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| Hearsay: |
There is no end to the ways one can suffer for art. In the Guardian, Michelle Pauli reports that over at the Ledbury Poetry Festival a number of participants are being asked to come up with their most hated words. Not just the short, blunt, unbeautiful ones, but words that make them wince and turn away — surely an agonizing exercise for any poet worth the job description.
Philip Wells picks a good one, pulchritude, which “violates all the magical impulses of balanced onomatopoeic language – it of course means “beautiful”, but its meaning is nothing of the sort, being stuffed to the brim with a brutally latinate cudgel of barbaric consonants.” I think I need a drink on the basis of that last sentence alone.
She then turns the question on her readers, and as of this posting has nine solid pages of comments. My current most loathed three are above — the post title was originally a bit more R rated, but moist is apparently a… no-brainer. And you, good friends of the Bookninja?
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July 9th, 2009 at 7:18 am
One of the worst words to use in any form of writing is “slit.” Ick.
July 9th, 2009 at 8:40 am
pus, faggot, irregardless
July 9th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Ha. I can’t even bring myself to type the dreaded p-word. Eww. Tweeps is new to me, so I do not yet despise it. Hmm “challenges” is getting on my nerves.
Contrary-wise, I dearly love “spleen” and “defenestrate” and “muzzlepuff” all of which seem to make others crazed.
July 9th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Prestigious, wealthy, sliver, fecal, smegma, lumbricoid, pustule, bulge
July 9th, 2009 at 10:43 am
good list, KW.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Utilize.
July 9th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Amen to the above. Also, “stinky.”
July 9th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
May I turn the tables and offer instead words that shine at the other end the spectrum?
For example, surely “onomatopoeia” and “zucchini” and “mellifluous” are three of the most euphonious words ever to be uttered.
Of course, fitting them into either conversation or poetry can be difficult.
Nevertheless, when life gets too difficult, and when foul words seem to surround you, isn’t it sublime to have lovely words as a refuge.
Mine are already noted. What are yours?
July 10th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Mature is pretty loathsome.