I use the word mewl a lot when I’m upset over something.
Finally, a friend asked, what the hell does mewl mean exactly?
Sometimes my affair with language gets out of hand, without me realizing I may sound slightly smug or snooty. Never the case, but when you read as much as I do, you pick up vernacular that lingers in your mouth.
Mewl: verb…cry feebly… to whine…whimper, moan and wail. Bleat, bawl, squeal and yelp…to be fretful, irritable, testy and cross.
A personal howl at the moon.
Think of a dog when it’s hurt, or a baby tiring itself out in its crib.
There are no words, just the primitive, residing in any species with a heartbeat.
Makes you wonder, do fish mewl? Turtles? Bumblebees? Those water bugs bebopping from under the fridge?
I’m voting yes.
To mewl is to express, to make our feelings known.
A lot can be said, for having a good old-fashioned mewl.
How’s that? 🙂
SB
I like the howl at the moon choice. Mewling seems a little understated.
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I’m a mewler, from way back.
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Hahaha. I’ll bet your method is more effective.
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I don’t know, but I sure know how to clear a room.
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For me, a mewl is closer to a whine; howling at the moon, as John said, is a much more satisfying letting out!
Funny how your friend had never heard the word. Mewl sounds so close to the sound a kitty makes 😉
Happy Friday to you!
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To you too. Remember, people don’t read the way that we do so words, escape them. sigh
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True ’nuff!
Sometimes I am surprised by what words are unknown – even by avid readers. Interesting.
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Because mewl, for instance, isn’t a word you hear. It’s not random jargon. But you see it in print. I do all the time. But I’m a serial reader. What can I say. I’m addicted to the written word. Better than smack. 🙂
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I hear ya.
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Susannah, I know what you mean about uncommon or little used words popping into a reader’s speech. Long live expressive words.
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Yes, long live language. 🙂
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Fish mewl. Of this there is no doubt.
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Nice play on words. 🙂
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I will listen harder.
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They are extremely quiet, particularly when mewling. Fish are introverts, you know.
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They must read. 🙂
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It’s a very expressive word. I always love your posts about words.
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Haven’t done one in a while. Like them too. Thanks.
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I used to be a werewolf but I’m alright noooooooooooooooooow!
Isn’t a pair of lungs a prerequisite for mewling? Sorry to be pedantic. 😉
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Poetic license my Friend…gift to the writer. Remember when you used to be one? 🙂
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To mewl, perchance to scream . . with nuance.
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That should be sent to Webster’s, for consideration. 🙂
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Do they accept unsolicited stuff? If not, Imma send it. 🙂
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Well, if it makes the Melville File that’s just as good, if not better.
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We do so agree on this point.
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I love words. Love learning new ones. And new phrasing. Read in an old novel…if someone came a callin, and you weren’t awake yet, whomever answered the door would say…he hasn’t been called yet. In other words, you were still sleeping. An English expression.
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I love the archaeological digs you go on, in search of words.
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They pop up, like dandelions.
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That’s apt.
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Love the word apt…it’s so…apt.
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Three letters, they pack a punch though.
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I love brevity of any kind. Such an art.
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It’s next to Godliness.
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Thank you, Grasshopper! Just another tidbit for my knowledge bank.
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I always laugh when you call me that.
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I’m reading/listeing to the book The Lies Your Teacher Taught You … GIRL, the narrator’s voice is slowly killing me, but the information is mind blowing. No doubt Grasshopper would have made this much more interesting!
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You flatter Grasshopper.
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