For those of you concerned that you’ve become something of a slugabed when it comes to your use of the English language, and wish to exhibit a more trenchant style, Wayne State University has a few suggestions.
Wayne State University is out with its latest list of expressive, though neglected, words in the English language.
For the past decade, Wayne State’s Word Warriors have tried to retrieve for the English language’s linguistic cellar ten words they say don’t deserve to be a neglected part of the average person’s vocabulary.
Take for example, slonk, meaning to swallow greedily, which also describes many Michiganders’ activities on New Year’s Eve.
Or slugabed, referring to a lazy person, which could describe many Michiganders on New Year’s morning.
Here’s the complete list:
Anechdoche
- A conversation in which everyone is talking, but no one is listening.
- What started as a civil debate turned into a deafening anecdoche, in which every person believed they possessed the ideal solution.
Anhedonia
- Inability to feel pleasure.
- Despite the fact that he was sitting on the beach in the middle of summer, a crippling anhedonia overtook John, making him yearn for a quiet bedroom to pass the day in alone.
Coadunation
- The union (as of dissimilar substances) in one body or mass.
- While the ingredients weren't appetizing on their own, mixing them together created a pleasant coadunation that was the hit of the potluck.
Fubsy
- Fat and squat.
- The accountant, a fubsy man whose suit was far too tight, squeezed himself into the tiny booth.
Lickpenny
- Something that uses up money.
- The car was a lickpenny in constant need of repair.
Logorrhea
- Excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness.
- Internet blogs and podcasts foster logorrhea from effusive writers and speakers, who lay waste to years of schooling that encouraged brevity.
Salubrious
- Health-giving; healthy.
- He loved camping; the fresh air and sunshine created a salubrious atmosphere that rejuvenated him after a week in the office.
Slonk
- To swallow greedily.
- He slonked down his spaghetti as if he hadn't had a meal in years.
Slugabed
- A lazy person who stays in bed late.
- He wanted to get up early and exercise, but the slugabed slept past his alarm and woke up five minutes before his exam.
Trenchant
- Vigorous or incisive in expression or style.
- The critic made a trenchant argument for the movie's awfulness.
