the ripest berries fall almost unbidden to my tongue, as words sometimes do, certain peculiar words like strengths or squinched, many-lettered, one-syllabled lumps, which I squeeze, squinch open, and splurge well in the silent, startled, icy, black language of blackberry-eating in late September.
"Certain peculiar words like strengths or squinched, many-lettered, one-syllabled lumps." Delish. That line makes my mouth water - not so much because I like blackberries but because I like those words. My lips and teeth and tongue are only too eager to say that sentence out loud. This is a feast of language.
Stealing an idea from Molly, of "Now is Not a Time" fame (to read her is to love her), here are some words I love to say and hear, as well as words I hate to say and hear. No, 'strengths' and 'squinched' didn't make the list (along with words that foment racial or cultural hatred), but that's only because they, um, go without saying.
Feel free to say them out loud. You know you want to.
Words I love to say:
- luscious
- blow
- misogynist
- lulu
- quesadilla
- bouquet garni
- bastard
- half-assed
- putz
- Vidalia
- radioactive
- skulk
- slink
- Linus
- marshmallow
- dude
- tramp stamp
- Mai tai
- Les liaisons dangereuses
- allegedly
- grimace
- languish
- testicular
- celebutante
- sapphire
- intuition
- yikes
- chagrin
- Iditarod
- gazillion
- gorgeous
- crikey (with Australian accent)
- snarky
Words I hate to say:
- repo
- lovey (n. as in a cuddly toy for a child)
- pus
- vino
- slacks
- queer
- yum-o
- yumy
- diaphragm
- spigot
- petting
- pancreas
- soil
- midget
- widget
- dungarees
- ecru
- Margaret
- l'orange
- wicker
- mucus
- mucilage
- papyrus
- Arthur
- jojoba
- "tatt"
- lactate
- tolerant or tolerate
- cuke
- maverick
- lawn
- sherbet
- percussion
- boo-boo
- Yule
1 comment:
Hilarious - I love the random names in there...Margaret, Arthur.
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