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Acerebral a. Without a
brain. A word for which there would at first sight appear
to be no use, since no entity to which there would be anyh point in
applyng the term could in fact possess this attribute.
(There would be no point in speaking of an acerebral windowsill.
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In the interest of improving the intellectual, if not the moral, tone
of comments and posts at Talking Points Memo's Internet Cafe. I
would like to introduce my fellow bloggers to one of my favorite books
I recently uncovered on my desk,
The Superior Person's
Book of Words, by Peter Bowler. If it indeed is one of
my favorite books, then why would I have to uncover it? Because I'm a
slubberdegullion, that's why:.
Slubberdegullion n. "A
glorious seventeenth century term of contempt (found in Hudibras), apparentley meaning a
dirty, wretched slob."
Clearly we need to extend ourselves beyond hurling epithets like
moron and idiot at Rush Limbaugh. So how about this example
of
Abededarian Insult?
Sir, you are an
apogenous, bovaristic, coprolalial, dasypygal, excerebrose, facinorous,
gnathonic, hircine, ithyphallic, jumentous, kyphotic, labrose,
mephitic, napiform, oligophrenal, papufilerous, thersitical,unguinous,
ventripotent, wlatsome, xylophagous, yirning zoophyte.
Translation: "Sir, you are an impotent, conceited, obscene,
hairy-buttocked, brainless, wicked, toadying, goatish, indecent,
stable-smelling, hunchbacked, thick-lipped, stinking, turnip-shaped,
feeble-minded, pimply, trashy, repellent, smarmy, foul-mouthed, greasy,
gluttonous, loathsome, wooden-headed, whining, extremely low form of
animal life.
Not bad even in translation, eh? But the advantage of the
Superior Person's words, is that one can say them with enthusiasm,
sincerity and a smile on one's face and the object of the word
will think they're being complimented: George Bush, sir,
regardless of what your detractors might say, I believe you're
one of the most oligophrenal Presidents we've ever had. When your
monument is erected in Washington , I expect it to be as
jumentous as you are. Truly your administration represented
kakistrophy at its best.
So lets beef up those comments, folks.. And I promise to
recommend the first post which uses the word desuitude.
But this fandangle has gone on long enough. Back to cleaning my
office I go. Other discoveries may be announced in due course
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Tiny update: The link to Bowers' book didn't make it through the edit I rushed to finish before lunch and a meeting. I've got that fixed now, I think.
* for Emuctory see here.