November 17 2010
Vocal Antiques
What a trove. My mouse found the site this week, an offshoot archive put together by the Oxford English Dictionary, where hundreds of endangered words are stacked on shelves like so many quaint detergents.
Scroll around and you’ll hear the words calling to you – Over here! Hello! Pick me! And that’s the whole idea – to pick a word at risk and lend it oxygen through steady usage in the weeks and months to follow. I won’t tell you which word I picked, not yet, since my Wordplay column reveals that secret this Saturday. However, what say we all hatch a plan?
Go choose a word from this verbal orphanage, then feel free to drop that new possession into the occasional comment at DA Central. Better still, try to use your foster-word in other ways too – like meetings, emails, sandwich boards, wherever. So long as your word gets out there.
Let us know which word took your fancy – and why. And later feel free to use this post to update us on the avenues you found to release your new friend. Should make for utible reading – which isn’t the word I chose!
(PS – as some DAbblers have noted in the Comments – the linked site is a little loud and loose to navigate. Me? I love it. Every word seems to have a persona. But the leaner, quieter equivalent of the same weirdness is here.)
Comments
dg — 17 November at 09:50PM
Arrrgh that website is almost inutible. :(
philth — 17 November at 10:04PM
i may be a bit of a foppotee, but i'm guess the following link isn't the inutible you adopted? it's the closest reference i can find of the word
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=inutable
dg — 18 November at 12:30AM
philth,
Im here to resarciate for my alleged venialia. You miss a veteratorian difference between the words we presented (i.e 'inutible' does not equal 'inutable'). I am not a prescited, viliorating phlyarologist. Anyway I am squiriferous and will not tidiculate you metaphorically. I hope this has been locupletative.
Night.
JD — 18 November at 08:15AM
I've taken the plunge and adopted a word, one which I can envisage having relevance in my life. Then I was offered a chance to buy a T-shirt emblazoned with the word. It's probably the last word anyone would want to advertise across their body!
DA — 18 November at 08:39AM
JD, the cerebrum boggles. I'm trying to 'figure' what word you chose. Are you epalpebrate by any chance - or lacking eyebrows?
JD — 18 November at 09:04AM
I thought the word might have been useful to remind my teenage boys to use deodorant!
SK — 18 November at 10:24AM
Had a quick look, and I like "sputcheon", but not sure how frequently I could slip a reference to the inner lining of sword scabbards into daily conversation...
JT — 18 November at 11:50AM
Indeed, this site is terribly designed! I've grabbed the wordlist and quickly reformatted it; click on my initials above and then hit "savethewords" for a nicer list. (Shameless plug: links three original cryptics also appear on this page.)
Since my all-time favourite, "ucalegon", isn't listed, I can't go past "mingent" as an adoptee amongst these.
dg — 18 November at 12:33PM
Ta, JT
JD?
"aporrhoea
a bodily emanation; body odour"
JD — 18 November at 12:45PM
Right on Mr G.
"Hayden, I suggest you use deodorant, you seem to be suffering unduly from aporrhoea"
RH — 19 November at 01:57PM
Great site! I'm fond of ichthyarchy as it presents a pretty nasty challenge in respect to clueing. Unfortunately I don't work in an aquarium, but I'll be sure to slip it in on my next visit to the beach.
DK — 19 November at 09:06PM
Now that I have finally finished my degree and my husband is retired we hope to adopt a GIPSIEAN lifestyle and do the grey nomad stint.
JoyM — 26 November at 08:26PM
The VACIVITY that I had is gone now that I've found this fabulous site.