8 April 2014

flibbertigibbet 

[flib-er-tee-jib-it]

noun

1. a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. ‘She’s such a flibbertigibbet’.
2. Archaic. a gossip. ‘The office flibbertigibbets had a field day’.

Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English flepergebet, flipergebet; reduplicative compound of obscure origin

Anagram

Fibber Giblet Bit
Ebb Fibre Big Tilt

Today’s aphorism

I’m the only man in the world with a marriage licence made out to whom it may concern.

– Mickey Rooney

On this day

8 April 1947 – birth of Larry Norman, of Larry Norman, pioneering Christian rock musician.

8 April 1861 – death of Elisha Graves Otis, American industrialist and founder of the Otis Elevator Company. In 1854, he put the finishing touches to his signature invention: a safety device to prevent elevators falling if the cable fails.