Monday, March 18, 2013

Contest: Favorite Word


So today I am going to use the Commentarama "Way-Back" machine. [Yes, we have one, but don't tell anyone. It will be our little secret, 'kay?]*. Let's go back to a time when the world was calm and peaceful, and we were happy and carefree.

Back when...er...ummm, wait a minute. I forgot. Our "Way-Back" machine only goes back to real places, not imaginary, fantasy places that never existed. Never mind then.

Okay, since we can't go back to a time that has never existed, let's go back to a time at Commentarama that did and have some fun with our imaginations and our vocabulary! This is a simple contest that we did years ago [and, yes, I am stealing]*, and was kind of fun and revealing. Here are the rules...oh, who am I kidding. This is Commentarama. There ARE no rules even if we wanted there to be rules!

What is your favorite word?

Okay, there is just one rule that you must follow without question. Have fun with it!

And....go!

*FYI [anything that appears in brackets is top secret stuff, so don't tell anyone]

34 comments:

  1. Kerfuffle.

    I love when liberals are in a kerfuffle.

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  2. Sheboygan, or Cheboygan for any Michiganders. Speaking of them, Ypsilanti. All fun words to say.

    In case proper nouns aren't allowed, muff. To readjust a Carlin joke, you can muff a punt, but don't finger your muff.

    In the event of non-vulgarity, I'll second "kerfluffle," and add "implode" since there are few things more entertaining than watching liberal brains implode when confronted with logic.

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  3. Since there are no rules (You said so!) I'm going with two words:

    1. perspicacity
    2. euphemism

    If you can use them, even illegally, in a sentence:

    "My cat's perspicacity is a euphemism."

    They can make you sound smart to the average Walmart shopper.

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  4. Bev, I'm glad you put the thing about the [Way-Back machine] into brackets so no one will know about it! :)

    I've always been partial to the word "poverty." It's too bad it has such a bad meaning because it really has a nice sound to it and it's structured quite beautifully.

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  5. Love the words so far...and hey, K, you stole my word "perspicacity" that I was thinking about just one hour ago, so you are going to have to think of another one...[See: Rule 481 of the Official Commentarama Rules for Word Contests 4th Edition (revised)]

    Rule 481: If someone comes up with a word that someone else was thinking, and they, the party of the second part, can prove it, then the word becomes the property of the second party, and you, the party of the first part, must find another one.

    Really, it is all right there clear as day.

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  6. Andrew - "Poverty". It does roll off the tongue, doesn't it?. I think the same about "abattoir"!

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  7. MrEPluribus - Don't get me started on crazy city names! But I'm guessing that the northern border states have plenty of 'em!

    Was there a Mr. Sheboygan or Mr. Ypsilanti who they named the city after?

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  8. I have always loved the word "superfluous",also the word "surreptitious", just cool sounding words. Though, I have to agree MrEPluribus about Sheboygan or Cheboygan.

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  9. Bev, Downtown Abattoir. :)


    Jocelyn, Excellent words! I like "extraordinary" too.

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  10. Andrew - Interestingly that is exactly describes what happened this season - "Downton Abbattoir"! ;-D

    I double that "excellent" Jocelyn! Great words! They sound like what they mean, don't they? Like "meander" and "psychedelic"

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  11. Dang right, Bev -- North Coast, represent!!! Pretty sure those are Indian names, too, no Mr. or Mrs. ... though that would be so cool to be Mr. Ypsilanti.

    I also like how New York residents in different parts of the state pronounce the same location differently: Chautauqua. shə-TAW-kwə if you're in Western NY, cha-TEH-kwah for the Long Islanders. God, I love dialects!

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  12. triskaidekaphobia!


    for town names: Hutto! (go Hutto Hippos!)
    and Mexia (pronounced, as the joke goes: D-air-y Queeeeen)


    Ok, so that was an "inside Texas joke", so here is the joke:
    Pronounced Ma-hay-ya, a small town in central Texas which was made famous by the old joke about the two traveling salesman who were arguing over how to pronounce the name of the town. They decided to settle the argument by asking a local citizen so they stopped at the first place they came to and went inside. A young lady approached and asked if she could help. “Can you tell how to pronounce the name of this place?” asked one of the men. “Sure,” she replied, then she articulated slowly, “D-A-I-R-Y Q-U-E-E-N.”

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  13. fussbudget.

    I call my whiny cat, named Fluff, "Fluffbudget". He doesn't get, nor care to get, the joke, but I like it!

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  14. rlaWTX - That is exactly the town I was thinking of when I said crazy town names! True story though...LOL!


    And....13..13...13! Boo!!

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  15. Bev:: Rule 481 of the Official Commentarama Rules for Word Contests 4th Edition (revised)

    Just call me "Dr. Anarchy."

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  16. Being Mr. Ypsilanti would be the most awesome moniker ever. Sadly, just local Indian names as I recall.

    I also dig how New Yorkers in different parts of the state pronounce the same word different ways. Chautaqua: sh-TAW-queh if you're in Western NY, CHA-teh-quaw for the Long Islanders.

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  17. OK, what's with the wacky blogspot? Post from 3:20 says "rejected comment" after initially posting, yet the just-above edited re-attempt goes through right away. Sigh and sorry for the semi-repetition.

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  18. MrEPluribus - I will defer to Andrew on this. It's truly is probably "wacky blogspot" Blogger shenanigans and I don't know why it was rejected. Blogger is...well...let's just say it's "quirky" at times.

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  19. K or "Mr. Anarchy" - I will be happy to call you anything you want, but, according to the rules, you have to use another word!

    Rule 482 - Just because the party of the first part changes names, does not negate the obligation to follow the rules as spelled out in Rule 481.

    Again, the rule is clear as daylight. I know it may appear that I am "making the rules up as I go along", but that is clearly not the case. ;-)

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  20. I don't see the rejected comment?

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  21. Eric, It must be blogger. Blogger does strange things. We didn't reject any comments.


    P.S. Isn't "Detroit" and old Indian word for "for the love of God, don't build a city here"?

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  22. rlaWTX, That's hilarious! Dairy Queen. :)


    Bev, We never make up rules on the fly! Tell him about the fees that have always been there for leaving comments. ;)

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  23. Andrew, (re Detroit) I always thought that was what the D.C. stood for in Washington, D.C.!

    Yep, Bev, true story! Although I really did have to explain "Bexar" County (just pretend the 'X' isn't there).

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  24. "Shenanigans" -- great word, but that's all I'm saying it for fear of a pistol-whip.

    Think you're right on "Detroit," AP. Definition 3 or 4 something along the lines of "No riots and murders will ensue if the hockey team wins a their championship."

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  25. It's true! D.C. really stands for "Do not Construct". It was in a note signed "G. Washington" when he decided not to deed the land because it was a swamp. But the note fell into a puddle and the part that explained what "D.C." meant was washed away.

    True story.

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  26. Andrew - LOL!

    {{cone of secrecy down}}}
    *[[[I just don't understand why these people never read the rules. They should already be paying us for each comment. It is right there in Rule 365: The cost of each comment will be $.000025 per annum compounded daily, or your soul.. Really it couldnt' be more plainly stated]]]
    {{cone of secrecy up}}

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  27. rlaWTX, That could be too! Though I suspect Bev is right about "DC." I think the Wikipedia even says that. And if it doesn't, it should. :)


    Eric, Careful calling shenanigans. Google has no sense of humor about their products and they will have Google's Skynet Division drone your house.

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  28. Bev, LOL! Do not construct. So true!

    Good point about Rule 365, which has ALWAYS been there! ;)

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  29. I can´t decide, there are so many.

    "Alamo". "Rifle". "Shenandoah". "Meridian".
    Those are beautiful words.

    Ugliest word? "Cloture". I believe it describes the process of extracting rusty objects from a festering wound.

    Word made despicable by misuse: "Community". Has the ring of a prison door falling shut.

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  30. A longtime fave of mine is "Garafraxa Rd." It is a real name of a real road in Central Ontario, Canada.

    It has all the sounds of a good curse word (see G. Carlin) but you cannot be condemned for using a place name... can you?

    sorry I'm late - just found this

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  31. darski, Nice! I once knew a woman from Canada with the last name Fuchs. It was pronounced as "Fyooks," but a good number of people would reach it the other way.


    El Gordo, I like the word meridian. That's a nice one too.

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  32. Darski - My favorite city name in the world is Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

    Andrew - And there is always Lipschitz.

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  33. El Gordo - The most beautiful word in the world to any Texan is, of course, 'Alamo'!

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