Plodge, hirple & clunt

Fancy popping out for one of these?

NOT A DODGY law firm, but some of the wonderful words for walking that have fallen out of common use. Plodge means to wade through mud, hirple is something between a walk and a crawl, and clunt is to walk in a heavy, noisy manner. If you’re reading this magazine you’re probably walkative (inclined to walk) or possibly even an over-walker

(a person who walks too much). Maybe you like to scoterlope (bound or skip) or aerobate (walk as if on air), while others trampoose (trudge),

slumper (flounder on muddy roads) and widdle-waddle (walk unsteadily). There are lots of ways to ambulate: obambulate means to wander here and there; anteambulate to walk in front of someone in the manner of an usher; and redambulate to walk back. Whether you like to stroam

(walk with long strides), bummel (stroll in a leisurely way) or stravaig (wander about aimlessly), there’s a word – and a walk – for you.

CALL MY BLUFF Does scoterlope mean a) to slide down a hill on your behind b) to bound or skip along c) to get stuck in a snow drift? (See above for answer.) Turn to page 123 to discover The Meaning of Liff (well, Uckfield, Attermire and Otterburn anyway).