the best ever words in English?

[kunjuppu]

Share:

Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Email Share Link

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

 

[Singleliner]

A wonderful thread..I wish the members take some extra effort and share their thoughts, for all of us, could learn something out of it. After all, its the mastery over the language English, which had once helped this community move up with 'magna cum laude',a century ago .

Before that, a personal note.. let myself not be seen as a short clog in this tavern, forum pub, just because I contributed some qty posting,instead, I do have a concern for the people around, for various other good reasons in line with my thoughts on Humanity. I will maintain the decorum, and its not just a cagg from a drunkard,who was once sent to guillotine. I wish to be a deipnosophist here,without quotes & mulitple quotes kind'a arguments, and, would request my posts be viewed in a friendly note. Definitely, I'm not a crambazzled person, to write eccentric posts by vending my anger here. I swear, by the moon and the stars in the sky,that, I'm neither a Twack nor a voyeur (A vocab I learned from Shri.Kunjuppu 2 months ago) in this forum. Also, I'm not a bowerbird to pick every meaningless posts, and respond, because of compulsions. (compiled a para, out of those yorkshire terms)

I still wonder, if we have an equivalent term for 'petrichor' in TAMIL.. May be, for sure in classical literature I guess. Handle Naryanee could be of helpful here.. S.O.S call !!

நாராயணீ , ஒரு மொழி பெயர்ப்பு உபகாரம் தேவை ...
சூடு காலம் கழிந்து, முதல் மழை வருவதற்கு முன்னால் வரும் மண் வாசனைக்கு , தமிழில் என்ன பெயர் / சொல் ?

Though Yorkshirians have contributed finest words to English, I have also enjoyed their funny accent and dialects,since teens. An instant eg, is cricket commentatator Geoffrey Boycott and his coal-mining town's timely jokes. Waw!! Huundruds(after a century)..Creekit (Cricket)..He pulls no punches as he puts his brusque Yorkshire accent into gear: "My granny would've caught that in 'er pinny."

English is definitely an interesting and worthy language to explore. Twice upon a time, I wish I had a 1000 GB memory space in my pea sized brain, and would ask my genie, only two wishes..1) To memorise all those English vocabs of this world, in three minutes. (2) Also, to grand the same wish to my wife and child, so that they also can enjoy it, when I'm flaunting those finest verbal expressions.

Btw, can someone help me out with the term " A naggy wife, who wakes up early in the morning and nags the hubby by her terpsichore, playing loud music and make him sleep deprived,all these before, preparing the 'basic' bed coffee"??. Also, an antonym of this could be handy for the mantrimonial ads!!

 

[kunjuppu]

..........English is definitely an interesting and worthy language to explore. Twice upon a time, I wish I had a 1000 GB memory space in my pea sized brain, and would ask my genie, only two wishes..1) To memorise all those English vocabs of this world, in three minutes. (2) Also, to grand the same wish to my wife and child, so that they also can enjoy it, when I'm flaunting those finest verbal expressions.

single,

i agree.

love of english is an acquired habit. i had a great english teacher, an anglo indian, in my high school, who imbibed the love of english into us.

this is one subject, there was 100% attentive attendance.

also, english today, has no passionate owner. passionate advocates, yes. but no owner, like french (france) or tamil (tamil nadu).

it is said that india is the largest english speaking country in the world. not sure of that, but i think, it will happen.

the only country that can beat us on this count is china, but english mastery in china is still ways away, i think.

i have seen the other asiatics struggle with english, whereas we as a nation, appear to pick it up with ease, whether it be the maid, the rickshawallah or the corporate executive.

also i think english has no concept of purity. it freely borrows from other languages, and is constantly evolving.

all this makes this probably, in my opinion, the lingua franca of the future of humankind. or should it be lingua anglica?

thanks.

 

[Singleliner]

also i think english has no concept of purity. it freely borrows from other languages, and is constantly evolving.

thanks.

Thats the beauty and success of English, when compared to Sanskrit,Latin and to some extent even Tamil. And I feel, this points carries a lot of lesson to learn, esp for those puritans.

 

[bheeshmapitha]

While going through the subject, I remembered one one of my english teacher's claim that the word "FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPIFICATION" was the longest in English language. As a kid then I had believed his statement but could not locate the word in any of the dictionaries subsequently. I would like to know if there is a word like this and its meaning. The meaning that was attributed to this word by my english teacher was 'boastful or boasting'. By the way one more thing, how many words do you think William Shakespear had in vocabulary? can any one enlighten me ?

 

[Nara]

In a somewhat related vein, words seem to have a kind of Varna system . Some words are "untouchable" in polite company while other words that mean the same thing are perfectly alright. For example, I can say genital without raising an eyebrow, but it would be offensive to use even the V word here in this forum not to mention the other word. The word commonly used for passing gas once simply meant powdering your nose.

For a very funny take on this, watch "The Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV" by the wonderful comedian, late George Carlin. Here is a sample from him,

There is nothing offense with, "He pricked his finger", but switch the place of "pricked" and "finger", and correct the tense, it becomes offensive.

Cheers!