Lovely and abandoned words

[scullyx101]

"stupendous" is a pretty wonderful word.

and by the way, my friends and i use phantasmagoric all the time, although we dont use it in context, but instead use it as a replacement for fantastic and add a "fucking" right in the middle.

 

[raffaellabella]

I love the word "coquette" but don't hear it often. When was the last time anyone was called a coquette?

 

[tartan_skirt]

I love the word "coquette" but don't hear it often. When was the last time anyone was called a coquette?

That is a great word! I'm going to have to see if I can incorporate it into vocabulary.

I just remembered another word I rather like: Cacophony.

I just signed up to the A Word A Day site and have started listing the words I come across that I like/don't know. I find that a lot of the time I'm stuck for words or can never seem to express myself with the right word, so I'm hoping this might help in some way...

 

[bren]

I just posted this word in another thread: anon! I often use words that create questions. It's fun if you do it on purpose, but embarrassing if it slips out at the wrong moment.

Anon

 

[Pinecones360]

nifty. it's so much better than cool. I also like the word calumny. Viscious affronts to one's honor are always interesting.

 

[Thickney]

Oh, I forgot about "vicissitudes", which is a great word if a bit of a tongue twister. Barque is pretty great too.

 

[Vespertilio91]

How about blatherskite? It means one who speaks nonsense. I love it.

I also like integrity and vermillion. Just wonderfully clad (oooh, there's another one!) words I never hear.

Rugged. It sounds just like it should, very tough.

Inconspicuous.

Etiolate.

Ravine.

Where can I sign up for the Word-A-Day thing?

 

[tartan_skirt]

How about blatherskite? It means one who speaks nonsense. I love it.

Where can I sign up for the Word-A-Day thing?

Excellent!

Another word from me: mendacious. I might have to stop soon or I'll clog the board up.

Here's the link: http://wordsmith.org/awad/index.html

 

[raffaellabella]

I use outdated words like "pocketbook", often pronounced "pockabook" instead of purse. I also say "tin foil" instead of "aluminum foil". Oh, and "cocoa" instead of "hot chocolate" and I'm only 35. You should see the looks I get when I use these words.

 

[Thursday]

I read "incorrigible" in a book recently. It's a word that I have always wanted to work into a conversation. I think it must be commonly used in classics, where I came across it in my teens.

 

[Poppy1]

I use outdated words like "pocketbook", often pronounced "pockabook" instead of purse. I also say "tin foil" instead of "aluminum foil". Oh, and "cocoa" instead of "hot chocolate" and I'm only 35. You should see the looks I get when I use these words.

You should see the strange looks we get when we say al-you-min-e-um in front of Americans (we spell it aluminium)

 

[direstraits]

poppy, that's how we pronounce it here too. But then we follow the Queen's English here (history buffs will know why, of course).

ds

 

[StillILearn]

ds! Look at how cute you look!

 

[Ell]

From Star Wars: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

ds, ditto what Still said.

 

[Dogmatix]

DS is a super bannanna!!!!!!

 

[Poppy1]

I thought he was being Capt Underpants Is is winter over in KL, ds?

 

[JimMorrison]

"Alas"...which has somehow worked its way into my normal speech (seriously)...I started using it as a joke maybe 4 years ago (because I love it so), and now I use it without even realizing it. Ah, great word, alas....

D

what is the correct way to use "alas."

...maybe a sample sentence?

 

[bren]

what is the correct way to use "alas."

...maybe a sample sentence?

For my own completion of Donna Rose's ellipsis: "Ah, great word, alas, it is no longer in common use."

 

[StillILearn]

For my own completion of Donna Rose's ellipsis: "Ah, great word, alas, it is no longer in common use."

Alas, I think that sentence lacks the word alack.

 

[Donna Rose]

oops, when I use alas in my post, I was really referencing the word: ah, great word, "alas" ...that sort of thing. My fault for not being clear...however, bren completed the sentence nicely. I use "alas" whenever something comes up in conversation, like a casual complaint about something, I cap it with: "Alas!" As I said, it started as a joke but now I use it without realizing it.

As for "alack"...does anyone here know the musical Once Upon a Mattress? We did that my sophomore year of high school, and there's a lyric in it that goes: "Alas! A lass, is what, I lack! I lack, a lass, alas, alack!" hehehe good stuff...

D