Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Top Ten Tuesday - Words



Another Top Ten Tuesday at the Broke and the Bookish. Today's top ten list is ten favorite words. This will be a reach, as I can't say I give this much thought except for #1, which has been my fave word for many years and will remain so for years to come.

1. Copacetic - Very satisfactory. The word was used in many of James Lee Burke's early Robicheaux novels. It was also featured heavily in Local H's one hit wonder "Bound for the Floor." It is the most copacetic of words.



2. pronate - a word I heard many times when working on my mechanics as a collegiate pitcher. One of the more technical sounding words I heard come out of my pitching coach's mouth. He tended towards four letter ones. It rolls off the tongue. For a pitcher it meant the palm, with ball in hand, and forearm should face backwards (i.e. opposite direction of target) at the point in the rotation that the pitcher begins his transition towards the plate.

3. whim - can you even say this word without smiling?

4. ambiance - just sounds better than atmosphere, and I have a friend that overuses the word and it's funny.

5. existential - it's a word that can either lead to a lot of conversation or someone just looking at you like you have two faces. So it is good to use the word early on in a conversation to see who you're dealing with. FWIW, I am no expert on existentialism, but I do like hear people talk about it and try to explain it to me.

6. podjo - okay, so it is slang. It's basically the same as buddy, and can sometimes be heard in south Louisiana. Another word that frequents James Lee Burke books. It's also what I call my son.

7. serendipity - sounds better than luck or fate or good fortune. Has almost a staccato sound coming out of your mouth. I have a crush on Kate Beckinsale.

8. honor - I would be doing a disservice to this word if I tried to explain it or justify it's inclusion here.

9. love - see honor above

10. teabagger - not to get too political, but this just seems such a perfect label for the fringe element of the tea party movement. Note I say fringe element. If you don't know what I mean by that, you're likely just not paying any attention (completely justifiable) or you are one yourself (which is really unfortunate).

5 comments:

  1. I had serendipity on my list at first but then took it off for some reason. Great list!

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  2. You have a very existential list! I could hear a lot of conversations coming off on a whim from many of these words. It would be copacetic! I also love the word ambiance and like your friend I am most likely overuse it too! :) You also reminded me that I was going to add a video to my list but I forgot - ah, well, maybe a whole new post now. Very nice touch! Serendipity!

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  3. You are right about saying whim and smiling! I never thought about it before.

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  4. Jen - perhaps your feelings for Kate Beckinsale are not as strong as mine.

    Julie - you didn't get podjo into your comment. C'mon! ;)

    Kelly - I hope you have a whimsical day

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  5. Podjo, eh? I like it.

    I've been using the Tex-Mex-ish "mijo" (boy) and "mija" (girl) for kids that stop in my library. Much better than the in-my-day "honey" or "sweetie".

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