Abrahamic, air rage, amuse-bouche, annus horribilis, brain freeze, bushmeat, Chinglish, cojones, hinky, false memory... all waiting to be used.
“He writes the worst English that I have ever encountered. It reminds me of a string of wet sponges; it reminds me of tattered washing on the line; it reminds me of stale bean soup, of college yells, of dogs barking idiotically through endless nights. It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it. It drags itself out of the dark abysm of pish, and crawls insanely up the topmost pinnacle of posh. It is rumble and bumble. It is flap and doodle. It is balder and dash."
( H.L. Mencken writing about US President Warren G. Harding)
“Teachers often say it’s a no-no to make readers look something up, but I got an extra laugh pausing to learn Humbert was comparing Lolita’s lounging mother to a seal.” -This is the gut laugh joy I get from Mencken.
I love everything you write: pragmatic yet with flair. I’ve come to writing for my actual job later in my life - and it’s tech writing (yawn). But as I look to improve at work, your writing tips are getting filed alongside my favorite mentor’s. Thanks for this. Please keep them coming.
Oh I agree especially about reading the work of other great writers. It’s surprising how much vocabulary and style sinks in subconsciously and reemerges later. I sometimes think I collect words the way that others collect baseball cards. (Platypus has always been one of my favorites.) I’ve recently started studying the etymology of words. Thank you for the effort you put into your craft and sharing what you’ve learned. While I can admit that text messages serve a useful purpose, if I was reduced to reading nothing but texts and tweets filled with acronyms and devoid of punctuation, my appetite for delicious words in a well-crafted sentence would starve to death.
Can't wait to dive in to the list. I'm in agreement. It's frabjous to look up new words. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a slubberdegullion. Okay, that's going a bit too far. 😂 Recently learned my sister is a pluviophile. Well, I knew she was, but I didn't know what it was called. Thanks, Matt!
I was pretty happy with myself when, on another blog, I described California as being at the bottom of the hole, digging for China like a badger. Upon reconsideration, I should have said "rabid badger." Oh well, next time.
This is great. I've also enjoyed just making words up. Sometimes it's obvious what they mean in context, and they can be far more fun and colorful than any existing word.
Like "xenophobiated".
It may be a post on this is coming up, as it's a common practice for those who like language.
Abrahamic, air rage, amuse-bouche, annus horribilis, brain freeze, bushmeat, Chinglish, cojones, hinky, false memory... all waiting to be used.
“He writes the worst English that I have ever encountered. It reminds me of a string of wet sponges; it reminds me of tattered washing on the line; it reminds me of stale bean soup, of college yells, of dogs barking idiotically through endless nights. It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it. It drags itself out of the dark abysm of pish, and crawls insanely up the topmost pinnacle of posh. It is rumble and bumble. It is flap and doodle. It is balder and dash."
( H.L. Mencken writing about US President Warren G. Harding)
Does "syphilitic" count? Spirochetes are bacteria, which in turn are considered animals.
This is brilliant, Matt at his best. This needs to be a book.
Testudine, would that be Mitch McConnell?
Thank you. A nice break from stories of Stasi and Gestapo.
It doesn’t surprise me that people who read Matt love interesting words. Looking up a few words isn’t a burden for those who appreciate good writing.
O Matt... is the fellow in this video you?
you better watch this after that librarian crack
https://youtu.be/4GDT6oVCdCE?t=33
“Teachers often say it’s a no-no to make readers look something up, but I got an extra laugh pausing to learn Humbert was comparing Lolita’s lounging mother to a seal.” -This is the gut laugh joy I get from Mencken.
I love everything you write: pragmatic yet with flair. I’ve come to writing for my actual job later in my life - and it’s tech writing (yawn). But as I look to improve at work, your writing tips are getting filed alongside my favorite mentor’s. Thanks for this. Please keep them coming.
Oh I agree especially about reading the work of other great writers. It’s surprising how much vocabulary and style sinks in subconsciously and reemerges later. I sometimes think I collect words the way that others collect baseball cards. (Platypus has always been one of my favorites.) I’ve recently started studying the etymology of words. Thank you for the effort you put into your craft and sharing what you’ve learned. While I can admit that text messages serve a useful purpose, if I was reduced to reading nothing but texts and tweets filled with acronyms and devoid of punctuation, my appetite for delicious words in a well-crafted sentence would starve to death.
Can't wait to dive in to the list. I'm in agreement. It's frabjous to look up new words. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a slubberdegullion. Okay, that's going a bit too far. 😂 Recently learned my sister is a pluviophile. Well, I knew she was, but I didn't know what it was called. Thanks, Matt!
What should the people do once they realize their Constitutional Republic has fallen prey to vulturine institutions?
I was pretty happy with myself when, on another blog, I described California as being at the bottom of the hole, digging for China like a badger. Upon reconsideration, I should have said "rabid badger." Oh well, next time.
The animal list is also a great source of words for scrabble!
That is great sir, appreciate good wordsmiths!
My reading skills are limited to a tape measure or a wiring diagram.
Myself am a dumbass when it comes to words.
Some of my favorites are uh... umm, oh , ah ha, ok, yep .
Me is a word butcher... LoL
This is great. I've also enjoyed just making words up. Sometimes it's obvious what they mean in context, and they can be far more fun and colorful than any existing word.
Like "xenophobiated".
It may be a post on this is coming up, as it's a common practice for those who like language.