A Way With Words: What Is YOUR Favorite Word?

Have you guys ever listened to A Way With Words? The last podcast I listened to before I forgot about this incredible program was about DF Wallace.* The episode focused on "stem-winding" which was used by The New Yorker to describe his writing style. This show gets me all tizzied up!

The hosts know the answer to EVERYTHING. It's like Car Talk for nerds. Have a burning etymological question? Want to know why some singers don't have accents? Perhaps you'd like to get into a debate about the Oxford Dictionary's acceptance standards for new words like 'refudiate'? Ask the hosts of AWWW... they will answer you in scintillating detail.

Anyhow, here's what's on my noodle after listening to this recent episode about killer Scrabble words, which you have to listen to if you are a Scrabbler or do Sunday crosswords.

Words I rarely use that sound as beautiful as their meanings:

- Lithe
- Diaphanous
- Bucolic
- Ephemeral
- Blithe
- Lush 
- Tundra
- Synesthetic
- Languid
- Tranquil
- Prismic
- Baroque
- Azure

Words I often use that sound beautiful, but are cliche:

- Harbinger
- Stellar
- Ebullient
- Pretentious
- Intrinsic
- Serene
- Vacillate
- Ominous

Favorite word to say in a British accent: Rhododendrun 

Favorite word to pronounce in any accent: Beezlebub

Words I'd like to see re-enter our national lexicon:

- Opulence
- Apollonian
- Fisticuffs
- Harlequin
- Excoriate (use this to threaten someone physically for full diabolical effect)

Words that should be excoriated (see what I did there?):

- Hella
- Diva
- Casualista (no one actually says this out loud, but I've received it from fashion PR emails)
- Funky
- Serendipitous
- Pastiche
- Hottie
- Cyber
- Cypher
- Ginormous

What are your favorite or most reviled words? Leave em in the comments. I'm curious!

* I never finished Infinite Jest, but sometimes when people ask me if I've read it I lie and say "yes" and pray they don't ask any questions, as I still have no idea how it ends.