21 Days to A Bigger Vocabulary
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battology
Pronunciation: buh-tol-uh-jee
Definition: Needless, wearisome repetition of words.
I was, like, you know, trying to come with, like a, like really, really good example of how, you know, you might, like, use this word. I'm sure you, like, you know, know people who always, like, repeat everything they say. Repeat it, you know, for no good reason, just to like, hear themselves repeat it. Those people are, you know, just like, so battologically battological you just can't, you know, like stand it.
I don't know. Just don't know. Maybe you can, you know, come up with your own battologically battological example that illustrates and shows how battology can, like, be used in a sentence.
I'm worn out.
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Here are two fun words to add to your vacab cache:
groodles
pronunciation: grood-uhlz (or, like oodles and noodles)
definition: According to my trusty Balderdash cards, it means leftover food. However, I've not been able to confirm that definition through any but the "urban" dictionary, so I guess it qualifies as slang. I did find that there is a designer breed of dog called groodle which is a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle. There is also the spoodle and the labradoodle, if you're into designer dogs. I've always called a cross-bred dog a "mutt;" now, I feel like I should feed our own dog, Pumpkin, premium food.
For our purposes, let's go with groodles as leftovers.
Which brings me to my next word:
ramfeezled
pronunciation: ram-feez-uld
definition: exhausted
I think these two words go perfectly together:
"What's for dinner, Mom?"
"Groodles."
"Groodles?"
"Yes, groodles, I'm ramfeezled."
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How about this one:
fleer
Pronunciation: sheesh, just like it's spelled. Shall I give it to you slowly? f l ee r.
Definition: According to my Balderdash cards it means to sneer, leer, or jeer. According to the dictionary, it's a mocking laugh or smirk.
When you might use this in a sentence: "A better question is why would you choose to use fleer in a sentence," she spat, fleeringly, "when sneer, leer or jeer mean the same bloody thing. You sound like you have a wadded cotton rope stuffed between your lips and gums. Get away from me."
Honestly, how do these words make it into the English lexicon?
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Today, you are invited to enjoy a pabulum of goodies sure to make any palaverist salivate. We will feast our brains on anatomy-speak, á la Gooblink. Following is a selection of words that put "names" to those parts of the body you hitherto articulated as "thingy," or "doohickey."
Like, that stringy muscle under the tongue which keeps it inside your mouth...most of us, anyway. I don't think Gene Simmons was born with one. That little flap is called a frenulum, pronounced fren-yoo-lum.
Or, have you ever wanted to warn a friend that she has a dried flake of something dangling just inside her nose off that skinny bone separating her nostrils? And it's just fluttering there, with each inhale and exhale? Well, that piece of cartilage is called a vomer, pronounced vawm-er. Now you can say, "Ew, Sue, there's something hanging off the left side of your vomer."
How about that flesh covered protrusion between your face and your ear opening? Sometimes if I have an itch deep inside my ear, I can rapidly depress that thingy with my forefinger and the itch goes away. Only, from now on, I don't have to call it a thingy, because I know it is a tragus, pronounced tray-gus.
Now take a look at the palm-side of your hand. See those deep lines at the wrist, caused by flexing your hand? Those are called rasceta, pronounced ra-see-ta.
Okay, same hand. Now look at the back of your hand with your fingers flexed. There's what looks like a web between your index finger and your thumb, right? That's called a purlicue, pronounced: pur-lee-cue.
There you have it! I'm stuffed, aren't you? Now, go work up a sweat playing a lively game of Scrabble!
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Another twofer, today. I had to dig out the big guns: my Balderdash game cards.
All Balderdash aside, I think these are two good words that you might really be able to work into a conversation when you wish to empty a room.
coruscate
Pronunciation: kor-uss-kayt
Definition: To be brilliantly witty. To give forth flashes of sparkle and light.
fossick
Pronunciation: faw-sick
Definition: To search hard for anything of value.
How these two words fit into a typical conversation:
Larry: I fossick the internet daily for enlightenment.
Mo: Do you read gooblink.com? Her prose and discourse have coruscated the World Wide Web.
Curly: This is gettin' on my noives!
Or something like that.