Cold Snap

Eight cold-weather words, and every way to know them warm.

Meet each word one at a time, then take the quiz to lock them in.

1. 1 blizzard noun
2. 2 frost noun
3. 3 huddle verb
4. 4 vanish verb
5. 5 bitter adjective
6. 6 gleaming adjective
7. 7 swiftly adverb
8. 8 silently adverb

Nelson's word

noun

Blizzard. A noun. I file it under the worst of the winter storms: heavy snow, and a strong wind that drives it sideways. A blizzard is not a light flurry. It is snow so thick you cannot see the house next door. When the town closes school and everyone stays inside, a blizzard is often the reason. State it precisely: a blizzard is a heavy snowstorm with a strong wind.

The blizzard buried the whole street in deep white snow.

Nelson's word

noun

Frost. A careful word, because it does two jobs. As a noun, and this is the one I file, frost is the thin white ice that forms on cold surfaces overnight: on the grass, on the window, on the roof of the car. But the very same word can be a verb. Ice crystals frost the window overnight, and now frost is an action, which is Vinny's job, not mine. Same spelling, two hats. We sort the hats in Practice. For now, file the noun: frost, the thin white ice on a cold morning.

A thick morning frost covered the grass in silver.

Vinny's word

verb

Huddle! When the cold bites and the wind howls, you do not stand apart. You crowd in close, shoulder to shoulder, and you HUDDLE for warmth! When the penguins huddle, they press together and share their heat, and not one of them freezes. That is the verb, and it is mine, and it takes a team: nobody huddles alone. Cold outside? Huddle up, and beat it together.

The penguins huddle together against the freezing wind.

Vinny's word

verb

Vanish! Here one second, GONE the next! To vanish is to disappear all at once, like a snowflake that lands on your warm hand and melts before you can look at it. When the sun sets, the daylight seems to vanish, and the cold rushes in. That is the verb, and it is mine, and it is quick as a blink. Watch a thing closely, and if it vanishes, it did not walk away. It disappeared.

The snowflakes vanish the moment they touch my warm hand.

Jake's word

adjective

Bitter. Oh, this is a sharp one, and it is mine. As an adjective, bitter describes cold that hurts: a bitter wind that stings your cheeks and bites your fingers. It is not a soft, gentle cold. It is cold with an edge. Its Frown is mild, the easy cold you barely feel. Could we be more specific than saying the wind was cold? We could say it was bitter, and let the reader feel the sting. Magnifique.

A bitter wind stung her cheeks the moment she stepped outside.

Jake's word

adjective

Gleaming. A bright one, and mine. As an adjective, gleaming describes a thing that shines brightly: gleaming icicles, gleaming ice on the pond, gleaming snow when the sun hits it just right. It catches the light and throws it back at you. Its Frown is dull, the thing with no shine at all. Could we be more specific than saying the ice looked pretty? We could say it was gleaming, and the reader will nearly need to shade their eyes.

The gleaming icicles caught the morning sun and threw it back.

Benny's word

adverb

Swiftly. This one is mine, an adverb, and it tells you HOW something happens: in a fast way. The sled races swiftly down the hill, quick as a wink. Hear that tail on the end, that little -ly? Take the adjective swift, meaning fast, add -ly, and you get swiftly, which means done in a fast way. That is how a lot of adverbs are built: an adjective plus -ly. You can do this yourself, and here is how. Softly, quietly, swiftly, all cut from the same cloth.

The sled raced swiftly down the icy hill.

Benny's word

adverb

Silently. Mine, an adverb, and a soft one. It tells you how something happens: with no sound at all. The snow falls silently all night long, and not a single flake makes a noise. Its Frown is loudly, the way a thunderstorm arrives. Snow is the quiet kind of weather, and silently is the word that says so. Could you tell me how the snow fell? Do not just say it fell. Say it fell silently, and I will hear the hush. You can do better than plain, and that is how.

The snow fell silently all through the night.