Sunday, September 17, 2017

Words Will Disappear from the Language When We Stop Using Them


"Never forget the dictionary is your friend" - Unidentified Clifton kid in the late 60s.


The worst word in the American lexicon likely comes immediately to most people but there's no chance it will actually disappear while politically correct bollocks promotes the N-word which keeps the memory of the original alive.  Extend that out to the generic problems of politically correct speech if you like but we're going to turn it around to focus on words which did fall out of use but, in many cases, we want them back.


Although not mentioned in the list used for this report, quomodocunquizing is a Rockhouse favorite since it means willing to do any nefarious thing for money short of being a gangster.  There are countless examples of that in Washington but there's been remarkably little use of the word since it was first used as part of the English language in 1652.  From the list below, we can get a similar meaning from betrumping ambodexters.


Here is the partial word list but see the source article for a more comprehensive version.  (Sky News:  Attention sillytonians and nickums: Forgotten words you should be using)

Ambodexter - One who takes bribes from both sides

Betrump - To deceive, cheat, elude, slip from

Nickum - A cheating or dishonest person

Quacksalver - A person who dishonestly claims knowledge of or skill in medicine; a pedlar of false cures

Slug-a-bed - One who lies long in bed through laziness

Losenger - A false flatterer, a lying rascal, a deceiver

Percher - A person who aspires to a higher rank or status; an ambitious or self-assertive person

Ruff - To swagger, bluster, domineer. To ruff it out or to brag or boast of a thing

Sillytonian - A silly or gullible person, one considered as belonging to a notional sect of such people

Fumish - Inclined to fume, hot-tempered, irascible, passionate

Merry-go-sorry - A mixture of joy and sorrow

Tremblable - Causing dread or horror

Note:  this list constitutes one half to one third of the original word list.

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