Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Words that you know that make you feel all clever

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Simon G
    replied
    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.

    Leave a comment:


  • Giggler
    replied
    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?

    Leave a comment:


  • Nocturnal Submission
    replied
    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.

    Leave a comment:


  • Nocturnal Submission
    replied
    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?

    Leave a comment:


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

    Leave a comment:


  • WOM
    replied
    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.

    Leave a comment:


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

    Leave a comment:


  • Sits
    replied
    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.

    Leave a comment:


  • beak
    replied
    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?

    Leave a comment:


  • Toby Gymshorts
    replied
    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.

    Leave a comment:


  • Amor de Cosmos
    replied
    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.

    Leave a comment:


  • Patrick Thistle
    replied
    Mammiferous is a much nicer description than saying "He/She's got big tits."

    Leave a comment:


  • ursus arctos
    replied
    I'm willing to bet that Amor and I both learned that fact through stamp collecting

    Leave a comment:


  • Amor de Cosmos
    replied
    Jersey and Guernsey are Bailiwicks

    Leave a comment:


  • Snake Plissken
    replied
    Bailiwick - sphere of operations or area of interest. Or the jurisdiction of a sheriff or bailiff.

    Most often used at work where instead of saying "Nothing to do with me, not my job" you can always say "I'd help you, but the DNS servers are not part of my bailiwick."

    Leave a comment:


  • Balderdasha
    replied
    Also, hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, which is the fear of long words. Whoever named that disorder must have been a real arse mustn't he?

    Leave a comment:


  • Balderdasha
    replied
    The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, where once you've learned a word for the first time, you suddenly hear it everywhere, which this thread made me think of because I met an anosmic ex-soldier this week. Had never heard the word before; I've since been casually using it in conversation with everyone I see.

    Leave a comment:


  • Diable Rouge
    replied
    Sesquipedalian - because brevity is preferable as a rule, as such NS can figure out the definition through opposites.
    Last edited by Diable Rouge; 09-06-2019, 21:02.

    Leave a comment:


  • Nocturnal Submission
    replied
    Thanks, UA. I think that Toby gave us that one in context quite recently. I'd like everyone to give us meanings along with the words.

    I'll go for phantasmagoria which means a sequence of dreamlike images.

    Leave a comment:


  • ursus arctos
    replied
    An anosmic has lost his/her sense of smell, NS

    Leave a comment:


  • Nocturnal Submission
    replied
    That's not my contribution, BTW.

    Leave a comment:


  • Nocturnal Submission
    replied
    Definitions, folks.

    Leave a comment:


  • 3 Colours Red
    replied
    Anosmic.

    Leave a comment:


  • Eggchaser
    replied
    Moiety.

    Leave a comment:


  • Toby Gymshorts
    replied
    Bathycolpian.

    Leave a comment:

Working...
X