As a word nerd, I'm always thrilled when I can introduce a word to readers that they might not have heard before. Last week, several readers contacted me about "zhuzh" (which our editing system's spellcheck feature did not like): "Don't like history because it accurately describes something your favored group did? Rewrite it and just zhuzh it up so your guys look better."

Merriam-Webster (my favorite social-media-savvy dictionary) defines it as "a small improvement, adjustment, or addition that completes the overall look, taste, etc., of something" as a noun, and as a verb, "to improve in flavor or appearance by way of a small improvement, adjustment, or addition--often used with up."

The word's etymology is fuzzy, with various accounts attributing it to Romani, Yiddish and British gay origin. But its origin doesn't matter to me because it's fun to say. Need I remind you of my love for words like persnickety, tump, kerfuffle and discombobulate?

The usual trolls, of course, landed on different words, not being fans of whimsy (not sure what whimsy and Dr. Anthony Fauci being grilled in Congress by Rand Paul have to do with each other, but you do you, Pack). "Neurodivergent" seemed to set off a few who apparently think I made it up.

Hey, if I'm going to make up words, they're going to be fun ones, and neurodivergence is not fun. It's an umbrella term, not a medical one, that according to Cleveland........

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