A snapshot of my current list of situations and emotions that we surely need a word for (I’d welcome your suggestions too): greatbigstory.com/su…

Word of the day is ‘fudgel’ (18th century): to make a big show of working hard whilst actually doing very little.

It was a treat to chat on @BBCBreakfast this morning about local dialects and the words that define us, from barm cakes to chuggy pigs. Which words or expressions transport you immediately back home?

I love how the word 'atone' wears its heart on its sleeve. It began as 'at one', because to atone is to bring back unity. Atonement is really 'at-one-ment'. In the same way, 'alone' began as 'all one'.

Etymology of the day: the name of the Canary Islands didn’t begin with the canary bird. Instead it’s thought that the Latin ‘canaria insula’ described the ‘island of dogs’, because one of the islands had a large population of wild dogs. Which would mean that the archipelago’s…