Ooo, that sounds nice

One of my main reasons for enjoying words, apart form those which give me an excuse to used z's and x's, is the sound they make when saying them. Something perfectly sonorous is a delight to the ear, almost like a Brahms symphony. With that in mind I give you:
mellifluous
As I have already alluded to, as well as sounding nice, this word actually means to be sweet sounding. This comes through an alternate meaning to be sweet with honey, inspecting deeper still following the etymology of the word it would be directly 'to flow with honey'. Personally I love the imagery of something sounding so nice that it flows like honey, sweet and nonchalant. The mellifluous qualities of a word I believe can be worth more than the insipid nature of them. Although, many things can be said about empty words, if they are sweet on the ear I see them as beyond reproach. However, this could dive you into the question of what is sweet to hear? Is it something as I suggest above 'music to one's ear' or is it something more personal like an ego stroking.

With this thought I leave you in order to find your own mellifluous things.

Ed

What a mistake

Have you ever thought that something was so bad that you needed a word with more gravitas than simply 'bad' to use as an adjective? Such as an unredeemable mistake or a terrible blog post, well I give you

Egregious

This is something that is extraordinarily bad, flagrant or just plain heinous. So for instance if someone where to do something reprehensible, then before ameliorating the situation through admonition, you could be tempted to exclaim 'That is a egregious mistake'. Or in the incredibly rude case of someone lying to you a response could be 'You are an egregious deceiver, only looking to obfuscate matters'.

What I quite enjoy about this word is the fact that with just a little thought it can be used extensively, unlike last time's word. All you need to do is replace every 'very bad' with egregious. Or alternatively an example would be to say that this is an egregious goalkeeping error, maybe not as snappy as howler but a little more flair in language I think should be appreciated.

So I wish you all on your way with the hope that your mistakes are not egregious.

Ed

Is that a rhetorical question?

Normally I use this blog to talk about words that can be used to invigorate your language to the point of making conversations and writing fun by using a bit of flare.
However, today I am going to take a different tack. This is somewhat inspired by the book I'm reading at the moment (eats shoots and leaves by Lynne Trust).
Interrobang
This is a rather fun word to say yet I can not think of a time to use it. An interrobang is the punctuation mark which is half way between a question mark and an exclamation mark, to be used when you want to evoke a mixture of query and intersection. Such as at the end of a rhetorical question, hence the title.
So your question is most likely, 'what does it look like?'. Unfortunately my current type set stops me from displaying it here, but imagine a question mark and exclamation mark written ontop of each other such that they share the point and you have a interrobang. For a good picture try this
So a little divergence here from words to punctuation but then it was once said by Edgar Allen Poe 'The writer who neglects punctuation, or mispunctuates, is liable to be misunderstood. For the want of a comma, it often occurs that an axiom appears a paradox, or that a sarcasm is converted into a sermonoid'.
With that thought I will leave you, until next time.

Ed

Its okay I'll make everything alright

Now you may be a bit down or have some work that you could use some help with or just generally want someone to make things better. Well that is why I am here to:

Ameliorate

the situation. This is a rather useful verb meaning to make things better or improve something. I enjoy its use because of the wonderful melody it creates on saying it and the way you can slip it into many and varied conversations. For instance you could even use it in such an every day sentence as 'you could ameliorate that sandwich by adding a little mayonnaise' or 'if you add error bars to your graph it will ameliorate the results by vindicating them'. Also remember something can be ameliorable as well, i.e. an ameliorable guide that makes finding the best bars easy.

So there you go one small(ish) verb to make everything better.

Ed

I'm not boasting or anything but . . .

You may remember talk of hubris nature, well now we take quite the opposite tack almost shy or:

Demure

This is an adjective meaning shyness and modesty. For instance 'why are you being so demure about this, it is quite an achievement'. What I quite like about this word though is its additional use as a synonym for sober or somber i.e. 'you're looking awfully demure tonight'.

You may be wondering why I am drawing this word to your attention, it is neither long nor exotic to be fair it is rather dowdy. However, therein lies the point. The drab way in which it rolls off the tongue mirrors the retreated meaning of the word.

So I leave you in hope that you will be demure in triumph, not in the pub.

Ed

Tip Top

Ever wondered what is at the very top, that summit, that culmination of a crest?

Zenith

This is the highest point or peak. Alternatively it is the opposite of nadir, the road below your feet. Making the zenith the celestial point above your head.

Now you may be thinking great a nice new noun with a z but how do I use it? For once this is a word you can throw into your every day vernacular as an easy replacement for top with great effect. An example could be 'Do you think Rooney has passed the zenith of his career?' or 'I am going to strive to get to the zenith of my potential'. Admittedly it does sound a bit weird though if you ask someone to get you a book from the 'zenith shelf'. But a meeting at the zenith of the stairs does have an air of class.

So remember keep yourself away from the nadir, also known as the point of greatest despair, and moving on up towards your own personal zenith.

Ed

A Change of mind

I've decided to not let this blog die a death through negligence. In a turn of serendipity this change of mind brought me to another adroit word with which to kick things back off again:
Caprice
This is an unpredictable change in weather or mind. Now, you maybe be thinking I've heard that before but not sure where. Well on occasion it is used as a girl's name or probably better known as a car name (Holden or Chevrolet). These uses amuse me, especially imagining in the moments after a girl's berth a mother rather than going for her original choice of Anna suddenly and ironically changing her mind to Caprice.Still for use in an everyday scenario you could comment on someone's constant mind changing as 'Danny is so caprice; he changes his mind without reason or rhyme'. Alternatively on response to someone's change of mind 'Do you have any reason for that decision, or are you just being totally caprice about this?'. Of course there is also the use I get away with most to do with the weather. 'You best take a coat and umbrella with you, it may be sunny now but don't forget the caprice nature of weather in England'.
So here begins again our journey through words just be wary of a change of weather or mind.
Ed