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Author Topic: What is your favorite word?  (Read 43091 times)

Zingoleb

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #50 on: 11 Sep 2012, 13:28 »

Ooh, if we're going to talk non-dictionary, then I use 'uffish' on a nearly daily basis. It's a really excellent word.

Quote from: Lewis Carroll
"It seemed to suggest a state of mind when the voice is gruffish, the manner roughish, and the temper huffish."
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lepetitfromage

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #51 on: 11 Sep 2012, 18:05 »

Oooooh, I enjoy that!


Jabberwocky is a pretty fun word too :-)
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Carl-E

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #52 on: 11 Sep 2012, 22:16 »

Oh, that deserves real-word status. 
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VonKleist

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #53 on: 12 Sep 2012, 02:20 »

Actually a lot of Carroll's nonsense-words are now standard english, like "to chortle".


Jabberwocky

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.


from Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1872)

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Carl-E

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #54 on: 12 Sep 2012, 05:23 »

Actually, "chortle" and "galumph" are the only words in that poem that made it into standard English usage.  But that's pretty good! 

I don't count vorpal, the only place I've heard it outside that poem is in D&D. 
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lepetitfromage

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #55 on: 12 Sep 2012, 10:24 »

:-) I love that poem. My dad memorized it when he was younger and it's so awesome listening to him recite it.
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Redball

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #56 on: 12 Sep 2012, 11:16 »

Do you have a recording of him reciting it?
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Carl-E

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #57 on: 12 Sep 2012, 13:37 »

That one wasn't enough of a challenge. 

I memorized "The Walrus and the Carpenter" in high school for Forensics (Oral Interpretation) competitions.  Still have most of it "at hand", too. 
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lepetitfromage

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #58 on: 12 Sep 2012, 18:42 »

I wish I did! Maybe I'll ask him if I can record him. Is that a weird thing to do? lol
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bainidhe_dub

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #59 on: 12 Sep 2012, 18:45 »

My dad used it to call and recite the Jabberwocky to test the answering machines. I walked downstairs into an empty office one time and heard his voice saying all the nonsense words, freaked me out a bit.
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Patrick

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #60 on: 13 Sep 2012, 04:06 »

Finagle, It's a whimsical word.

I use this word on the regular, dude, it's so good. I generally turn on what remains of my Georgia accent when I use it, because it makes that word like 30x better.

My favorite word is "luleshtrydhe," which means "strawberry" in Albanian. Use Google Translate's "speak" function to see why.
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VonKleist

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #61 on: 13 Sep 2012, 04:20 »

If we´re talking dialect my favorite has got to be "nervenjeck". nerven -> nerves; jeck -> crazy; so it translates to "skittish/on edge/excited/fussy".. along thoses lines.
So if you say "Mach mich net nervenjeck", it means "don't irritate me by acting out". May be related to any kind of behaviour and used in every situation where something is bugging you.
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Carl-E

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #62 on: 13 Sep 2012, 06:42 »

Hah!  That's great, you can even use it on inanimate objects! 
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VonKleist

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #63 on: 13 Sep 2012, 06:54 »

Also on people because "Jeck" is a noun too, meaning a crazy person or just someone who likes to have fun or a joker.
« Last Edit: 14 Sep 2012, 04:26 by VonKleist »
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LTK

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Re: What is your favorite word?
« Reply #64 on: 14 Oct 2012, 11:51 »

I just remembered another great word, only it's in Dutch: Lanterfanten. It means slacking off, but the word implies a great deal more apathy and laziness than simply not doing any work.
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