Inject some comedy into everyday conversation. Dictomancy - Everyday Wordplay is a Wednesday blog series that features rare, bizarre, and absurd words and their meanings. Work one of these words into your day and spark some laughter and curiosity!
Bellschnickel - n, Also Pelznickel. St. Nicholas, Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas’s servant whose duty it was to punish naughty children or reward good ones. A person in disguise who visits friends or relatives at Christmas time to play pranks or beg for gifts or refreshments.
One definition even describes Bellschnickel as, “A masked and hideously disguised person, who goes from house to house on Christmas Eve, beating (or pretending to beat) the children and servants, and throwing down nuts and cakes before leaving.”
“Let’s take the kids to the mall and see Bellschnickel.”
“You want Bellschnickel to send you coal this year?”
“I’ll go Bellschnickel on you.”
“Officer, he was dressed like Bellschnickel and he threw our candy dishes on the floor.”
Please share and comment on today’s Dictomancy and feel free to post your uses for the words in a positive, lighthearted way. Audience participation makes Everyday Wordplay hilarious!
Works Cited
Cassidy, Frederic G. Chief Editor. Dictionary Of American Regional English. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1985. Print.