Serendipity and persnickety: Words so lovely they stop you in your tracks

Ever heard a word so wonderful you instantly want to add it to your vocabulary? This is Frances Whiting’s list of lovely words.

My friend Angela texted me the other day and I was chuffed because she began that text with “Hello, old chum”. I hadn’t heard the word “chum” in yonks, so I was chuffed because it is one of my favourite words, along with “yonks”. And “chuffed”.

Favourite words are a favourite thing of mine, and I am not alone in this, I know. Many of us have words we cherish, as well as words we cannot bear – although that almost universally seems to be just the one word, and that word is “moist”.

I did, however, recently hear a word which I believe could give moist a run for its money, and that word is wenis. Which is the word for the loose skin that hangs below your elbow, and I do apologise for bringing it to your attention.

What’s your favourite word?

Anyway, I was chatting to another chum the other day and he asked me “What’s your favourite word, Fran?”.

Before I could answer he said, “And don’t say serendipity” – which was serendipitous, because I was just about to. Serendipitous is many people’s favourite word, both, I think, because of its meaning, and the way it trips along the tongue.

I love tongue-tripping words, don’t you? Words like persnickety, shenanigans, scintilla, and skitterish.

Anyway, to take our collective minds off all the things that are currently askew/awry (also glorious words) in our world, I thought I’d ask you to share your favourite words with me. I’m also keen to hear any you despise – although I really can’t see any edging out wenis, can you?

I’ll start with my current crop of favourites. Fiasco. Undulate. Gumption. Akimbo. Galoshes. Fondue. Obtuse. Dappled. Dimpled. Mellifluous. Luscious. Rumpus. Ruckus. Bocconcini. Thwart. Erudite. Churlish. Fugacious. Nefarious. Natty. Ignominious. Haloumi.

Now, I am not sure why I love these words so much – although I do note this list has a propensity to lean towards cheese. Which if you know me, makes a lot of sense.

But I do love each one of these words, just as I love hearing words again that I haven’t heard for a long time.

Frances Whiting.

The other day, a delivery driver rang me en route to my home and asked if he could just “bung the parcel outside the front door”. I love the word “bung”, it sounds exactly like what it does – bung the cake in the oven, bung your hair up in a bun, bung the parcel by the door.

Conversely, I love hearing, or learning, words for the first time. Recently, I came across the word “solivagant”, which means solitary wandering, and sounds like heaven to me (the solitary wandering that is, the word itself I find a little clunky).

But not bung, oh no. Bung is as straightforward as mellifluous is beautiful. Some words – like mellifluous – are so lovely they stop us in our tracks. Absolute humdingers (another favourite). For me, these include shimmer, dalliance, harbinger, ephemeral, raconteur, lithe and labyrinth.

Words are (serendipitously) how I make my living, so I love to explore and share them, and I hope you’ll share with me some of your favourites (along with their meanings, and why you love them).

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to do some solivaganting.

Originally published as Serendipity and persnickety: Words so lovely they stop you in your tracks