It is constantly wonderful to appear across new phrases and final week I identified a small treasure trove of fancy locution many thanks to the Grandiloquent web-site which specialises in flowery, but real language. Grandiloquent suggests a “pompous or extravagant model of language” and there is a lot of that about.
Just one grandiloquent term that right away caught my eye was the splendid “quockerwodger” which seems like a strange creature you might appear across in Alice in Wonderland. Its first this means is that of an old wood toy puppet whose limbs jerk wildly when you pull the string. Having said that a extra popular interpretation of the word worries politicians whose strings are pulled by anyone else, snd there are a great deal of all those about. I eagerly await a Bangkok Article headline saying, “Crackdown on quockerwodgers”.
Very a couple of of these phrases could apply to politicians and their ilk. There is “fanfaronade”, this means arrogant or boastful converse, though several politicians are identified to “bloviate”, a excellent phrase for speaking in a pompous way. But maybe the most correct is “ultracrepidarian” that means a individual conversing about one thing they know certainly absolutely nothing about. That feels a bit close to household.
Another grandiloquent word with probable is “sardoodledom”, a reference to a drama with an overwritten and melodramatic plot. We are in a privileged placement of currently being capable to witness “sardoodledom” any night by switching on a Thai tv cleaning soap opera.
Ultimately an significant word for puppy entrepreneurs. When your hound stares at you longingly with those people large sad eyes when you are consuming, that is a “groak”. I acknowledge to succumbing to the “groak” every single time.
Fudgel specifics
One grandiloquent word that especially caught my eye was “scurryfunge”, the act of rapidly tidying up the household when you have site visitors coming. We’ve possibly all finished that at some time. My mother was absolutely a scurryfunger and I was frequently appointed to the critical position of “assistant scurryfunger”.
Some of the phrases I can especially relate to, like “fudgel”, a individual pretending to be functioning challenging when in truth not carrying out anything. From personal practical experience, that essentially usually takes very a bit of ability. Another is “dysenia”, the incapacity to get out of mattress in the early morning.
A couple of of the terms have a definite Dickensian flavour. “Podsnappery”, that means anyone who is over complacent, feels like a little something the great author would arrive up with. Then there is “puzzumous” which means disgustingly servile or obsequious conduct, bringing to head a specific ” ‘umble servant” Uriah Heep. It could also be a very useful term in Scrabble.
Possibly the least desirable word I came throughout and also the most difficult to pronounce is “schmutzwortsuche” which is apparently a propensity for looking up naughty phrases in the dictionary. Heaven forbid.
Diddy language
For people today still not content with the large preference of terms the English language has to provide, do not fret, you can generally make up your individual phrases. Another person quite achieved at this was the late English comic Ken Dodd. He had a vocabulary of his very own based mostly on “diddy”, meaning a little something modest and loveable. Other Doddisms incorporate ”plumtiousness” a mixture of plump and sumptuous and “tattyfalarious” which can signify anything at all you want it to be.
When he was awarded the OBE in 1981, the Liverpool Echo noted Dodd’s exceptional response: “I am delighted. I am whole of plumtiousness. The jam butty staff are discomknockerated and the Diddymen are diddy-delighted.”
That’s English as it must be spoken.
Bear with me
Having been startled by a squirrel managing across my balcony the other working day, I was very impressed by the Californian teenager who bravely took on an totally unique creature, a substantial bear, pushing it off her garden fence when it was threatening her pet dogs.
Most readers have most likely observed the clips of Hailey Morinico exhibiting wonderful courage as she rescued her pet puppies from a potentially grisly destiny. She genuinely took her life into her hands by grappling with the bear — it could have turned out so in another way. The finest portion was that the bear and her two cubs, the four pet dogs and Hailey had been unharmed in the incident. A exceptional come to feel-fantastic tale.
Almost nothing but the tooth
One thing not extensively regarded is that we have wild bears in Thailand as a area mushroom picker uncovered five yrs in the past in an Ubon Ratchathani countrywide park.
He was foraging for wild mushrooms, which can be a notably dangerous profession in Thailand, when an Asian black bear “as large as a buffalo” fell out of a tree previously mentioned him. The angry bear proceeded to chase the mushroom gentleman, leaving a significant tooth in his bottom. Park officers later said the beast experienced grow to be intoxicated by taking in mahua tree bouquets applied for earning liquor.
Flash dance
Regrettably, most bears we see these times are in zoos. But from time to time you ponder who need to be in the cages, the animals or the individuals hunting at them.
A number of many years in the past in London Zoo a foolish gentleman leapt into the bear pit, pulled down his trousers and invited two huge Russian bears, Rusty and Tumble, to dance with him. Not amazingly the bears were bewildered by this exhibitionist, but luckily for us for him they made the decision not to have him for supper, and simply disregarded him. An irate zookeeper commented: “Rusty and Tumble were disgusted. They’ve bought no time for flashers.”
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Roger Crutchley
Bangkok Post columnist
A very long time preferred Bangkok Publish columnist. In 1994 he gained the Ayumongkol Literary Award. For numerous a long time he was Sporting activities Editor at the Bangkok Article.
Email : [email protected]
