I hope you enjoy this post and don’t suffer from ombrophobia (a fear of rain), because it’s raining words today.
Last week’s rain, found me looking for rain related words and I was amused to see an article in the BBC wondering if we had 50 words for rain. Apparently not, although there are many colloquial words for rain that are more regional and that we might not use around the world. Examples include: luttering down, siling down and plothering down.
When it comes to words that are rain-related, there seems to be no dearth of them. In fact, the dictionary is raining cats and dogs with such words.
Let me share a few ‘rainy’ words with you:
pluvial : adjective: relating to or characterized by rainfall
The boulders protected the softer rock beneath from pluvial erosion.
mizzle: noun: very light rain; stronger than mist but less than a shower verb: rain lightly
mizzly: adjective
I didn’t want to go out that grey, mizzly day.
petrichor : noun : A pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather
At the start of the monsoon season I look forward to experiencing the petrichor in the air.
astraphobia: noun : an abnormal fear of thunder and lightning.
The recent thunderstorms are very unsettling for sufferers of astraphobia —a fear of thunder and lightning.
Then there are some phrases and idioms in which the word ‘rain’ is used but they don’t refer to rain at all. Examples include:
come in out of the rain : show common sense – alluding to having enough sense to seek shelter, this hyperbolic phrase is often used in the negative.
Peter doesn’t know enough to come in out of the rain.
right as rain : in good order or good health
She was very ill, but she’s right as rain now.
it never rains but it pours : When something occurs it often does so to excess
We had my parents visiting and my cousins came soon after, followed by friends – it never rains but it pours.
rain on one’s parade : spoil one’s plans
The opposition party tried hard to rain on the President’s parade, but he has gone ahead with his plans.
raincheck/ rain check : an offered or proposed postponement of an invitation for a future undefined date.
He asked me out for lunch, but with the project deadline coming up, I told him I’d take a rain check on his invitation.
Now I’d love if you came up with your own list of rain-related words and phrases. Do share some of your favourites.
That’s a great list of words and phrases about rain. I read the word petrichor many times but thought it is an Indian word, don’t know why. I feel something Indian when I say that word.
Jolly post to set us up for the weekend.
‘The rain in Spain lies mainly on the plain.’ Not the best but it’s the best I could come up with.