A Few of My Favorite Words
Ribald and raucous and soirée and eschewed,
Sibilant, dulcet, omniscient and (yes) dude.
Blimp, murmur, plethora, zeppelin, and nerds,
These are a few of my favorite words.
I was recently asked on my Goodreads author group about words that I loved and/or hated. While I provided a brief answer on the original post, it got me to thinking about some of my other favorite words, which eventually led me to corrupt the Rodgers and Hammerstein song “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music.
To be honest, I don’t make use of all the words included in the rhyming lyrics above on a regular basis, though I am fond of spitting out eschewed and omniscient and plethora whenever I can fit them into the conversation. Dude is my favorite word, because it can mean so many things with just a simple change of inflection. And I don’t think there’s a more amusing word in the English language than blimp.
Go on, try it. Say blimp. Then say it again. Repeat it over and over. I’ll wait. See? I told you so.
Some of my other favorite words include:
Susurrus, salubrious, lugubrious, onomatopoeia, omnipotent, gargantuan, quintessential, ubiquitous, denouement, verisimilitude, denuded, culinary, milieu, bogart, apocryphal, gasp, haunt, and loathe.
Speaking of loathing, while there aren’t any words that affect me like the proverbial fingernails dragging along the chalkboard, I’m not particularly fond of the word gherkin. I don’t know why. It just rubs me the wrong way. Other than that, I’m pretty easy to get along with.
How about you? Any words that you love or hate? That just roll off your tongue or make you squirm?
Shenanigans!
Comment by Stacey — December 5, 2011 @ 8:13 am
Shenanigans is a great word. It goes on the list.
Comment by admin — December 5, 2011 @ 8:23 am
I should also add the word “cornobble” to the list, a word to which I was recently introduced and which means to hit someone with a fish.
Comment by admin — December 5, 2011 @ 8:24 am
You made me see the word “Blimp” in a whole new light. And I probably sounded pretty ridiculous repeating “Blimp” aloud to myself over and over until I began to laugh hysterically.
Comment by Sara — December 5, 2011 @ 8:42 am
I like arduous, tumultuous and scallywag. I have mixed feelings about penultimate, but my kids used to like to use it with their teachers when they were in elementary school. I don’t care for verisimilitude, and never gave much thought to gherkin. Now that I have, I think I love it. One of my favorite words that I never use is velliety. I learned it from an Ogden Nash poem. Here’s a link to a blog with the poem. It’s worth the read. . . if you have the volition to do it. :) http://adorabletrivialities.blogspot.com/2006/06/little-ogden-to-cheer-up-your-day.html
I know there are words that make me cringe, but I can’t think of them right now. ..
Comment by Susan Seaman — December 5, 2011 @ 8:47 am
And GUMPTION. I love gumption!
Comment by Susan Seaman — December 5, 2011 @ 9:08 am
I’ve always liked phenomenon. (do do, dodo do) Unrelated to the song.
I had a crush on my boss who was from Wisconsin, and fell in love when she said “Wonky”.
Like you, I’m fond of soiree, and plethora.
Words that rub me the wrong way start in G. The hard G really sticks in my throat.
Comment by Karryn — December 5, 2011 @ 9:25 am
Dude, plethora is my favorite word, ever. I use it whenever I’m asked about my education—a plethora of probation slips. Monotony is another, when I land there the word haunts me out of blah-blah-blah routines. Frazzled, morphed, graced, haywire and catawampus have claimed real-estate in my heart. And if you ever want to get popped in the kisser use juxtaposition in my proximity, don’t know why, I loathe juxtapose. This is cheating but a group of words I adore when I need to put someone in their place “shut your pie hole”. Or I can just call someone a blimp. That would hush them.
Comment by Tami — December 5, 2011 @ 10:43 am
All great words everyone, thanks for playing! I’ll also throw out ineffable, soupcon, myopic, and platitudes.
Oh, and Sara, I’m glad I could help you appreciate the silliness of “blimp.”
Comment by admin — December 5, 2011 @ 4:34 pm
Amazing blog.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
Comment by Parker Putt — February 26, 2012 @ 9:49 pm