The splendid Translating is an Art has a link to a BBC article giving "50 of your favourite words". Here are the first five in their list (I particularly like "poodle-faker"), and you can the whole list here. Meanwhile perhaps we should all try to draw up our own list of 50 favourite words or perhaps set ourselves the task of reading dictionaries for fun like Ammon Shea.
1. To throw something (someone) out of a window is to defenestrate. I love this word because it immediately brings some interesting memories to the front, not to mention makes me think of some new things to toss out of a window.
Lee Nachtigal, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA2. Poodle-faker - a young man too much given to taking tea with ladies.
Jane, Pembroke3. Omphaloskepsis (self-absorbed, navel-gazing). I’m not really a selfish person, but I do occasionally need someone to remind me to look up from my navel. Plus, things that have to do with belly-buttons are generally pretty fun.
Anise Brock, San Francisco, USA4. Mallemaroking - the carousing of seamen in icebound ships. A wonderfully useful word! How many icebound ships do we all know?
Sue H, Tiverton5. Spanghew - to cause (esp. a toad or frog) to fly into the air off the end of a stick. (In northern and Scottish use.) Why? Well, all one has to do is imagine the myriad situations in which one might use this word.
Michael Everson, Ireland
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2 Comments:
can one apply 'defenestrate' to people? ;o)
One could try - in the stress before the assembly I kept saying i was going to kill myself by throwing myself out of my office window - however when you're on the ground floor this isn't much point - couldn't even get that right!
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