Wednesday 5 September 2012

a wicked witch

As you can see in the title to this blog entry, it's another ed-word I've selected for you: wicked.

Firstly, there is the past tense (or present perfect or past perfect) of a verb to wick - wicked. One of its meanings is described by the OED a) in its intransitive use as "to migrate by capillary action" and b) in its transitive use as "to absorb or draw off (liquid) through capillary action". Here's one sample sentence for each usage:
a) the material allows sweat to wick away from the body;
b) the fabric wicks moisture very quickly.

Secondly, there's the adjective wicked in the sense of 'having a wick' (= the piece of thread in a candle) as in
c) he used a double-wicked candle.

Thirdly, wicked can also be an adjective (and an adverb or noun) in the sense of 'behaving badly' as in
d) she's the typical wicked stepmother
or meaning 'very good' as in
e) this is a wicked bike.

The pronunciation of wicked varies with the meaning of the word. Try these:
  1. they sell two-wicked candles;
  2. he wrote a wicked book;
  3. the air wicked away the sweat that trickled down my body;
  4. Emmet had a wicked grin on his face;
  5. he's become one of the most wicked on the globe;
  6. the GoPro Hero HD is a wicked camera;
  7. I just bought a wicked new computer game;
  8. Okay, let's go to the beach now. - Wicked!;
  9. a double-wicked lamp gives more light;
credit: www.funshop.ch



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