Words you love, but which you never actually use yourself

Started by karlhenning, April 06, 2010, 06:59:45 AM

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LKB

Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen...

T. D.

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on January 18, 2022, 05:58:53 AM
Rodomontade is a favorite, though it doesn't find frequent occupancy in my more casual conversations these days. Thanks to Rex Stout for it, along with a thousand other gems.   $:)

🤠😎

Good one. I'm old enough to recall when it was occasionally used.

Couple of favorites are apotheosis and farrago. Almost impossible to use in conversation.

BasilValentine

gongoozle — watching (entranced by) flowing water as from a river bank. (I must confess I have used this word — "How about a little gongoozling, sweety?" — but was grievously misunderstood when I did.)

snollygoster — a clever, unscrupulous person 

geralmar

Prestidigitation.  Magic tricks.

Rumbustious.  Boisterous or unruly.

VonStupp

Rotogravure

This one pops up in Irving Berlin's Easter Parade, which we hear every so often, and it makes my wife chuckle. I would hate to have to rhyme it in a song.

An example of a word on its way out with print media.

VS
"All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff."

Holden

I have a couple

perspicacity - if I used it who would understand?

frumious - a lovely portmanteau word

and also from Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark - Frabjous.

More commonly used from this poem are burble (which I do use occasionally) and chortle which was mentioned above. Once again all are portmanteau words.
Cheers

Holden