A place to document some of the weirder and wilder detours in the world of language.

Or as David Feldman once put it, "Who put the 'butter' in 'butterfly'?"

I once read a list (and have seen it reprinted several times since) of the most beautiful words in the English language.
Can't remember all of them , but they included chime, hush, mist, golden, and lullabye.

(The worst list included flatulent, crunch, cacophony and jazz.)

I dunno. I like a few delicate words - luminous and translucent come to mind - but overall it always seemed a pretty wimpy set of 'bests' to me. (Besides, I like the way 'cacophony' sounds.)

What do you think? Any other favourite/least favourite words?

My high school creative writing teacher liked "murmur," and thanks to her it's stuck with me for years.

So, you like the sound of 'cacophony,' but do you like the sound of a cacophony?

Oh, and speaking of wild detours of language, I noticed 'etymology' has become 'eytmology' in this board's title!

It depends. If it involves my little nephews banging happily around the house, then yeah.

Discussions of cacophonies always remind me of the scene in The Phantom Tollbooth (the book, not the silly movie) in which Milo meets the Awful Dynne, and gets his life story. ("The Dreadful RAUW was my grandfather. He perished in the great silence epidemic of '74...")

Oooops <the would-be wordmeister says, blushing a deep crimson>. That's one of those words I'm never sure I spelled right, even when I'm going by the dictionary...

Don't worry; I almost didn't catch that I'd spelled cacophony with the 'ph' and 'n' transposed. Twice.
As for butterfly (mentioned above), I've always been partial to "flutterby," since that's what they do. I get a lot of strange looks when I mention that. Some parents seem to get mildly irked (is 'irked' actually a word?) when I use flutterby in conversation with their kids.

Oh, sure, fix the board's title and make my post look incorrect! (Ha, ha!)
By the way, in addition to Scrabble, this could be applied to Boggle as well. Of course, now you'll add that to the title and I'll REALLY look silly. Not that I need anyone's help with that!
Trying to get back on topic... "queue" That was one of the first new words I learned playing Scrabble as a kid. (I was amazed all those vowels actually spelled a legitimate word!) I think about that every time I see it. Can't remember how many points it scored me, though.

I always thought "syzygy" was a cool word. First heard it as the name of a comic book character in Metamorphosis Odyssey by Jim Starlin.

queue is worth 14 points. 10 for the Q, vowels are worth 1 point.

An ampersand.

&

I dunno...I think I like Pat's version, too.

about butterfly: I read a story once that the original name was flutterby, because that's what they do, and somebody - either because of bad memory or for fun - turned it around to "butterfly" and it got stuck this way. I don't know if this story is true, but it sounds like making sense ;-)

Did Milne's 'Whinnie the Pooh' stories refer to that insect as "flutterby?" I don't have my copy around to check.

Whinnie the Pooh? Did Milne write stories about a stuffed horse that I've missed?

Seriously...yeah, I think you're right, Craig. And constanze, I dunno how true that 'flutterby' story is, but quite frankly I don't care - I'm going to quote it at parties anyway. Thanks.

My turn to say "Oooops!" I sure got a good laugh out of having my error pointed out, though. If I felt you were wrong, would I call you a niegh-sayer?

Oops again!

niegh=NEIGH (typo)

I've got to stop posting when I'm tired...oh, wait, I guess I'd never post then! (Please don't all rush to tell me to get sleep instead!)

Get some sleep

If a person whose spouse dies is called a widow, what is the term for a person who loses a child? And does that term apply if the child is unborn, or is there a separate term for that?

PS: That was funny, Anon. I could definitely use some sleep.

Happy first day of Spring, everyone!

Which brings me to a couple of words I think sound good enough on their own, but also sound cool together: vernal equinox.

Yeah, I like 'equinox' too.

How about 'solstice,' then?

That's it! That's the other similar word I was trying to think of that I like even more than 'equinox'! Thank you!

Actually, I love the sound of 'summer solstice' together...also 'summer twilight'...heck, I just like the whole concept of summer, I guess.

(Especially since at the moment the vernal equinox is not living up to advance billing up here in Toronto - cold, wet, snow flurries etc. )

Glad to be of service, kerriem! :-)

I remember reading that a non-English speaking people decided the most melodious words in the English language were "cellar door". Of course, those same people think Jerry Lewis is a comedic genius and our best poet was Edgar Allen Poe.

I suppose "cellar door," when spoken with a French accent, might sound melodious. It's too bad knowing a word's definition can detract from its sound. Hmm...this sounds to me like a twist of the "A rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet" line of logic.

"Ephemeral" is kind of a cool sounding word, IMO.

OK, kerriem...I think this is the best place to ask...
KERFUFFLE?!
I know what you mean, but what do you mean, exactly? I've started seeing other people use the word on other boards, but I didn't see it in the dictionary. (Mind you, it wasn't an unabridged dictionary.)

I have never seen a specific definition either; I just use it the way it sounds to me. That is, to describe a fight that's noisy and showy but not particularly serious...or at least not to be taken seriously.

I'm not sure, but I think that "kerfuffle" may be Yiddish in origin. (At least in my mind, the phrase "such a kerfuffle" doesn't sound complete without a Yiddish accent.)

On the topic of foreign phrases, I came across the following in Victor Borge's My Favorite Intermissions: Dudelsackpfeifer, which is - get ready for it - the Czech for bagpipe player.

It's German, not Czech. In Czech it would be "dudak" (with a long "a").

Ahhh, thanks, Electron.
I had a notion that the dudel' thing was in fact more Germanic than Slavic...but hey, who am I to argue with the Danish guy?

Danish? Who?

In the 1950's the Soviets were working on a way to shrink people and inject them into unsuspecting carriers. (Like Boris Badanov meets Fantastic Voyage. Of their test subjects there were several members of the Warsaw pact because they were afraid something genetic would prevent miniaturization of a spy. They also had host of various ethnicity and sex. One day Comrade Colonel inspected them. The were doing quite well. He was introduced to shapely young lady and told the successfully implanted the German, the Romanian, and the Pole in her. He said he thought there were four spies. "Oh," said the researcher, "the Czech is in the male."

Boo... Hiss!

I was going to make a joke about a Danish being a type of pastry, but I think I'll just leave quietly...

Danish? Who?

Victor Borge.

Oh, I almost thought you meant the Danish Cook from the Muppets Show. Yes, the German dub changed his nationality from being Swedish and his slogan became "Smørrebrød, smørrebrød, røm tøm tøm tøm".

Zeey chunged zee Svedeesh Cheff? Sey it isn't su! Bork, bork, bork!

I like the sound of the word "epiphany," as well as the definition: a sudden flash of insight.

That's the secular definition, BTW; I know Epiphany is a Christian event, and there is also a more generalized religious definition regarding the appearance of a god or god-like figure, but I figured that was something for the RM or Mythology boards.

Hmm... etymology, ephemeral, equinox, epiphany. I seem to have a thing for "e" words.

Craig,

Quit being so egalitarian and elongate your evaluation. Or am I being an egg-head?


(before anyone else says it,) Exactly!

Caribou!

Speaking of The Phantom Tollbooth, kerriem, (it is a fantastic book, I must say) what were those three words again that Milo found fascinating in Dictionopolis? I think "quagmire" was one of them.

Who was it who once said that the most beautiful words in the English language were "Check Enclosed"? I can't remember.

Oh goody, an excuse to quote Norman Juster again. Here you go, Sven:

"Maybe if I buy some [new words] I can learn how to use them," said Milo eagerly as he began to pick through the words in the stall. Finally he chose three which looked particularly good to him - 'quagmire', 'flabbergast' and 'upholstery'. He had no idea what they meant, but they looked very grand and elegant.
"How much are these?" he inquired, and when the man whispered the answer he quickly put them back on the shelf and started to walk on...

Berry, I don't think I need to elucidate any further.

Hey, if "etymology" is the word for the study of word origins, what's the word for the study of phrase origins? Or is it the same? Or should I really think of more important things to think about?

Words that should exist:

I nominate "Yous" or "Y'awl". English needs a plural "You". Yous agree? (i prefer "Yous" over the contraction for you all because it is easier to spell in the framework of rules that exist for plurals.)

I think it is from German (and maybe electron or constanze will correct the spelling) but you scrabble guys might like "zugszwang". It is the onerous compulsion to move. It happens in chess endgames. Don't as about "zwiesenzug"

I'm quoting from memory, but Ogden Nash at a cocktail party had an excited woman come up to him and say, "There is only one word in the English language where "s" is pronounced like "sh" and that word is sugar." To which he replied, "Are you sure?"

A professor was speaking of double negatives and pointed out in some languages a double negative is still a negative but in English it is a positive, whereas no language has a double positive becoming a negative.

On person in back of the class said, "Yeah, right!"

It's "Youse". Aint'cha never been to Joisey?

Actually, Scott, there are big differences between the Brooklyn, Bronx, and "Jersey" accents. The proper "Jersey" pronunciation of "you (pl)" is sort of between "yuz" and "yooz" and that of "Jersey" is "JIzy" with a long I

Dude, like, since I'm a California (now pronounced Ka-lee-forn-ee-a) dude, I, like, don't totally know, like, what the difference is, y'know?

Blue, Zugzwang.

ScottN,

Not everyone from the East coast is from /spit{New York}.

Just curious ScottN, what part of Seattle are you from?

Personally I prefer "yous" unless you want to add yet another silly rule to English.

To make a plural add "s" or "es" unless the word is "you" then youse must add "se".

Of course any language that takes a pronunciation from Italian and a spelling from French won't notice another silly rule. (Ask Colonel Kira what word I'm talking about.)

You can see English being silly in action. Pass the faJItas, please. (Unless you are in New Hersey we have a different sound for "J". Either they are fahetas or keep the spelling in English and call them "faJItas".

OK, don't know if this is the best board for this, but what the heck...

At work, I'm in charge of restocking some supplies. I had noticed that they were starting to run a little low, and intended to restock them when I had a chance. I let my boss know what I intended to do, saying "When last I left, they looked kind of low." I paused for a moment, adding more to myself than to anyone else in the room: "Nice alliteration. Or would that be L-iteration?"
The only response I got was from a co-worker, who told me she hadn't really been paying attention to what I'd said. I told her she didn't miss much, just a grammar pun.
"Oh, I don't really like those," she replied.
Knowing that she wasn't the first person to have told me that (and probably won't be the last), I replied "I'm finding out that you're not alone." I wondered where my witty pun might be appreciated. Then it hit me: Nit Central! KAM or someone might get a laugh out of it.
So here I am, clearly with no real life, telling you all about it. Enjoy!

PS: Been a while since anyone's posted to this area, eh?

Lovely 'literation leading to a lilting laugh LOL ;-)

A short time back some people misinterpreted my tendency to complain for holding a grudge. I thought about coming up with a slogan for myself (I complain therefore I am), but doing it in Latin* to further confuse people. Unfortunately the Latin word for complain is queror so if I wore a shirt saying "Queror ergo sum" people would probably think I was gay.

* I don't speak or read Latin, but I was hoping to fake it.

At least lots of lifers loved the line....

I prefer "woody" words over "tinny" words

All this L-iteration...

LOL!

Laughing long I loved listening lately ladies and lads.

The Wicked Witch of the West whistles with the whispering wind

The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.

A skunk sat on a stump.
The stump thunk the skunk stunk,
and the skunk thunk the stump stunk.
The stumped skunk thumped the stump.

You guys do realize that typing tongue-twisters isn't all that impressive, don't you?

And I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you're not coping-and-pasting.

We're all coping with the flood of stuff I opened by mentioning alliteration a few days ago! Of course, you meant copying, didn't you? (Pick, pick, pick! )

Would it be more impressive if we were typing tongue-twisters with our tongues?