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<\/a>Use Elizabethan Terms of Endearment for Your Significant Other<\/strong><\/p>\n- \n
- Lambkin<\/b>\u00a0– used lovingly to refer to a person who is exceptionally sweet, young,\u00a0and innocent, this is the ultimate warm and fuzzy pet name.\u00a0In\u00a0Henry IV, Part 2,<\/i>\u00a0Pistol breaks\u00a0the news of the king\u2019s death with the following line: \u201cSir John, thy tender\u00a0lambkin\u00a0now is king.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Chuck<\/b>\u00a0– meaning roughly \u201cmy love,\u201d this nickname was\u00a0applied to husbands, wives, children, and dear friends. It comes from the Middle English\u00a0chuk<\/i>, a word that resembles\u00a0the sound of chicken clucking. In\u00a0Love\u2019s Labour Lost<\/i>, Shakespeare writes: \u201cSweet\u00a0chucks\u00a0\/ beat not the\u00a0bones of the buried.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Bawcock –\u00a0<\/b>Shakespeare was fond of this term, meaning \u201ca fine fellow.\u201d It comes to English directly from the French\u00a0beau\u00a0coc<\/i>\u00a0referring literally to \u201ca handsome rooster.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Duck<\/b>\u00a0– in\u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/i>, Shakespeare uses the term of endearment\u00a0duck<\/i>, meaning \u201cdear\u201d or \u201cdarling.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Ladybird<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Romeo & Juliet<\/i>\u00a0contains the first recorded use of\u00a0ladybird<\/i>\u00a0in English, when the nurse calls out to find Juliet: \u201cWhat, lamb! What,\u00a0ladybird… Where\u2019s this girl?\u201d The term of endearment refers to a close female friend or sweetheart. Within the next 100\u00a0years,\u00a0ladybird\u00a0took on the sense of \u201cbutterfly\u201d and \u201cladybug,\u201d the first of which is no longer in use, though the latter is still\u00a0used today.<\/li>\n
- Bully<\/b>\u00a0– in the mid-1500s, the term\u00a0bully<\/i>\u00a0affectionately referred to a good friend, or a sweetheart or darling. It was not until the late 1600s that the term\u00a0took on the negative sense that we know today.<\/li>\n
- Mouse<\/b>\u00a0– between the 16th and 19th centuries, people\u00a0sometimes used\u00a0mouse\u00a0as a term of endearment applied to women.\u00a0A similar sense of\u00a0mouse<\/i>\u00a0arose as American slang referring to a young woman in the early 1900s and is\u00a0still used today.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You can find complete etymologies and examples in literature here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Have Fun with Other Words<\/strong><\/p>\n
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- \u00a0Add -st to verbs, such as talk\u2019st, do\u2019st, laugh\u2019st, etc.<\/li>\n
- When stating your opinion, start with methinks<\/span>, mayhaps<\/span>, in sooth<\/span> or wherefore<\/span>.<\/span><\/li>\n
- “Pray tell” may be one of my favorite sayings for today.<\/li>\n
- Use “beseech” when asking kids to do their chores.<\/li>\n
- When they don’t do them, declare, “Fie on them!”<\/li>\n
- Say “aye” instead of “yes.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You can find a full cheat sheet of fun tips for Talk Like Shakepeare Day from Nebraska Shakespeare<\/a> here<\/a>. The insults cheat sheet here<\/a> is even better.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Learn What Your Shakespeare Slogan Is<\/strong><\/p>\n
There’s an online quiz for everything, and a quick, 6-question quiz<\/a> from the Chicago Shakespeare Company is perfect for today because it tell you what your Shakespeare slogan is. Mine was “No more cakes and ale?” Those who know me know that this is pretty much spot on.<\/p>\n
Write a Sonnet and Enter It in a Contest<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Shakespeare](\"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/4420738_f520-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nA sonnet is a 14 line poem made up of three quatrains and one couplet as the closer. It uses a specific rhyme scheme. Shakespeare wrote a whopping 154 sonnets ,with Sonnet 18<\/a> probably being the most recognizable today with the opening line “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”<\/p>\n
You can get more info on the structure of sonnets and enter the Nebraska Shakespeare contest, which has divisions for middle schoolers, high schoolers and adults, here. The deadline is May 11, 2015, so you’ve got some time.<\/p>\n
Watch Fun Videos<\/strong>
\nSome people have shared videos of how they have embraced Talk Like Shakespeare Day. Here’s one of many examples that you can find here:
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- Chuck<\/b>\u00a0– meaning roughly \u201cmy love,\u201d this nickname was\u00a0applied to husbands, wives, children, and dear friends. It comes from the Middle English\u00a0chuk<\/i>, a word that resembles\u00a0the sound of chicken clucking. In\u00a0Love\u2019s Labour Lost<\/i>, Shakespeare writes: \u201cSweet\u00a0chucks\u00a0\/ beat not the\u00a0bones of the buried.\u201d<\/li>\n