MotherReader

Today’s two-word weather forecast in the Washington Post was snow squall. Okaaay. I had no idea how to prepare for that. I wasn’t even sure what it meant. Was there truly going to be something different about the possibility of snow such that the word snow alone was not sufficient? Or even snow showers?

I am now given to understand that this is fairly common for the Northeast, but here in Virginia we don’t get snow squalls. When I told my husband, he was surprised by the forecast description as well. He thought it sounded like some kind of small Arctic mammal. “Oh, look, a snow squall.” I was more inclined to think of as a band name — as I think of everything, my current favorite being Cosmetic Puffs — or even a disease. “I can’t shake your hand. I’ve got squalls.”

As it turns out, I drove through the snow squall on my way home from work. It’s a whirling dervish of snow. Now why didn’t they just say that in the Post? Which brings me to my point. Kind of. Over at Defective Yeti is a little challenge to take an old cliché and make it fresh. For instance ready and willing becomes on it like a bonnet. Did I perk the interest of any wordplay-type folk? Check it out here. He said that he would post them on Friday, but there still may be time to submit something special. Oh, he has a link to an abundance of clichés if you should need some inspiration.