What's the good word?

[Shyflower]

This thread is for posting fun and unusual words and what they mean. Mine is "ninnyhammer". (Thanks to ScallioXTX) It means "basket case" or "someone who is overly nervous".

What's your good word? (Don't forget to post what it means.)

[Kailash Badu]

I know it's pretty common but the word never ceases to amuse me : gobbledygook which means gibberish.

A bit rarer one is 'doohickey' which means any object (especially a gadget) whose name you don't recall – sort of like 'thingy'.

[moretea]

"Defenestrate": to throw out of or jump from a window. Useful for those in high-stress positions. ;-)

[Force Flow]

hemidemisemiquaver: In musical notation, it's a 64th note (or, 1/64th of a whole note)

I got that as a bonus vocab word way back in elementary school, and it's stuck with me ever since. I can't say I've ever used it in a sentence.

[r937]

A bit rarer one is 'doohickey' which means any object (especially a gadget) whose name you don't recall – sort of like 'thingy'.

doohickey, gadget, thingy...

here are a few more:

bric-a-brac, contraption, dingbat, dingus, doodad, folderol, gewgaw, gimmick, gizmo, jigger, knickknack, thingamabob, thingamajig, thingum, whatchamacallit, whatnot, whatsis, widget

[Stevie D]

doohickey, gadget, thingy...

here are a few more:

bric-a-brac, contraption, dingbat, dingus, doodad, folderol, gewgaw, gimmick, gizmo, jigger, knickknack, thingamabob, thingamajig, thingum, whatchamacallit, whatnot, whatsis, widget

You forgot 'wossname'.

My current favourite word is interregnum, meaning the period between one ruler/leader finishing and the next one starting (lit. between kings). Mainly because someone at work got very cross with me today for correctly guessing it and knowing what it meant

[Shyflower]

hemidemisemiquaver: In musical notation, it's a 64th note (or, 1/64th of a whole note)

I got that as a bonus vocab word way back in elementary school, and it's stuck with me ever since. I can't say I've ever used it in a sentence.

I remember that one from piano lessons. Sheesh... like anyone could ever play that fast anyway!

[Force Flow]

I remember that one from piano lessons. Sheesh... like anyone could ever play that fast anyway!

There must be folks who can...I just poked around on wikipedia and found semihemidemisemiquaver...a 128th note

I would think noting a trill would be more appropriate, though

[Shyflower]

There must be folks who can...I just poked around on wikipedia and found semihemidemisemiquaver...a 128th note

I would think noting a trill would be more appropriate, though

Oh I agree! Did you take a look at how those notes look when placed in music? They are almost impossible to read!

[Force Flow]

Oh I agree! Did you take a look at how those notes look when placed in music? They are almost impossible to read!

Yep.

I've only seen up to 32nd notes (demisemiquaver ) in music I've played...and those can be quite fast.

[jennydesouza]

My Good word is dhishoom dhishoom. I feel very calm

[bulevardi]

My current favourite word is interregnum, meaning the period between one ruler/leader finishing and the next one starting (lit. between kings).

Sounds like the word interbellum, the period between the two world wars.

I like the word paradigm.
I like to use it when explaining something difficult, so it sounds a lot more difficult.

[scottvishnu]

Gamut is the word i use often and the meaning is entire set or range of..

lullaby is song to make children sleep.

<snip/>

[Force Flow]

I like the word paradigm.
I like to use it when explaining something difficult, so it sounds a lot more difficult.

I actually dislike that one. It's overused and not always properly.

[Shyflower]

I like the word paradigm.
I like to use it when explaining something difficult, so it sounds a lot more difficult.

I actually dislike that one. It's overused and not always properly.

It certainly was misused here. A paradigm is not something difficult. It is an ideal, a model, a prototype or (another odd word) an archetype.

"The paradigm of virtue"

[bulevardi]

It certainly was misused here. A paradigm is not something difficult. It is an ideal, a model, a prototype or (another odd word) an archetype.

"The paradigm of virtue"

I see.
In my own language, Dutch, this word exists aswel, but is very rarely used.
I learned the word by reading English texts where it occurs quite often.
But, when using 'paradigma' in Dutch, people suddenly don't understand anymore what you're talking about, because they mostly haven't heard that word yet, and from that moment they're not listening any further to your story but are thinking about what that word 'paradigma' actually means. If I use this in some context, easy things get suddenly difficult.

But I understand it's not that way for native English people

[honeyprime]

Here's one I've got to one of my friends on fb - Olly
- a friend you know only online.

it took me almost 30 mins to search for that word. lol! really sounds new to me.

[Shyflower]

I see.
In my own language, Dutch, this word exists aswel, but is very rarely used.
I learned the word by reading English texts where it occurs quite often.
But, when using 'paradigma' in Dutch, people suddenly don't understand anymore what you're talking about, because they mostly haven't heard that word yet, and from that moment they're not listening any further to your story but are thinking about what that word 'paradigma' actually means. If I use this in some context, easy things get suddenly difficult.

But I understand it's not that way for native English people

Makes me wonder if the pronunciation is the same in Dutch as in English. I see the spelling is a bit different with an "a" on the end in Dutch. In the English pronunciation it sounds like "pair a dime". Is that the way you pronounce it in Dutch?

The definition from Dutch to English is certainly different.

[xhtmlcoder]

Backword; to give backword is to call off a previous arrangement.

[ScallioXTX]

In the English pronunciation it sounds like "pair a dime". Is that the way you pronounce it in Dutch?

No, it's quite different in Dutch. The "para" sounds more like it does in "paranoia" than "pair", and "digma" sounds a bit like "dogma", except that the "g" is a lot more articulated in Dutch than in English. I don't think there is a sound in English that even comes close to the Dutch "g"

[yesica]

The good word is Never give up. Very inspiring!

[r937]

The good word is ...

inspirational, yes, but neither fun nor unusual, sorry

[bulevardi]

Makes me wonder if the pronunciation is the same in Dutch as in English. I see the spelling is a bit different with an "a" on the end in Dutch. In the English pronunciation it sounds like "pair a dime". Is that the way you pronounce it in Dutch?

In Dutch it is "par a dig ma". The a is pronounced the same as in Americ'a'

[samanime]

A word I've been overusing lately for some real reason: awesome - to inspire awe.

I also happen to be a fan of antidisestablishmentarianism, the often quoted "longest word in the English language" (though there are longer) which means - a political position that originated in 19th-century Britain in opposition to proposals for the disestablishment of the Church of England, that is, to remove the Anglican Church's status as the state church of England, Ireland, and Wales.

=p

[Shyflower]

I also happen to be a fan of antidisestablishmentarianism, the often quoted "longest word in the English language" (though there are longer) which means - a political position that originated in 19th-century Britain in opposition to proposals for the disestablishment of the Church of England, that is, to remove the Anglican Church's status as the state church of England, Ireland, and Wales.

=p

Well that is a very supercalifrailisticexpealidocious word samanime!