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Words that you know that make you feel all clever

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    #26
    Jersey and Guernsey are Bailiwicks

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      #27
      I'm willing to bet that Amor and I both learned that fact through stamp collecting

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        #28
        Mammiferous is a much nicer description than saying "He/She's got big tits."

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          #29
          Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
          I'm willing to bet that Amor and I both learned that fact through stamp collecting

          You'd win.

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            #30
            Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View Post
            Mammiferous is a much nicer description than saying "He/She's got big tits."
            Bathycolpian refers to having a deep bosom, so it's more or less the same thing.

            Callipygian, however, is a different matter.

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              #31
              Originally posted by Balderdasha View Post
              Also, hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, which is the fear of long words. Whoever named that disorder must have been a real arse mustn't he?
              And why is the concept of circumlocution handily encapsulated in a single word?

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                #32
                Mrs. S gets pissed off if I use words like these; she says I'm being an intellectual snob. I left school at sixteen.

                Even though they don't really qualify for this thread, I enjoy using suboptimal, oxymoron, tautology and counterintuitive.

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                  #33
                  I'm delighted to be introduced to epicaricacy (though I won't remember it when I need to) and the Baader-Meinhof Effect.

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                    #34
                    I learned the word 'defenestration' from a Czech friend at work many years ago. Loved the ring of it, and the idea that someone would come up with a word for that. Maybe 6 months later, I was visiting my dad and he says "Oh...hang on" and he whips out a piece of paper and says "Have you ever heard the word 'defenestration' before?", to which I answered as casually as possible "Of course...for the Czech practice of throwing people out a window as a form of punishment". He gave me this "well...shit" look, which I quite enjoyed then...and now.

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                      #35
                      Originally posted by Guy Profumo View Post
                      Epicaricacy - the delight in the misfortune of others.
                      So we actually did have a word for Schadenfreude?

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                        #36
                        I learned the word 'defenestration' from a Czech friend at work many years ago. Loved the ring of it, and the idea that someone would come up with a word for that. Maybe 6 months later, I was visiting my dad and he says "Oh...hang on" and he whips out a piece of paper and says "Have you ever heard the word 'defenestration' before?", to which I answered as casually as possible "Of course...for the Czech practice of throwing people out a window as a form of punishment". He gave me this "well...shit" look, which I quite enjoyed then...and now.

                        Was that before or after the Garry Hoy incident?

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                          #37
                          Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View Post

                          So we actually did have a word for Schadenfreude?

                          We did, though it was only resurrected after the German word became so popular over here.

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                            #38
                            Originally posted by Nurse Duckett View Post
                            Petrichor - the pleasing (to some) aroma from the ground when the sun comes out after a period of rain.
                            Is it not the opposite? The smell of the ground when it rains following a dry spell?

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                              #39
                              Working in motor claims and dealing with credit hire a lot I learnt the word impecunious (having little to no money).

                              It's now one of my favourite words and I try and use it as often as I can to make myself sound smart.

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                                #40
                                In college days, I went out with a girl who used that word all the bloody time. Like we needed reminding that we hadn't any money.

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                                  #41
                                  I've come up with a foolproof fundraising scheme.

                                  Fines for all messaging narrative memes




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                                    #42
                                    Originally posted by Guy Profumo View Post
                                    Epicaricacy - the delight in the misfortune of others.
                                    Why use a difficult Latin-type word when here's a perfectly good and pronouncable English one in "Schadenfreude".

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                                      #43
                                      Originally posted by Sits View Post
                                      Mrs. S gets pissed off if I use words like these; she says I'm being an intellectual snob. I left school at sixteen.

                                      Even though they don't really qualify for this thread, I enjoy using suboptimal, oxymoron, tautology and counterintuitive.
                                      I just used two of those in a conference call.

                                      Snake's wrong by the way - it's pronounced 'bailiwick'.

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                                        #44
                                        Sorry. I hef a keld.

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                                          #45
                                          Originally posted by Nocturnal Submission View Post


                                          We did, though it was only resurrected after the German word became so popular over here.
                                          That has quite made my day.

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                                            #46
                                            Originally posted by Eggchaser View Post
                                            Moiety.
                                            moiety
                                            /ˈmɔɪɪti/
                                            noun
                                            FORMAL•TECHNICAL
                                            1. each of two parts into which a thing is or can be divided.
                                              "the tax was to be delivered in two moieties"
                                              • ANTHROPOLOGY
                                                each of two social or ritual groups into which a people is divided, especially among Australian Aborigines and some North American Indians.
                                              • a part or portion, especially a lesser share.
                                            Usually seen by me in older wills, relating to the split of the residuary estate, often with one moiety going on trust.

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                                              #47
                                              Originally posted by Giggler View Post

                                              Is it not the opposite? The smell of the ground when it rains following a dry spell?
                                              Er, "antonym" - the opposite of a word... Thanks, good spot.

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                                                #48
                                                Someone was being a show off and asked if anyone knew what Quartodecimenism is. And I did, thanks to my normally useless Bachelor of Divinity (Hons)

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                                                  #49
                                                  Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View Post
                                                  Mammiferous is a much nicer description than saying "He/She's got big tits."
                                                  On a somewhat similar note, OTF taught me "callipygian". It might even have been Toby G.
                                                  Last edited by Furtho; 11-06-2019, 06:49.

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                                                    #50
                                                    I have a crossover with an ear worm, in that I learned the word jejune in an English seminar about the same time I 1st heard Spandau Ballet’s “To Cut a Long Story Short” and it rhymes with the 1st line’s ‘lune/lagoon’ and has stayed there ever since.

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