Words that whet one's curiosity, and a word quiz!

I've been distracted in recent blog entries from the stuff I really like to blog about. One is the origin of interesting words, the serendipitous discovery of new words, and the delightful uncovering of other meanings to familiar words.

Thanks to a link Nick sent me, I learnt something about the ampersand, that symbol we know as

&, or as unusually rendered here...

Did you know that it was once part of the English alphabet? The Guardian article below is a must-read on the origin of the ampersand as well as a coterie of other words!...

From A to Ampersand

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/feb/15/from-a-to-ampersand

Next, someone used the word "bloviate" to refer to Sarah Palin's oratory style. I like the definition and commentary given by the blog writer below:

Bloviate: 
talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way;
to speak pompously.

http://the-penultimate-word.com/2013/10/23/bloviate-to-speak-pompously/

Then there is the Biblical use of "cataracts", in Psalm 42:7... "Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me."

We know the usual meaning of cataracts is the medical condition whence the lens of the eye becomes clouded, thus impairing clear vision. My check showed up a less familiar meaning:

Cataract:
a large waterfall.
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Finally, Tom sent this word quiz below. Try it!

See if you can figure out what these seven words all have in common!





1. Banana
2. Dresser
3. Grammar
4. Potato
5. Revive
6. Uneven
7. Assess





Are you peeking or have you already given up?




Give it another try....




Look at each word carefully.




You'll kick yourself when you discover the answer. This is so good .....





No, it is not that they all have at least 2 double letters.  Answer is below!




Answer:


In all of the words listed, if you take the first letter, place it at the end of the word, and then spell the word backwards, it will be the same word. Did you figure it out? No? Then send this to more people and stump them as well.