The Oxford University Press has created a website to raise awareness about the strange and sexy power of big-ass words that no one knows. Without your attention, these words waste away like cut flowers, falling out of usage except as part of the breathless vocabulary of precocious teenage virgins and excitable members of the clergy.

At "savethewords.org," you crawl over a massive desktop laid out with snipped flecks of pedantry, inviting you to jump in and "adopt" one. Adopting one of these words means you promise to learn the word's definition and use it regularly. Words like "cloakatively" and "panchymagogue." Words that have meanings, but that don't see much action this century.

It would be cooler if adopting this word meant that the word was SO dead that you could now give it your own additional meaning and use it however you want.

Either way, I adopted the word "lardlet," which is the snarl of bacon that seasons beans or meat.



For 25 dollars, I could also buy a t-shirt with the word "lardlet" on it, but I am not going to do that.

Posted by miracle on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:03:21 -0400 -- permanent link