After writing a popular post about words that I find to be incurably dumb, I was asked to write a follow-up about my favorite words. There’s no way I could create even an approximation of an exhaustive list, so here’s a representative sample of what I consider to be our mother tongue’s finest.
Words That Sound Dirty But Aren’t
Case in point: masticate. If you’re trying to live in the world but not be of it, these words are your loophole. Nothing will make your tablemate spit out his dinner faster than your casual, “Would you not be so obvious about masticating in public? It’s kinda gross.” Go for it. Tell ‘em I sent ya.
See also: hardcore, linguistics, forthcoming
Words Having Rare Application
Case in point: impecunious. The benefit to finding oneself perpetually penniless is the opportunity to use a gem such as this. The words comprising this group are delightful in their specificity of meaning and dearth of occasion.
See also: fortuitous, obviate, defenestrate
Words That Jolt
Case in point: f-ck. (I have no desire to jolt you at this moment, so I’ve tempered this bad boy with a dash.) There tend to be three groups when it comes to strong words: The “only use ‘good’ words” group, the “it doesn’t matter what words you use” group, and the “use the best word, even if it’s a ‘bad’ word” group. A staunch member of the third group, I like to employ jolting words at only and exactly the right place.
See also: crucify, holocaust
Words That Are Better Than Their Definitions
Case in point: dastardly. I liken this group of words to incredibly well crafted movie villains– they’re delicious at being rotten.
See also: treacherous, scoundrel, insidious, whore
Generational Words
Case in point: awesome. Although some purists reject the use of awesome for anything less than the characterization of sacred wonder, it is a defining marker of Gen X. We, the people of slap bracelets and candy cigarettes, employ it as a synonym to our rad while calling each other “dude” regardless of gender. Period words such as these instantly hearken back to the era whence they came.
See also: gams, icebox, fortnight
What words would you add to these categories? What are some of your favorite words? I hope you’ll be forthcoming.
i’m forthcoming as often as possible.
See? I admire you for that.
Perspicuity is one I’d add to the category “Words Having Rare Application” (though I have a friend who manages to work into every single religious conversation he has).
I might also create a category titled “Words full of Irony.” Perspicuity, a word whose meaning is not well known, means “clearness or lucidity, as of a statement.”
I love that category suggestion!
“Dude” and “Awesome” are both personal favorites that I abuse with reckless abandon. Also “BOOM!”
Yeah you do. BOOM.
Clearly, we are connected by some great cosmic force. On Monday, on my “other blog”, my post was entitled “My Favourite Words.” Here’s the link: http://wordbitches.com/2011/04/11/words/
But I LOVE your section, “words that sound dirty but aren’t.” Vintage Tamara. I’ve used the word “masticate” in a couple of posts, but have taken it out before pressing publish.
And I still use fortnight. It makes me think of Colin.
Oh my gods, I totally missed out on one of the best categories: Words That Canadians & Brits Add “U” To. I’ll have to make it a whole post. Thanks for the reminder– you have such neighbourly behaviour.
Here’s another one of my favoUrite words that you’ll appreciate: callipygean (“having beautifully proportioned buttocks”).
Maybe we need another category: words that don’t sound dirty but are.
How kind of you to notice.
I’m not sure how many categories “petard” could claim. sounds slightly dirty and offensive, very little use for it, frozen in time
I like words associated with pain: concussion, contusion, Nickleback
yours is a great list.
You’re a little firecracker, aren’t you?
spot-on analysis
Petard. YES!
I use “stout” & “clutch” too much. I guess it’s because I’m still hanging onto my youth.
You’re giving yourself away, old man.
HULLABALOO!
Filed under Rare Application, perhaps?
Not if you’re a gradute of Texas A&M!
WHOOP! c/o ’03
WHOOP! class of ’12
This is a seriously awesome post. Yes, I said awesome. And masticate is an awesome word. (Today I’m kinda in love with diabolical. Not sure what that means this day will hold….)
Looking fwd to that post on Words That Canadians & Brits Add “U” To, lol. My DH is currently reading a book called Savor. The cover art is simple, with the title in large font, and it’s DRIVING ME CRAZY seeing that “misspelled” word right on the cover!
Thanks, dude.
Halcyon. I was genetically engineered to never properly pronounce this word.
At least we have that in common. *shakes head*
And a favorite word that you can’t pronounce? Who’s the masochist now, my friend?
Awesome and dude comes out of my mouth at least once an hour, along with the Super Adjective F*ck. Love that word. I am on a mission to bring back F*ck’n-A!
Great post!
Thanks!
I love the versatility of the F-word, readily employable as noun, verb, adjective, and idiom, all the while packing a punch.
Hmm…
Niggard, and thus niggardly, is ompletely ruined because of a certain word it sounds like. But saying “Ebenezer Scrooge was a scoundrel of a niggard before his change of heart” has a certain panache to it.
I would file this under “words that sound dirty, but aren’t”
Evidently, this is a polarizing word: It was also left in the comments of my “Dumb Words” post as a suggestion for the category Words That Just Make Everyone Uncomfortable.
Yes, well, there’s that, too. It’s not a word I would use–just because it’s too easily misunderstood (esp. when spoken).
Let me just say that I totally love etymology, and at one time wanted to be, like Tolkien, a philologist.
My favorite word is “prestidigitate”. I think it belongs in the category of the word being better than its definition. I LOVE WORDS!
Fantastic word. And also a tricky one on the tongue.
My five best words are: kumquat, sciolism, inchoate, eviscerate, copacetic. They are all SUCH FUN to spell!
But could you please explain the generationality of “fortnight”? In Britain, it’s just a regular word that everyone uses…
I’m gonna have to throw “kumquat” in with the Words That Sound Dirty But Aren’t.
I’m so excited that you still use “fortnight!” Good for you. In the U.S., we just say, “biweekly,” which, come to think of it, also belongs in the Sound Dirty group.
Um, do you realize you’ve called me a number of the words from your Words That Are Better Than Their Definitions list just this week?
Where would you put perfunctory? Fun to say even if I don’t know what it means. Also efficacy is kind of stupid but I wouldn’t mind hanging with it if I was bored on a Sunday afternoon. I also enjoy kerfluffled even if Bill Gates says it’s not a word.
Well maybe if you’d quit being such an insidious whore. Pssh.
I don’t really care where we put “perfunctory.”
And “efficacy” is definitely in the Sounds Dirty group– come on!
I have to admit, one of my favorite reasons for using the English Standard Version of the Bible is because it uses the word whore when describing the Israelites pursuing other gods. It has more weight than prostitute. It feels dirty and wicked.
Awesome.
I don’t really have words I like, but I have some I dislike. Not because of the meaning so much as their sound… But I don’t like to tell people these words because then they like to say them around me. There are about 6 that just send chills up my spine.
I think you need to unburden yourself. Go leave your words on my “Dumb Words That Are Really Dumb” post.
Fun post! I like your villainous words. Hooligan could fit there, I guess, and it is fun to say.
One for the sounds-rude-but-isn’t category: rectopathic, meaning emotionally sensitive.
“Villainous” is great too!
oi Tamara, watch and laugh.
Looks like something I’ll have to check out when I don’t have a two-year old on my lap.
As a fellow word nerd, I love these posts. One of my favorite words is asinine. I don’t think I have to explain why.
Thanks. I know exactly where to put that one.
Vigorous is probably one of my favorite Dirty but Not words.
Nazi is (should be) a Word that Jolts, but people use it too flippantly. I hate being called a Grammar Nazi, because I don’t gas people who don’t subject-verb agree. I just judge you, especially if you misuse the [ 's ]. Showing possession? Show it right, foo.
I use Right On indiscriminately.
Great post!
I agree with you on “Nazi.” The fact that it doesn’t jolt is pretty scary.
I like “vigorous.” Wait, what?
Rectify and penalize are two of my favourite Words That Sound Dirty But Aren’t.
What are your thoughts on penal reform?
heh….heeeeh
How about pianist for words that sound dirty but aren’t?
How about this grammatical conundrum…
“I’m a grammatical stickler, aren’t I?”
Another couple of great words: draconian and kafkaesque.
“Kafkaesque” definitely gets a spot in Rare Application. Maybe someday they’ll coin the phrase “tamaraesque” to mean writing characterized by words that sound dirty but aren’t.
I’ll coin that phrase.
#phrasesthatsounddirtybutarent
This post? Far out man.
Thanks, Baby Boomer (?)!
For consideration in the Words That Sound Better Than Their Definition category: plethora
I don’t know: “Plethora” of ass-biting snapping turtles, yes. “Plethora” of compliments on my unfading beauty, no.
My favorite words, in random order:
1. Innuendo (especially when spoken with a mock Italian accent)
2. Phlegm (just because…)
3. Squish (try to say it without making a funny face and bringing your hands closer together. I dare ya.)
I’m so glad you share my appreciation for “squish.” It’s more useful than some people give it credit for.
When an online friend says something that strikes me as particularly adorable or sweet or otherwise happiness-inducing, I tell them I want to squish them like a fat baby. I say “squish” instead of “hug” because it implies a tighter embrace; I say “like a fat baby” because it implies motherly- not creepy- intentions. And I say it at all because, online, you can’t see the delighted look on my face.
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During a poetry writing session, one of my fifth graders wanted to use the word “beautiful” in his poem. He knew that I wanted the class to expand their vocabulary instead of using the usual adjectives. He found the word “pulchritudinous” in the dictionary. We all laughed because it doesn’t sound like a word that would mean “physically beautiful”. Needless to say, the students still discuss that word months after the assignment.
Great category– Ironic Words. “Pulchritudinous” has always struck me as such an ugly word.
Hi Tamara:
Found you via EduClaytion. He is a hoot, and I love your blog on words. I just wrote a post on how certain words piss me off. For example, I hate the word “juxtaposition” and I wrote about it – today! So it will sit there for a few days (in case you’d like to check it out).
Nice to meet you.
Awesome– I will check it out! I also wrote one about words I hate: Dumb Words That Are Really Dumb.
I’m a big fan of unredisinverted words. I often show up kempt, sheveled, and ruly. I then go on to become gruntled.
Love it.
schmoopsie: heard it on Seinfeld
canoodle: idk why
Redonkulous: fun to say
cute: in the Webster dictionary means adorable but ugly
snarky
craptastic
gallivant
My personal favourite is the “foreign words used in the English Language”. And the perfect example is “SCHADENFREUDE” from the German. According to Webster’s it means the enjoyment obtained from the troubles (problems or mishaps) of others. It means when someone has a blooper, you laugh your head off
Booby: bobo, silly or selfish, from the Latin for stammering, balbus
Savvy: saber, to know
Hoosegow: from juzgado, a tribunal or courtroom, past participle of juzgar, to judge
Another cool word stolen from the French: Faux pas
Ahhh I just wanna say I loved your post
Love,
Marie
One of my personal favorites is the word “resplendent” (shining brilliantly). A few others I find intriguing are: “vivacious” (lively and exciting), “felicitous” (well chosen or suited to circumstances), and “exasperated” (infuriate). All of which I believe add new paths to the otherwise mundane and overly used attempts at uniqueness.
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extemporaneously
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I’m kinda late here: The word ‘f*ck’ is awesome, dude. I thought you might want “bludgeon” and “conjugate” for a future post… I’ll let you categorize them because you’re f*cking awesome, dude.
I’m sitting here snort-laughing in the least ladylike way possible at your repeated calling me “dude.” I think “conjugate” should definitely be a Word that Sounds Dirty But Isn’t.
Late again, but here goes. I’m nominating “efficacious”! Definitely (innocently) naughty, isn’t it?
I’m enjoying this persnicketiness immensely (and now somehow have the word “knickers” in my head). Where do we put words that inspire naughty thoughts through alliteration?
As you might have guessed, I’m mindnumbingly bored today. I’ll be logging off now before I become stalkerish.
You are cracking me up today! I think I better get to work on another persnickety language post– it’s been too long!
As random thoughts go, this one just jumped into my head today. How’s about this one?
titular.
I’m absolutely convinced that your awesomeness would lead you to categorising it correctly immediately. Dude.
He he
This is ridiculously good! Words ftw! Thanks – refreshing