A∴L∴M∴Nov 19, 2022
scott barolo

I’m going to make a tournament bracket of THE BEST WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Winner to be determined by head-to-head Mastodon polls.

Nominate your favorite words for the competition by replying to this post 💙

#WordBracket #words #linguistics @bookstodon #BookMastodon #bookstodon #writing #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #bookstodon

Nov 19, 2022 at 3:25pmMetatext
Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
We only need 64 good words to have a proper tournament, so get your suggestions in soon by replying to this thread! Polls will start in December.
Before that, you’ll get a chance to submit your predictions to a bracket competition. Donate USD$10 or more to any charity to enter the bracket competition. Anybody can vote in thr polls. Details will be posted later
Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
My sincere apologies to all followers of @bookstodon : I didn’t realize that all of the replies would automatically tag the #bookstodon group, and that therefore the followers of that cool group would have to see dozens of suggested words for my upcoming word tournament. I am a bad mastodonian and I have learned my lesson 😔
Show threadbooklettingNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo we are all learning!
Show threadDayna R (they/she)Nov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon I have appreciated the cacophony of multisyllabic words in this timeline. I know not your criteria, but I quite enjoy "petrichor," with "aglet" a close second.
Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
@TrueLoveEditorial aglet is so good!
Show threadLAHNov 19, 2022
@TrueLoveEditorial @scottbarolo @bookstodon Aglet! So good!
Show threadscott baroloNov 20, 2022
@lah @TrueLoveEditorial haha jinx!
Show threadJeffrey HarlanNov 20, 2022
@TrueLoveEditorial
@scottbarolo @bookstodon always loved this bit from Justice League Unlimited:
Show threadRonsboy67Nov 21, 2022
@TrueLoveEditorial @scottbarolo @bookstodon yay for another petrichor fan!
Show threadRonsboy67Nov 21, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon in view of the pleasure it has given many, it seems apt to call your error serendipitous 🙏😁
Show threadEve NebulaNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo ok so i was going to reply with my favorite word and i was going to type a word that is part comprehensive and part confidence, but i couldn't remember how to spell it so i tried to look it up and guess what, i dreamed that word, its not a word. which would be a hilarious thing to do to this poll.
Show threadEve NebulaNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo ✨️compridence✨️
Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
@evenebula hahhaa love it
Show threadEve NebulaNov 20, 2022
@scottbarolo ok ive decided clandestine is my favorite word
Show threadscott baroloNov 20, 2022
@evenebula are you comprident about that
Show threadEve NebulaNov 20, 2022
@scottbarolo hahaha
Show threadEve NebulaNov 20, 2022
@scottbarolo i love words so much i make them up in my sleep
Show threadcunty Nov 19, 2022
Logarithm
Show threadB HaasNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo Not as complex or fun to say as most of the other suggestions, but hear me out: pig and dog
They’re both common words that have been in the English language a very long time and *we don’t know where they came from*
Show threadB HaasNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo I’m also partial to “queue” - lots of letters for a single syllable
Show threadJonNov 20, 2022

@belehaa @scottbarolo Kinda like phlegm, but nicer.

On the flip side, there's acai - barely enough letters for three syllables.

Show threadDan TyrrellNov 19, 2022
rhythm
Show threadDan TyrrellNov 20, 2022
Pretty good for hangman too
Show threadPeer GyntNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo paraphernalia
Show threadBinneyNov 20, 2022
@scottbarolo I call agnotology (not because I think it's particularly beautiful, it's an ugly thing, but because it gives a name to something that's hard to pin down and important to see)
Show threadCaroline BartmanNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon anaplerosis, fulcrum, petrichor
Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
@Caroline_Bartma @bookstodon 2 minutes to petrichor! Nice
Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
@bookstodon @Caroline_Bartma fulcrum is particularly nice. Thanks for the contributions 😊
Show threadR. PelletierNov 20, 2022
@Caroline_Bartma @scottbarolo @bookstodon Fulcrum is magnificent
Show threadAbolish Police NussbaumNov 20, 2022
@Caroline_Bartma @scottbarolo @bookstodon anaplerosis!! 😍
Show threadAndrew RobinsonNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon
Ululation
Show threadiainjclarkNov 20, 2022
@AndrewR_physics @scottbarolo @bookstodon ululation always makes me think of Martians going "Uuuuu-laaaaaaa!"
Show threadAbolish Police NussbaumNov 20, 2022
@bookstodon @scottbarolo @AndrewR_physics yum
Show threadKjun🌪️Nov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon cattywampus
Show threadA Gay OwlNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon 'gruntled' always makes me smile :)
Show threadquixoteNov 20, 2022

@MagicLesbianLazerOwl @scottbarolo @bookstodon

Gruntled. Also an excellent choice.

Show threadRonsboy67Nov 20, 2022

@quixote @MagicLesbianLazerOwl @scottbarolo @bookstodon

A Plum choice right there👌 Such a hugely prolific author, but even if 'revivifying' that one word had been his ONLY contribution, it would still have made him one of the all time greats

Show threadR. PelletierNov 20, 2022
@quixote @MagicLesbianLazerOwl @scottbarolo @bookstodon Agree - great choice.
Show threadKirsten_B (she / her)Nov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon Can see petrichor was suggested early so will go for foible
Show threadIvanNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon
When I joined Facebook fifteen years ago the first thing I was involved in was a group called The Offical 100 Best Words In The English Language Ever. It was for a short time a beautiful and bonding group. Anyway, lovely to see it again and let’s hope it works the same again. My submission is desuetude.
Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
@ivan Did that facebook group fall into… disuse
Show threadIvanNov 20, 2022
@scottbarolo Despite my efforts, after the final list was published it did fall into … desuetude. It now has six members! I remain so I can find it when the subject arises.
Show threadStephanie JNov 19, 2022

@scottbarolo @bookstodon
persnickety.

sequoia.

Show threadR. PelletierNov 20, 2022
@Slolee @scottbarolo @bookstodon Persnickety!!
Show threadDr. BeccaNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon feels like low hanging fruit but I think defenestration has to be in there
Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
@doc_becca absolutely, only a fool wouldn’t get the low-hanging fruit first
Show threadKatjaNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon Decades still haven't killed my fascination with "exhume": science-adjacent, slightly sinister, and threatening to cross over onto the stodgy side at the same time.
Show threadMeercat ✅ 
Nov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon Serendipity
Show threadSoragni:LabNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon some simple ones that I like: antithetical, frolicsome, diphthong
Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
@soragnilab excellent excellent excellent
Show threadR. PelletierNov 20, 2022
@soragnilab @scottbarolo @bookstodon Diphthong! Magnificent. Any word that can get "phth" horned in right in the middle...
Show threadMatteo CarandiniNov 19, 2022

@scottbarolo @bookstodon

Hitherto
Tousled
Dating

(The latter because it's unique to English afaik)

Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
@MatteoCarandini thanks! What do you mean by unique to English? How is dating more unique to English than hitherto?
Show threadMatteo CarandiniNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo I guess the concept is known worldwide but at least in the other languages I speak, expressing it requires multiple words. For instance, it's two words in French, three in Italian. In English, it's one word.
Show threadscott baroloNov 19, 2022
@MatteoCarandini ah, I see, thanks!
Show threadiainjclarkNov 20, 2022
@MatteoCarandini @scottbarolo @bookstodon I really like "tousled".
Show threadJulie RoffNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon susurrus
Show threadGingerNov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon bamboozled - it sounds as good as it looks!
Show threadLiz Haynes 🐟🔬🧠Nov 19, 2022
@scottbarolo @bookstodon compendium, quarrelsome, posthaste, triturate, mirth, ungulate, akimbo.