epicaricacy
n. taking pleasure in others’ misfortune
Language
Aptronyms
A aptronym is a name that is aptly suited to its owner’s occupation. Examples:
- Sally Ride, astronaut
- William Wordsworth, poet
- Margaret Court and Anna Smashnova, tennis players
- John Tory, leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party
- Learned Hand, judge
- Larry Speakes, Ronald Reagan’s press secretary
- Chuck Long and Willie Thrower, NFL quarterbacks
And Joe Strummer, guitarist for The Clash.
In a Word
cacozelia
n. the use of rare or foreign words to appear learned
In a Word
tegestologist
n. a collector of beer mats
Shibboleth
Isaac Asimov proposed a simple way to distinguish chemists from non-chemists: Ask them to read aloud the word unionized.
Non-chemists will pronounce it “union-ized”, he said — and chemists will pronounce it “un-ionized.”
In a Word
discalced
adj. without shoes
Excuse Me?
The Czech sentence Strč prst skrz krk (“stick finger through throat”) has no vowels — which makes it a notoriously difficult tongue-twister.
It’s so difficult, in fact, that Czechs challenge each other to say it — as a test for sobriety.
In a Word
ucalegon
n. a neighbor whose house is on fire
Limerick
There was a young lady named Susie
Whose surname said she was a floozie.
Cathouse was the name;
It caused her such shame
She chose to pronounce it Cathouse.
In a Word
jerque
v. to search for smuggled goods