Tag Archives: interest-pets

  1. puppy football

    “Pup-ular” Words to Use During the Doggone Puppy Bowl

    Each winter, sports fans gear up for the biggest football event of the year. Meanwhile, animal fans anticipate watching the Puppy Bowl. Team Ruff tangles with Team Fluff for all the marbles. Or all the kibble, if you will. Prepare yourself for the ultimate puppy showdown with some phrases inspired by man’s best friend. Many dog references have made their way into everyday speech. For …

  2. Where Do The Words For Our Pets Come From?

  3. Fantastic Beasts That Can Be Found In The Dictionary

  4. Words You Didn’t Know Were Inspired By Animals

    Did you know that the word "muscle" is derived from the Latin word for “mouse?” And this isn't the only word in the English language that is unexpectedly inspired by animals.

  5. Puppy Love And Other Animal-inspired Phrases

    We often attribute emotions and other human characteristics to animals. This is called anthropomorphism. Similarly, we also describe people using animal characteristics. You might, for example, say my teenage son “eats like a horse,” meaning he’s a growing boy and consumes a lot of food. This is called zoomorphism. Zoomorphism also includes assigning animal-like qualities to gods and inanimate objects. The term comes from the Greek …

  6. Foxy, Catty, Fishy: Traits for Animals or Humans?

    Catty It seems horribly unfair to adorable cats that catty is a human descriptor meaning “devious or spiteful” (and usually in reference to female behavior). What gives? The word cat has been around since the year 700. But then, in the Middle Ages, cat became one of the many offensive terms against women and was slang for “prostitute.” The association might have been made because …

  7. Villainous Pets We Love To Hate

  8. Negative Or Positive Reinforcement: Which Is Better?

    Negative reinforcement vs. positive reinforcement Most people think that positive reinforcement means to lavish praise or encouragement, and that is a good part of its essence, but not all of it. What is negative reinforcement, then? Is that about withholding praise? Scolding? Admonishing? Positive reinforcement is actually something we’re all pretty familiar with. When you were a kid, did you get a weekly allowance for …

  9. lifewithcats.tv

    You Can’t Be A “Cat Lady” Without These Words

  10. Woof, Blaf, Or Voff? How Animals Speak Across The World

  11. 12 Strange Names For Baby Animals

  12. Do Dogs Actually Understand Human Language?

    Anyone who has ever seen their dog hop to attention when they used the word “treat” knows that dogs obviously understand the same words as humans. But is it accurate to say that animals use language? Man’s best friend is hardly the only animal capable of amazing humans with communication skills. Extensive studies using gestural communication (sign language) explore the cognitive potential in the great apes. …