Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Word Snobbery

  • Harmless words which I try to avoid using:
    Moist
    Queen
    Sack
    Milk
    Membrane
  • Things which people say but aren’t words and that makes me crazy:
    Irregardless (I don't care what wikipedia tells you)
    UnDefrost
    Preventative
  • Sounds which make me (usually just internally) fly into fits of irrational rage:
    Sloppy banana chewing
    Using reverse suction to clear one’s sinuses from inside one’s own head
    Very dry skin on very dry fingers/hands squeaking down very dry and very clean glass
    The incessant SKLORP noise made by people who flip through a stack of loose papers by moistening all of their fingertips at once on the flattened and most broad part of their tongue normally housed within the vicinity of molars. Extra rage incurred for every additional SKLORP noise made as the fingertips inevitably dry out and need to be re-sklorpped in order to facilitate further page-flipping.
  • Conversely, these are words I love and never get to use enough:
    Windowsill
    Barnacle
    Pantomime
    Bleary
    Tangential
    Squirrel
    Husk

2 comments:

Mountain Mama said...

I hate "orientated." The Businessman hates "genre."

I love the sound of boat clang. I don't know what it is, but I only hear it around marinas and docks.

Unknown said...

OMG I totally love boat clang. It's so soothing!