Words that dance upon your tongue
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| Photo by Laura Fuhrman on Unsplash |
How about a word like mollycoddle? 'A word which contains many of the best sounds that your mouth can make' Or luscious, a wonderful tongue curling word or lollipop or the word 'plum' which is also the title of a wonderful poem about the joyful sounds of words.
I don't believe that epsilon would be one of those words? Though please forgive me if it would. That's one of the word choices for the current vss365 host. He adores mathematics so each of his words will be on that theme. I'm struggling, a lot.
I had the privilege of been the host for one day, last month. It was on the 16th July, and I could choose any word, but on one condition - it had to be a Greek word used in English. Thankfully, nectar was one of them, though I was also considering hypnosis or tantalise, and people loved it!
In April 2025, yes - the waiting list to be a host is that long - I'll be the host for a whole month! I'm not going for a particular theme, just words that I love the sound of, that make me smile or that I feel would inspire a writer.
I love the game, Balderdash, so I might use a couple of them. I adore onomatopoeia words so I'll possibly pop one or two of them in to the mix, and I'll use wonderful words like scrumptious and the glorious word 'bimble', which is my wife's choice, as her birthday is during that month, and it's a word that's become a regular part of our vocabulary.
I love the game, Balderdash, so I might use a couple of them. I adore onomatopoeia words so I'll possibly pop one or two of them in to the mix, and I'll use wonderful words like scrumptious and the glorious word 'bimble', which is my wife's choice, as her birthday is during that month, and it's a word that's become a regular part of our vocabulary.
Do let me know if you have a favourite word, and I may end up choosing it.
Until next time, may your writing flow like a mighty river or babble like a brook.
Martin is a writer, baker, photographer and storyteller. He's been published in the ACW Christmas anthology and Lent devotional. He's currently honing his craft at flash fiction and you can find him on Twitter here.
A favourite word of mine is pachyderm, which is why I have such a twee theme for my blog! (The WordPress theme - pachyderm.)
ReplyDeleteI was unaware of that word until it was used as a vss word in July. A great word to describe an elephant or rhino :)
DeleteI love the word petrichor - just thinking it and I can smell the rain. But it's also such a rounded word.
ReplyDeleteAnd yesterday I asked for some advice about how to tell if my potatoes were ready to harvest, to be given the advice to have a good furtle of them - I mean, it's making my fingers wriggle and my face grin as I say it.
Words are wonderful. Thank you for such a lovely post and I'm going to check out vss365 now.
It's funny, but my wife and I came across that word the other day, whilst listening to a nature podcast, though I would find it very hard to use that in a story. I love the word 'furtle' though, that sounds fun. Thank you, that's very kind, and I'm really pleased to have introduced you to vss365 :)
DeleteThis is right up my strazza, Martin. I love words. Bletting (my greengages are currently on the edge of it), micturation (I know, I know!) dusk, twilight, mellifluous. We could go on all day.
ReplyDeleteBletting sounds a fabulous word, where micturation, not so much! Mellifluous sounds like a word that Hermione Granger would use in a spell!
DeleteReally glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for introducing me to some new words too :)
Wonderful post, Martin! I love mellifluous too. Also dusky and slender. Our family favourite is defenestrate since our son's teacher taught it to the class in Y4. Loved reading about these other words too.
ReplyDeleteDusky is a lovely sounding word, and yes, slender just rolls off your tongue. I've just looked up 'defenestrate' and I have a feeling that your son's teacher didn't use the rare meaning 'to throw someone out of the window', or maybe they did which is why it became so memorable! Really glad you enjoyed it :D
DeleteI have a tendency to pick up a new word (or one I wasn't used to using) and then having it as my favourite for a while. Currently, I'm into 'jeopardy'. A writer friend uses it instead of 'conflict' to describe a key element in stories and now I'm telling it to everyone. 'Your story needs jeopardy. A sense of danger. Ah yes, jeopardy. Great word, isn't it? I've been using it for years. What's that you say? My nose? It's growing? I can't imagine why!'
ReplyDeleteSo I shouldn't be surprised if you suddenly start using the word 'bimble' then? ;)
Delete"Bimble" -- don't know what it means, but I love the sound of it. Now off to Google to look it up.
ReplyDeleteIt is a lovely word, isn't it? As I'm sure you've now found out, it means to 'walk or travel at a leisurely pace.' We actually discovered it though our dog's twitter account. Another dog he follows would often mention that he was going for a 'bimble.'
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