Comments on Writing well is the best revenge: On words that need a comeback

Yes, definitely. I vote for fop.

2008-10-07T15:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, definitely. I vote for fop.

I'm rather fond of the word "fop." Let;s bring tha...

2008-10-07T12:59:00.000-05:00

I'm rather fond of the word "fop." Let;s bring that one back!

And if it was possible to include the word Gazpacho into more narratives, I'd do it. I just love to say it aloud. Go ahead. Try it!

You betcha, Ro.

2008-10-06T16:24:00.000-05:00

You betcha, Ro.

Well, I like bloviate. And occasionally, I like TO...

2008-10-06T15:18:00.000-05:00

Well, I like bloviate. And occasionally, I like TO bloviate, but right now Maverick is much on my mind, gosh darn it!

Hi Edith,I had to look up prandial -- which for ot...

2008-10-06T12:39:00.000-05:00

Hi Edith,

I had to look up prandial -- which for others as in-the-dark as me, means relating to a meal. But now that I know it, will have to start incorporating it. I agree with you on slovenly - perfectly descriptive!

Great topic! I'm partial to X-prandial: preprandia...

2008-10-06T12:31:00.000-05:00

Great topic! I'm partial to X-prandial: preprandial sherry, postprandial nap, and I had a friend who always stepped out for an intraprandial cigarette. Also slovenly is a good one not to lose, and I am fond of using disambiguate in conversation (once an academic, always an academic?). Perambulate is much more fun than go for a walk. Actually, reading Beatrix Potter provides SO many good words. I also like to keep the old proverbs alive: "Waste not, want not," "A penny saved is a penny earned," and so on, although they definitely cause raised eyebrows in the teen/young adult set!
Edith

yes a rhubarb is a dust-up Jan, like Hank said. I ...

2008-10-06T06:48:00.000-05:00

yes a rhubarb is a dust-up Jan, like Hank said. I heard it from a friend's mother back in college as she described a fight over a shopping cart at the local grocery store.

Love rhubarb..not the vegetable, the word. Did you...

2008-10-05T23:17:00.000-05:00

Love rhubarb..not the vegetable, the word. Did you know that the leaves are poisonous? Probably..you guys are mystery writers..
I'm not going to miss any of the words on that list, Hank, except maybe pocket hankerchief. I have a vintage hankie collection.
Did we mention hoi-polloi?

I know there was just a big rhubarb about the most...

2008-10-05T20:49:00.000-05:00

I know there was just a big rhubarb about the most recent words to be snuffed from the latest version of some dictionary. I was googling around to find what they were, and came across an article from 2003 about the words to be dumped that year.

"That time around, according to Merriam-Webster's Wilkinson, the 11th edition bounced not just snollygoster but also microcopy, microreader, microreproduction, record changer, portapak, pantdress, pocket-handkerchief, poke bonnet, vitamin G, lantern pinion, frutescent, impudicity, wool stapler, long play, retirant, sheep-dip, ten-cent store and traffic manager."

A few hundred more, too, but according to the article, "nobody keeps a special list."

Ten-cent store was particularly poignant, as I used to work in one. And we still call the guy who handles the ad rotation at Channel 7 the traffic manager. I think.

Did anyone read the newest article? I'm going back to find it, but I may be snollygostered by work. Whatever that means.