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Obscure words that we should use
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Originally posted by Jah Womble View PostSome bloke once accused me of having 'swallowed a dictionary' for using the oh-so-oblique expression 'trials and tribulations'. Always good to be put in one's place by the limitations of somebody else's education.
A friend of mine is presently obsessed with the term 'persiflage', and tends to use it more frequently than is absolutely necessary. It's a nice word, though.
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Cockamamie has the most incredible etymology. "From French décalcomanie (“process of transferring designs onto surfaces using decals”)."
So, cockamamie is named after those little cheap transfers kids in NYC (I think that's correct) used to buy at corner shops and used to put on their arm or their wall or something like that.Last edited by diggedy derek; 03-12-2018, 18:26.
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dd, American “decals” are the kind of thing one would apply to scale models, rather than to the skin, and could be the result of serious research and design. They are printed on clear film, and traditionally needed to be soaked in water to separate them from the backing paper.
We called the skin stuff “transfers”, or later “temporary tattoos”.Last edited by ursus arctos; 03-12-2018, 21:33.
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Ignominious isn't especially obscure but as a ten-year-old I used it as often as possible, because it was Richmal Crompton's favourite word. It appeared about once a chapter in every William book I read. Sadly it was several months before I realised I was mispronouncing it "ignominous." Fortunately no one appeared to notice.
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Hirsute isn't used half as much as it should be.
My Mum's last job pre-retirement was as a Legal Secretary. The lawyer she worked for clearly thought he knew the word but didn't. He once dictated a letter which began:
Dear Mr. [ ]
Hirsute, we will be unable to take on your case.
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Originally posted by Furtho View PostContiguous, meaning sharing a common border. I first discovered it while researching some local football history, which revealed that there used to be something called the Buckinghamshire and Contiguous Counties League.Last edited by Rogin the Armchair fan; 04-12-2018, 08:55.
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