#514572 - Thu Feb 25 2010 04:51 PM
What's your favourite word?
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Prolific
Registered: Sun Jan 17 2010
Posts: 1524
Loc: Sydney NSW Australia
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Copago's post about "aitch" and haitch" reminded me of words that irritate me and words that I love. My favourite word of all time is probably "autumnal". I don't know why I love it but I'm not the only person I know who loves "autumnal". I love "curmudgeon" too. I don't love curmudgeons, just the word. It makes me smile!  So.. what are your favourite words? Or am I weird in having favourite words? 
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I could give up chocolate but I'm no quitter!
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#514574 - Thu Feb 25 2010 05:26 PM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Tizzabelle]
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Star Poster
Registered: Tue May 15 2001
Posts: 13844
Loc: Australia
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"Adaminaby" (a town in NSW) is one of my favourite words - if I ever retire I just may consider moving there just so I can say it more often. I love words with lots of syllables and sound kind of rythmic. A word I don't like is 'slaughter'. It just sounds like it means especially when said with a hard 'g'. 
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#514575 - Thu Feb 25 2010 06:04 PM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Copago]
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Forum Adept
Registered: Sat Mar 05 2005
Posts: 188
Loc: Jersey City New Jersey USA
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I've always liked the word "imperial" and dislike the word "goggles"
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All I want is all there is and then some.
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#514576 - Fri Feb 26 2010 01:15 AM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Sinned2471]
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Prolific
Registered: Sun Jan 17 2010
Posts: 1524
Loc: Sydney NSW Australia
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Oh Copago! Adaminaby is a great place name That reminds me of when an English family I know was driving up the NSW coast for the first time. They saw the road sign for "Bulahdelah" and having no idea how to pronounce it said "Oh that sounds posh doesn't it? Bew-la-dee-dah." So they and I have called it Bewladeedah ever since For those that don't know Bulahdelah, it's pronounced Bull-a-dee-lah.
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I could give up chocolate but I'm no quitter!
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#514577 - Sat Feb 27 2010 05:53 AM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Tizzabelle]
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Enthusiast
Registered: Sun Jan 24 2010
Posts: 404
Loc: Belfast Ireland
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I like egregious and paradigm, but that's maybe because I've only added them to my vocab in the past few years. I also like the word custard ... or maybe it's just the taste, so difficult to know.
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Exegi monumentum aere perennius regalique situ pyramidum altius - and that was before breakfast!
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#514579 - Sat Feb 27 2010 08:07 AM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: ren33]
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Forum Adept
Registered: Fri Jul 13 2007
Posts: 149
Loc: Devon UK
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Horripilation and serendipity are two of my favourites
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#514582 - Sat Feb 27 2010 01:03 PM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Tizzabelle]
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Star Poster
Registered: Tue May 15 2001
Posts: 13844
Loc: Australia
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Quote:
Oh Copago! Adaminaby is a great place name That reminds me of when an English family I know was driving up the NSW coast for the first time. They saw the road sign for "Bulahdelah" and having no idea how to pronounce it said "Oh that sounds posh doesn't it? Bew-la-dee-dah." So they and I have called it Bewladeedah ever since For those that don't know Bulahdelah, it's pronounced Bull-a-dee-lah.
LOL - that was the other one I had on my mind when I made my post There is also one near Dubbo called Buddabadah which is fun to say.
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#514583 - Sat Feb 27 2010 05:40 PM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Copago]
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Star Poster
Registered: Thu Sep 30 1999
Posts: 10480
Loc: Fanling
Hong Kong
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Lindisfarne, oooh lovely!
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Wandering aimlessly through FT since 1999.
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#514584 - Sat Feb 27 2010 11:49 PM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: ren33]
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Forum Adept
Registered: Sat Mar 05 2005
Posts: 188
Loc: Jersey City New Jersey USA
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As far as town names go, I've always liked Menominee Falls and Lake Placid.
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All I want is all there is and then some.
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#514586 - Mon Mar 01 2010 08:13 PM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Kaye19]
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Prolific
Registered: Sun Jan 17 2010
Posts: 1524
Loc: Sydney NSW Australia
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I love "tracklements". I had to look it up and it's a made up word from the 1950s that made it into the OED. I am going to use that on Thursday. I'm having dinner at the pub with a mate who's a bit of a word nerd too. She'll love it.. once I've explained it to her ;-)
Anyone watch "To The Manor Born" with Penelope Keith? I love how she wished everyone Merry Christmas on her Xmas cards.. "Yuletide felicitations". I say that every Xmas to certain friends. ;-)
_________________________
I could give up chocolate but I'm no quitter!
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#514589 - Thu Mar 04 2010 12:17 AM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Sinned2471]
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Prolific
Registered: Fri Jun 20 2003
Posts: 1179
Loc: Bay Area California USA
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I've always been rather fond of "onomatopoeia" for some reason. And I intensely dislike "moist". Couldn't tell you why. I just feel... icky saying it. 
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"A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking." ~ Jerry Seinfeld
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#514590 - Tue Mar 09 2010 11:37 PM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Taesma]
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Prolific
Registered: Sat Sep 15 2001
Posts: 1044
Loc: Adelaide SA Australia
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I'm fond of "lackadaisical" because it appeared on three seperate report cards, which must be some kind of a record...or a conspiracy and
"nevertheless" just cos I like it.
_________________________
Never moon a werewolf.
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#514591 - Wed Mar 10 2010 05:20 AM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: quogequox]
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu May 22 2008
Posts: 998
Loc: Delft<br>The Netherlands
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In English I like those posh compound words like 'notwithstanding' and 'whereupon'. Also the slightly oldfashioned words like 'whence' and 'hitherto'.
In Spanish for example 'ronronear' and 'tataratataranieta'
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They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
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#514593 - Wed Mar 10 2010 11:11 AM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Jennings]
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Prolific
Registered: Sun Jan 17 2010
Posts: 1524
Loc: Sydney NSW Australia
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There are some ripper words in here :-) I like the idea of onomatopeeea.. onomotapoeaiesa.. onamtoppeias ... I just wish I could spell it without such distress to my brain ;-) I can't wait to use "slubberdegullion" somewhere, somehow. Triviapaul, if you like compound words try a little north of you in Finland. They see no need to keep a space when adding words together. So many words seem incredibly long, especially when travelling along a road at speed and you're trying to read a road sign. I can't complain though. It's my first language but I've lost a lot of it now. It doesn't help me when I try to read it. ;-)
_________________________
I could give up chocolate but I'm no quitter!
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#514594 - Thu Mar 11 2010 04:34 PM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Tizzabelle]
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu May 22 2008
Posts: 998
Loc: Delft<br>The Netherlands
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Ahhhh yes, Finnish, the language that gave us entokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas. Got to love agglutinative languages. Finnish has fifteen noun cases. That is superb trivia.
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They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
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#514595 - Fri Mar 12 2010 07:04 AM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Tizzabelle]
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Forum Adept
Registered: Wed Mar 09 2005
Posts: 154
Loc: Taunton Somerset UK
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On mispronunciations - I was in a car & saw the 1st 2 letters of a street name -when I saw it all I knew it was not Onion street but it took me ages to work out it was Union street.
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#514597 - Sun Mar 14 2010 01:39 AM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Tizzabelle]
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu May 22 2008
Posts: 998
Loc: Delft<br>The Netherlands
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You are right, it's not like I knew what I was doing when I copy-pasted it Check out this fantastic site for Finnish tongue twisters. http://www.alphadictionary.com/fun/tongue-twisters/finnish_tongue_twisters.htmlLentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilasAirplane jet turbine engine auxiliary mechanic non-commissioned officer student The longest Finnish word but an actual military term in the Air Force. Kokko, kokkoo kokkoo koko kokko! - Koko kokkoko? - Koko kokko. Kokkookko? (Savo dialect)Kokko (a surname), gather up the whole bonfire! - The entire bonfire? - The entire bonfire. Now will you gather it up?
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#514598 - Sun Mar 14 2010 01:58 AM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Tizzabelle]
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Enthusiast
Registered: Tue Feb 05 2008
Posts: 439
Loc: Western Australia
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On the mispronunciations, the place I had trouble with was the American state Arkansas - I knew Kansas was pronounced as it was spelt, so why the difference ?
Favourite words - serendipity & happenstance.
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“Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a ride!”
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#514600 - Wed Mar 17 2010 03:04 PM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: Tizzabelle]
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Multiloquent
Registered: Sat Dec 25 1999
Posts: 2302
Loc: Fairhaven Massachusetts USA
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I've got a thing about unusual words, such as tchotchke, omadhaun, daedal, synergy, bouleversement, et al.
A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you thought of. Burt Bacharach
tjoeb};>
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#514601 - Thu Mar 18 2010 07:32 AM
Re: What's your favourite word?
[Re: tjoebigham]
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Champion Poster
Registered: Wed Jun 07 2006
Posts: 20697
Loc: Gauteng South Africa
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I love 'oxymoron' it makes me smile. Then there are a lot of towns in Namivia that have great names - Otjiwarongo, Gobabis, Okahandja, Tsumeb,Okakararawhich, to name a few.
I hate the word 'learner' - why can't it just be student?
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"If Life Were Easy Where Would All The Adventure Be?"
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