This French neologism was mentioned in an English-language article by Laila Lalami in the Nation (http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091214/lalami, 4th page 3rd paragraph). It's a term some French use to describe a recent "wave of young successful Muslims", since beur is a French slang term for a person of Arab origin.
Thanks for saying what I'd been thinking, rolig :)
Maybe the word does get too much traffic in contexts where it's not appropriate--say, in casual speech by people who wanna look smart using fancy-shmancy words--but I've only ever seen it used in sociology papers. I may have felt like the word sums up my general frustration with the implicit norms in mainstream cinema and TV or in political discourse or whatever, but I wouldn't use it except in some specific academic discourse.
Préservatif in French. It's not a strict false friend (not exact same spelling), but I know someone who made a fool of herself once asking if there were condoms in a can of peas.
Well, of course this kind of thing varies enormously by place/region (maybe best to stick to the more abstract terms), but it's no less a good list idea.
Good points...I'm not sure I want to accept all the prefixed words, but then again, the words enlighten and embolden are certainly well-established and distinctive words. Then enliven and awaken, definitely. Thanks to you both!
Seems like all these nonce words I'm tickled by I find through NYT: Miniature ideologue Jonathon Krohn was "the conservative movement's underage graybeard at last weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington."
Wow, it's been ages since I've been to wordie and it runs as fast as an ice cream cone in the summertime.
Discovered this word on somebody's twitter: "Last tweet for the hour: someone needs to send a copy of The GTOs 'Permanent Damage' to @punkybird. I just dreamembered it." (emphasis added)
Wonderful list. I'm not sure why, but I like the expression "gobs of money." Perhaps it's the imagery, like with "wads" or "scads," which are are also probably most often used with money--as people are wont to daydream about such intangible desirable things.
...not to mention when it becomes tangible and the same words apply, heh..albeit less effectively, in my mind.
"A draughtsman or draftsman (the former more often in the UK, the latter more often in the US, and pronounced the same) is a person skilled in drawing, either:
* drawing for artistic purposes, or
* technical drawing for practical purposes such as architecture or engineering."
Funny, seeing the title up on the recent word lists, my thoughts went right to the French partyUnion for a Presidential Majority, which prompted me to take a peak.
But I was delighted anyway, because '-ump' words are round and forceful and a little pompous. Like this nationalist bigwig (who I hope is recognizable =/)
Yeah, I think even though German isn't considered an agglutinative language like Finnish or Turkish, the way it forms nouns is agglutinative. It just refers to how many morphemes you can smash into one lexical unit. Right?
Although you're apparently adding more over time, I'll suggest a couple favorites that are roughly synonymous with junta: coup d'état and putsch. Obvious ones, perhaps, but they are nonetheless goodies.
For American news junkies (news junkies from America, that is) like myself, the BBC news site is great when you wanna be up to date on the latest international rows--and there are no adverts as far as I've seen.
Today, I heard lifeblood and brainchild used on NPR--they might have even been used in the same sentence. Anyway, I think they both sound like loverlysci-fi nonsense.
"...the term derives from vegans, the vegetarians who forsake all animal products, as many freegans also do...Freegans are scavengers of the developed world, living off consumer waste in an effort to minimize their support of corporations and their impact on the planet, and to distance themselves from what they see as out-of-control consumerism."
Thanks, reesetee. All good suggestions, palooka, I'll definitely add them all. By the by, reading about vestigial structures spurred me to make the list.
Hey, John, just wanted to send a quick thanks for making the site--I've been on here for a few months now but thought it futile to post on here without a suggestion/contribution. Alas, I can't think of anything at the moment. So, thanks!
Batman: See here. English phonetics. GH becomes F, as in "tough" or "laugh". O becomes I as in "women". TI becomes SH as in "ration" or the word "nation".
Robin: Holy semantics, Batman. You never cease to amaze me!
Decidedlyneat. ;) golly's the only specific word I can think of, but on a somewhat related note, I stumbled across this funny quote when searching for some of Robin's "Holy (insert noun that applies to the context)" phrases from the old Batman TV series:
Batman: See here. English phonetics. GH becomes F, as in "tough" or "laugh". O becomes I as in "women". TI becomes SH as in "ration" or the word "nation".
Robin: Holy semantics, Batman. You never cease to amaze me!
Of course, semanticsper se really has nothing to do with that, but it's only Robin.
A search on TFD yielded an ad for Thumper (Bambi's bunny friend) Massagers...really strange fusion there of things that should not fuse in terms of mental imagery. Anyway, this is a cute little word.
Mainly added this obscure term so as to add the following interesting quote from the psychologist of religion W. James:
"Medical materialism finishes up Saint Paul by calling his vision on the road to Damascus a discharging lesion of the occipital cortex, he being an epileptic. It snuffs out Saint Teresa as an hysteric, Saint Francis of Assisi as a hereditary degenerate. George Fox's discontent with the shams of his age, and his pining for spiritual veracity, it treats as a disordered colon."
Thanks for the list love, reesetee and spicolli. It's often the curiosities and oldies that draw me into this business of word-collecting. If there are few opportunities to use them in everyday speech (or at least if you run the risk of people glancing at you sideways), that increases their value to some extent. Plus, older literature and the like.
I'll assume technophilia isn't actually the love of that repetitive musical genre, as I couldn't help but think at first glance. glossophile and retrophile are good self-descriptors to add to my repertoire. Thanks!
"Indeed, there are those who believe that the gradual purplification of the West may have dramatic national consequences. If the Democrats can pick off a few Rocky Mountain states to augment their strength in the Northeast, upper Midwest and West Coast, they may be able to build an electoral majority that does not include the ferociously conservative South."
After the invention of photography, many people had photographs taken of recently dead family members; given the technical limitations of daguerreotype photography, this was one way to get the portrait subject to sit still.
I was wondering about the word ones used in the case of "I want those ones over there." Seems almost like an oxymoron within itself taken out of context.
My English professor used the verb other a few times today--capitalized actually. It's more or less supposed to mean "to treat a group of people, often a minority group, as inferior." Also, exoticize, which is sorta jargon-y, but fun to say.
I remember in the cartoon Doug, Doug would say "Veni, vidi, vici!" whilst doing some magic trick or another. Which sounded enough like an incantation before I learned what it meant. Oh the web of lies that kids' shows spin. ...I'm sorry that wasn't a contribution.
According to a play my high school put on a few years ago in which two mayflies have a decidedly brief tryst (it's a bit hazy now), it's about 24 hours. Yeah, I guess I went to a pretty wacky school.
Anyone else notice the abundance of words for a bad mood, compared to those for a good one? Perhaps it's more noteworthy when someone is cantankerous because it tends to dampen the mood of those around them? Just got me thinking...anyway, nice list!
Thanks :) I was searching through my main page for some applicable words and found...well, one. Thinking of changing it to -og words, but that might just bring up too many.
I often hear people mispronounce the word etymology by saying this word instead, which makes me giggle. Even funnier is entomologist in place of etymologist.
Wonderful etymology: "flowing with honey." The word can be used in that literal sense, but the "metaphorical" sense (e.g. to describe someone's voice or movement) just works really nicely.
Apparently the English word for schadenfreude is epicaricacy...if you want to get technical. There's a book out there whose name I can't quite recall that talks about various words and phrases that are exclusive to one language/region. Maybe someone else will know the title.
Possible counterexamples of that, seanahan, would be words like jungian (yoong-ee-uhn) or wagnerian (vahg-neer-ee-uhn). When it derives from someone's name, that pronunciation seems to stick, at least part of the time. But after reading the tidbit on wikipedia about the spelling and pronunciation of "Quixote", I see it's a little bit more nuanced anyhow (technically it's medieval Castilian, not Spanish). Bah! This is a good word, I'm going to leave it alone (stop picking at it, that is) for fear that people will stop using it. I see it written much more often than I hear it spoken, anyway.
Oh, definitely, if not from the impact then maybe a heart attack brought on by the fall. Best way to get rid of political dissidents, as my Mom always says ;)
I see your predicament, pedalinfaith. awe-inspiring just doesn't have quite the same ring--gets the job done, but it even sounds a little cliché. Hmm, a better substitute isn't coming to me. I say spite the masses and continue using it as you always have :)
So true, billifer. As counterintuitive as it may sometimes seem, we should just chalk it up to idiosyncrasy(if that word wasn't previously used to describe words or language, it now is). And then the inconsistency's something to appreciate, I suppose.
clearly defenestration should be on this list. I'm also wondering if there's a word for being chased off of a cliff by a horde of half-naked women (monty python)
See the Wikipedia article on this practice--shows how both horrendous and comical defenestration can be. "Catholics ascribed the survival of those defenestrated at Prague Castle in 1618 to divine intervention, while Protestants claimed that it was due to their landing in a large pile of manure."
I'm going to seem like quite the Latin dork, but it's really just that I'm fresh out of an introductory logic course (and I may be a budding Latin dork at that).
ad verecundiam (appeal to unreliable authority)
ad populum (appeal to the people)
ad baculum (appeal to force)
post hoc ergo propter hoc
equivocation
amphibole (one of my personal favorite forms of ambiguity that refers to the grammatical sort). According to Wikipedia it's amphibology, as amphibole is a type of mineral
I feel like this word should be pronounced kee-ho-tik (it just occurred to me that standard IPA pronunciation would show up as a possible word entry). We don't say Don Kwik-sot-ay...but maybe I'm just being persnickety.
I do agree this is a strange word...but it matches a pretty strange time of day. That beautiful, eerie glow and the darkness slowly creeping up. Of course, it can also be used to describe insects and other animals that come out around that time...
Fairly certain this is an American bastardization of the French phrase "A tout à l'heure" (means "See you later")--came around c. end of the first world war.
Comments by valse
valse commented on the word beurgeoisie
This French neologism was mentioned in an English-language article by Laila Lalami in the Nation (http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091214/lalami, 4th page 3rd paragraph). It's a term some French use to describe a recent "wave of young successful Muslims", since beur is a French slang term for a person of Arab origin.
December 6, 2009
valse commented on the list unneutered
I think that should be somnambulist, or am I missing the joke?
August 15, 2009
valse commented on the word dilbert
Cleverly used as a verb in the alt-text (mouse over the strip) of this Daisy Owl comic strip, which is hilarious by the way.
June 9, 2009
valse commented on the word carrefour
Reminds me of Carrefour the French hypermarket
May 25, 2009
valse commented on the word heteronormative
Thanks for saying what I'd been thinking, rolig :)
Maybe the word does get too much traffic in contexts where it's not appropriate--say, in casual speech by people who wanna look smart using fancy-shmancy words--but I've only ever seen it used in sociology papers. I may have felt like the word sums up my general frustration with the implicit norms in mainstream cinema and TV or in political discourse or whatever, but I wouldn't use it except in some specific academic discourse.
May 4, 2009
valse commented on the list her-words
Elle est touchante, cette liste.
April 9, 2009
valse commented on the word samovar
It was a valid point, I was just being sarcastic.
Borrowed words have a way of getting either under- or over-generalized (to make a generalization :p).
March 30, 2009
valse commented on the word samovar
funny quotes should be met with a lawl, not pedantry. Well, it's fitting, I hear that Russians have a different brand of humor than most.
March 30, 2009
valse commented on the word twitter
I promptly twittered about that youtube vid after seeing it :p
March 28, 2009
valse commented on the list false-friends
This is a neat list.
As I'm in a sleep-deprived silly stupor right now, I like to read these as completely random non-sequitur phrases.
March 25, 2009
valse commented on the list the-condom-free-preserve
Préservatif in French. It's not a strict false friend (not exact same spelling), but I know someone who made a fool of herself once asking if there were condoms in a can of peas.
March 23, 2009
valse commented on the word preservative
Same for préservatif in French--only as funny spoken, though.
March 23, 2009
valse commented on the word le petit escargot
How southern Frenchpeople refer to @ --according to Wikipedia :) (scroll down to '"Commercial at" in other languages')
March 22, 2009
valse commented on the word @
arobase in French, see le petit escargot
March 22, 2009
valse commented on the list a-negation-of-all-human-qualities
altruism? or altruistic acts if you're going for nouns/things.
March 22, 2009
valse commented on the list things-you-are-not-allowed-to-question
Well, of course this kind of thing varies enormously by place/region (maybe best to stick to the more abstract terms), but it's no less a good list idea.
March 22, 2009
valse commented on the list to-nounen-and-adjectiven
I should've just made this list an open one :p ...er, except I wouldn't want all those pesky participles, as sionnach aptly pointed out.
March 19, 2009
valse commented on the list to-nounen-and-adjectiven
Also, interesting to note the color-related words...blacken, redden and whiten. Neither yellowen nor mauven nor purplen are in use yet.
March 19, 2009
valse commented on the list to-nounen-and-adjectiven
Good points...I'm not sure I want to accept all the prefixed words, but then again, the words enlighten and embolden are certainly well-established and distinctive words. Then enliven and awaken, definitely. Thanks to you both!
March 19, 2009
valse commented on the list to-nounen-and-adjectiven
Are there no polysyllabic words that can fit in this -en form? Mayhap I found me a linguistical rule :D
March 19, 2009
valse commented on the word ponzi scheme
see the original Ponzi
March 14, 2009
valse commented on the word ponzi scheme
A timely expression.
March 14, 2009
valse commented on the list the-list-who-cried-wolof
wonderful list name :) The list itself I find a little puzzling, but I'm curious
March 9, 2009
valse commented on the word underage graybeard
Seems like all these nonce words I'm tickled by I find through NYT: Miniature ideologue Jonathon Krohn was "the conservative movement's underage graybeard at last weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington."
March 8, 2009
valse commented on the word súrsaðir hrútspungar
I added this to my favorites just so that I would have Asativum's description handy/on record. :) Well done.
Plus, I've got an Icelandic friend who may have an opinion on the matter.
March 5, 2009
valse commented on the word dreamember
Wow, it's been ages since I've been to wordie and it runs as fast as an ice cream cone in the summertime.
Discovered this word on somebody's twitter: "Last tweet for the hour: someone needs to send a copy of The GTOs 'Permanent Damage' to @punkybird. I just dreamembered it." (emphasis added)
It might just be an imaginative twitterer's nonce word
February 23, 2009
valse commented on the list gma-gma
No, I think you've resuscitated it. =)
April 11, 2008
valse commented on the word scrogneugneu
A French interjection I just discovered. Can't be sure I'm pronouncing it right, but it sure looks beautiful.
October 12, 2007
valse commented on the word hyperpolyglot
Hmm, I know of Daniel Tammet and the pope. Over 50...that's downright unfathomable.
September 2, 2007
valse commented on the word effulgent
There's a great nod to that in the series finale of Angel, Spike recites it at a poetry slam.
August 16, 2007
valse commented on the list the-art-science-of-economics
I always hear talk of liquidity, the ebb and flow of money--especially lately, with the stock market taking a dive. Great descriptive word.
August 14, 2007
valse commented on the list a-bazillion-imaginary-numbers
Wonderful list. I'm not sure why, but I like the expression "gobs of money." Perhaps it's the imagery, like with "wads" or "scads," which are are also probably most often used with money--as people are wont to daydream about such intangible desirable things.
...not to mention when it becomes tangible and the same words apply, heh..albeit less effectively, in my mind.
August 14, 2007
valse commented on the word draughtsman
"A draughtsman or draftsman (the former more often in the UK, the latter more often in the US, and pronounced the same) is a person skilled in drawing, either:
* drawing for artistic purposes, or
* technical drawing for practical purposes such as architecture or engineering."
-Wikipedia
August 4, 2007
valse commented on the word circumflex
When someone flexes their arms, arcing downward in the shape of a circle?
I know, corny. Thought of this earlier and couldn't resist..
July 28, 2007
valse commented on the list biblio-words
You forgot bibliotherapy. =]
July 12, 2007
valse commented on the list ump
Funny, seeing the title up on the recent word lists, my thoughts went right to the French party Union for a Presidential Majority, which prompted me to take a peak.
But I was delighted anyway, because '-ump' words are round and forceful and a little pompous. Like this nationalist bigwig (who I hope is recognizable =/)
July 9, 2007
valse commented on the word agglutination
Yeah, I think even though German isn't considered an agglutinative language like Finnish or Turkish, the way it forms nouns is agglutinative. It just refers to how many morphemes you can smash into one lexical unit. Right?
July 1, 2007
valse commented on the list words-that-end-in-dom
geekdom! Fitting, yes.
June 28, 2007
valse commented on the word algorithm march
Japan seems to exude this contagious, fun weirdness...
June 26, 2007
valse commented on the list the-great-fiction
Although you're apparently adding more over time, I'll suggest a couple favorites that are roughly synonymous with junta: coup d'état and putsch. Obvious ones, perhaps, but they are nonetheless goodies.
June 26, 2007
valse commented on the list wot-s-all-this-then
For American news junkies (news junkies from America, that is) like myself, the BBC news site is great when you wanna be up to date on the latest international rows--and there are no adverts as far as I've seen.
June 25, 2007
valse commented on the list compounds
Today, I heard lifeblood and brainchild used on NPR--they might have even been used in the same sentence. Anyway, I think they both sound like loverly sci-fi nonsense.
June 25, 2007
valse commented on the word bracketeering
Perhaps a UD entry is in order, u ;)
June 22, 2007
valse commented on the list be-all-that-you-can-be
It could. But I just find them all so humorously quaint.
June 22, 2007
valse commented on the word hobby horse
Seeing bracketerred makes me think of bracketeering, and now I wonder what that might mean and if someone could be indicted for it.
June 21, 2007
valse commented on the list stuffie-i-m-taken
for granted, a right at the next street
June 21, 2007
valse commented on the list valse-s-words
Glad to hear it.
June 21, 2007
valse commented on the list valse-s-words
Please, feel free. =) I stole bedecked (edit: among others) from you (or rather, saw it on the front page after you added it) for my "be-" list.
June 21, 2007
valse commented on the word freegan
NYT article, June 21, 2007:
"...the term derives from vegans, the vegetarians who forsake all animal products, as many freegans also do...Freegans are scavengers of the developed world, living off consumer waste in an effort to minimize their support of corporations and their impact on the planet, and to distance themselves from what they see as out-of-control consumerism."
June 21, 2007
valse commented on the list stuffie-gimmie
it up, one's all?
June 21, 2007
valse commented on the word sycophant
A little etymological treat, in my opinion: "one who shows the fig."
June 18, 2007
valse commented on the list leftovers
Thanks, reesetee. All good suggestions, palooka, I'll definitely add them all. By the by, reading about vestigial structures spurred me to make the list.
June 9, 2007
valse commented on the list anacronyms
I just learned that flak is flieger abwehr kanone.
June 5, 2007
valse commented on the list the-brain
I agree with you heartily about hemispherectomy. Glad to see you chose the verbal form lobotomize, too; it sounds aptly creepy.
June 4, 2007
valse commented on the list sign-of-the-times
Speaking of golden...
June 3, 2007
valse commented on the list the-brain
Definitely a new favorite. =)
You'd be remiss to leave out lobotomy, methinks. That might just be personal preference. In a similar vein, House, M.D. taught us about hemispherectomy. dendrites, Wernicke's area and Broca's area are a couple more possibilities.
June 3, 2007
valse commented on the word rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
Don't you love agglutination?
June 2, 2007
valse commented on the user john
Hey, John, just wanted to send a quick thanks for making the site--I've been on here for a few months now but thought it futile to post on here without a suggestion/contribution. Alas, I can't think of anything at the moment. So, thanks!
May 28, 2007
valse commented on the word ghoti
Robin: "Ghoti" is "fish"?
Batman: See here. English phonetics. GH becomes F, as in "tough" or "laugh". O becomes I as in "women". TI becomes SH as in "ration" or the word "nation".
Robin: Holy semantics, Batman. You never cease to amaze me!
May 24, 2007
valse commented on the list neat
Decidedly neat. ;) golly's the only specific word I can think of, but on a somewhat related note, I stumbled across this funny quote when searching for some of Robin's "Holy (insert noun that applies to the context)" phrases from the old Batman TV series:
Robin: "Ghoti" is "fish"?
Batman: See here. English phonetics. GH becomes F, as in "tough" or "laugh". O becomes I as in "women". TI becomes SH as in "ration" or the word "nation".
Robin: Holy semantics, Batman. You never cease to amaze me!
Of course, semantics per se really has nothing to do with that, but it's only Robin.
May 24, 2007
valse commented on the word parthenogenesis
Apparently sharks can do this.
May 23, 2007
valse commented on the list gma-gma
Ah! Should have remembered that one, for my Catholic mom and the wonderful Kevin Smith movie (which she surprisingly liked).
Mm, jubjub bird's a definite possibility. Admittedly, that was just an excuse to use the word bandersnatch
May 22, 2007
valse commented on the word neat
Heh...I wonder if someone's made a list for funnily innocuous words from the 50's like this one?
May 22, 2007
valse commented on the word smegma
This word makes an appearance in a lot of "yech" lists. Not surprising, really; I advise against looking at the Wikipedia article while eating.
May 22, 2007
valse commented on the word altogether
Synonym: nude, as in the expression "in the altogether"
May 20, 2007
valse commented on the word dromedary
That is incredibly helpful.
May 18, 2007
valse commented on the list transtemporal-aaa
Nice title. Would you accept the soviet republic or ussr? dacia for present-day romania?
May 15, 2007
valse commented on the user sarahtonin
Your name is great =]
May 12, 2007
valse commented on the word gapsiller
gaspiller?
May 12, 2007
valse commented on the word bowlderize
should be bowdlerize
May 8, 2007
valse commented on the word twitterpated
A search on TFD yielded an ad for Thumper (Bambi's bunny friend) Massagers...really strange fusion there of things that should not fuse in terms of mental imagery. Anyway, this is a cute little word.
May 7, 2007
valse commented on the word neutralize
A cleverly deceptive euphemism for "kill."
April 30, 2007
valse commented on the word medical materialism
Mainly added this obscure term so as to add the following interesting quote from the psychologist of religion W. James:
"Medical materialism finishes up Saint Paul by calling his vision on the road to Damascus a discharging lesion of the occipital cortex, he being an epileptic. It snuffs out Saint Teresa as an hysteric, Saint Francis of Assisi as a hereditary degenerate. George Fox's discontent with the shams of his age, and his pining for spiritual veracity, it treats as a disordered colon."
April 22, 2007
valse commented on the list american-regional-nicknames
birminghamster is great (just spotted it on the front page and had to comment)
April 22, 2007
valse commented on the list a-few-of-my-favorite-things
Thanks for the list love, reesetee and spicolli. It's often the curiosities and oldies that draw me into this business of word-collecting. If there are few opportunities to use them in everyday speech (or at least if you run the risk of people glancing at you sideways), that increases their value to some extent. Plus, older literature and the like.
April 17, 2007
valse commented on the list love-is-a-very-strange-thing
I'll assume technophilia isn't actually the love of that repetitive musical genre, as I couldn't help but think at first glance. glossophile and retrophile are good self-descriptors to add to my repertoire. Thanks!
April 17, 2007
valse commented on the word bunbury
Thanks for the interesting article, trivet.
April 15, 2007
valse commented on the word purplification
From Time, Jan. 19, 2007:
"Indeed, there are those who believe that the gradual purplification of the West may have dramatic national consequences. If the Democrats can pick off a few Rocky Mountain states to augment their strength in the Northeast, upper Midwest and West Coast, they may be able to build an electoral majority that does not include the ferociously conservative South."
April 15, 2007
valse commented on the word je ne sais quois
This is supposed to be je ne sais quoi, if I may be so pedantic
April 6, 2007
valse commented on the list doghouse
Here's one: anathematize
April 6, 2007
valse commented on the list picaresque
Nice list. One of my personal favorites: rapscallion
March 31, 2007
valse commented on the list i-love-not-man-the-less-but-nature-more
troglodyte =] Here's a list I might find very useful.
March 27, 2007
valse commented on the list i-m-not-always-depressed-only-when-i-think-and-feel
saturnine, down-in-the-dumps
March 27, 2007
valse commented on the word daguerreotype
From the Wikipedia article on memento mori:
After the invention of photography, many people had photographs taken of recently dead family members; given the technical limitations of daguerreotype photography, this was one way to get the portrait subject to sit still.
March 24, 2007
valse commented on the list franaais-2
Something to remember for any French forum: àma = à mon avis
March 24, 2007
valse commented on the word abracadabrant
I've yet to see this French word in English. It means "ludicrous" or "far-fetched."
See the even sillier abracadabrantesque
March 16, 2007
valse commented on the word dna
deoxyribonucleic acid
March 10, 2007
valse commented on the list wordage
vintage, lineage, rampage. I have to suggest, though I wouldn't blame you for not accepting it: pwnage
March 6, 2007
valse commented on the list wordage
package, footage, stockage, underage, overage, coverage...oo, and pillage
March 6, 2007
valse commented on the word ownlife
I often commit the ungood crime of ownlifing
March 4, 2007
valse commented on the list jumbo-shrimp
I was wondering about the word ones used in the case of "I want those ones over there." Seems almost like an oxymoron within itself taken out of context.
March 4, 2007
valse commented on the list fun-with-apocopes
Ah, I see. Thank you for the clarification =]
March 4, 2007
valse commented on the list fun-with-apocopes
And rep
March 3, 2007
valse commented on the list odd-words-2
Might I suggest nepenthe, a word I learned on this very site?
March 3, 2007
valse commented on the list oh-eee-oh-eee-oh
Hm, I'm craving coelacanth for supper.
March 3, 2007
valse commented on the list jumbo-shrimp
Really fun list. People have done terribly well in coming up with possibilities.
March 3, 2007
valse commented on the list fun-with-apocopes
prep as in prep course? dem for democrat, chem, phenom (which sounds very odd to me). noob or newb?
Isn't this what they call Zipf's law?
March 3, 2007
valse commented on the list verbed-2
My English professor used the verb other a few times today--capitalized actually. It's more or less supposed to mean "to treat a group of people, often a minority group, as inferior." Also, exoticize, which is sorta jargon-y, but fun to say.
February 28, 2007
valse commented on the word hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
I so long ago misspelt this hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia on my list and thought it was inconceivable no one else had added it.
February 28, 2007
valse commented on the list klaatu-barada-n-necktie-nickel-klaatu-barada-nahagablaga
I remember in the cartoon Doug, Doug would say "Veni, vidi, vici!" whilst doing some magic trick or another. Which sounded enough like an incantation before I learned what it meant. Oh the web of lies that kids' shows spin. ...I'm sorry that wasn't a contribution.
February 21, 2007
valse commented on the list •unexpected-pronunciation-now-with-public-access
I guess I thought of paraphernalia because people often pronounce it pehr-uh-fuh-neel-yuh. Or maybe that's just how my misguided ear has heard it =/
February 21, 2007
valse commented on the list hogwash
tall tale? rubbish or a load of rubbish?
February 21, 2007
valse commented on the word ephemeroptera
According to a play my high school put on a few years ago in which two mayflies have a decidedly brief tryst (it's a bit hazy now), it's about 24 hours. Yeah, I guess I went to a pretty wacky school.
February 20, 2007
valse commented on the word ephemeroptera
What a beautifully expressive word for a mayfly.
February 20, 2007
valse commented on the list bad-mood
Anyone else notice the abundance of words for a bad mood, compared to those for a good one? Perhaps it's more noteworthy when someone is cantankerous because it tends to dampen the mood of those around them? Just got me thinking...anyway, nice list!
February 20, 2007
valse commented on the list dream-a-little-dream-of-me
Oo, thank you! somniloquy's an especially good one that slipped my mind.
February 19, 2007
valse commented on the list cafeteria-catholic
Heh, sacrilege? anathema and ex cathedra for "the" church..
February 17, 2007
valse commented on the list dream-a-little-dream-of-me
Not entirely sure about adding an acronym like rem, but people often say "rehm-sleep"...so I think it's fair game.
February 17, 2007
valse commented on the list adjectives-that-used-to-be-people
Manichaean
February 17, 2007
valse commented on the list og-words
Thanks :) I was searching through my main page for some applicable words and found...well, one. Thinking of changing it to -og words, but that might just bring up too many.
February 17, 2007
valse commented on the list •unexpected-pronunciation-now-with-public-access
One of my favorite words as spelling goes: paraphernalia. And perhaps circuit?
February 17, 2007
valse commented on the list end-in-ot
escargot :)
February 17, 2007
valse commented on the list eponymous-fabrics-or-articles-of-clothing
how about bloomers?
February 17, 2007
valse commented on the word transmogrify
Heh, probably Buffy for me. Or was that transmutation?
February 8, 2007
valse commented on the list that-smarts
a posteriori, a fortiori, ex libris, de facto. Mm, Latin's fun.
January 29, 2007
valse commented on the list gn-words
hehe. All these relatively simple words eluded me.
January 26, 2007
valse commented on the list gn-words
Thanks, Abraxas. Thought of sovereign just now, too.
January 26, 2007
valse commented on the list adjectives-ending-in-id
Here's one to redeem my blunder: splendid.
January 25, 2007
valse commented on the list adjectives-ending-in-id
Don't forget caryatid...
January 24, 2007
valse commented on the list words-that-are-also-excellent-band-names-if-the-rules-below-are-correctly-applied
Though I'm pretty unfamiliar with the original band, my favorite's Masonic Youth. Also, The Frowned Upon.
January 21, 2007
valse commented on the word enneagram
Very interesting. I'd only ever known about the enneagram in the context of personality theory.
January 21, 2007
valse commented on the word entomology
I often hear people mispronounce the word etymology by saying this word instead, which makes me giggle. Even funnier is entomologist in place of etymologist.
January 19, 2007
valse commented on the word cerulean
Suh-roo-lee-uhn. Beautiful word, likewise with the color it describes.
January 15, 2007
valse commented on the word mellifluous
Wonderful etymology: "flowing with honey." The word can be used in that literal sense, but the "metaphorical" sense (e.g. to describe someone's voice or movement) just works really nicely.
January 14, 2007
valse commented on the list english-doesn-t-have-a-word-for-it
Apparently the English word for schadenfreude is epicaricacy...if you want to get technical. There's a book out there whose name I can't quite recall that talks about various words and phrases that are exclusive to one language/region. Maybe someone else will know the title.
January 14, 2007
valse commented on the word kaputt
See kaput
January 12, 2007
valse commented on the word kaput
Ah, I see, it's also spelled kaputt
January 12, 2007
valse commented on the word kaput
Surprised to be the first one to add this word.
I imagine this word as the result of exasperated spitting...as when one's car is dead and the owner bursts into a fit of kicking and spitting.
January 12, 2007
valse commented on the word betwixt
I agree thoroughly.
January 12, 2007
valse commented on the list witches-and-magic
thaumaturgy
January 12, 2007
valse commented on the word quixotic
Possible counterexamples of that, seanahan, would be words like jungian (yoong-ee-uhn) or wagnerian (vahg-neer-ee-uhn). When it derives from someone's name, that pronunciation seems to stick, at least part of the time. But after reading the tidbit on wikipedia about the spelling and pronunciation of "Quixote", I see it's a little bit more nuanced anyhow (technically it's medieval Castilian, not Spanish). Bah! This is a good word, I'm going to leave it alone (stop picking at it, that is) for fear that people will stop using it. I see it written much more often than I hear it spoken, anyway.
January 12, 2007
valse commented on the list words-that-are-sexy-to-my-ears
No problem. :) I'm tempted to make a list like this one myself.
January 6, 2007
valse commented on the list death-becomes-her
Oh, definitely, if not from the impact then maybe a heart attack brought on by the fall. Best way to get rid of political dissidents, as my Mom always says ;)
January 6, 2007
valse commented on the list the-color-perple
Right you are =)
January 6, 2007
valse commented on the word lackluster
If it lacks luster, then it must be...
January 6, 2007
valse commented on the list the-less-said
hmm, humorless, fearless, bottomless, to name a few
January 6, 2007
valse commented on the word dysphemism
Would euphemism not be an antonym of dysphemism?
January 6, 2007
valse commented on the word awesome
I see your predicament, pedalinfaith. awe-inspiring just doesn't have quite the same ring--gets the job done, but it even sounds a little cliché. Hmm, a better substitute isn't coming to me. I say spite the masses and continue using it as you always have :)
January 6, 2007
valse commented on the word wanton
Quite possibly my 10th grade English teacher's favorite word.
January 6, 2007
valse commented on the list words-that-are-sexy-to-my-ears
Aficionado?
January 6, 2007
valse commented on the word funereal
This word sounds a million times better than funeral
January 6, 2007
valse commented on the word quixotic
So true, billifer. As counterintuitive as it may sometimes seem, we should just chalk it up to idiosyncrasy(if that word wasn't previously used to describe words or language, it now is). And then the inconsistency's something to appreciate, I suppose.
January 5, 2007
valse commented on the word phonetic
A decidedly heterological word.
January 5, 2007
valse commented on the word squelch
squelch has a definite fruit-smashing or walking-through-muck sound to it.
January 5, 2007
valse commented on the list death-becomes-her
clearly defenestration should be on this list. I'm also wondering if there's a word for being chased off of a cliff by a horde of half-naked women (monty python)
January 5, 2007
valse commented on the word defenestration
See the Wikipedia article on this practice--shows how both horrendous and comical defenestration can be. "Catholics ascribed the survival of those defenestrated at Prague Castle in 1618 to divine intervention, while Protestants claimed that it was due to their landing in a large pile of manure."
January 5, 2007
valse commented on the word doyenne
see doyen
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the word doyen
also see doyenne
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the list that-would-be-illogical
I'm going to seem like quite the Latin dork, but it's really just that I'm fresh out of an introductory logic course (and I may be a budding Latin dork at that).
ad verecundiam (appeal to unreliable authority)
ad populum (appeal to the people)
ad baculum (appeal to force)
post hoc ergo propter hoc
equivocation
amphibole (one of my personal favorite forms of ambiguity that refers to the grammatical sort). According to Wikipedia it's amphibology, as amphibole is a type of mineral
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the list she-blinded-me-with-pseudoscience
panacea might be a good catch-all word to add for pseudoscientific medicine.
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the list the-color-perple
pertinent/pertinency, pert...Not sure if you'd count words like per se, per capita, etc.
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the list thwartmanteau
This is wonderful.
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the word hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
A concept that might seem absurd to a Wordie...and obviously a joke word, by the way. Don't know who came up with it.
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the word quixotic
I feel like this word should be pronounced kee-ho-tik (it just occurred to me that standard IPA pronunciation would show up as a possible word entry). We don't say Don Kwik-sot-ay...but maybe I'm just being persnickety.
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the word hypnopompic
oo, good word, indeed. I knew hypnogogic but strangely not this one. ...I think I'll go add lucid dreaming to my word list now.
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the word crepuscular
I do agree this is a strange word...but it matches a pretty strange time of day. That beautiful, eerie glow and the darkness slowly creeping up. Of course, it can also be used to describe insects and other animals that come out around that time...
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the word idiosyncracy
i.e. a personal form of government.
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the word toodleoo
Fairly certain this is an American bastardization of the French phrase "A tout à l'heure" (means "See you later")--came around c. end of the first world war.
January 4, 2007
valse commented on the word troubelsome
troublesome?
January 4, 2007