So, we all know that sometimes I say things that nobody else understands. Witness “effluvia” and “ingénue.”
Today’s addition?
During a training session here at work, when asked what makes a good manager, I cited “unflappabilty.” I was then mocked for the remainder of the session. Did I get all riled up though? Oh hell no: I was unflappable.
And yes, flappable is also a word.
- Previous: Cry Me A River
- Next: Vapid Aside
7 Responses to “Effluvia List”
Leave a reply
Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
You're reading a page from the archives. Check the homepage for current content.
DA
April 16th, 2003 at 12:54 pm
That’s my girl! This topic is an outlier to the earlier discussion about the value of (so-called) bullshitting. After all, beyond a certain period of time as a learner/user of the language, who’s the master? You or the language? Damn right! At the least, implicitly enclose creative terminology in quotation marks. If challenged, check it out. Then, if you prove to be correct in your imaginative verbal reach, delicately skewer your questioner in a way that makes them lust after a verbal derring-do that remains, tantalizingly, just outside of their existing range of knowledge and creativity. Occasionally, of course, you will be busted, in which case you can demonstrate the magnificent flexibility and humility of a truly educated mind!
I could go on, but I will simply refer you to the side of any Dr. Bronner’s bottle for further insight.
DA
Matthew
April 16th, 2003 at 1:12 pm
My coworkers are always confused when, in meetings, I refer to their ideas as stuplime.
Amaranta
April 16th, 2003 at 3:47 pm
What is wrong with the people you work with? I knew what all of those words meant, and I havent even made it through college yet. Damn. I guess being a bookworm pays off.
Ariel
April 16th, 2003 at 5:05 pm
Amaranta, nothing’s “wrong” with them. I’m the content developer. It’s my job to be the company word whore.
Amaranta
April 16th, 2003 at 6:25 pm
Sorry, didnt mean to sound so harsh. Sometimes things come off differently since you’re reading and not hearing. Props for being a word whore!
grammar nazi
April 18th, 2003 at 10:53 am
addition or edition?
Ariel
April 18th, 2003 at 10:58 am
Addition. I wasn’t referring to a daily edition of my list. I was referring to one more word that was being added to the list, i.e. “this list exists, and this is today’s addition to it.”
…and why the false email address, grammar nazi? I have MT set to make email addresses listed in my comments resistant to spam-bots, and I tried to email you this clarification directly. I’m all for grammar corrections, but I hope in the future you won’t feel the need to post anonymously.