The Thirteenth Dimension
Because a thousand words could get daddy a new picture
The Archive of Endangered, Special, or Fun Words

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, this was a proud, card-carrying member of Paul Phillips' original WWW Useless Pages. But it was retired long, long ago, and the Useless Pages don't even exist anymore.

OK. I've said it once, and I'll never say it again. I could go on and on about how happy I am that people from all over the world have contributed to making this a great page. I could rant about how a little girl from Kenya submitted serendipity as her favorite word. I could rave about how an elderly Siberian man submitted bouffant as the word that was closest to his heart. Of course, I'd be lying in both instances. Ha! Even after all this time, that joke's never gotten old!

Ask "What's the deal with this?" and I shall reply that there are a lot of people who, like me, are very fond of their own little subset of the English language. People from all over the world have submitted more words to the E.S.o.F. archive than I've been able to keep up with. But many of the "classic" words have been resurrected as though from the dead, so if you wanna get retro have at it.

The rules of the game have never ever changed. Words are described as either Endangered (at risk of falling eternally out of use), Special (unique, either in meaning or in composition), or Fun (a delight to the senses), or some combination thereof. If in fact a word is worthy of being described as Endangered, Special and Fun, then it has achieved the ever elusive and highly coveted E.S.o.F. Hat Trick. It's nice to have goals.

To submit your own word to the E.S.o.F. Archive, hie thee to the E.S.o.F. Submission Form. After your word is submitted, it is judged by a diverse panel of woodland creatures to make sure that your entry is web-worthy. I've noticed that the woodchucks are particular hard to please, so mind what you say to them. There's only so much a good-natured moose can do on your behalf to get it approved.

Enjoy!

    The List of E.S.o.F. Words    
    This is the main attraction, folks. The show you came to see in the first place. Find below just a few of the words contained herein. You never know - you might just find the valuable definitions to such words as these:    
   
  • abstruse
  • charnk
  • eidolon
  • forswunk
  • misogynist
  • moribund
  • spatchcock
  • twitterpated
  • unique
   
    More...    
    E.S.o.F. Word News    
    This is the newest attraction to archive. It's interesting to note how frequently words are the primary topic of news stories these days. At least that's what I'm banking on.    
   
   
    More...    
    The Most Recently Submitted Words    
   
  • brachiation - ENDANGERED,FUN
    • to swing from branch to branch, like a monkey. I used this while playing D&D and tricked the DM into letting my character have bracers of brachiation.
    • posted by josh
  • aqueosalinocalcalinoceraseoaluminosocupreovitriolic - ENDANGERED,SPECIAL
    • It describes the waters in Bath, England. endangered because I defy you to try and say it without getting encephalalgia, special because its so specialized, but definitely not fun( far to intimidating
    • posted by joshua, levesqjo11@gmail.com
  • veprcose -
    • it mean pertaining to prickly plants
    • posted by Rachel
   
    More...    
    The Right-Brained Shelf    
    Word has it that the right-brained crowd is populated by creative and artistic sorts. The same goes for this section of the E.S.o.F. Word site. Here you'll find words that are just a heckuva lot of fun to say. Some of them have really interesting definitions, but it's likely that most of the work of constructing these words went into their designs.    
   
  • otiose - ENDANGERED AND FUN
    • Means, roughly, "too complex/arrogant/whatever to be dealt with right now." But, the word is rare and obscure enough that just using it automatically means that you're being otiose yourself...
   
    More...    
    The Left-Brained Shelf    
    If right-brained people tend toward creativity, then left-brained individuals are the ones that live moreso by logic and reason. The words included on the Left-Brained list exist for an important reason - few words share the same meanings as these little gems. These words are purpose-driven, filling what would otherwise be a gaping void in our delightfully odd language.    
   
  • defenestrate - FUN
    • de- out, fenestra- Latin for window. defenestrate- to throw something(one) out of a window.
   
    More...