If your handwriting leaves something to be desired, you could apologize for your chicken scratchings. But there’s a more precise term: griffonage, which has nothing to do with the mythical griffin, though the two sound alike. Griffonage comes from the French griffonner, meaning “to scribble or scrawl,” and is possibly related to griffe, the French word for “claw.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “What “Griffonage” Means: A Precise Word for Bad Handwriting”
If you have less than exemplary handwriting, you might apologize to people for your chicken scratching, but you could also apologize for your griffinage.
Oh, griffinage.
I hear a little French in there.
You do indeed.
Yes, it has nothing to do with the mythical beast that’s spelled g r I f f I n.
Griffinage has an o instead of that second I.
And you’re right, it comes from the French griffonner, which means to scribble or scrawl, and it’s possibly related to the word for claw, grief.
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
G R I F F O N A G E, griffonage.
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