By a simple shift in pronunciation, from the AH to the AY, you get a wild shift in meaning. “Bass” the sound (or the instrument) sounds like what it is; and “bass” the fish is such a simple-sounding word, how could it be anything but a fish? And because the meanings are so different, it’s [...]
Words I Love
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Soggy, Loathsome, and Detestable
Individually, these words are nothing special. But combined in this way, they are a powerful force. Loathsome and detestable have similar meanings, but this expression is describing something SO loathsome and SO detestable that you must double up.
As if being loathsome and detestable aren’t bad enough, this thing is also soggy. Being moist is good, [...]
Sinecure
“Sinecure” comes from the Latin phrase beneficium sine cura which is an archaic designation for a person holding a title within a church, and paid under that title, but without any actual duties. In some governments, sinecures are intentionally filled as patronage or to allow a designate to hold multiple offices while only fulfilling the [...]
Raw
“Raw” is the rawest word I know. “Raw” is intense. For a word with no hard sounds, it still sounds hardcore.
Its origins are no less astonishing, with connections to Latin, Greek, Proto-Germanic, Proto-Indo-European, Old Norse, Old Irish, Sanskrit, and Slavic. The need to describe bloody, exposed and uncooked flesh goes back to the dawn of [...]
Coitus
The definition of “coitus” given at answers.com goes as follows:
Sexual union between a male and a female involving insertion of the penis into the vagina.
No other word in English so blithely ruins the passion and intensity of sex like “coitus”. Even “copulation” has an almost playful rhythm to it, not unlike the pounding and bouncing [...]
Assassination
This one is easy. I love “assassination” because it has two asses. I learned this from a kid named Amir in the sixth grade, and I cannot write this word without remembering that wonderful moment when I realized I was writing “ass” on my spelling test.
An interesting fact about this word, it actually comes originally [...]
Tintinnabulation
Tintinnabulation is the ringing our sounding of bells. There is, of course, no reason you would ever actually say “tintinnabulation” when it takes three times as long as just saying “ringing”. Why this word is still around is a mystery, but it has a simple and direct etymology from Latin, so it may simply be [...]
Shit-Ton
A shit-ton is an extremely large quantity of something. It has not yet been added to any respectable dictionary that I can find, but is not an uncommon expression to see. My guess is that this word is a conflation of “ton” and “shitload”, and doesn’t appear to have been around for very long. It [...]
Sophistry
This is a word that I love, but never get to use. There is simply never a good time for it. Random House defines it as
a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning.
The American Heritage Dictionary calls it
Plausible but fallacious argumentation.
We encounter sophistry every day — from the media, our friends, our [...]
Pandemonium
Pandemonium is not chaos. Chaos might be understood, even accepted, but pandemonium will not let you rest, and leaves you confused and shellshocked. Pandemonium is chaos with a greater element of danger and fear. It is a total lack of order, decorum, and ethics. While chaos can describe the seemingly random actions of a set [...]