Guess the brain cells are going. I've been trying to recall the correct word to describe the incidence of rain whilst in bright sunshine and having had 2 days of it's on the tip of my tongue I'm {discreetly} admitting defeat. Anyone help?

Regards

Not a scientific term, but I have heard it referred to as mushroom rain before.

Wet

My mother always refered to it as sunshowers - but I never could find it in any dictionary - now I find it in Wiki :-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshower

Is this the word ?

'Manchester'

'Manchester'

With "bright sunshine" in the same sentence? Now that would be an oxymoron.

In Swedish it's easy - solregn - 'sun rain'.

...and FWIW, my trusty Norstedts Swedish-English dictionary suggests 'sun shower' in English...

No mention of the word in Collins Thesaurus or Collins English Dictionary though.

In Jamaica they call ALL rain 'liquid sunshine'

Ye Man, Irie

Dave

My Mom used to call them " April showers ". ( even in June )

I would agree with April or Spring Showers - implying bright sun at the same time IMHO.

I technical word I can not connect with but this link may be of some use?

Maybe a web site offering cyptic crossword clues would help?

We used to call any shower whilst sunny, a "rainbow farm" when we were kids.

These are all most interesting, the folklore is fascinating, thanks one and all. The frustration is that I'm sure there's a climatological equivalent of synaesthesia to describe this, which I came across, in my youth The crossword site idea is a good one too.

Regards

'Manchester'

Dublin would be better!

Also the only expression that spings to mind is 'sunshowers' - sorry!

A sunshower is an unusual meteorological phenomenon in which rain falls while the sun is shining . These conditions often lead to the appearance of a rainbow, if the sun is at a low enough angle . The term "sunshower" is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Britain, but is rarely found in dictionaries .

Additionally, the phenomenon has a wide range of sometimes remarkably similar folkloric names in cultures around the world . A common theme is that of trickster animals, or the devil, getting married, although many variations of parts of this theme exist. .

The nature of cumuluform clouds is such that the sun can often be seen while they are producing rain. If a sunshower occurs in the early morning or late afternoon (specifically, any time the sun is at less than a 42° angle), a rainbow can occur. Anecdotally, it's said that a sunshower is a sign that rain will occur again soon, specifically that it will rain the next day.

Thanks for the above. However, what is interesting is that the exact same text {links adjusted} is on so many reference sites, Wikipedia, reference {this source}, allexperts.com etc. Try searching for the first phrase to see what I mean.

I wonder where the sunsource is for that.

Regards

Is 'Moist' the word you're looking for

It's a great word that one

You mean, of course, Moist von Lipwig, he of the Ankh-Morpork Royal Mint & former Postmaster General.

Regards

PS Wishing the best of health to Terry Pratchett, why isn't he a 'Sir' yet?

In Jamaica they call ALL rain 'liquid sunshine'

Ye Man, Irie

Dave

That wouldn't happen to be the orange sunshine issue?

Ya Man!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is 'Moist' the word you're looking for

It's a great word that one

Oh God, what a word...

Perhaps my fave onomatopoeia along with rustle and trundle.

You mean, of course, Moist von Lipwig, he of the Ankh-Morpork Royal Mint & former Postmaster General.

Regards

PS Wishing the best of health to Terry Pratchett, why isn't he a 'Sir' yet?

Indeed, a chum of Cut-my-own-throat Dibbler....

As for words I've always liked squiggle

Is 'Moist' the word you're looking for

It's a great word that one

Oh God, what a word...

Perhaps my fave onomatopoeia along with rustle and trundle.

What about 'damp'?

Wait for it, it's going to be gusset in a mo...

Gusset !! ( well someone had to take the bait)

Saddles, anyone ?

I gusset will be so.......

"In the saddle" was a euphemism we used to use!