I realized that I have a lot more time on my hands and a lot more enthusiasm for blogging (does that qualify as an eating disorder?), so I changed the name of my blog to be a little more fitting. At least for the time being. We'll see how long it takes Ashley to notice and make me change it back. If she even cares, that is. Anyway, I have a lot of free time on my hands as I sit in the lab and wait for things to incubate or centrifuge, and today I was thinking about words that sounds worse than they really are. I think all of us have probably had a conversation like this at some point in our lives. So please, contribute to the list if you have something you have something that fits.
Words sound worse than they actually are:
Niggard- was this the word the NAACP have had a formal funeral? I guess they must hate stingy people. See also: niggardly, niggardliness
Penal- One lady in our ward actually wrote "penial" in some handout, incorrectly referring to the kind of colony John was exiled to. Is that a punishment or a reward? Depends on your orientation.
Jocularity- he he he...
Exacerbate- something you should stop doing immediately, or else you're heading for some real trouble.
Pedagogy- I think some guy on Law and Order: SVU got nailed for that one in the episode I watched last night.
Polka dots...Ha Ha!
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ReplyDeleteFormicate: to crawl around like ants.
ReplyDeleteE.g.: "The BYU students formicate as game-time approaches.
Just ran into this gem. "Fartlek" is Swedish for "speed play," meaning you accelerate and slow down according to how you feel.
ReplyDeleteDang it, Scott! You took mine. I was totally going to write exacerbate. Don't worry, though, I'll think of one.
ReplyDeleteMy contribution has been making seventh graders giggle for years:
ReplyDeleteMasticate.
Lunch time becomes so much more entertaining the day the first kid at the lunch table discovers that one.
Also, I realize that this doesn't really count as a word that sounds grosser than it really is, but I've always hated the word 'moist'. I mean, unless you're talking about a cake, it's pretty much disgusting. If you stick your hand it a dark bag without looking first, the last thing you want is for it to be moist in there.
teat.
ReplyDeleteScott you are hilarious! I am so glad that you are such a great son-in-law.
ReplyDeleteFrom Jeannie