Sometimes this happens when you’re in the middle of a move or you’ve shifted some things when you’re cleaning your house. Huckmuck: Confusion that comes from things not being in their right place Which, ironically, isn’t always the big toe. Gwenders: The tingling feeling you get in your fingers when they’re coldīetter get yourself some gloves or mittens to protect yourself from the gwenders. This word was invented by Charles Dickens. Growlery: A place you can retreat from the world when you’re in a bad mood Groak: To stare silently at someone while they eat, hoping they will invite you to join them Grawlix: Substituting punctuation marks for curse wordsįor when you have to keep it family friendly. Pretty easy to do in today’s work-from-home climate. You might find yourself dunandunating after reading this post.įudgel: Pretending to work but actually goofing offįudgel: Pretending to work when you’re really goofing off
I suppose they can come in handy sometimes.ĭefenestrate: To throw someone out the windowĭeipnosophist: A person skilled in the art of dining and dinner table conversationīe sure to invite a deipnosophist to your next gathering!ĭoryphore: A pedantic and annoyingly persistent criticĭunandunate: To overuse a word or phrase you’ve recently learned Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country.”Ĭoprolalia: Involuntary repetitive use of obscene languageĭactylomegaly: Abnormally large fingers or toes If you have bruxism, you might want to make a dentist appointment.Ĭhiasmus: Repeating the words you’ve used in reverse orderįor example, John F. If “I’m hungry” doesn’t suffice, you can always say you have borborygms. You just have to nod along and pretend you’re interested.
This has to be the most fun job out there!īlatherskite: A person who talks a lot without making much sense How nice it would be to live under the sea.īibliopole: Someone who buys or sells books, especially rare books
But this is a good reminder that we all need to just rest and do nothing sometimes-it’s our mind and body’s way of healing and resetting.Īmphibology: A phrase or sentence that is grammatically ambiguousĪs a writer and editor, this is one of my biggest pet peeves.Īpricity: The warmth of the sun in the winterĪspergillum: A device used for sprinkling holy water at religious ceremoniesīenthos: Flora or fauna at the bottom of a sea or lake Sometimes you’re just so desperate to get on with your daily activities, but you can’t because you’re sick and need to stay in bed. This word first appeared in the book Depraved English.Īlysm: The feeling of restlessness or boredom that comes from being unwell Not sure I would recommend this, but at least we know there’s a word for it.Īgastopia: A fascination or love for a particular part of the human body Luckily in today’s day and age, there is plenty out there to read-and unfortunately too little time.Īccubation: The act of reclining during a meal This is also the first entry of the Oxford English Dictionary.Ībibliophobia: Fear of running out of things to readīy far my favorite entry on this list. That certainly speaks to the obscurity of these words!Īa: A volcanic lava that forms jagged masses with a light frothy texture The next time you’re talking to one of your friends, it might be fun to slip in some of these words.įun fact: As I’m writing this post, a large proportion of these entries have the squiggly red spelling error indicator underneath. In this post, we’ll look at 67 examples of such words you may not have previously heard of. With over a quarter of a million words, English has many similarly obscure terms to the foreign ones we explored earlier-ones that are just not used in everyday conversation. These words can be useful for easily explaining thoughts and ideas that would otherwise come across as clunky and long-winded-and the clunkiness might not even fully convey the meaning you are going for.Īs it turns out, English has a pretty rich vocabulary as well. In a recent blog post, we looked at 94 obscure foreign words that don’t have a direct English translation. 67 Obscure English Words to Use in Your Next Conversation
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