i would like to apologize for copying this article verbatim from expressbuzz today.
it gave a cheap thrill.. which i like to pass along..thanks
The Best Ever Words in English?
Harry Wallop
First Published : 19 Sep 2009 09:00:10 PM IST
Last Updated : 20 Sep 2009 02:02:41 AM IST
Deipnosophists, stridewallops and shot-clogs have all been celebrated in a book that chronicles the most extraordinary words in the English language.
Some are lost words rediscovered, others are gems from local dialects, but all are intriguing examples of how English continues to be the most quirky languge in the world.
They have been assembled by Adam Jacot de Boinod, the author of Toujours Tingo, the successful book which collected words and phrases from around the world.
His latest book is The Wonder of Whiffling.
The words include fornale, to spend one’s money before it has been earned; cagg, a solemn vow or resolution not to get drunk for a certain time; and petrichor, the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.
A stridewallop, is a Yorkshire term for a tall and awkward woman, while shot clog is an Elizabethan term for a drinking companion only tolerated because he pays for the round. Meanwhile, a deipnosophist is a Jacobean word for a skillful dinner conversationalist.
Yorkshire cements its reputation as a county responsible for some of the English language's richest words by coining crambazzled, used to describe someone who is prematurely aged through drink and a dissolute life.
English words from overseas are also included, such as twack, a Newfoundland English word. Twacks are shoppers who look at goods, inquire about the prices but never buy anything.
In his introduction, the author writes: "As a self-confessed bowerbird (one who collects an astonishing array of sometimes useless objects), I’ve greatly enjoyed putting together this collection. I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading it, and that it saves you both from mulligrubs, depression of spirits, and onomatomania, vexation in having difficulty finding the right word."
- Daily Telegraph
it gave a cheap thrill.. which i like to pass along..thanks
The Best Ever Words in English?
Harry Wallop
First Published : 19 Sep 2009 09:00:10 PM IST
Last Updated : 20 Sep 2009 02:02:41 AM IST
Deipnosophists, stridewallops and shot-clogs have all been celebrated in a book that chronicles the most extraordinary words in the English language.
Some are lost words rediscovered, others are gems from local dialects, but all are intriguing examples of how English continues to be the most quirky languge in the world.
They have been assembled by Adam Jacot de Boinod, the author of Toujours Tingo, the successful book which collected words and phrases from around the world.
His latest book is The Wonder of Whiffling.
The words include fornale, to spend one’s money before it has been earned; cagg, a solemn vow or resolution not to get drunk for a certain time; and petrichor, the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.
A stridewallop, is a Yorkshire term for a tall and awkward woman, while shot clog is an Elizabethan term for a drinking companion only tolerated because he pays for the round. Meanwhile, a deipnosophist is a Jacobean word for a skillful dinner conversationalist.
Yorkshire cements its reputation as a county responsible for some of the English language's richest words by coining crambazzled, used to describe someone who is prematurely aged through drink and a dissolute life.
English words from overseas are also included, such as twack, a Newfoundland English word. Twacks are shoppers who look at goods, inquire about the prices but never buy anything.
In his introduction, the author writes: "As a self-confessed bowerbird (one who collects an astonishing array of sometimes useless objects), I’ve greatly enjoyed putting together this collection. I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading it, and that it saves you both from mulligrubs, depression of spirits, and onomatomania, vexation in having difficulty finding the right word."
- Daily Telegraph