This month's word is "anomia," which has a couple very different definitions. One meaning is a neurological classification, and the other is an animal classification. Let's start with the neurological meaning.

Anomia is a form of aphasia (aphasia is a speech/language disorder). Anomic aphasia is the most common form of aphasia. It is the inability to recall words you want to use when speaking. Nouns and verbs are typically the words which cannot be recalled.

So if you are ever talking to someone and they say to you, "I went to the pet store and I bought a...," and then they start waving or  motioning with their hands, as though they're either trying to stall for time or play charades, and then they finish the sentence by saying, "...one of those furry four legged-things that says 'Meow,'" it's possible you may be talking to someone with anomia.

But anomia is also an animal classification? Yes it is. Anomia is a genus of bivalve mollusks. They are salt-water clams. They are also known by the less scientific-sounding nickname "jingle shells." Apparently, if you have several of these clamshells, and you shake them together, they make a jingling sound.

It's the perfect distraction for when you can't think of the word you want to say.

Or you could just clam up.