Zero Zs
April 30, 2013
My theme for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge is contronyms. A contronym is a word with two or more opposite meanings, making it its own antonym. Click here to find out more about these quirky words.
 
Freya with the letter ZWe made it! We've reached the end of the A to Z Challenge! Unfortunately, I'll be finishing up not with a bang but a whimper because I could not find any contronyms for the letter Z on any of the lists I've collected. Zero. Zilch. Instead, I decided take the same approach I did with the letter K and pick a contronym with the letter Z in it somewhere. So I searched all my lists again, and it turns out there is only one contronym that contains the letter Z. Making it a slightly less pathetic pick, it actually has two Zs: puzzle.
 
Puzzle – to perplex, confuse, mystify (to pose a problem)
 
~ or ~
 
Puzzle – to solve by careful study or effort (to solve a problem)
 
My first year I was completely puzzled about why people would participate in something as time-consuming and draining as the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, but after meeting so many wonderful fellow bloggers, I have puzzled out why people come back year after year.
A to Z Challenge Puzzle
 
I hope you've had fun with the A to Z challenge. I had a blast learning about all the crazy contronyms out there. Thank you to all the people who stopped by for a visit! I've enjoyed getting to know all of you through your blogs, and I hope you'll stay in touch going forward.
 
Are you familiar with contronyms? Can you think of a ‘Z’ contronym the lists might have missed? How Zonked is Freya with her letter Z (just like I feel!)?
 
Added after some bloghopping: I was over at the very funny Kern’s blog where she talked about how many people post about zombies for Z because they are awesome. I did post about a zombie movie last year, but it got me thinking . . . could I have used them again this year? Is a zombie the ultimate contronym? I mean, they are the living dead. It’s probably more of an oxymoron than a contronym, but I thought I’d throw it out there. 
 
My theme for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge is contronyms. A contronym is a word with two or more opposite meanings, making it its own antonym. Click here to find out more about these quirky words.
 
Freya with the letter ZWe made it! We've reached the end of the A to Z Challenge! Unfortunately, I'll be finishing up not with a bang but a whimper because I could not find any contronyms for the letter Z on any of the lists I've collected. Zero. Zilch. Instead, I decided take the same approach I did with the letter K and pick a contronym with the letter Z in it somewhere. So I searched all my lists again, and it turns out there is only one contronym that contains the letter Z. Making it a slightly less pathetic pick, it actually has two Zs: puzzle.
 
Puzzle – to perplex, confuse, mystify (to pose a problem)
 
~ or ~
 
Puzzle – to solve by careful study or effort (to solve a problem)
 
My first year I was completely puzzled about why people would participate in something as time-consuming and draining as the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, but after meeting so many wonderful fellow bloggers, I have puzzled out why people come back year after year.
A to Z Challenge Puzzle
 
I hope you've had fun with the A to Z challenge. I had a blast learning about all the crazy contronyms out there. Thank you to all the people who stopped by for a visit! I've enjoyed getting to know all of you through your blogs, and I hope you'll stay in touch going forward.
 
Are you familiar with contronyms? Can you think of a ‘Z’ contronym the lists might have missed? How Zonked is Freya with her letter Z (just like I feel!)?
 
Added after some bloghopping: I was over at the very funny Kern’s blog where she talked about how many people post about zombies for Z because they are awesome. I did post about a zombie movie last year, but it got me thinking . . . could I have used them again this year? Is a zombie the ultimate contronym? I mean, they are the living dead. It’s probably more of an oxymoron than a contronym, but I thought I’d throw it out there. 
 

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who never imagined her cheeky sense of humor would lead to a book about animal butts. When she's not researching fanny facts, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, short films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her booty-ful dogs.