Because a thousand words could get daddy a new picture
The Archive of Endangered, Special, or Fun Words
The Most Recent Submissions to the E.S.o.F. List
acnestis- ENDANGERED,FUN
Endangered - at least I've never heard anyone use it. Fun - back up to the wall (best if it's covered with rough cloth) and pull up your shirt and if someone asks you what you're doing, say you're scratching your acnestis. Or "Can you pop that pimple on my acnestis?" No, it has nothing to do with acne; it's Greek a- + knéthein "scratch" (or was it tickle?).
posted by phma
I believe the definition your correspondent has given is not correct - I learnt the word some years ago as meaning "The one place on an animal's or human's body not reachable to scratch". (If this is wrong, why isn't there a word for that?) No wonder you have to rub against a wall for it!
posted by davidg.r.hales
aglet- FUN
the little plastic thing on the end of your shoelace.
posted by saracarmona
anatiferous- ENDANGERED
adj. Producing a duck; resulting in a duck; giving rise to a duck or ducks. Y'know?
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
autohypnopseudolinguatactilization- SPECIAL,FUN
n. The imaginary sensation of an object on your tongue. Apparently, it happens often enough that doctors have made a word for it.
posted by eldarkinhof
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
callipygian- ESOF HAT TRICK
(adj) Means: "having shapely buttocks"
Endangered - Because when was the last time someone in a bar called out "hey there, you're mighty callipygian"?
Special - No other single word means "nice butt."
Fun - Allow me to repeat: "having shapely buttocks." Savor it.
posted by hannah
cantankerous- ESOF HAT TRICK
I want to get old and be described as this when I tell kids to get off my lawn. (Ill-tempered and quarrelsome; disagreeable)
posted by webmaster
chrematophobia- SPECIAL,FUN
Do people really have this phobia?
It's fear of money!
posted by squonk
cleave- SPECIAL
"Cleave" is (I think) the only word in the English language that is its own antonym! In "The axeman cleaved the wolf's head from its shoulders." it means to "cut off, disconnect", BUT in "The wolf pup cleaved to its mother's teat." it means "to cling to, to beocme attached to". This makes "cleave" totally special!
posted by smcgrath1
crapulent- ENDANGERED
This word means just what you'd think: sick from overeating or overdrinking!
posted by squonk
curmudgeon- ENDANGERED,FUN
It's a fun word to say and equally fun to insult with.
posted by ABarnabas
cwn- ENDANGERED
it is a valley or ditch
posted anonymously
deef- SPECIAL,FUN
You say "deef" when you make or do an obviously brain-dead thing. Like having a "senior moment," or doing a "blonde" thing. (sorry blondes, I'm one and while I don't like that generalization, it fits in this instance.
Usually "deef" is said with an air of surprise by the person when they realize how stupid they looked or sounded.
It can also be substituted for "shit" in many instances.
posted by jwidmann
discombobulation- SPECIAL,FUN
So basically this word is the noun form of discombobulate, which means to confuse. AND It's just SO much fun to say!!! You should try it. Dis-com-bob-ulation... any word with bob tucked in HAS to be good!
posted by scarlettcwright
donnybrook- ENDANGERED,FUN
My son and I have fun with our word of the day calendar. Donnybrook, or a street brawl, was one word that stuck with us. We have fun using this word and there are plenty of times it can be used today.
posted by dlueders
dramastic- FUN
This word is as it looks, a mix between dramatic and drastic, which, used in the correct context, can be very useful in shortening looooong sentences.
posted by irishman
ennui- ESOF HAT TRICK
A feeling of utter weariness and discontent due to lack of interest. A fancy-pants way of saying "I'm really bored". Often leads to the malaise.
posted anonymously
exsanguinate- ESOF HAT TRICK
OK, you have defenestrate, but if that nasty fall doesn't kill 'em, this will. It sounds so pretty, too.
posted by leavesofjoy
flocculent- ENDANGERED,FUN
it means woolly, like sheep or woolly-appearing, like some clouds. but it's fun lies in the fact that it sounds nasty!
posted by ssmith04
gloaming- ENDANGERED,FUN
gloaming: the time of day just as the sun is disappearing over the horizon, aka twilight, or dusk...though gloaming is more fun to say, and leaves people trying to figure out what action the 'verb' (noun, actually) is describing
posted by hysterikole
goopher- ENDANGERED,FUN
actually, i don't know if anyone ever used this word in normal speech. it means "to conjure"--look to "the conjure woman" by charles chesnutt to see it in print.
posted by jdelia
hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian- SPECIAL
It means "of or pertaining to very long words"!
posted by njlockwood
hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia- SPECIAL,FUN
as if "hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian" weren't bad enough, this one means "FEAR of long words." how's that for irony?
posted by jdelia
hither- ENDANGERED
This word deserves to take its place near 'hie'. Certainly endangered and more fun than 'here'.
posted by dwidders
hootenanny- ENDANGERED,FUN
It's some sort of informal gathering. I believe this should be certified as the most backwoods redneck word in the world.
posted by mattedesa
horripilation- ESOF HAT TRICK
it means goose bumps......and one has to admit it does a lot more in terms of getting the message across
posted by sunshine
latchstring- SPECIAL
This word goes with Catchstring, for they both have 6 consanants in a row. I dare you to find another word like it!
posted by grlsokr11
legerity- ESOF HAT TRICK
it means quickness of mind/ agility
posted by sunshine
lillypilly- SPECIAL,FUN
type of tree, but the word has 5 L's
posted by grlsokr11
logorrhea- ESOF HAT TRICK
Excessive use of words.
'nuf said.
posted anonymously
malaise- ESOF HAT TRICK
Go ahead. Call in sick with "malaise" - a condition of general weakness or discomfort. Because you can't call in with "ennui".
posted anonymously
mealymouthed- ENDANGERED,FUN
adj : hesitant to state facts or opinions simply and directly as from e.g. timidity or hypocrisy; "a mealymouthed politician"
Always gives me the mental picture of mealworms in the mouth...
posted by mattedesa
meretrician- FUN
Noun form of meretricious - means relating to prostitution *because* of Latin root for earning money - Being a contract employee I like to refer to myself as a meretrician.
posted by ethan at e-stead.com
muliebrity- ESOF HAT TRICK
As one who appreciates the attributes (more precisely, the QUALITIES) of femininity, this word is a precious treasure that deserves its place along side of 'callipygious pulchritude'.
posted by dwidders
nause- FUN
If somebody asks me to do a task which I don't want to do, that would make it a Nause. As in, it gets to me & is a Nause to me - derived from the word nausea by myself!!
posted by rlaud
obfuscate- ENDANGERED
to make unclear. Just rolls around the tongue nicely.
posted by anne_buchanan2
ort- ENDANGERED,FUN
you're having dinner and you love what's on your dinner plate but you're so full you can't eat that last delicious bite? An "ort" is that little morsel of food left on your plate. Also known as a scrap. Kinda cute, isn't it? Good to the last ort!
posted by suzie
pediculous- ENDANGERED
We seem to have euphasims for almost everything - "washrooms" (in Canada) and "bathrooms" for rooms in restaurants where we spend the majority of time performing other functions. As common as "lousy" is in our speech, I find it odd that its euphamism is all but extinct.
posted by stuartr#csufresno.edu
perspicacious- ESOF HAT TRICK
Endangered for obvious reasons. Special because it sounds vaguely vulgar, as opposed to what it really means, which is: keenly discerning or understanding. Fun because, let's face it, you get to do a lot of spitting when you say this one! I like to drag it out in art galleries: "This abstract sculpture positively reeks of perspicaciousness."
posted by semisweetchick
pilfer- FUN
To steal a small amount of something. Especially fun to alliterate, as in the Travis song (she pilfered all the petty cash)or my favorite which I read somewhere, "pilfered pudding." Love the way those Ps burst off the lips
posted anonymously
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis- SPECIAL
this is the REAL longest word in the english language. I dont think antidisestablishement should even count, since anti- and dis- are both negatives and the word appears to be a double negative.
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicavolcanoconiosis is a disease you get from inhaling volcanic ash.
posted by mags10485
pnigmenoderma- SPECIAL
n. The wrinkly condition of your palms after a long bath. From the Greek, for "drowned skin."
posted by eldarkinhof
praxis- ENDANGERED
putting a theory or idea to practical use--try it out the next time you want to scare away that new friend
posted by ssmith04
prolix- ESOF HAT TRICK
excessively wordy, though I don't believe it for a minute--and it fits my definition of fun because listening to it you could think it a very bad phrase, indeed.
posted by ssmith04
quiddity- ESOF HAT TRICK
Being a word weenie is your quiddity. It's your very essence, bub.
posted anonymously
quodge- SPECIAL
A word most commonly associated with illegal drugs, "quodge" is nevertheless an easily-adaptable word that can serve as a subtle reference to anything from vegetables to various body parts. (And I believe that it first came into being via the minds of the authors of Bat Boy: The Musical.)
posted by BelleCoriace
rapscallion- ENDANGERED,FUN
rascal
posted by kbarnhart209
scallawag- ENDANGERED,FUN
rascal
posted by kbarnhart209
sedition- ESOF HAT TRICK
to inspire others to resist or defy those in lawful authority. Endangered: For some reason, it's not a word they often teach in school. Special: Gandhi went to prison, not once, but twice, for sedition. Fun: People tend to confuse it with either seduction or sedation.
posted by hysterikole
sesquipedalian- SPECIAL,FUN
It means pertaining to long words and it's beautiful to say!
posted by njlockwood
slubberdegullion- ENDANGERED,FUN
Rarely heard but needs little explaination if you call someone a slub-bur-de-gull-ee-on, it means "A slobbering or dirty fellow; a worthless sloven." Not too much of a tongue twister as well!
posted by phucco
smarmy- SPECIAL,FUN
If you desire false earnestness or sleazy quality, this little word says it all.
posted by dgleonard
solecism- ENDANGERED
Hopefully, you won't commit a solecism! (Like I just did!)Hee-hee-hee! Nobody uses this except linguists; it's not even in my grammar book!
posted by njlockwood
sooterkin- ESOF HAT TRICK
n. The mythical afterbirth of Dutch women. I swear it's a real word.
posted by eldarkinhof
spleen- SPECIAL,FUN
An organ in your abdomen. The very thing that prevents it from being endangered, and earning it an E. S. o. F. Hat Trick, is the same thing that makes it special: because anytime a character in a cartoon or comic is mangled and moaning on the floor, they always cry out, "My spleen..." Never the liver, stomach or kidneys, always the spleen. Why? Because it's fun to say, especially when you draw out that "ee" with a good groan. Try it the next time you get punched in the gut!
posted by kayqy
spurious- ENDANGERED,FUN
fake, counterfeit, bogus...so it's not all that uncommon, I heard it on the Simpsons, but it's a good word
posted by akwkfjahk
syzygy- SPECIAL
means conjunction OR opposition.
posted by recluseathome
teetotaler- FUN
one who is given to complete abstinence from alcohol
posted by mapik
tickety-boo- SPECIAL,FUN
I first heard this word in the movie "Evil Under the Sun" back in the tender days of my youth and (being non-straight) have found many occasions to use it. When you ask someone if everything is tickey-boo, you want to know if life is satisfactory or "going their way". So so so fun!
posted by smcgrath1
tyrosémiophilie- ENDANGERED,SPECIAL
The collecting of cheese labels. Why is there a word for this?
posted by mattedesa
vapid- ENDANGERED,FUN
There's no better way to liven up something dull and boring than by using a fun word to describe it.
posted by mattedesa
veprcose -
it mean pertaining to prickly plants
posted by Rachel
xanthochroid- ESOF HAT TRICK
add it to the X-files. It means having fair skin and eyes, which describes the basic California Girl
