alloparent
n.— «Where did the term “alloparent” to refer to the mother’s helpers come from? I was one of the first people back in the ’70s to write about the importance of conspecifics—members of the same species other than the mothers—rearing offspring, but at the time I was using the very technical primatological term “aunties and uncles.” And I was writing a paper in a seminar for Edward O. Wilson, and he said, “You know, Sarah, this won’t do.” And so it was actually Wilson who coined the term “alloparent,” because he felt we needed something a little more dignified than calling them “monkey aunts and uncles.”» —“You can never have too many mothers” by Julia Wallace Salon May 11, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Aubrey in Waco, Texas, says her mother used to warn the kids against contracting honkus of the bonkus, a fanciful name for a contagious disease. This colloquial term probably comes from the words bonk and konk, meaning “to hit” or...
Lucy in Louisa, Virginia, recalls that if her mother was exasperated when the kids were misbehaving, she’d announce I’m going to put you both in a wet paper bag and see who falls out first! This is part of a complete episode.
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