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Sometimes, when I mention I'm an author, people ask me what my favorite word is... and my mind immediately goes blank. Not that I could ever choose, but there are quite a few that I love, and that I don't always remember to use.
Note: this is not the same as Thesaurus syndrome, but a thread for appreciation of cool words.
Perhaps one word per post? So that each word gets a good explanation and plenty of space. But no limit on number of posts
My first: wroth No, it's not a misspelling (though using it may bring up that misinterpretation). Wroth is an older word, and it's an adjective, while 'wrath' is a noun. In this case, I almost like saying it aloud more than writing it.
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And another: skitter Makes me think of dark corners and restless sounds, something moving under your bed that you really, really don't want to find out about. I also love that it's almost an onomatopoeia*; it conveys a particular sound as well as a visual action.
A recent amusement I had with my in-person writers group was discussing the difference between scuttle and skitter.
*certified hardest word to spell in the English language (by me)
I learned this word in eighth grade and haven't managed to use it for anything other than a school assignment and a recent conversation with my husband. Yet, I inexplicably want to hop with glee every time I see it in a published piece.
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My husband teases me to this day about my use of the word surreal
He contends that the word weird would suffice, but he's so wrong. Surreal transcends reality - in one direction or another. It's super-real, or sub-real, it's beyond real. Not simply weird, which is real but strange.
Now I have to say I don't use it in writing all that much, but I do prefer it for describing things that are really truly surreal.
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It was such a relief to find out that said is okay to use over and over again, because it is almost invisible. I don't have to (and shouldn't) come up with more colorful alternatives throughout my dialogue.
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I have a continuing obsession with the words succor and baleful, the latter in the old sense of the word.
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Mythos I once wrote an essay in 10th grade comparing the space-travel methods used in "Dune" and "Speaker for the Dead." I used the plural form of mythos, which is mythoi, and my teacher said he gave me an A just for that.
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I flipped open an unabridged dictionary the other day and stumbled upon the word, yes one word,
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis: a disease of the lungs caused by the breathing of extremely fine siliceous dust particles.
And even though not one opportunity to actually use it in a sentence has presented itself, I have to say this is by far the coolest word I've ever seen.
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I kind of like the made up words. I'm particularly fond of Tyson's mangling of "ludicrous". He says, "ludacrisp". I use that one whenever I get the chance. The thing is, I think it's better than the original.
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True story: I almost did my Masters on behavior of Parids (aka chickadees and titmice). Though it didn't guide my final decision, I did stop and think about the really annoying jokes that would come from having to say I studied titmice...
(And the tufted titmouse is one of my favorite birds. When they're cranky, they sound like angry dinosaurs).
And "ludacrisp" sounds like some sort of weird dessert. Like a crisp with spam and coconut, or something.
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There are occasional brand names I like. I'm fond of "Sensens." You don't see 'em anymore, but I like the name, and its XYZXYZX spelling, like "entente" or "alfalfa"...
[edited 'cause I misspelled "fond"]
[This message has been edited by Robert Nowall (edited July 09, 2009).]
It has been overused to describe things that are merely bad or displeasing. But think about it, this word is Awe-Full. Exceedingly great or Inspiring awe, but often with a negative bent. This world is more suitable for Cthulhu than a poorly cooked meal.
I have similar feelings about the word awesome, another great word that has been diminished by overuse... sadness.
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Since Rich opened up the door to words not strictly in Webster's, I use the following word all the time:
Anticipointment- Building an event (or product) up in your mind through anticipation to the point that when you actually experience it you are disappointed. In other words, something was not as good as you thought it would be.
For example, "I wanted to see that movie SO bad, but when it was over, I was filled with anticipointment."
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I like following a word as it's introduced---a relatively rare thing, 'cause you have to catch it the first time, then watch it evolve.
On an early episode of "The Simpsons," in a Scrabble game, Bart introduced the word "kwijibo." At the time, it was defined as a "fat, balding, American ape." And there the matter hung...
Now, a few years ago, Nickelodeon was running a promo with some skateboard artists (I think). One of them talked of and named the moves he made...one of which was called "kwijibo."
So the word was out, and the word was used...maybe the meaning changed, but the word was the same...
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"Loquacious" and "Plethora" are two words my husband tries to work into conversation as much as possible.
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Useful, balanced-looking, and constantly under attack. First graders have better spelling skills I do, but even I know that thru isn't cute, it's murder.
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Then you'd probably hate the EZ Mealz in 'n out drive thru.
On the subject of how America is always trying to shorten words and phrases to save a few precious moments to get in more IMs, I give you my favorite word of all time: LOL.
I think this acronym should be implemented into all types of verbal communication, based on the fact that said out loud it resembles laughter (making it vaguely onomotopoeic), as well as just being an all around fun word.
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Nate - if you think Americans are bad at shortening words, go visit Australia. They shorten everything. It was quite fun to get into the lingo during my semester abroad there, even if I never learned to imitate the accent properly.
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I just won a scrabble game with the word "fop." No one I was playing with had ever heard of it, and we had to resort to the dictionary to prove it was a word. So I'm fond of that one right now.
I love fire words, like smolder and ember and sizzle. I wish I knew a word to describe the icy sound the embers make sometimes. Melanie
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I like words that end in "-ough." There are so many different ways to pronounce them. You may recall a classic scene from "I Love Lucy" where Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) stumbled over that very problem.
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My kids used to be annoyed when I used any unfamiliar word in conversation with them and they didn't know what it meant. "Look it up," I would tell them. It irritated them that I wouldn't just stick to a vocabulary of simple words. Then, one day when my daughter was in high school she came home, faced me with her hands on her hips and said in a highly annoyed tone, "You know what I did today?"
I said, "No, what?"
"I used the word LUDICROUS!" she spat, then spun on her heel and stomped away.
Needless to say, I had a good chuckle over that one. It was nice to know a decent vocabulary was being absorbed by my children, regardless of desire.
Edited to add: And when she got into college, she reluctantly admitted she was glad for being exposed to a bigger vocabulary. Sweet!
[This message has been edited by Elan (edited July 11, 2009).]
quote:Although I find the three most magic words falling gradually into misuse are Please and Thank You.
This made me laugh. Our agility instructor commented on it in our last class when I thanked my dog for sitting (eventually) on the pause table when I told him to.
Having read through my first novel last week, I was struck by the fact that I appear to have a previously unrecognized fondness for the word despite.
[This message has been edited by Meredith (edited July 12, 2009).]
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Do we need to stick to modern English? After taking a course on Chaucer, I'm particularly fond of "armypotent", meaning "powerful of arms", which he uses to describe Mars in the "Knight's Tale".
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