Words That Delight
I’ve just found a scrap of paper squashed at the back of my socks drawer. Must have been there a while. It’s a list of my favourite words. There are words to impress, some that sound silly, words of comfort and words that make me giggle. And giggle is on that list – ask children to giggle when taking their photo and I guarantee you’ll get cheeky grins.
Sometimes I come across a word that needs concentration, like abiogenesis or ignominious. Try saying these when you’ve had a few wines! Bryce Courtenay invented a delightful word in his bestseller, The Power of One, when Doc said “Absoluddle”. After emigrating to New Zealand, I dropped a few dialect words from my vocabulary.
I grew up in the UK’s Derbyshire, where the word ‘duck’ is the equivalent of ‘mate’ or ‘friend’. So the first time I visited a butcher in Waipukurau, in my stylish English coat, two toddlers by my side wearing leather laced-up shoes, I said, “I’ll have a some sausages, mi duck”. “We don’t sell duck sausages,” said he, smirking as he recognised my Pommie accent. Lovie is another word I ditched that week. In the UK I would happily call the burly dustman lovie, but it might be misunderstood in Godzone. Mithered (feeling bothered) is another word I’ve abandoned. My mum used to tell me Phoebe had gone to bed, meaning the sun was behind the clouds. She mashed, not brewed, a pot of tea at a time when tea bags weren’t invented. She scrummaged (searched) for the shilling that rolled under the table and I can see the link with rugby.
Swilly is a dip in the road and cock-bod means excellent, though I am shy of saying that! One useful word at the pub is gerrumin, which means “it’s your round, mi duck”, but I can’t guarantee your drink will be paid for at a swanky Auckland bar.
One of the most powerful words must be ‘sorry’, though sometimes it’s hard to say.
Here are some of my favourites: wondrous, squishy, slurp, tittered, exquisite, bigwig, skulduggery, rascal, rigmarole, dinky, nincompoop, ninny, kerfuffle, gobsmacked, frumpy, dawdle, slosh, astonished, swanky, glee, piddling, giggling, wriggling, skedaddle, snort, aroha and compassion.
The words we use can heal, make folk laugh and give hope. They can even change lives. Why don’t you start a list? And use them. Absoluddle!
Words by Pamela Ferla
Coromind Backs Up Pam: Words are Powerful and Fun!
This magazine would not exist without the magic of words. Do you have a cool story to share about words or expressions that marked an important or funny moment in your life? What about your favourite words? We would love to hear from you! Email us at hello@coromind.nz.
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