•January 17, 2024•

I once came across the word “upbraid” in my readings and smiled because teenage me saw this word differently.

I confess that many years ago when I first saw the word completely out of context I thought it was a noun used to describe a popular hairstsyle often found in weddings. Think up-do.

This was before “Star Wars” burst on the scene, mind you, but if you consider Princess Leia’s unusual coiffure, which resembled two enormous Cinnabons affixed bilaterally to her scalp, that’s what I envisioned an upbraid to be.

I’m not sure when I learned that it is a verb to describe scolding. Perhaps a learned person such as my father heard me misuse the word and upbraided me for misinterpreting “upbraid.”

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