TexasDesign.com

As you may already know, I enjoy words and find them very entertaining. In past ExcitingWriting Advisories, I have shared with you words I love. Now I share with you words that make delightful sounds and have surprising meanings.
–Chuck Lustig

Funny Words

Perspicacity: I love the way this word sounds. It has nothing to do with life in the city. It?s simply the ability to have insight or discernment. From the Latin: per = through + specere = to look.

Cozen: No, it is not a misspelling of the word cousin. Cozen means to deceive and defraud. Interestingly the word comes from Early French cousiner, ?to defraud; literally to claim to be a cousin in order to defraud.? So you could say cozen is first cousin to the word ?cousin.?

Panjandrum: No, this is not the name of a mythical teddy bear or of a feast in India. It was made up by Samuel Foote, who lived in the 1700s, and used it in a piece of entertaining nonsense writing to refer to any petty official who has an inflated view of his importance.

Solecism: This has nothing to do with fish (sole) or a church schism; rather, it is an ill-mannered behavior or nonstandard use of language.

Sciolism: If there were ever an utterly nonessential word, this is it. It comes from Late Latin sciolus meaning ?a smaterer.? It is used to describe a shallow understanding of a subject. For example: ?Attending that school was an exercise in sciolism; nothing was ever probed in depth.?

Valetudinarian: No, this is not the person with the best academic record in a graduating class. It?s a weak or sickly person, particularly one who tends to be a hypochondriac.

Treacle: Contrived or unrestrained overly sweet sentimentality. For example: ?He whispered treacles in her ear.?

Truckle: To do as another instructs; to act in a subservient way. This sounds a little like ?trundle? and in fact derives from a truckle bed, a variant of what we know to be a trundle bed. The truckle tucks in under the master bed and thus is subservient. Example: Facing a powerful foe, he had no choice but to truckle.

Deipnosophist: Someone who is skilled at light banter, particularly during a meal. It derives from the Greek deipnon = dinner + sophistas = a clever person.