musical – one of those shows that takes a collection of cracking songs (usually from one artist) and lashes them together with an approximate and flimsy plot. Mama Mia is an excellent example and We Will Rock You isn’t.

Picture: Smithsonian