If you’re seeking conversation starters for your next coffee gathering or aiming to silence the loquacious and incoherent individuals in your social media network, impress them all by integrating the most recent selections from Wayne State University’s Word Warriors into your discussions.
Now in its 15th year, the Word Warriors initiative at Wayne State endeavors to revive long-forgotten, though not entirely erased, words. This annual compilation comprises contributions from both website administrators and the general public, with participants worldwide witnessing the resurrection of their favorite words from the edge of obsolescence at wordwarriors.wayne.edu. New additions are posted there, as well as on Facebook, on a weekly basis.
Chris Williams, assistant director of editorial services for Wayne State Marketing and Communications and the head of the Word Warriors program, expressed his enthusiasm for the Word Warriors’ latest installment. “Once again, our Word Warriors have provided a collection of words that makes our language a bit livelier,” he stated. “This year’s list is particularly evocative. I love to picture myself inhaling the petrichor after a summer thunderplump or listening to someone twankle away on a guitar. It’s really a great selection this year.”
And now, here are the 2024 Word Warriors’ list of incredibly useful words that deserve to be reintroduced to enrich our language:
- Blatherskite
- A person who talks at great length without making much sense.
- The cable TV commentator was a blatherskite who produced 30 minutes of angry nonsense each night.
- Curglaff
- The shock felt when one first plunges into cold water.
- He dove into the pool without thinking and the curglaff caused him to shriek when he came up for air.
- Dollop
- A shapeless mass or blob of something, especially soft food.
- He sat down to enjoy a nice steak, grilled asparagus and a baked potato topped with a giant dollop of sour cream.
- Kaffeeklatsch
- An informal social gathering at which coffee is served.
- After the kids got on the bus, the parents headed to the porch for their morning kaffeeklatsch.
- Pawky
- Having a mocking or cynical sense of humor.
- He had a pawky wit that undercut his superiors’ self-importance.
- Petrichor
- A pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.
- He walked outside after the storm, the petrichor lifting his spirits as he hiked around the campground.
- Pettifogger
- An inferior legal practitioner, especially one who deals with petty cases or employs dubious practices.
- He started with dreams of being a Supreme Court justice but in practice he was just another ambulance-chasing pettifogger.
- Rawgabbit
- A person who speaks confidently but ignorantly.
- My social media feed is filled with rawgabbits trying to explain everything from epidemiology to engineering.”
- Thunderplump
- A heavy fall of rain during a thunderstorm.
- He’d hoped he could get home before the storm got too bad, but found himself instead jogging through a soggy thunderplump.
- Twankle
- To twang with the fingers on a musical instrument.
- He sat on the porch as dusk rolled in, twankling an old childhood favorite on the banjo.
