An addition to my ‘choice words’ category, which has, I suppose, become a series. Honestly, I’ve really started to enjoy keeping track of the random words that pop into my head. The American-English language is a pretty amazing thing, it’s as though we plundered all of these other languages and just kept words based on completely arbitrary criteria.
- hoyden- I didn’t even know that this meant ‘boisterous girl’. I thought it was more of a hooligan-type noun. You know, thuggy. But now I want to be a hoyden (that is, if I can’t be a gamine). And now I’m trying to think of examples of hoydens. Like that little girl in The Philadelphia Story.
- malarkey- Thank you, Joe Biden!
- peccadillo- A
miniature, lavender cousin of the armadillominor offense or sin. - reconnoitre/reconnoiter- If we admit that reconnaissance is an excellent word, we have to confess that reconnoitre is even better. Plus, so French! Thinking about the root words is fun (well, I think it’s fun)
- pollywog- Awwww
- guppy- Double awww. Don’t these just sound like things you would apply to an adorable group of child summer campers?
- codswallop- Cue Hagrid “Codswallop, in my opinion.” There are just so many excellent and fun words for nonsense (see, malarkey)
- mirabilis- Okay, so mirabilis is technically latin and my autocorrect wants to change it to ‘marbles’. But it’s also a plant, so acceptable maybe? Less appealing? Anorexia mirabilis (anorexia marbles).
- acumen- I love acumen. I want to marry an acuman.
No idea where that came from.
But the acu- beginning is lovely and I like acumen better than acuity. - gustatory- This word is all about the mouth-feel 😉
- salvo- BOOM BOOM BOOMBOOMBOOM
- scudding- Sailboats and pretty clouds. Dreamy but also quasi-sudsy
- fungible- Easily exchangeable with another item (i.e. money) with a side of fungus.
- BAMF- Slang. Bad Ass Mother Fucker. Up there in my ambitions with hoyden and gamine.
- jejune- Naive, simplistic. Beautiful-sounding.
- torvous- Sour of aspect. Isn’t that just excellent?!
- maudlin- Oopy goopy sentimental or pitiful
- beguiled- Would be sexy, except it’s also a horrifying Clint Eastwood movie (I couldn’t make it through five minutes, and I generally worship Clint Eastwood) AND NOW THEY’RE REMAKING IT?!
- torpor
- stupor- Torpor and stupor rather go together, but while torpor is physical, stupor is more mental
- impromptu- Spur of the moment, unplanned. The stuff nightmares are made of.
- glib- If you’re being glib, you’re basically being flip. Both should be used more.
- amorous- DTF
- dolomite(s)- The northern Italian Alps and also a mineral. A calcium magnesium carbonate, to be precise. And the vicinity of Verona (Romeo and Juliet land)
- influenza- Such a pretty word. I would love to see someone name their daughter influenza based on sound alone. After all, Ramona Quimby named her doll Chevrolet.
- cupidity
- saturnine- Those words associated with Roman Gods though.
- quell- This is such a sinister word. I love it.
- sylph- A dark green and blue hummingbird or an imaginary spirit of the air. Quite poetic.