Words, Glorious Words

 

Like most writers, I love words, especially ones that are unusual or aren't used anymore. I write down words I come across from TV shows, books, movies, etc. I have lots and lots of little pieces of paper around the house with words on them. I also have words written in margins of puzzle books or whatever paper is handy. I do not, however, write in books!

Every once in a while I gather them up and write a blog post on them. Here are some of the words I've run across since my last word post.

snarge – This is the goo left when a bird slams into a moving plane. It’s a portmanteau of snot with garbage. I came across this one while watching an episode of the Great Courses series, Trails of Evidence: How Forensic Science Works. I shouldn’t have been surprised that there’s a term for this, but I was.

snickersnee – This is a knife resembling a sword. What a fun word to say. Unfortunately, I can’t see how to work this into everyday conversation.

wamble – To move in a weaving, wobbling pattern. This is probably a good description of people when they’ve had too much to drink. But it also described how I walked when I got an inner ear infection that caused a severe case of vertigo. So, don’t assume anything about people who wamble!

petrichor – The pleasant, earthy scent after rain falls on dry soil. I’ve smelled this many times over the years, just didn’t know there was a name for it.

gongoozler – An idle spectator. According to the OED, it originally described an idler who stares at length at activity on a canal. First noted in 1904 and later used more widely as a person who stares protractedly at anything. I’m sure I’ve done this many times over the years. This one I got from watching an episode of the TV show, Sleepy Hollow. Sigh, I miss that show.

glabrous – hairless. Like a glabrous scalp or glabrous leaves. And, perhaps, it could describe a chest of one of those male dancers on Dancing With The Stars after being waxed.

woodpusher – A weak player of chess, one who basically only knows how the pieces move, but doesn’t really know or understand strategy. I suspect a lot of people know this one, but I hadn’t heard of it until I watched The Queen’s Gambit on Neflix, an excellent show.

oysgezoomt – This is a freshly coined Yiddish word meaning fatigued or bored by Zoom.

Long time readers of Type M may remember a post I did in 2014, Skimble-Skamble, where I described a number of fun words I found. Unfortunately, that post is no longer available so I thought I’d include some of the words from it because I still like them and they're worth repeating.

begrumpled – displeased. According to the reference in The Word Museum: The Most Remarkable English Words Ever Forgotten, this one came from a dictionary of obsolete words published in 1857. I think we should bring it back. I’ve been begrumpled many times in my life, including when I realized the local post office didn’t open until ten a.m. and I'd spent 15 minutes walking to it.

blutterbunged – confounded, overcome by surprise. Okay, I was begrumpled and blutterbunged at the post office.

funambulist – tight rope walker. I suppose they’re having fun up there.

skimble-skamble — rambling and confused. Shakespeare gave us this one. According to the OED, it first appeared in 1598 in Henry IV, Part I.

snirtle – to attempt to suppress one’s laughter.

traveltainted – fatigued with travel. I’ve been this a few times, especially when traveling to/from Europe. Those twelve hour flights are not fun.

trinkle – to eavesdrop. This came from that 1857 dictionary of obsolete words.

Your challenge for the week is to see how many of these words you can work into everyday conversations.