October 22, 2005
Iadore saving snippets of wisdom and examples of colorful language, so much so, that I keep a notebook full of them.
I save newspaper clippings with interesting words highlighted in yellow and scraps of paper with “notes to self” scribbled in the margins.
On my computer desktop, I have a folder entitled, “Interesting sayings to save.”
Certainly, we all have our own little quirks and foibles. Apparently, this is one of mine, and, for the record, I am keeping it.
Other people have their own peculiarities, too.
For example, just the other day I read about some folks who are compulsive painters. They have repainted their living rooms six times and their bedroom, eight. They save paint swatches like I save words. They get up early or stay up late to repaint a hall, baseboards, a ceiling, or furniture. A month or two later, they repaint it again.
My husband says they are losing square footage in their house by adding lots of layers of paint.
Not for me to judge, though, because my habit of collecting of sayings and words continues to grow.
Some years ago, I saved a column written by Barbara Shelly in The Kansas City Star. The headline caught my attention because it said this: “Flapdoodle discourse is on the move.” Her commentary explained that once a reader had emailed her and advised, “Please tone down your inflammatory flapdoodle.” She has used the word ever since.
I loved flapdoodle and now, finally, have a place to use it—here!
Another scrap of scribbling I saved has to do with the difference between two French phrases, “déjà vu” and “jaimais vu.” Most of us have heard of “déjà vu,” that means “already seen,” but have you heard of “jaimais vu?” I hadn’t.
Jaimais vu means when we stare at something familiar and have absolutely no recollection of it at all. Happens to me all the time. Someone says, “Oh, sure, you’ve seen that, you’ve been there, or surely, you remember that.” I don’t.
My old friend Tom Ladwig, journalism professor and author, cherished colorful words just like I do. Two of his favorites are saved on my computer—“widdershins” and “pettifogger.”
I haven’t found too many uses for these words, but they do roll off the tongue nicely and are fun to pronounce.
Widdershins means “in a contrary or counterclockwise direction.”
Pettifogger means “a petty, quibbling, unscrupulous lawyer, or one who quibbles over trivia.”
It has come to my attention in recent years that lots of other people enjoy words, too.
Merriam-Webster Online conducted a search recently to find out the top 10 favorite and most interesting words. You can bet I saved those.
Here’s what they found out.
“Projects like this remind us once again of the deep level of interest that people attach to the words in their language,” says John M. Morse, president and publisher of Merriam-Webster.
The No. 1 favorite word in their survey was “defenestration”—a throwing of a person or thing out of a window. I have to wonder why so many people even knew that word. Must be lots of people throwing things out of a window!
Serendipity came in No. 2, and onomatopoeia was No. 3. Finishing in the No. 10 spot was flibbertigibbet—meaning a silly, flighty person.
Morse added, “Using language can be a little like serving up a meal, with words as the ingredients. I think people were sharing with us their favorite ingredients—the ingredients that add spice and flavor and a personal touch to their everyday use of language.”
I understand exactly what Mr. Morse is saying and would only add this, “Although I have a plethoria of aphorisms, I won’t be persnickety about them and will not become discombobulated if they cause a kerfuffle.
At long last I have found a place to use colorful words I have collected and saved on post-it notes.
Reader beware!
