A note about The Cuddlywumps Chronicles

This blog is written and maintained by Miss Cuddlywumps, a fluffy-tailed calico cat who is both classically educated and familiar with mysteries. She receives creative input from the Real Cats and clerical assistance from She of Little Talent (old SoLT, a.k.a. Roby Sweet). Comments or complaints should be addressed to Miss C rather than to old SoLt (Ms. Sweet). Ms. Sweet accepts no responsibility for Miss C's opinions.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Words with Webster: Remember, Plus Friendly Fill-Ins

We have two fun Friday features for you today. First up is Real Cat Webster, who has a memorable cat word to share. After that, it’s on to Friendly Fill-Ins!

Words with WebsterWords with Webster

 Hi, all! It’s me, Real Cat Webster. Welcome to Words with Me. Our word this week is “remember” (something Mommy doesn’t do so good anymore). To start learning about this word, first I went to my favorite dictionary (Merriam-Webster’s), which said that to remember is “to have (a notion or idea) come into the mind again as previously perceived, known, or felt : have a renewed apprehension of : bring to mind again : think of again.”

Boy, sometimes it takes a lot of words to say what one very common word means, doesn’t it?

Next I went to the Oxford English Dictionary, where I learned that “remember” has been around in English for a long time—since at least around 1350, when it made its first known appearance in print. I also learned that “remember” has a whole bunch of different meanings that are all sort of the same but just a little bit different. I won’t tell you all of them, but the first one in the OED is “to recollect; to think about, reflect on … (a) with reflexive pronoun and ‘of’ or ‘on.’” Like this:

Remembre yow vp on the pacient Iob. (ca. 1390-1405, Chaucer, Melibeus)

I guess that means something like “Think about the patient Job” (but then, with Chaucer it’s always kind of hard to tell). Anyway, I thought we should skip a whole bunch of stuff like this and get to the meaning we all remember (that’s a joke!). Here’s an example of that, from the 15th century:

Euer I shal remembre the grace whiche thou hast done to me. (1484, William Caxton tr. The subtyl historyes and fables of Esope, of Auyan, Alfonse, and Poge, i. xviii)

Next, I went to the Online Etymology Dictionary and found out that English got “remember” from Old French (remembrer), which got it from Latin (rememorari, “recall to mind"). So I guess people have been remembering things for a really long time!


You have probably been wondering all this time why I am even doing this word, because it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with cats, right? Well, I am doing it because next Thursday is Remember Me Thursday, a special day set aside to remember the rescue pets who’ve touched your life, and all those who are still waiting for their forever homes, and most importantly, those who, sadly, never got rescued.

Orange cat crying in shelter cage
We are telling you all about "remember" to help you remember cats like this one,
who are in shelters and desperately want to find a forever home.
Photo by Robert Hoetink, via Adobe Stock.


I’m a rescue! My family rescued me from being sent to a shelter when their neighbors didn’t want me anymore. Can you believe someone didn’t want me? Crazy, right? Just think of all the great cats who are just as friendly and handsome and smart as I am, only they’re stuck in shelters without a special person to love them, and a lot of them will die in the shelter. It’s sad and upsetting, right? That’s why we have to do something. So we encourage everyone to get ready to use today’s word and Remember the Rescue on Thursday, September 28, 2017!


I write to save lives--#RememberTheRescue

Use #RememberTheRescue and #RememberMeThursday on social media. And don’t forget to enter the photo contest. Just share a pic of your rescue pet on Twitter or Instagram with #RememberTheRescue and #RememberMeThursday, and you could win a prize package for the pet rescue of your choice.


Friendly Fill-Ins

Friendly Fill-InsAnd now it’s time for Friendly Fill-Ins, from 15andmeowing and McGuffy’s Reader. They are a fun way to learn a little bit about the authors of the blogs you read. The first two questions, answered by Old SoLT this week, are from Ellen of 15andmeowing, and the next two, answered by Real Cat Paisley, are from Annie of McGuffy’s Reader.

Old SoLT's answers:
1. I would never be friends with someone who doesn’t like animals, specifically cats. Seriously, I’ve tried being friends with people who don’t like cats, and it just doesn’t work out, because those people almost always turn out to be jerks.

2. I will never refuse to help someone when I can.

Real Cat Paisley's answers:
3. I have never been to Timbuktu, but I don’t care because I’m happy in my home. I wish I could have a catio though.

4. When it comes to dogs, I just say NO.

8 comments:

  1. I agree with SoLT on 1 and 2. It takes so little to make others' lives easier and yet many people are just completely selfish.

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  2. Remember Me Thursday is so, so important. I couldn't agree with you more on #1 (I have family that doesn't love cats and I try to avoid them LOL) and Mudpie wants a catio too, Paisley.

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  3. Good ol' Chaucer! I find it hilarious that The Hubby remembers things completely differently from how it actually went down...like he 'remembers' that he came up with Patty O'Malley's name, when he was calling the cat 'Tiger' and I was the one who trapped him just after St. Patrick's Day, and named him while filling out his neuter paperwork!

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  4. Great reminder for Remember me Thursday. Thank you for participating in the fill-ins, great answers from both of you. I completely agree with #1. Have a nice weekend!

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  5. We will be there all this coming week on #RememberMeThursday!

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  6. I agree, we should always help someone when it is in our power to do so. Have a great week.

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  7. First, I just read your About SoLT page. What a great page! And, I loved the rminder here about Remembering those needing homes. The orphaned kittens I foster are usually for shelters or rescues. They pass briefly through shelters. Sometimes, their mother does, too. I get kittens who cannot be mothered by thrir biological one. It breaks my heart, and then they put it back togther when they go into forever homes. Thank you. We all need help at times, so it is important to keep that in mind...and then to pay that forward in some way. Paisley, we have never been to Timbuktu, either. We hope to get a catio when we move up North! If you met Stella, you would change your mind about dogs. Cats LOVE her, no matter their age. She actually belongs to Chloe Jo...or so, Chloe Jo thinks. We just let her think it, too. HUGS!

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  8. Will knowing "remember"'s true meaning help us to do it better? We sure hope so. But we will always remember that there are so many pets out there in need of happy homes.

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