What's in a Name? Mucus is a great word, not only because it gives name to an important bodily function, but also because it is one of those words that simultaneously makes you
feel grossed out and giggly. Other words for this powerfully important human health tool include stime and phlegm Slang words for mucus include boogers and
snot. All of these words have the same giggle-power, simply from the combination of consonants and vowels. By the way, mucus is an old word, it's been around
since the mid-1600s and has roots back to Latin (mucere, to be moldy or musly) and Greek (myxa, mucus). While you may assume that words like snot and
boogers are relatively new slang terms, they are not Snot dates to 1560 and comes from an Old English word, gesnot, and has the same root as the word
shout. The word booger is not quite as old but has been in use since the 1890s
Read this sentence from the first paragraph of the main text:
Just the name itself will make you giggle
What purpose does the word giggle serve in this sentence?
Olt explains the text will focus on the names of bodily fluids
it implies the passage information will not be very important
It increases the connection to the discussion about bodily functions
It lets the reader know the tone may not be very serious