Writer's Block: Words that you love and hate

[mhuzzell]

I was bored and wandered onto LiveJournal. Upon my arrival I was confronted with an icon labelled 'Writer's Block', beside the following question. I don't know why anyone with some sort of writer's block would try to solve it on LJ--when I can't think of things to write, I simply don't write. But I'm answering the question anyway, because it's something that's been on my mind lately:

What are your favorite and least favorite words? Any reasons why?

Favourite: 'Erudite' or 'Erudition'.
I love the concept of it. Every synonym--educated, knowledgable, learned--if you break it down, refers to a positive process of putting knowledge into someone. Erudite--from the Latin eruditus, ex (out) + rudis (untaught)--refers to someone who has had their ignorance removed from them. Ignorance, like cold or darkness, or a hole, is generally understood as an absence of some other quality--this word gives it a positive force. It's a word like an Escher drawing, twisting up my understanding, and I can't stop staring.

Least Favourite: 'Ironical'.
Or it was until a few months ago, when I saw it used absolutely perfectly somewhere. My general quibble is that it basically means 'ironic', and is typically used exactly where one should simply say 'ironic'. Of course, one shouldn't hold the misuse of a word against the word itself. But honestly, when even the dictionary lists 'ironic' and 'ironical' as synonyms, I wonder why we even need the word 'ironical' at all! But then, as I said, I saw it used absolutely perfectly. It was describing some situation which was characterised by irony, but was not itself ironic. Or something like that. I wish I could remember the context.

Of course, this means I now have to come up with a new least favourite word. I'm gonna go with 'turgid', because I always used to get it confused with 'torpid', and still think it sounds like it should mean sluggish and cold. Also, it just sounds ugly. 'Turgid'. Ugh.

Comments

[iamunicorngirl.livejournal.com]

I like words often based on how unique and useful they are. like words that describe something really complicated in one word, like "platonic", or ones that give the exact shade of meaning, like "taciturn". I hate superfluous words, the kind that you would never need to use for any conceivable purpose, because there's a better one. Case in point "irreguardless". You can always use "regardless", it means the same thing and sounds better. I also hate trendy slang words that are just stupid. Although I like some good hearty, witty slang like "snogging" (oh god I love that word), there are some that are just ridiculous, for instance "bling" or "smail". That's another thing, just combining two words to make one that means a combination of the same two words is silly and unimaginative - case in point "smail" snail + mail to indicate paper mail. I don't even like "smog". But some really interesting slang, like a lot of the british stuff, is great. I'd like to hand it to those cockneys for making up that rhyming slang, it continually fascinates me. And I'm not telling porkies.

Turgid and erudite

[(Anonymous)]

The former is, indeed, pretty ugly --
The latter? Hmmmm tasty. Lekker, as they say in the Netherlands, is what it is: all crispy in the mouth. ERUDITE.

By the way, in the name of show-you-mine-show-me-yours:
www.bravenewwhat.blogspot.com

Re: Turgid and erudite

[mhuzzell.livejournal.com]

'Lekker' is itself an excellent word. Not that I have much context for it besides this comment, but its immediate impression is, well, lekker.

Your blog, by the way, is almost intimidatingly well-written. Chewy.