What Vocab Words Are You Using These Days?

THE PERFECT WFH COVID WORD:
ennui: a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom, depression — basically means… “i feel beige” is that perfect or what…

I have long subscribed to an email called A Word A Day that delivers a theme of words each week with fun, insightful additions to the definitions!

I loved A Series of Unfortunate Events as a kid, which I’m glad others have mentioned! Also the YouTuber and fashion historian Bernadette Banner is FABULOUS to watch and listen to. I just love her vocabulary and insanely fast Victorianesque speech (as well as her brilliant costume sewing and history lessons).
Thanks to a particular education philosophy, I generally do not stop and define words when reading aloud to my kids. Of they ask, I tell them of course! But I try not to constantly interrupt mysf or overexplain. I think it’s more effective to learn things from context, though I do hope when they’re older they’ll have fond memories of using a dictionary too.

Tangentially related: I was watching a rerun of Inkheart the other day (about how some ppl have the ability to read aloud from any book and magically make anything within the pages appear IRL, the only caveat being human characters that leap off the page would have to be replaced by someone else from the real world), a plot line that feels like it was literally written for all bookworms. And yet as a language nerd and literature lover, I remember feeling so disappointed with the movie’s characters’ utter lack of imagination. It got me thinking, what would you guys do with it if you had that superpower?

Me, I would track down the movie version of the How to Train Your Dragon books and speak Toothless to life! And/or maybe read the Mortal Instruments to life and drink from the Cup to turn myself into an actual, honest to goodness Shadowhunter. Pretty sure demons already exist in our world, maybe it’s time we had the means to really fight them. I mean, the possibilities are literally endless.

Thoughts?

Love this post! Especially enjoyed the MW word-of-the-day shout-out as it’s often my friend Peter who reads the word and I just love hearing his voice! Often motivates me even more to use the word :)

We just watched a documentary on Netflix about the Scripps spelling bee, and some of the words these kids can spell! I’ve never heard of them, but they know their root, definition, nation of origin…I learned so much!

I saw a post from Sarah Jessica Parker on Instagram, and her caption was typical SJP-speak (she’s got this really whimsical way of writing and speaking), and someone in her comments called her pretentious (she replied, and it was AGAIN very typical-SJP and kind and lovely). But it made me realize that sometimes I tone down my vocabulary because I don’t want other people to think I’m being pretentious. The truth is, I’m a vocab nerd. I was an English major and now I’m a writer and I just love big words. I hate that (ESPECIALLY as women) we’re taught not to act too intelligent or to tone our intellect down so that other people in the room don’t feel small.

I say, MORE POWER TO THE TEN CENT WORDS!

Like a vocabulary dictionary only more fun, if you haven’t already watch Schitt’s Creek and pay attention to Moira’s lines- apparently as part of her character development Catherine O’Hara brought to set a dictionary of seldom used words to add to her character’s lines. The results are hilarious!

That is my favorite thread! Thanks to you i’ve just learned the word “petrichor”, we never use it in french, though I know now it exists. I wouldn’t know how to use it though. “Can you smell the petrichor this morning?” I feel like my brain is doing a happiness dance right now. During the lockdown in march/april, in France, there was a special tv programme for schools, but they took one afternoon to make a dictation, and with all my friends and family, we did it. It was so exciting, weird how words can make you happy.

I don’t know why but when I learned the word postprandial it always stuck with me. It is nice to have a term for the period of time after lunch or dinner. Also have always loved bedraggled. There is no other word that so perfectly suits what I picture in my head when I think of something (or someone) that is disheveled and damp.

“Arrant”

Meaning complete or utter

Thanks NYT magazine crossword :)

Oh! And! Since she was about three, for no reason any of us have been able to discern, my niece has referred to other kids as her colleagues, e.g. “I was playing in the sandbox with my colleagues.” It’s weapon-grade cute.

I teach college courses in business writing and communications. One of the points I make most frequently to my students is that the point of speaking and writing is to communicate effectively. And that means being sure that your audience will understand what you are saying. Using big words for the sake of big words not only draws attention to the word itself rather than the content of the message, but it can also be (and frequently is) used to exclude people from the conversation or bring attention to the speaker’s “superior” education. I’m a language nerd and I read the dictionary for fun, but I consciously use inclusive language with my students and friends who are not similarly inclined.

In my early twenties, I was working at a toxic company and desperately studying for the GRE so I could go to grad school and change careers. One of the study materials was a deck of flashcards, and it included the word plucky (spirited, brave). It was such a strong reminder of the person I had been, how much my toxic work life had taken from me, and why I was working so hard to make a big professional move.

I gave away the rest of the flashcards years ago, but I kept that one. I tucked it in my wallet when I finally scored an interview for my dream job; carried it in my backpack when I hiked to Machu Picchu; and still tape it to my mirror the night before a big presentation at said dream job–anytime I need a reminder of that plucky 24 year old who had the gumption to leap into the unknown and trust herself to figure it out

The last few months have been uncertain (to say the least) so I’ve been extra grateful for my ‘you are plucky!’ mantra

I am a HUGE word nerd. At any given time, I have multiple lists of words I come across and like scribbled in random places. During lockdown, I’ve found myself writing simple haikus using these found words because I love the sparsity inherent in this art form – it’s become a fun little creative challenge!

I was reading this FASCINATING article on why/how Charles Schulz decided to create Franklin, the first black character in Peanuts, and Kenneth Kelly, a black man, suggested that Mr. Schulz include a “supernumerary role for a Negro character.” And now supernumerary (present in excess of the normal or requisite number) is my new favorite word.