Which Words Do You Find Peculiar or Funny?

[bravejordy]

One word that always makes me laugh is "discombobulated".

Another, although the reason will be obvious, is "Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia" - the fear of long words!

[jno]

extra means outside or beyond... beyond the ordinary... hippocampus is a nice word, it's part of the brain, not higher education for river-dwelling animals at all...

[grasscarp]

That word peculiar was for some reason always written by me as beculiar when I was young. I must have heard it and thought I knew how to spell it. Teachers always put a line through it, so I thought they didnt like the word and I would substitute another word like strange or whatever. It is only years later I found I had not been spelling it correctly!

[Zacs-Master]

Osenpheffercatsenellabogenbythesea

[EDDIE51]

2shortplanks extraordinary actually does mean ' Beyond the ordinary' in other words it is something 'extra' to ordinary, so it is the opposite to ordinary.

[Quizmonster]

Two of my favourites are deemed and tantamount. Each means that something that DIDN'T happen or is NOT the case is treated as if it DID or IS!

[brionon]

Knickers !!

[boxtops]

The one which I find people getting wrong so often is Epicentre - they use it to mean "the absolute centre" when it doesn't - it means the point above the centre (as in the epicentre of an earthquake).

Triskaidecaphobia fear of the number 13

[boxtops]

.. and I can't get right - circumambulation, meaning to circulate round something. for years I thought it was circumnambulation.

[mike11111]

Something which is sesquipedalian is a foot and a half long. An elegant term, to my liking, despite the relentless drive to metrication

[gingejbee]

So many people use the word "vertigo" to mean "don't like/frightened of heights", when it has nothing to do with heights at all.

[bravejordy]

Cheers, some really interesting words here. I'm a bit confused by your definition of deemed and tantamount, Quizmonster. I just thought "deemed" was another way of saying "felt" as in, "The judge deemed it necessary to hand out a custodial sentence" and that "tantamount" just meant "the same as" i.e. "his borrowing of the watch without asking was tantamount to theft."

boxtops, I too find I say "circumnambulation" and now I know it's wrong, the correct way actually seems weird!

Good one, Mike! Now I know why my girlfriend finished with me, she said her last boyfriend was sesquipedalian... I thought she was referring to the country he came from! (Sorry, couldn't resist that one, LOL)


Thanks again all, I appreciate the input.

[mrs_overall]

Flabbergasted.

What exactly is a flabber and how is it gasted?

[yogasun]

inflammable and flammable as they mean the same! Always think inflammable should mean NOT flammable!

[bravejordy]

Totally agree with you, yogasun, this is something that's always baffled me too.

[Mick-Talbot]

floccinaucinihilipilification


There is just no need is there ?

[bravejordy]

Geez, that's a mouthful!

[tamborine]

antidisestablishmentarinism - no need for it !

[emmie]

some words flummox me, either to spell or say. There is one which for no reason can explain has totally gone by, perhaps will think of it in a minute..

[albaqwerty]

Mick, that's a word I can't say let alone spell. :)

Llanfairpwllgwll etc etc etc gogogoch is just cruel.