The physicality is a whole other topic, isn't it? Words like udzuzu are great fodder for that discussion. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a book I've been intending to purchase, Darrel. I'll move it up in the list of priorities. I delighted in The Dictionary of Lost Words, a novel with related themes, I think. Appreciate your comment and good to see you.
Ooh I like words too! This was a fun read❤️. I don’t have a suggestion for “What”; I usually ask a non-related question to change the subject🤪. My favorite word from my kid is fair. I find it a useful response when someone says something that I don’t quite agree with but concede that they have made a reasonable point. Which happens more than I realized now that I have a word to use!
Ah, the ol' subject switcheroo, eh? That can be a very strategic move. 😅 Great that you've been able to weave a new, useful word into your lexicon, Ruth. It seems "mid" is now topping the charts of trendy new terms, and if I understand correctly, it relates to mediocrity, as in everything at Starbucks is mid. Fair is much more uplifting!
My kids, who are both Russian speakers, always pronounced “Toys Я Us” as “Toys Ya Us.” And the dusty back window of my car always said “помой меня.” I’m better at knowing what my dog is trying to tell me.
And if I pause for just a second, Siri now says “uh huh.”
Siri... 🤣 How did your children come to speak Russian, aside from the general polyglotness of your family, that is? Did I mention that I'm not above making up words when I need to? Your dog is lucky to have you, and I'm feeling pretty darn grateful myself. Thanks so much for your role in this piece, Switter.
We lived in a former Soviet republic for three years when they were middle schoolers. They both learned Russian and Azerbaijani. My son learned his grammar and vocabulary from truck drivers and my daughter took lessons from a woman who taught Russian in Moscow, so she has a posh accent. They both have extensive vocabularies in both languages and my daughter studied Arabic several years in college.
I speak American, Canadian, Australian, South African, some British English, a little Scottish, fluent kwaZungu, and dog.
I'm no academician (shoot, I have trouble spelling it, even), but maybe if I make up enough words I can convince somebody of something. A dog, perhaps.
This is delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed it as a fellow word nerd, and of course, I suddenly remembered a few others I forgot about when you asked. Particularly:
Damm Ti'eel and Damm khafeef. These literally translate as "heavy blood" and "light blood" but what they actually refer to is whether someone is annoying or not. If you say, "Dammo ti'eel" about someone, you are saying that guy is annoying and you really don't want to spend time around them. If you say "dammo khafeef" it means they're light and fun and good company.
There's also "Ghaseel dimaagh" which means literally "washing the head" but it's not referring to actual physical washing. It's used to mean doing something relaxing and clearing your head.
Wonderful additions to the collection, Noha. I'm guessing the dammo ti'eel guy is prone to reirritation, too, right? 😂 You, on the other hand, are dammo khafeef! So appreciative of your contributions to this essay. I mentioned it on your Note ( tyvm! ) but I'll pop it here as well. If there is a good way for me to learn the pronunciations of these words, I'd love to try them out verbally. I'm sure I won't do them any favors, but it would be a fun exercise. Thanks, Noha!
The evolution - and extinction - of phrases is also a thing to ponder, as I explained to a teenager who was holding an iPhone and asked why adults often say "hang up the phone" instead of "turn off the phone...."
Oohh, big yes to this, Robert. Not just hang up but also "dial," right? And then there are older ones like "hit the hay" and "stay tuned." And since new terms keep cropping up, this is an exploration that never ends. Great to have you here. Thanks for joining!
Love words, word play, definitions, origins and etymology, dictionaries, thesauruses, if that's the plural of thesaurus, synonyms and antonyms, a symphony of words. Yes, words from other languages often have no English equivalent or a poor substitute. I go back to early training with words like Gemeinschaft and Weltanschauung. We translate those but need several words for the one whereas the one word says it all in the other language. Our family had fun making up words and fracturing them, like funnily enough....or wen we gonna have suppah? It was some kind of exercise of writing in a dialect or the way some people sounded, the regional stuff of language. Wordz and intentionally misspelling dem. Probably politically incorrect and insensitive.
Because I sometimes have the mind of a 9-year-old boy, auspuffanlage reminds me to mention how Carita and I giggled about the Swedish word for exit: "Utfart." And from there to how Uranus is the butt of many jokes. Dear me, I think I'm taking this in a direction I probably shouldn't!
The Germans are known for their "one word sentences," aren't they? Now that you mention it, I should have looped Rebecca Holden (Dear Reader I'm Lost) into this one. She'd surely have had some additional Deutsch to add to the conversation.
Speaking of, glad you're part of this one, Gary. Thanks!
Such a fun read. I definitely need the words chotto and katundu in my vocabulary. (I may need a cheat sheet though to remember them.) Lots of funny but insightful moments here. I would like to have seen the tree in the truck. I bet that was really something.
I need a cheat sheet, too, Amy, one that includes a pronunciation guide and an ever-expanding page so I can keep adding and adding. My hope is that I'll hold onto the ones from this piece a bit more easily since I spent so much time with them in the writing process. The trucktree was quite the conversation piece. Chances are, I'd have a photo had cell phones been a thing then, but the mental image is possibly more fun.
Thanks for joining in, and let me know when you have occasion to use any of your new words out in the wild. :)
I LOVE THIS ❤️ I’m always fascinated by word choices, I often gravitate to prose written by poets because their choices are so compelling (Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous for example…he’s a poet and an ESL writer—exceptional!)
I always assume when I’m truly in a bad way that only Germans have a word for it…
My favorite word I came up with to define the threat of giving someone one last chance — PENULTIMATUM.
Oh, that book sounds fascinating (and possibly a little heartbreaking), Eileen. Thanks for the recommendation. And you are so right about where to turn when you need just the right word for having a 💩 day. I appreciate your word fun there. Evidently penultimatum is a real word, as well as the name of a gaming soundtrack -- but your definition is best! Word to the wise, eh? Thanks for the comments!
I believe we all have katundu, both literally and figuratively, perhaps.
My SS reads are inspiring me to be more particular and precise when choosing, and you're right, can't always find it even on the tip of the tongue.
How about 'Shew' in keeping with my Tilghman exploration...it can mean anything from a simple Geez to WOW to Holy Shit to 'What a mess. I wouldn't be caught dead in that particular situation. Let'sdrop it.' Often accompanied by aggressive head shaking. Like chotto, it comes in handy.
100% on katundu as a universal truth, Janice! In fact, I had a similar thought and checked in with Switter on whether it was ever used metaphorically. He said he thought that to be likely at this point in the evolution of the word.
I need to bone up on my understanding of "shew," although it looks like I could make it mean what I need it to mean.
This whole post speaks to my soul. I LOVE words. Once, on reading a word-heavy fantasy novel, I came across over 100 words I'd never heard of, noting them as they cropped up. Then I toddled off to the Reference Library to use the unabridged OED to find their meanings. They were all genuine words, all ineffably beautiful. I felt as if I was mining diamonds.
I came away with one in particular that consistently rolls itself around in my mouth like a smooth sweet, bursting with flavour. Gallimaufry. It pretty well sums up life...
Oh, mining diamonds. What a perfect analogy! Now, we can just pop those puppies "in front" of Siri and have the definition in moments. Not the same brain exercise, though, which I'm sure relates to why it's harder to remember them. It's nothing to do with age. Nope. Huh-uh!
Gallimaufry sounds like a good companion for katundu. :)
Words, delving into them never stop for writers. And I'm always mindful of Mark Twain: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Thanks for an enjoyable read!
Ah, the masterful Mark Twain! You have a similar gift, Karen. Truly grateful for your help with this piece. Please share our warmest hellos to all the family, and thanks for joining the conversation.
I thought of you (and others) as I wrote that, and you definitely earn the title! Happy to know you enjoyed the comparison and the rest of this bit of fun, Elizabeth. Thanks for spending a little time here.
Great minds think alike.🤗🤗🤗
Indeed! Thanks for reading, Mr . Ma
Thank you for this. I love words, and how they feel physically when I say them. I think you would like this book: Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
Fabulous book, it sits by my bed.
The physicality is a whole other topic, isn't it? Words like udzuzu are great fodder for that discussion. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a book I've been intending to purchase, Darrel. I'll move it up in the list of priorities. I delighted in The Dictionary of Lost Words, a novel with related themes, I think. Appreciate your comment and good to see you.
Ooh I like words too! This was a fun read❤️. I don’t have a suggestion for “What”; I usually ask a non-related question to change the subject🤪. My favorite word from my kid is fair. I find it a useful response when someone says something that I don’t quite agree with but concede that they have made a reasonable point. Which happens more than I realized now that I have a word to use!
Ah, the ol' subject switcheroo, eh? That can be a very strategic move. 😅 Great that you've been able to weave a new, useful word into your lexicon, Ruth. It seems "mid" is now topping the charts of trendy new terms, and if I understand correctly, it relates to mediocrity, as in everything at Starbucks is mid. Fair is much more uplifting!
Thanks so much for chiming in.
Zikomo, Elizabeth!
My kids, who are both Russian speakers, always pronounced “Toys Я Us” as “Toys Ya Us.” And the dusty back window of my car always said “помой меня.” I’m better at knowing what my dog is trying to tell me.
And if I pause for just a second, Siri now says “uh huh.”
Siri... 🤣 How did your children come to speak Russian, aside from the general polyglotness of your family, that is? Did I mention that I'm not above making up words when I need to? Your dog is lucky to have you, and I'm feeling pretty darn grateful myself. Thanks so much for your role in this piece, Switter.
We lived in a former Soviet republic for three years when they were middle schoolers. They both learned Russian and Azerbaijani. My son learned his grammar and vocabulary from truck drivers and my daughter took lessons from a woman who taught Russian in Moscow, so she has a posh accent. They both have extensive vocabularies in both languages and my daughter studied Arabic several years in college.
I speak American, Canadian, Australian, South African, some British English, a little Scottish, fluent kwaZungu, and dog.
Making up words is time honored, especially in academia.
I'm no academician (shoot, I have trouble spelling it, even), but maybe if I make up enough words I can convince somebody of something. A dog, perhaps.
This is delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed it as a fellow word nerd, and of course, I suddenly remembered a few others I forgot about when you asked. Particularly:
Damm Ti'eel and Damm khafeef. These literally translate as "heavy blood" and "light blood" but what they actually refer to is whether someone is annoying or not. If you say, "Dammo ti'eel" about someone, you are saying that guy is annoying and you really don't want to spend time around them. If you say "dammo khafeef" it means they're light and fun and good company.
There's also "Ghaseel dimaagh" which means literally "washing the head" but it's not referring to actual physical washing. It's used to mean doing something relaxing and clearing your head.
Wonderful additions to the collection, Noha. I'm guessing the dammo ti'eel guy is prone to reirritation, too, right? 😂 You, on the other hand, are dammo khafeef! So appreciative of your contributions to this essay. I mentioned it on your Note ( tyvm! ) but I'll pop it here as well. If there is a good way for me to learn the pronunciations of these words, I'd love to try them out verbally. I'm sure I won't do them any favors, but it would be a fun exercise. Thanks, Noha!
The evolution - and extinction - of phrases is also a thing to ponder, as I explained to a teenager who was holding an iPhone and asked why adults often say "hang up the phone" instead of "turn off the phone...."
Oohh, big yes to this, Robert. Not just hang up but also "dial," right? And then there are older ones like "hit the hay" and "stay tuned." And since new terms keep cropping up, this is an exploration that never ends. Great to have you here. Thanks for joining!
Love words, word play, definitions, origins and etymology, dictionaries, thesauruses, if that's the plural of thesaurus, synonyms and antonyms, a symphony of words. Yes, words from other languages often have no English equivalent or a poor substitute. I go back to early training with words like Gemeinschaft and Weltanschauung. We translate those but need several words for the one whereas the one word says it all in the other language. Our family had fun making up words and fracturing them, like funnily enough....or wen we gonna have suppah? It was some kind of exercise of writing in a dialect or the way some people sounded, the regional stuff of language. Wordz and intentionally misspelling dem. Probably politically incorrect and insensitive.
A couple of Germon words I've always liked: Wolkenkrazer (Cloud scratcher - skyscraper) and auspuffanlage (auto exhaust system)
Because I sometimes have the mind of a 9-year-old boy, auspuffanlage reminds me to mention how Carita and I giggled about the Swedish word for exit: "Utfart." And from there to how Uranus is the butt of many jokes. Dear me, I think I'm taking this in a direction I probably shouldn't!
The Germans are known for their "one word sentences," aren't they? Now that you mention it, I should have looped Rebecca Holden (Dear Reader I'm Lost) into this one. She'd surely have had some additional Deutsch to add to the conversation.
Speaking of, glad you're part of this one, Gary. Thanks!
So much fun!!!
Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Great to see you here!
Such a fun read. I definitely need the words chotto and katundu in my vocabulary. (I may need a cheat sheet though to remember them.) Lots of funny but insightful moments here. I would like to have seen the tree in the truck. I bet that was really something.
I need a cheat sheet, too, Amy, one that includes a pronunciation guide and an ever-expanding page so I can keep adding and adding. My hope is that I'll hold onto the ones from this piece a bit more easily since I spent so much time with them in the writing process. The trucktree was quite the conversation piece. Chances are, I'd have a photo had cell phones been a thing then, but the mental image is possibly more fun.
Thanks for joining in, and let me know when you have occasion to use any of your new words out in the wild. :)
I loved this, Elizabeth. So interesting and informative.
Thanks, June. I learned a lot, too.
You do absolutely wonderfully with words... They make your thoughts come alive
Aw, what a nice comment, Barry, thank you. Never a dull moment with these thoughts!
I LOVE THIS ❤️ I’m always fascinated by word choices, I often gravitate to prose written by poets because their choices are so compelling (Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous for example…he’s a poet and an ESL writer—exceptional!)
I always assume when I’m truly in a bad way that only Germans have a word for it…
My favorite word I came up with to define the threat of giving someone one last chance — PENULTIMATUM.
Oh, that book sounds fascinating (and possibly a little heartbreaking), Eileen. Thanks for the recommendation. And you are so right about where to turn when you need just the right word for having a 💩 day. I appreciate your word fun there. Evidently penultimatum is a real word, as well as the name of a gaming soundtrack -- but your definition is best! Word to the wise, eh? Thanks for the comments!
I believe we all have katundu, both literally and figuratively, perhaps.
My SS reads are inspiring me to be more particular and precise when choosing, and you're right, can't always find it even on the tip of the tongue.
How about 'Shew' in keeping with my Tilghman exploration...it can mean anything from a simple Geez to WOW to Holy Shit to 'What a mess. I wouldn't be caught dead in that particular situation. Let'sdrop it.' Often accompanied by aggressive head shaking. Like chotto, it comes in handy.
Salud,
J
100% on katundu as a universal truth, Janice! In fact, I had a similar thought and checked in with Switter on whether it was ever used metaphorically. He said he thought that to be likely at this point in the evolution of the word.
I need to bone up on my understanding of "shew," although it looks like I could make it mean what I need it to mean.
Glad to have you here, Janice.
Happy to be here! Thanks!
"Hotter 'n hades this mornin'. (pause, headshake) Shew!"
This whole post speaks to my soul. I LOVE words. Once, on reading a word-heavy fantasy novel, I came across over 100 words I'd never heard of, noting them as they cropped up. Then I toddled off to the Reference Library to use the unabridged OED to find their meanings. They were all genuine words, all ineffably beautiful. I felt as if I was mining diamonds.
I came away with one in particular that consistently rolls itself around in my mouth like a smooth sweet, bursting with flavour. Gallimaufry. It pretty well sums up life...
Oh, mining diamonds. What a perfect analogy! Now, we can just pop those puppies "in front" of Siri and have the definition in moments. Not the same brain exercise, though, which I'm sure relates to why it's harder to remember them. It's nothing to do with age. Nope. Huh-uh!
Gallimaufry sounds like a good companion for katundu. :)
Always appreciate your perspective, Prue. Thanks!
Words, delving into them never stop for writers. And I'm always mindful of Mark Twain: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Thanks for an enjoyable read!
Ah, the masterful Mark Twain! You have a similar gift, Karen. Truly grateful for your help with this piece. Please share our warmest hellos to all the family, and thanks for joining the conversation.
What a grand article, Elizabeth! Thank you for doing so many ask-arounds so you could share so many wonderful examples.
P.S. I will proudly claim membership in "the bomb-squad of wordsmithing." Made my day.
I thought of you (and others) as I wrote that, and you definitely earn the title! Happy to know you enjoyed the comparison and the rest of this bit of fun, Elizabeth. Thanks for spending a little time here.