Word of the day: chaw

The word of today is chaw:

— verb (used with object), verb (usedwithout object), noun Dialect .

1. chew.

1530, unexplained phonetic variant of chew; the noun meaning "that which is chewed" (esp. a quid of tobacco) first recorded 1709.

"All the hair she had gathered at work would be gone by the next morning, and Ogechi had no choice but to strap the child to her back and allow it to chaw on her dwindling nape."

 - Lesley Nneka Arimah, "Who Will Greet You At Home", 26 October 2015 The New Yorker (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chaw)

Word of the day: raffia

The word of the day is raffia:

1. a fiber obtained from the leaves of the raffia palm, used for tying plants and other objects and for making mats, baskets, hats, and the like.

(1729, rofia, from Malagasy rafia. Modern form is attested from 1882; also raphia (1866).)

"Two basket weavers sat in the back row with woven raffia babies in their laps.  One had plain raffia streaked with blues and greens, while the other's baby was entirely red, and every passenger admired them."

 - Lesley Nneka Arimah, "Who Will Greet You At Home", 26 October 2015 The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/26/who-will-greet-you-at-home)

Word of the day: moin moin

The word of the day is moin moin:

Moimoi or Moyi-Moyi is a Nigerian steamed bean pudding made from a mixture of washed and peeled black-eyed peas, onions and fresh ground peppers (usually a combination of bell peppers and chili or scotch bonnet). It is a protein-rich food that is a staple in Nigeria. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moin_moin)

"Women like her had to form their children out of sturdier, more practical material to withstand the dents and scrapes they came with a life like hers.  Her mother had formed her from mud and twigs and wrapped her limbs tightly with leaves, like moin moin: pedestrian items that had produced a pedestrian girl."

 - Lesley Nneka Arimah, "Who Will Greet You At Home", 26 October 2015 The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/26/who-will-greet-you-at-home)

Word of the day: danfo

The word of the day is danfo:

Iconic yellow buses in Lagos (http://www.nairaland.com/2508658/10-type-nigerians-meet-danfo)

"Yarn had been a foolish choice, she knew, the stuff for women of leisure, who could cradle wool in the comfort of their own cars and in secure houses devoid of loose nails.  Not for an assistant hairdresser who took danfo to work if she had money, walked if she didn't, and lived in an 'apartment' that amounted to a room she could clear in three large steps."

 - Lesley Nneka Arimah, "Who Will Greet You At Home", 26 October 2015 The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/26/who-will-greet-you-at-home)