Wonderful Words: Use Them or Lose Them
by A Look at words no longer in fashion, but still great.
Image via Wikipedia
There is little doubt that information technology has opened up huge vistas, turning the world into Marshall McLuhan’s “global village.” The Internet has become a magic web connecting people throughout the planet, offering opportunities to share talent, to learn, to open minds and alter perceptions. It is a place of wonder. It is also a dumping ground for dubious “facts,” poor prose, even poorer poetry, and dangerous medical “advice” to mention just a few negatives. There is one aspect of the Internet that shines a positive light for me – its ability to reflect the linguistic development and historical changes in the English language. I am not saying I like all the changes, abbreviations, corruptions and innovations, just that they have value as illustrations of how language and culture are ever evolving.
All of which got me thinking about sharing some of the old words that are rarely heard or used much any longer, thus bleaching color out of the great artistic palette that is the English language. Going through the English alphabet, with a view to finding some good old expletives and descriptive words, I came up with this list. Its purpose is a reminder of what could be used or could be lost, should we chose to abandon such words. So here is a list of my favorites:
Asinine – Adjective describing a very silly person or action, as in “Such asinine behavior is unacceptable in civilized society, it does you no credit.”
Balderdash – Total rubbish, as in “For heaven’s sake, don’t talk such balderdash or they’ll lock you up!”
Cantankerous – Rather grumpy and objectionable, as in “Such a cantankerous old codger is very difficult to deal with.”
Disgruntled – Not very happy with the situation, as in “What you suggest leaves me feeling disgruntled, even pressured to do something I’d prefer not to do.”
Ecstatic – Absolutely delighted. as in “When I got that wonderful job, after being out of work for so long, I was ecstatic!”
Flummoxed – Totally confused, as in “I had no idea what was going on, I was flummoxed.”
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