Yesterday, rufty-tufty itinerant photo-blogger, Cap'n Adrian finally came out. Yes folks, in a kind of blogging whisper Adrian admitted that he has a favourite word and it is (drum roll)...marmalade. He likes the word - not because it is something sweet and orangey that he smears on his toast but because he likes the sound of the word. He likes the way it rolls off his tongue. If any of the no-nonsense seamen who served under Adrian (aka William Bligh) had heard about this affection for words, his ironman reputation would have plummeted like a hungry gannet descending upon a shoal of mackerel.
So anyway, if Adrian can come out then so can I. (Nervous cough). If I am honest I like the sound of lots of words - from mellifluous to nincompoop and from pamplemousse (French for grapefruit) to scythe. The English language is awash with great sounding words and we all have our favourites. It is difficult for me to pick out one single "favourite word" but if pressed I would have to plump for Yorkshire, a beautiful proper noun that cascades from the mouth like the heavenly sound of angels singing in paradise.
So what about you, esteemed visitor from the mysterious blogosphere? Are you also ready to come out? Don't be reticent now. Follow Cap'n Adrian's example. It is time to share. Pray tell us all your favourite words...
I've always been partial to boondoggle, although I share your admiration for mellifluous. Oh, and onomatopoeia and indispensable and caterwauling.
ReplyDeleteThe genie is out of the bottle now. I suppose it cannot be put back.
I always knew you would have the courage to come out Bob! You can count on my support.
DeleteI lower my guard for a second and look what happens.
ReplyDeleteMarmalade is best but discombobulate is another word I love.
Adrian, I love discombobulate as well. Great word.
DeleteIs "discombobulate" a sexual verb?
DeleteOnly if you are straight and get confused.
DeleteI miss hearing some of the funny Scottish words like drookit (soaking wet), dreich (for a grey dull day), baffies (slippers). I also love sweary words, especially if they come unexpectedly, say from someone posh - eg "And I just told Hugo to fack orf". Lots of other words I love but just can't think of right now.
ReplyDeleteRoberto told me you like these words - "jewellery", "new watch" and "handbag" but he said you could get discombobulated!
DeleteLoads Molly. Sennet for vest, messages for shopping. Gangin but I won't translate that as YP can be a bit picky what words he allows.
DeleteAdrian, I forgot about "messages" - hilarious!
DeleteIf you forgot about your messages Molly, Roberto will be most displeased and you won't find it "hilarious" when he takes off his belt!
DeleteI have always loved the sound of the word cacophony.
ReplyDeleteCacophony is a good one. What does it mean?
DeleteAdrian - As everybody else knows, "cacophony" means a harsh discordant mixture of sounds.,
DeleteVery presumptuous if I may be so bold YP. Ask a Frenchman or a Spaniard.
DeleteYou can be a bit catholic at times not to mention chauvinistic*. I had never seen or heard the word before. Well I must have but it isn't a word I've managed to work into conversation or ever found the need to write.
Chauvinistic is another good word. I bet it is derived from the French word for Horse and the French for wine. The 'istic' I'll guess is English. What is an Istic?
Adrian - As everybody else in the English speaking word knows, an "istic" is a kind of monk who tours wild heathen lands with dogs, cursing about the weather while consuming vast quantities of strong liqueur.
DeleteGives new meaning to the phrase "super caliph fragile istic" and not a moment too soon either.
DeleteHa! Ha! Bob! On second reading I could see where you were coming from!
Delete(Mansfield, Texas)
scrumptious...even though it has "rump" in it
ReplyDeleteI thought that a nice piece of rump would be what mainly attracted you to this word Jan.
DeleteAdrian, a perfect cacophony is when you step outside a hotel in New York City or London or Beijing and hear the cars, people talking, sirens blaring, a jackhammer on a construction project, a greengrocer hawking his produce, and a bunch of children laughing and playing on a school playground. Cacophony!
ReplyDeleteA perfect example Mama Thyme.
DeleteIf I could say it..."phenomenon". I'm lucky I can spell it! That word refuses to run smoothly off my tongue unless I say it verrrrrrrrry slowly! :)
ReplyDeleteI think I will have to give more thought to this!
Perhaps it would be better if I said it very quickly and mumbled....hmmmmm....
Delete"Phenomenon" sounds like a song from "The Muppet Show".
DeleteHmmmm. For starters, I like eclectic, eccentric, frazzle, dumaflache, soliloquy and lots of others that escape me at the moment. I don't care for words like larvae, pupil and staid. (I also don't like the sound of someone else typing on a computer keyboard, but I do like the sound of scissors cutting cloth or cardstock).
ReplyDeleteOf course, these things change regularly - for a whole week my favorite words were lugubrious and gormless. I like the sound of coffee any old time.....
I didn't know what dumaflache meant Hilly but now I have looked it up I see it doesn't really mean anything at all. I share your love of "gormless" even though I don't know what gorm is. Can we be "gormful"?
DeleteEveryone knows it's spelled doomaflotchy....
DeleteOn a hunch I checked dictionary.com and neither dumaflache nor doomaflotchy appears there -- but most Americans know it means thingamajig or whatchamacallit or hoozit or gizmo. My dad was partial to gizmo but he was from Iowa.
DeleteDon't they hunt gizmos in Iowa? How do you cook them?
DeleteYou cook 'em just like snipes after a nice snipe hunt.
DeleteLike most of you, I have more than one favourite word, and they sometimes change when I come across a new one. How about persnickety? I also love "indeed" and use it often, whether people like it or not. Often reading books that were written a hundred or more years ago means I come across some words that are nearly forgotten today.
ReplyDeleteLess in English, but quite a lot in German, I associate other senses with specific words. For instance, the word Sechzehn (German for sixteen) makes me thirsty. When I think of the number 96 (but only in German), it always is bright green.
"Indeed" is far less irritating than "absolutely" when what people really mean is "yes". With regard to your number associations, perhaps a course of counselling is required Miss Arian.
DeleteWell, if we're going for foreign words, I've always loved to mutter dummkopf under my breath.........
DeleteHilltop, dummkopf was one of my father's pet names for me. At least I think it was one of his pet names. I'm going to continue telling myself that.
Delete"Mateship" is very popular with Aussies. When times are difficult, in wars and storms it always appears to get us through.
ReplyDeleteA few more:
ReplyDeleteGargantuan. Indecipherable. Pusillanimous. Indefatigable. Perfunctory. Insurmountable.
Swallowing dictionaries can cause indigestion Bob. Another world I have always liked in "skein".
DeleteGreat stuff! I like lots of words and my tastes vary over time, but at present I'm into short ones - stuff, plank, mug, badger, top, .... or words like whistle, whisper ... or cuppa. Also love combinations such as "top up" as in "Do you fancy a...?".
ReplyDeleteWotthehellarchiewotthehell
ReplyDelete