It is a beautiful present from my lovely uncles Joe and Dave, who are always so kind to me. They mean me to write, come hell or high water, or children clamouring around me.
To make a good start, I christened this journal with a list of my favourite words. Obviously, this list is a mutable thing - constantly in flux and never fixed.
This particular list was swimming around in my head as I woke up one morning last week: fully formed, as if from the mind of Zeus. I'm afraid I lost half of them by the time I got them written down, but here are those that remained. All are there simply because I like the sound of them...not necessarily what they represent.
-crenellations
-funicular
-trebuchet
-hackneyed
-abstruse
-wonky
-charlatan
-haphazard
-aspidistra
-penumbra
-coronet
Leave your favourite-word list in the comments. Could be favourites for any reason - that you like what they stand for, like how they make you feel, or you just plain think they're euphonic. (Oooh, euphonic! Must add that one.)
26 comments:
Hi, the list I did on my blog was all caught up in the emotions of a very bad day. So now, lighter, I do a new list ...
exacerbate
elongate
camenbert
kalideoscopte
filibuster
spongy
wither
triangulate
pustule
magistrate
This was such a great idea, thanks
sussuruss.
I don't think that's how it's spelled, but that's how it should be spelled.
filibuster...yeah, man.
Kristine, I looked up sussurus...it's from a game? A bamboo creature? Cool.
I had a professor once who said that it was a shame that diarrhea had such negative connotations because it sounded so lovely. I, however, am still trying to get past that negative connotation part.
For me it is not the words alone but a turn of phrase that makes me gasp in pleasure, or need to shout out to the nearest person "listen to this...". My notebooks are filled with such snippets. How people use words is endlessly fascinating to me.
That being said, here are some words I enjoy saying:
freesia, corydalis, swoosh, charisma, extraneous, titillate
floomily (as in the way Zem moves)
obfuscation
facetious
incite / insight (as the first often leads me to the second)
vermilion
cerise
mariposa
crenellation (you beat me to it, but I still had to put it down)
sashimi
omphaloskepsis (and the definition is even better: "contemplation of one's navel as part of a mystical exercise")
amber
diascia
verbascum
rosa
marina
ocular
articulate (the adjective)
Lamborghini
I'll stop there . . . I could go on all day! Thanks for the fun. :o)
Thank you Annalea for reminding me of one I left out, from my Classics days:
boustrophodon
referring to text written back and forth, "as an ox turns in ploughing" (translation).
So boustrophodon text
.siht ekil nur dluow
Awesome! (not a favorite word - just a comment on the gift and the words!)
Acquiesce
Illumine
Bequeath
Adagio
The only ones that come to mind at the moment - purely sound based. I love the way they sound.
Drat, I always have trouble thinking of things like this off the top of my head - I usually notice words that I love in the moment of using them.
onomatopoeia
drat
the deuce you say (a phrase, not a word, but who's gonna argue with Buckaroo Banzai?)
plum
feasible
inadvertent
quell
peut-etre (is it okay to include French?)
knickers! (yes, that exclamation point is absolutely required)
decadent (word and meaning: sigh!)
persnickety
imagine
draught
dream
sanguine (point of interest, sir - it also means bloody)
conscript
desolate (but even better in French - desolee)
dessous
brulee
(okay okay, I'll get back to the mother tongue already)
and furthermore, any sex talk spoken in a British accent. Really, you must try it. I won't tell you my favorite words here because this may be a family-style blog, but oh heavens)
PS. I like plummy even better than plum. And I use filibuster in conversation all the fracking time. (yes, frack must have a k in it - I don't care how they spell it on BSG)
oh and dram! I love dram. In fact, I'd love a wee dram.
cacophony
sibilant
surreal
Jersey Shore (sorry-- my mind wandered to my favorite place)
ambitious
I really enjoy seeing who likes what types of words and sounds
halitosis (just the word, thankyouverymuch)
psychosomatic
rhododendron
exacerbate
aliquot
Like Lizbon I have a hard time thinking of words that I like off the top of my head though she came up with quite a list and I only have two and one is stolen from her list.
I like:
Persnickety & haberdasher.
Haberdasher - oooh!
And thanks Gena for "aliquot" - a new one to me.
Hi Shan,
I've been pondering my words for several days whilst out running. I've settled on words that I like the sound of and this is the abridged version:
mellifluous
perfunctory
riparian
extraordinary
archetypal
sanctimonious
tart
squish
unceremoniously
hyperbole
Great fun and kept my mind off the pain of running. Many thanks to your Uncle Dave for suggesting the idea.
crikey
blimey
abbey
periwinkle
akimbo (my fave)
evocative
covet
and irish names
oisin
niamh
siobhan
mairead
just for the lovely spelling
Favourite ever: ennui
trundle (as in, trundle bed)
haphazard
Algonquin
cotton
moat
frenetic
antimacassar
crescendo
One more: Grinch
Neville who expired of ennui. or was it Henri?
Really, I must nominate this for Best Meme Ever.
vis-a-vis
I just can't stop.
mausoleum
sassy
Vespers
abdicate
Spartacus
intrinsic
manila (as in, envelope)
Pygmalion
This meme is fantastic, what a good idea.
holistic
I must make a plug for these two wonderful words:
flabbergasted and monomaniacal.
There I feel better.
I just thought of "pygmalion" yesterday, but in a list of words I DON'T like.
I can't stop either, Gwen.
archaic
sanctum
callow
You have a great uncle! As usual, I'm late to the party.
a couple to add...
matriculate
effervescence
euphoric
frick
obtuse
boing
Those are without much in the way of thought...something I'm incapable of today!
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