haver

This is not the word meaning "one who has," but is pronounced "hay-ver" as many of you likely know. The word, after all, is used in the song "500 Miles," by The Proclaimers, and has been the source of much mystification this side of the Atlantic, even as many of us enjoy the tune. I, too, wondered for years, until curiosity got the better of me and I looked it up. Apparently it's a Scottish word for idle chitchat, or, according to dictionary.com, "to maunder." To haver is to jibber-jabber, to converse without one's mind on the conversation, or at least not caring much about the content. Seldom used in conversation, here in the States at any rate, the word retains a good deal of charm. Slip it into your next colloquial exchange; make reference to your haverin' ways with relish or disdain.