Serving English, Family Style

Readers responded to my recent request for insider terms used among family members with a wide array of delightful examples.

When Alice Robinson's little boys forgot to zip their flies, she would say, "xyz" ("examine your zipper"), while Mary Enright coined "wofm" ("watch out for mom"). The Vance family calls the soupy mix in the refrigerator crisper "bacteria soup."

Bryan Kennedy's family dubbed the last, lonely ornament left on a Christmas tree a "forlornament." Lynn Crane's lexi-"kin" includes "gushel" — to spread the branches of an artificial Christmas tree to cover the empty spaces.

Tricia warned her toddler son not to touch electrical outlets by saying, "That will bite you," and now, at age 25, he still refers to them as "bite-yous." When Michel's children behaved badly, he would ask, "Are you opening a laundry?" because the kids were "pressing" their luck.

In Susan Lawson's family, the crusty particles that form in the eyes during sleep are "sleep seeds," while in Elizabeth Jenison's family they're "sleepies." The Kolb family calls a lint ball between the toes a "wuzzy." Henry McNulty's family saves the heels of bread loaves for the ducks, so they call these crusty ends "duckies."

Maureen Scheuermann refers to nephews and nieces as "gratlings," while Phyllis Emigh calls them "niblings." In Henry Chase's house, a combination of rain and mist is "mizzle," while the Fauls family refers to police radar as "speedar." Walter Schloss's dad called a piece of bread or toast with egg yolk on it "dunkein."

In Terry Cady's family, a cat looking down at your food like a vulture is "vulching." Rani Stoddard's family refers to pets as "varmentia," and her husband, Glenn, is a "jive onion" because "he's a rapscallion." Sara Varney's son Ryan has coined "lapkin" for "napkin."

In Joe and Nancy's clan, potato chips are "beeps," and Sue Tanner's family has named its big green trash barrel "Godzilla." In Carl Schaefer's household the little flash of light that dances around the room when reflected off of a watch crystal is a "jackie." "I think it's named for my father (Jack Schaefer)," he writes.

Kate Gurtowsky's daughter refers derisively to meals made by throwing together leftovers as "replacement meals." And when someone in Sharon Matz's family starts telling embarrassing stories, people yell, "Statdazita" — "our crazy interpretation," she reports, "of the Italian phrase 'chiudere il becco' (to shut up)."

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to [e-mail] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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