These are a few of my favourite…words

A few weeks ago, I wrote a popular post about words and phrases I will ban when I rule the English-speaking world.

So, in the interests of balance, and to put a smile on my own face, here are 10 words I adore that should be used far more often than they are. I love them for a variety of reasons – the way they so aptly describe something (or someone), or the way they roll off the tongue.

1. Frock: There is nothing that says “party” like putting on a fancy frock, some lippy and an up-do. Yet, for some reason, “frock” has died out and been replaced by the blah “dress”. Come on, please help me bring “frock” back!

2. Gobsmacked: The utterly perfect description for when something is so head-explodingly, unbelieveably stupid that it leaves you lost for words. Like I was gobsmacked when Melbourne’s Age Newspaper asked for members of the public to write articles on government agency’s annual reports (you know, cos they had sacked all the journos), or when Lara Bingle decided letting the cameras into her life was a “good” idea. I was not, however, gobsmacked when Katie Holmes left Tom Cruise, or when George Michael came out.

3. Hubris: Meaning “extreme pride or arrogance”. It came in very handy when John Howard was our prime minister, because I could refer to it as “Howard’s hubris”, and who doesn’t love a nice alliteration? Even the word “hubris” sounds haughty, or proud, or arrogant. I just love it when I get the opportunity to use this word in a sentence.

4. Zygote: This is a scientific term for the earliest development stage of the embryo. I first heard this word in sex education classes in early high-school and loved it ever since. Not for what it means, but for the way the buzzy “Z” sounds juxtaposed with the guttural “G”.

5. Juxtaposed: Yep, I grabbed the opportunity to use this (see above) and I did! Again, it’s not for what it means (to place side by side, for comparison or contrast) but for how it sounds. I really just love harsh consonants!

6. Flibbertigibbet: What I love about flibbertigibbet is that it sounds exactly like the thing it describes – a silly, scatterbrained person. It’s kind of an insult, but it sounds so amusing that no-one cares. I’m most likely to use it when I watch what passes for TV news these days.

7: Hullabaloo: Like flibbertigibbet, this word sounds like what it describes – a noisy commotion.  My kids love raising a hullabaloo, and while I love the word, I don’t so much love the “outside voice” at dinner time,

8. Falafel: Not only does my mouth water at the thought of the crunchy chickpea goodness of a falafel with some homous (hummus?) and tabouli wrapped in pita bread, the word itself is a thing of beauty. Go on, say it out loud “falafel”. Gorgeous!

9. Crapulence: I’m not sure this is actually a word, since I first heard it on The Simpsons, but I love it nonetheless. And I have used it more that once to describe the queeziness that comes from excessive indulgence. Like opulence, but overkill. In a similar vein is craptastic, to describe something really, really not fun. “I had a craptastic day and felt truly crapulent after over-indulging last night.”

10: Wicked: Not, as in “that gig was wicked, man”, but more in the way it was used in Enid Byton’s stories to describe a naughty child. The Secret Seven and Famous Five would never be wicked, would they?

So, in short, I love old fashioned words, words that sound like what they describe and words that feel good when they roll off my tongue.

How about you? Do you have a favourite word? Would you like to share?

Till next time