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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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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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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Originally posted by Guy Profumo View PostEpicaricacy - the delight in the misfortune of others.
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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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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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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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Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View PostMammiferous is a much nicer description than saying "He/She's got big tits."
Callipygian, however, is a different matter.
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Originally posted by ursus arctos View PostI'm willing to bet that Amor and I both learned that fact through stamp collecting
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Mammiferous is a much nicer description than saying "He/She's got big tits."
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I'm willing to bet that Amor and I both learned that fact through stamp collecting
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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."
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Also, hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, which is the fear of long words. Whoever named that disorder must have been a real arse mustn't he?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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