Whenever I see a discussion on lovely English words, I am always left disappointed. For me, because they are pithy and full of juice - not to mention short - the following are particularly gorgeous words:
Lurk
Skulk
Squat
Wry
Quibble
Generally I like "sq" words (as "squaw", "squawk", "squib", "squab", "squelch", "squander") and "wr" words suggesting twisting (as "wrist", "wrinkle", "wrest", "wrong", "wreck", "wring"). Some Yiddish words (as "schmuck", "chutzpah") are wonderful, too, but Yiddish words already have their own thread!
"The smell of the dust they kicked up was rich and satisfying" - Grahame
February 10, 2015, 11:18
Geoff
IIRC, in the 1600s some British scholars attempted to return some ancient Anglo-Saxon words and phrases to common use, for much the same reason you've stated, though they realised that if they were successful, their audience would be that narrow class highly skilled in English beyond their own area. Perhaps Goofy or Z - if he ever reappears - might fill in the details. Or maybe Haberdasher or Shifitz?
February 10, 2015, 15:47
<Proofreader>
quote:
particularly gorgeous words
along with barf puke belch fart suck blow and the inmentionable f**k (censored to preserve oral virginity of readers).
February 10, 2015, 17:38
WeeWilly
Proofreader, I love your "belch" - and put it on my list with unbridled enthusiasm - but the others, with their varying degrees of beauty, don't have enough juice to do it (whatever "it" is) for me. "Puke" gets close, but is still not list-worthy!
"The smell of the dust they kicked up was rich and satisfying" - Grahame
February 10, 2015, 19:50
<Proofreader>
Not quite "pithy" but on a recent panel show, Penn Gillette said he donated sperm and was ushered into the "masturbatorium."
February 11, 2015, 03:46
arnie
quote:
masturbatorium
Perhaps 'wankroom' is pithier?
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
February 11, 2015, 16:47
WeeWilly
quote:
"masturbatorium."
...Quite a pseudo-word. It reminds me somehow of the pseudo word "bachelorette". And, oh yes, "wankroom" is pithier, even if much less swanky!
"The smell of the dust they kicked up was rich and satisfying" - Grahame
February 12, 2015, 05:29
Geoff
Is a fancy wanker a swanker?
February 16, 2015, 19:49
Kalleh
As I told WeeWilly privately, I've always liked quibble.
March 15, 2015, 05:32
zmježd
masturbatorium
Consider Latin vomitorium, which in spite of what most think was not a special place that gluttonous Romans went to to throw up after one of their hedonistic meals, but rather is the term for those exits in stadiums that are quite large and can accommodate a large crowd of people after the event is over with. It was tied in with the meaning of vomeo 'to spew forth'.
Also reminds me of the device in a Woody Allen movie called the orgasmatron.
—Ceci n'est pas un seing.
March 15, 2015, 12:20
arnie
Wasn't there something similar in Barbarella?
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
That's the one. It was probably the first film (1968) to show someone undergoing an orgasm. I remember Jane Fonda made quite an impression on me as a youth!
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
March 16, 2015, 05:33
<Proofreader>
quote:
It was probably the first film (1968) to show someone undergoing an orgasm
Proof's first link was blocked here at work by our net nanny because of "Adult/Mature Content;Sex Education". Perhaps I should have added mainstream to 'probably the first film'. I'm sure there was plenty of porn available in 1968 (if you knew where to look - I didn't).
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
March 19, 2015, 13:33
zmježd
I always felt that gleet was a pithy word.
—Ceci n'est pas un seing.
March 19, 2015, 19:08
<Proofreader>
quote:
Proof's first link was blocked here at work by our net nanny because of "Adult/Mature Content;Sex Education".
Relocate.
March 20, 2015, 07:08
arnie
quote:
Originally posted by Proofreader:
quote:
Proof's first link was blocked here at work by our net nanny because of "Adult/Mature Content;Sex Education".
Relocate.
I could no doubt access the site from home if I were to want to; I don't.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
March 20, 2015, 07:48
<Proofreader>
quote:
I could no doubt access the site from home if I were to want to; I don't.
That's different from "can't".
March 20, 2015, 12:58
arnie
I know. I can't access it from work; I don't want to access it from home particularly.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
March 22, 2015, 19:51
Kalleh
I hadn't heard of gleet before. In looking it up on the OED, it is from the 1300s:
quote:
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 459 Thar [in the womb] duellid man in a myrk dungeon..Whar he had na other fode Bot wlatsom glet, and loper blode, And stynk and fylthe
March 23, 2015, 07:09
zmježd
It was exactly this citation, which I came across while browsing the OED in my high school library, which put gleet on my pithiest words list.This message has been edited. Last edited by: zmježd,
—Ceci n'est pas un seing.
March 25, 2015, 09:47
WeeWilly
Egad, "gleet" is indeed a pithy word, but hopefully I'll have little occasion to use it! As you will have gathered by now, my "pithy" has almost as much to do with the sound and "aura" of the word, per se, as what it means. For me, "lurk" and "skulk" are very hard to beat!
"The smell of the dust they kicked up was rich and satisfying" - Grahame
March 27, 2015, 21:11
Kalleh
I've always liked, "gulp." I am realizing, a lot of these are one-syllable words.
Which reminds me, and off subject (sorry!), have you noticed how many potential Republican candidates in the U.S. have one-syllable first and last names?
Jeb Bush Rand Paul Ted Cruz Chris Hill Roy Blunt Scott Brown Matt Mead Mike Pence Ben Stein Paul Ryan (depending on how you pronounce Ryan)
May 07, 2015, 05:03
bethree5
heh heh, Kalleh - so does "sound bite", which speaks to how most of these guys got on the list.
By the by, let's add this recently-discussed word to our "short and pithy" list:
THUG
May 14, 2015, 04:48
Geoff
What's the origin of "sound bite?"
Did Wee Willy disappear during my absence?
May 14, 2015, 16:56
bethree5
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Geoff: What's the origin of "sound bite?"
