Words from Josefa Heifetz Byrne

One of my most prized specialized dictionaries is Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words. (The Citadel Press, 1976) Not sure if it's out of print or not. Try both new and used bookstores.

A few examples of the gems to be found within:

acalculia: the inability to work with numbers; a mental block against arithmetic (now you know what it's called!)
canoodle: to caress
omphaloskepsis: meditation while gazing at one's navel
lethologica: inability to remember the right word (something I hope to find a way to counteract)
godling: a puny or small-time god

More some other time . . .

Answers to 1/22/12 "Heckle and Jeckle" Quiz

Who said what?

Despicable: Daffy Duck
Excellent: Mr. Burns on "The Simpsons"
Indubitably: Heckle or Jeckle
Ni: Month Python and the Holy Grail knights
Jejune: Woody Allen, Love and Death
Fascinating: Mr. Spock, "Star Trek"
Meathead: Archie Bunker, "All in the Family"
Obtuse: Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

I hope some of you enjoyed trying to figure this out.

Exquisite

A word most of us know but, as with so many other serviceable words, I rarely hear it used in conversations.

I think this word is generally reserved for references to women. Try using it when you have a chance to compliment a spouse, girlfriend, or lover on her appearance, e.g., "You really look exquisite tonight."

Or perhaps to describe a particularly spectacular feature of said person's body, e.g., "You really have exquisite [use your imagination here] or an exquisite [ditto]."

Shemp

That's all I have to say tonight.

Words We Know But Don't Use

Scroll through the following
list of words: How many of
them do you know the meaning
of? (Probably most or all of them.)
Which of them do you recall
using in conversation or writing
over the last few months? Do you
think you can start incorporating
some of them into your daily life?
What I'm trying to do here is
encourage you to actually use
words you're familiar with.
Captivating ______
Bumpkin     ______
Delectable  ______
Seethe         ______
Titillating    ______
Grotesque   ______
Breathtaking _____
Gregarious  ______
Harmonious _____
Absorbing   ______
Browbeat   ______
Detestable  ______
Outlandish ______
Renowned ______
Putrid        ______
Ritzy         ______
Terse        ______
Succulent ______
Exquisite  ______
Luscious   ______
Sultry       ______
Chastise   ______
Affable    ______
Despicable _____
Lackey     ______

                                 

Heckle and Jeckle Quiz

Still getting the hang of how these blog entries are formatted. Obviously the spacing is screwy on my last posting, but presumably you'll be able to figure out what's going on.

Remember Heckle and Jeckle?

Demonstrate your knowledge of words used in popular culture in the following "quiz" without using the Internet. My intent is to highlight how expressive words are all around you. Match the word in the first column with who said it in the second column. Answers will be provided in a future blog entry.

The Word                                                       Who Said It?

1. despicable                                                     a. Heckle or Jeckle, cartoon characters
2. excellent                                                        b. Daffy Duck, cartoon character
3. indubitably                                                    c. Archie Bunker, "All in the Family"
4. ni                                                                   d. Mr. Burns, "The Simpsons"
5. jejune                                                             e. Mr. Spock, "Star Trek"
6. fascinating                                                     f. Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption
7. meathead                                                       g. Woody Allen, Love and Death
8. obtuse                                                            h. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The Carlin Sketch I Just Recommended

If you're offended by risque humor, you might not want to listen to the last 10 seconds or so of Carlin's sketch. Then again, this posting may send you to the video stat if you haven't already seen it.

Nullify "Nice" and Abolish "Awesome"

Because, as I see it, "nice" and "awesome" are two of the most overused words in the English language, I taught a course with the above title several times at two community colleges in the Seattle area a few years back. Although the number of people who took the classes wasn't that large, most of the students were enthusiastic about the experience. My main purpose in teaching the class was showing how using a wider variety of words can be so satisfying, in many different ways.

You might find George Carlin's "Have a Nice Day" sketch illuminating--and amusing: you should be able to access it by googling "George Carlin" + "Have a Nice Day" + "You Tube"

Some testimonials about the class:
                                "Your vibrant personality made the class interesting and put everyone at ease."
                                "Thanks to you for such a stimulating two evenings. I haven't had so much word fun since I was learning Pig Latin."
                                 "That was a fun class. It was worth the money to find one word that describes my boss: irascible."
                                 "I was truly inspired by the class and impressed with you as an instructor."
                                 "Totally rad class."        

One of my students' assignments was to read something in a newspaper, magazine, or book--or something online--and to write down words they either (a) know but never use in their speaking or writing or (b) don't know the meaning of, but would like to know more about and use.

I contacted then-Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports columnist Art Thiel (who now writes independently) and told him that I always found a number of precise, evocative, and colorful words in his columns, and that I was encouraging my students to use the kind of expressive words he did.

His response, in part: "Astonishment. Huzzahs. Gesticulations. Sometimes I wonder if anyone cares that language is a wondrous tool to be celebrated. You do. I want your class to be made mandatory for all students. To whom do I write? This is a life-saving thing. Yours in the eradication of triteness."

I'm not planning to revive the class anytime soon (maybe someday), but Art's words really inspired me and convinced me that my efforts were worthwhile.

So now I've started this blog as a prelude to a book I'm writing that will include my trenchant (I hope), irreverent, and wide-ranging ruminations on the English language and how we can have more fun using it (just try saying "Bluto Blutarsky" without smiling).