A friend once said, “Cheer up; things could be worse.”
To which it seemed almost natural to reply, “Yeah, you’re right. I cheered-up and things got worse.”
So I sit here at my laptop and I am exploring any way that may prevent the worst from happening.
Remember that time in your life when a question surfaced and you thought to yourself, I need to look for the answer? One question that has been in the back of my consciousness for years is … “How many words are there?” For now, let’s stick to English. The answer to the question according to the good folks and wordcounter.com is 171,476 words. However, the average speaker/reader of English uses between 20 and 30 thousand of them.
Here are some of the rest, but let’s look at the ones we can apply to the current situation this sad world of ours finds itself.
Nudiustertian. Have you ever wished that you had a word for the day before yesterday? A day perhaps during which we had never heard the name of a virus called coronavirus, that causes an illness call COVID-19? This is that word! It might be a little bit more convoluted to say, but it sure is an interesting sounding word.
Snollygoster. This is something many people already call many politicians, only because it happens to be a nicer sounding term. This refers to a politician who does or says things for their own personal advancement instead of following the accepted principles of society. If this word were used at a White House coronavirus briefing, I suppose the guy in charge would object to it.
Sialoquent. Do you remember being the eager student in college who sat in the front row? Do you remember how much the professor spit while talking? Well, this is what that action is called. This is such an eloquent word for such an uncomfortable sensation. The word may explain why so many people sit in the last pew at church and it may help to define the new word social-distance.
Abibliophobia. Now this is a word that perfectly describes many people and you may be one! This refers to someone who is afraid of running out of things to read. We’re guessing that you are probably going to start using this word to describe yourself. But since you can’t head out the door to the nearest bookstore, may I suggest you visit Postcard History every week and/or search our archives for a postcard story you missed.
Nincompoop. This is another word that you have heard at some point and you probably know the definition. This refers to someone who is silly, foolish, or just downright stupid. It was used regularly in the 1950s and 60s but is still quite a fun word to say!
Speaking of fun words to say, if you ask any 10-year-old, “What is a fun word to say?” I know that the answer today would be much different than when I was a kid, but a word that I thought was fun to say was, “Troglodyte.”
I learned what the word meant as soon as I heard it. A troglodyte is a person, mostly European, who lives in a cave. In years gone by the troglodytes were agrarian people like farmers, vintners, and herders. Today, in most cases troglodytes live normal lives; they drive cars, they go to work in as many different professions as people who live in houses, they attend sporting events and concerts, they eat in restaurants. The only thing different about them is that they live in caves. Yes, they use furniture and appliances. Their caves have electricity and most have plumbing.
Years ago I found this postcard and have treasured it only because it has my most favorite fun to say word – TROGLODYTE!
So, before the world is totally cattywampus, “Cheer-up; thing could get worse.”
