Words you have never heared spoken...

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Excreable

No one speaks this word. They just say "bad".

Well, they haven't to me.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 09:58 (twenty years ago)

Profligate

Only used in broadsheet football reports.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 10:05 (twenty years ago)

ned's next cd should be him reading out the dictionary definitions for these words.

― koogs (koogs), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 10:17 (twenty years ago)

middlebrow

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 10:23 (twenty years ago)

what???

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 10:25 (twenty years ago)

'chora'
'desublimation'

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 10:26 (twenty years ago)

i know it's not that unusual a word but i've never heard anyone actually say it in a conversation!

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 10:29 (twenty years ago)

Brobdingnagian

― Mestema (davidcorp), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 10:36 (twenty years ago)

Neuralgia.

― I'm Not Afraid Of Singularities (kate), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 11:21 (twenty years ago)

most of the words i can think of, i've made a point of saying aloud myself

don't believe i've ever heard...

glossolalia

impugn

boffo

― amateurist0, Wednesday, 8 March 2006 13:29 (twenty years ago)

If you've ever seen "The Young Ones", specifically the one where Rik becomes the cartoon strip "People's Poet", you have heared "boffo"

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 13:36 (twenty years ago)

excreable OTM. lots of words that appear in music reviews don't seem to appear in everyday conversations, like eponymous (self-titled).

"My local dry cleaners has garneredheaps of praise from customers for its crisp pressing and strict no-starch policy."

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 13:51 (twenty years ago)

heared

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 13:52 (twenty years ago)

If you've ever seen "The Young Ones", specifically the one where Rik becomes the cartoon strip "People's Poet", you have heared "boffo"

isn't this actually "bocko"?

― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 13:53 (twenty years ago)

The circles you all move in lack wonder, evidently. Any circle so anaemic that no one ever ventures to speak the word "profligate" out loud is a square!

― Owen, Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:20 (twenty years ago)

A square circle?

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:21 (twenty years ago)

The sort of circle that's a square
doesn't do drugs, doesn't swear.

― Owen, Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:24 (twenty years ago)

"heared"

― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:25 (twenty years ago)

oh, stevem did it, too, already

I have posted "heared" on a few grout threads, I think

― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:26 (twenty years ago)

hoared

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:27 (twenty years ago)

impugn

Jerry: I'll call back, thank you. He went to South America!

Elaine: So what?

Jerry: Who goes to South America?

Elaine: People go to South America.

Jerry: Yeah, and they come back with things taped to their large intestine.

Elaine: So, because of a few bad apples you're gonna impugn an entire continent?

Jerry: Yes, I'm impugning a continent!

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:28 (twenty years ago)

i was about to say "heared" as well. ROFL

don't believe i've ever heard...

glossolalia

I love LOVE LOVE to say this word.

Anyway, perambulate and perambulator!

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:28 (twenty years ago)

I spelled it right yestarday!

(Heck, I'm leaving that one as if it was on purpose which it wasn't)

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:29 (twenty years ago)

Also, re first post, it's spelled execrable.

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:29 (twenty years ago)

Until recently, "synecdoche." (a French filmmaker used it in a Q&A)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:30 (twenty years ago)

xpost fair enough, but I picked it from the thread over on ILM anyhowwwwah.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:33 (twenty years ago)

'wor', as in Wor Kev

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:34 (twenty years ago)

Tedri (ted-j-ree) To mean; Anything good or positive.

Also;

Tedz
A-tedz
Tadz
A-tadz
Oof-tedz

eg; "Yesterday I won £400 and tonight I shall spend it all on crack" "Ooooooo! How tedri!"

The word 'tedri' is thought to originate in Cambridge England although there are some rumours of Arabic routes mainly due to the musical composition the 'Tamta Tedri'.

― 'teven Mugabe, Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:44 (twenty years ago)

Until recently, "synecdoche." (a French filmmaker used it in a Q&A)

-- Dr Morbius (wjwe...), March 8th, 2006.

that word rules - im not sure ive ever seen it written!

― pssst - badass revolutionary art! (plsmith), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 15:07 (twenty years ago)

boustrophedonic

An ancient method of writing in which the lines are inscribed alternately from right to left and from left to right.

― Mike W (caek), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 15:25 (twenty years ago)

Gamboling, as in what playful lambs do in a meadow.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 23:59 (twenty years ago)

I'll second synecdoche, in fact I realise looking at it now I've been mentally saying "synechdoce". Gah.

I spent forever saying "Morrowmind" instead of "Morrowind" as I'd only ever seen it written on the internet.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 9 March 2006 01:08 (twenty years ago)

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 01:42 (twenty years ago)

graffito

― erklie (erklie), Thursday, 9 March 2006 02:03 (twenty years ago)

i say 'gamboling' quite often because of the foolish little dog i live with.

can someone phonetically spell out 'adirondack' for me, because i've never heard it spoken and i wonder about it sometimes? (not obsessively.)

― estela (estela), Thursday, 9 March 2006 02:08 (twenty years ago)

Anyway, perambulate and perambulator!

For some reason, my father says 'perambulate' all the time.

― C0L1N B... (C0L1N B...), Thursday, 9 March 2006 02:13 (twenty years ago)

ADD-er-on-dack

― jim wentworth (wench), Thursday, 9 March 2006 02:16 (twenty years ago)

ADD-er-ON-dack

― Knute Rockne, All American (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 9 March 2006 02:18 (twenty years ago)

Huh, I've always thought it was "a-DIR-on-dack"

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 9 March 2006 02:20 (twenty years ago)

are you correcting the americans, trayce?

― Knute Rockne, All American (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 9 March 2006 02:36 (twenty years ago)

I've said it 50 time in my brain now and Add-er-ON-dack works. Add-er-on-dack works too. a-DIR-on-dack is jibberish.

― jim wentworth (wench), Thursday, 9 March 2006 02:47 (twenty years ago)

at-ta-RON-dax
ad-di-RON-dack

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 9 March 2006 02:56 (twenty years ago)

Jody - christ no! I was just saying I realised I obviously said it wrong in my head. Despite what you like saying on other boards, I by no means think I'm any expert or have any opinion on american things, I wouldn't have a clue.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 9 March 2006 03:46 (twenty years ago)

(but its ok, you may continue to dislike me, it bothers me not :))

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 9 March 2006 03:47 (twenty years ago)

(ignore my last - that was petulant and ungraceful, I retract it)

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 9 March 2006 04:20 (twenty years ago)

thanks all, now i won't have to wonder about this.
i used to read it as a-DEER-ON-dak but i knew it was bound to be wrong.
mister estela claims to have never heard the word, despite being from the us. i think he thought i was making it up when i first raised the question with him.

― estela (estela), Thursday, 9 March 2006 09:11 (twenty years ago)

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

I used to say that all the time, just to show that I could. Not so sure on the pronunciation of floccinoccinihilipilification but I've heard people attempt it, mainly on that game show with the 3x3 letter grid.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 9 March 2006 09:47 (twenty years ago)

i used to read it as a-DEER-ON-dak

So did I, hence my post. Plath mentions the Adirondacks in the Bell Jar (yeah go on, laugh at me) and thats where I formed it.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 9 March 2006 10:03 (twenty years ago)

I wonder if it is something to do with how we structure weighting in pronunciations in Aus lingustics?

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 9 March 2006 10:04 (twenty years ago)

Trayce, you just carry on with your pronunciation. People move to the Adirondacks and drop off the grid. They're not gonna come back and menace you in some backwoods nonverbal troglodytic way for mispronouncing the name of their mountain home.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Thursday, 9 March 2006 14:51 (twenty years ago)

Also, re first post, it's spelled execrable.

Excreable is a word. But it doesn't mean execrable.

― jz, Thursday, 9 March 2006 14:56 (twenty years ago)

graffito

Annoying people of Italian heritage use this word. See also "panino" and "biscotto".

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 9 March 2006 14:59 (twenty years ago)

Oi! I used to live in the foothills of the Add-ih-RON-dacks and I came back!

― Fish is Biodegradable! (That Means It Rots) (kate), Thursday, 9 March 2006 15:00 (twenty years ago)

puissance - I never hear anyone bandying this one about (although I have a pretty good idea how to pronounce it).

― Aimless (Aimless), Thursday, 9 March 2006 18:38 (twenty years ago)

puissance - I never hear anyone bandying this one about

I used to when I was a small child and obsessed with horses and ponies. Also, the commentators at the Horse of the Year Show (if that's even still on, I lost interest when I grew up) say it out loud quite a lot.

― ailsa (ailsa), Thursday, 9 March 2006 19:14 (twenty years ago)

Yes. I can see how that would thrill at first and then, over time, grow old.

― Aimless (Aimless), Thursday, 9 March 2006 19:17 (twenty years ago)

puissance, like the french word? does it have a particular meaning in the equestrian context?

Until recently, "synecdoche."

have you never been in english class?

― amateurist0, Thursday, 9 March 2006 22:18 (twenty years ago)

renege

I really like that word, but I don't know how to say the g.

― Cathy (Cathy), Thursday, 9 March 2006 22:24 (twenty years ago)

Elaine: People go to South America.
Jerry: Yeah, and they come back with things taped to their large intestine.

I suppose Jerry gets a free pass, since Elaine used the plural subject "people," not him, but note that damned numerical disagreement that keeps bugging me lately!

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 9 March 2006 22:40 (twenty years ago)

Puissance is when you make horses jump over a wall and if you knock it down you're out and if you don't then they raise the wall and you go again and so on until you get horses jumping over really high walls and whoever jumps over the highest wall is the winner. It's exciting, if you like watching horses jumping over walls.

― ailsa (ailsa), Thursday, 9 March 2006 23:40 (twenty years ago)

Hmmm. I wonder how long I've been mistaking 'excreable' for for 'execrable'.

― Pork Cheops (willpie), Thursday, 9 March 2006 23:51 (twenty years ago)

"I love you"

― Merryweather (scarlet), Friday, 10 March 2006 00:02 (twenty years ago)

cathy it's "reh-NEG"

xpost AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 10 March 2006 00:04 (twenty years ago)

Words everyone knows but no one uses

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 10 March 2006 00:04 (twenty years ago)

Yay puissance. When the horses jump over a wall higher than their ears, how can you not be thrilled?

My word: wtfpwnt

― Zora (Zora), Friday, 10 March 2006 00:07 (twenty years ago)

I want to hear someone say "microhouse" so badly in real life!

― Lurker McLurkerstein, Friday, 10 March 2006 00:42 (twenty years ago)

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