Word Link For the Day

Here is a delightful link I recently came across:

18 obsolete words, which never should have gone out of style

Love them all, but I was particularly tickled by the mental picture I got of "groak" and the ideas of "tyromancy." And "Englishable." So good. I also geekily loved the names of the books they got these words from. I would totally be proud to be the author of a dialect and speech book.

One thing I thought was missing from this list, however, was sample sentences. But maybe that's what we're here for. I'll try a couple and then you join in, if you want.

Groak: To silently watch someone while they are eating, hoping to be invited to join them 

As I wiped the ketchup from my mouth, I looked up to see her groaking at me with eyes as big as hamburger buns.

Tyromancy: Divining by the coagulation of cheese 

A believer in tyromancy, the old crone considered the curdles, gasped, and then shrieked, "You are the harbinger of death!"

Now that's some good writing.

Word Geekery and Other Randomness

A few interesting bits in the world of words, lately:

• This post from Jim Romenesko about a memo from the editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, telling reporters to stop using the word "iconic" because it has become cliché.
    
• And how the memo spurred this post, which details a list of overused words and phrases that the Washington Post's Outlook section is supposed to avoid. Fascinating and funny and reminds me of the time I worked at a newspaper (probably because I regularly used a handful of those words).
    
• This list of contronymns was also going around: 14 Words That Are Their Own Opposites. Also fascinating. (Should "fascinating" go on my overused list? Perhaps.)
    
• And for a little bit of fun (on the off chance anyone didn't think the previous items were riveting), I also came across this list of 50 Great Rory-Lorelai Exchanges. I posted a bit about Gilmore Girls on the other blog recently, so this came at a good time. I also enjoyed 25 Little-Known Facts About 'Gilmore Girls' I found on the same site. You might be wondering what this has to do with words, but Gilmore Girls was great writing. And it was funny. So there.

Word News

A couple interesting things in the world of words happened recently. First, March 4th was National Grammar Day. I know you were probably all out celebrating, but I came across this post on Cake Wrecks and was nerdily delighted by it.

http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2013/3/4/grammar-geeks-unite.html

Also, the use (or misuse) of the word "literally" has always been an entertaining point of discussion, so I found this Slate article rather interesting and wanted to share.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/03/06/literally_definition_has_changed_over_the_years_dictionaries_recognize_this.html

And in case you were wondering, my goals for March are coming along horribly, thank you very much. (I should note for future reference to not make such lofty goals and then leave town. The goals did not fare so well that week, but I sure had a good time.) But all is not lost! There are still 10 days left in the month! That's enough time to get something done . . .

A laugh for today

Maybe some of you saw this list being posted here and there last week, but it made me laugh and I wanted to share in case you missed them:

8 New and Necessary Punctuation Marks 

We Desperately Need

It's hard to pick a favorite. The sarcastices are something that I've discussed at length with friends, how we need some kind of mark to show when we're being sarcastic so people don't get the wrong idea. The editor in me appreciates the hemi-demi-semi colon. The example on the Andorpersand made me chuckle, and the Morgan Freemark is just awesome. So pretty much I like them all. 

Some Thoughts About Words

1. Someone told me long ago that foreign speakers always seem to think English has an overabundance of S sounds. When I think of that while speaking, I get kind of self-conscious . . . I mean anxious . . . I mean painfully aware. There, no S's. 
2. If I were to ask you what the most beautiful word in the English language is, what would you say? Another someone told me long ago that it was thought to be "murmur." I never really learned or could figure out why. Probably because it doesn't have any S's. Do you agree with their selection?
3. On the other hand, I saw this on the Merriam-Webster site the other day and was totally delighted: A top 10 list of Funny-Sounding and Interesting Words. I loved the sound of #1, but I was won over by the fact that #7, "widdershins," used to mean a bad hair day. Let's bring it back!