shivaree: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Have an iPhone or iPod touch? Leave that heavy book on the shelf. Get Dictionary.com's app
Word of the Day for Tuesday, May 25, 2010 shivaree \SHIV-uh-ree\, noun: 1. A mock serenade with kettles, pans, horns, and other noisemakers given for a newly married couple. 2. An elaborate, noisy celebration. verb: 1. To serenade with a shivaree. I used to attend shivarees and I can remember the preparation and planning involved. -- "Of pigs, jokes, and marriage." Lawrence World-Journal. When my father got married (yes that was the 50's) his male relatives pulled a "shivaree," where they set up all kinds of surprises for the newly married couple to find on their wedding night. This included the typical short sheeting of the wedding bed, changing the content of the groom's shaving cream can, and other gags. -- Isaac Grant Thompson, Irving Browne, Kentucky Folklore Record. Shivaree is an adaptation of the French word charivari, which describes an old custom that celebrates a marriage. Shivaree is centered along the Mississippi. Read the full entry | See synonyms | Comment on today's word | Suggest tomorrow's word Yesterday's word | Previous words | Help
Attention, BlackBerry smartphone users! Looking for a power word to use in your presentation? Get our new app designed especially for you
Dictionary.com Word of the Day http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/ You are currently subscribed to Dictionary.com Word of the Day as: dummyposting@gmail.com Unsubscribe To subscribe to Word of the Day by email, please send a blank message to: join-wordoftheday@lists.lexico.com ©2010 by Dictionary.com, LLC. 555 12th Street Suite 500 Oakland CA 94607 Subscriptions to The Word of the Day can be turned on and off via the Web at http://www.dictionary.com/help/faq/wordoftheday/   Tell a friend about The Word of the Day!