I don’t usually stay up late enough to watch Conan O’Brien but awhile back I caught a show during which he campaigned to bring back use of the word thrice.
Thrice. Indeed, a fun word.
Yesterday Karen wrote about beautiful words so well that today I thought we could play with words and look at those that are entertaining. I’d like to suggest some other fun words that I think just aren’t used enough.
Slapdash
Because I’d rather negotiate contracts, send out proposals, and encourage writers, I employ a slapdash approach to housekeeping.
Draconian
While Steve Laube is draconian regarding book proposals, cooperative writers are rewarded with praise and contracts.
Phalanx
Popular agents and editors face a phalanx of proposals upon returning from conferences.
Twixt
There’s a lot of work twixt writing a proposal and getting a book published.
Ribald
We are never allowed to be ribald in CBA.
Lickety-split
I can do my slapdash housework lickety-split!
Fractious
Incoherent proposals make me fractious.
Tolerable
Oh, I’m feeling tolerable today. How about you?
Serious words everyone needs to say more often. Seriously:
I love you.
You are beautiful.
I thank God for you every day.
Your turn:
What are some fun words you like?
My aunt Mildred and grandmom from Tennessee used to say that a lot, “I’m feeling tolerable today,” so how nice to see that word/phrase used again! And Anita, “past your eyes” — too funny! Jodi, I love, love “I am sorry” as the most healing words we can use. My most recent favorite word came to me through a friend’s short story: Supplication. So filled with yearning and meaning.
Bombastic! I’m pretty sure I heard Angela Hunt use this word at the Indy writers conference this weekend. It made me smile….
A few years ago I learned the word “fard” from A Word A Day.
Unfortunately, there are few occasions to utter it — and then it must be spoken with the utmost care.
Peter, what does “fard” mean? I would love to use it some day.
I especially love words that begin with “t.” Don’t rightly know why. But here are a few:
turgid and tumid (which have the same definition)
and tintinabulation.
I’m a fan of the word ‘tolerable’, as in, things are ‘tolerable to middling’.
What fun posts! Cheryl, my grandmother used to say, “Fair to middling.”
My faves: discombobulated, bumfuzzled and bamboozled
With a nod at my Irish ancestry: shenanigans, leprechaun, shillelagh
I, too, love the word facetious, and use it all the time. Unfortunately, my youngest son does also. He will do something completely, obnoxiously sarcastic, and then indicate he was only being “facetious”. Yeah, right….
Linda — How funny! (Of course, it’s easy for *me* to say that since I’m not his mom.) At least you know you are teaching him an awesome vocabulary!