Irv in Putnam Station, New York, recalls his mother used to refer to a dismal, rainy day as a lowry, or lowery, day. What she probably meant is lowering, which describes a dark, foreboding sky, and may derive from a Germanic word that has to do with frowning. This is part of a complete episode.
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A Winter Dictionary (Bookshop|Amazon) by Paul Anthony Jones includes some words to lift your spirits. The verb whicken involves the lengthening of days in springtime, a variant of quicken, meaning “come to life.” Another word, breard, is...
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