Friday, May 14, 2004

Are yours included?

Merriam-Webster took votes on people's favorite words. The list includes 10 words:
1. defenstration
2. serendipity
3. onomatopoeia
4. discombobulate
5. plethora
6. callipygian
7. juxtapose
8. persnickety
9. kerfuffle
10. flibbertigibbet
Flibbertigibbet is good.

While I'm partial to hundreds of words in English, I do have one clear favorite in Spanish: libelula. Doesn't that sound nice?

What are your favorites? (I'm expecting Paul Wiggins to have something creative.)

9 Comments:

At 12:32 AM, May 15, 2004, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've gotta say, I've always liked "defenstrate" and "plethora" (though that always makes me think of "The Three Amigos").

 
At 9:27 PM, May 15, 2004, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My favorite words are the ones that best express a given thought at a given moment. -- Peter Fisk

 
At 9:48 PM, May 15, 2004, Blogger Nicole said...

I usually like silly-sounding words, which is one fun reason to listen hip-hop: badunkadunk, for example.

 
At 5:01 PM, May 16, 2004, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mosey, as in "When you take up ypur country posting learn to do the Main Street mosey."

 
At 6:56 PM, May 16, 2004, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thought of another today: lackadaisical. You feel lazy just reaching the end of the word.

And it has an interesting origin. It's from lackaday (a shortening of alack the day), an archaic term used to express regret or deprecation.

(And speaking of deprecation, I never see this word without self- tacked on the front. Just look. Why is that?)

 
At 11:30 PM, May 16, 2004, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amortization anyone? Primarily because I have a dickens of a time pronouncing it.

 
At 1:04 AM, May 17, 2004, Blogger Nicole said...

I have no problems with "amortization." It's "amortize" that catches me up.

 
At 6:10 AM, May 17, 2004, Blogger Mark M. Hancock said...

Buffalo feels the best when spoken. However I am fond of juxtapose.

-- Mark M. Hancock
markhancock.blogspot.com

 
At 2:36 AM, May 18, 2004, Blogger Paul said...

Monoglossophobia - the obsessive fear of using the same word twice in one sentence.



(used by either Harold Evans or Bremer, can't recall)

 

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