Tag Archive | writing task
The 100 Funniest Words in English
| Abibliophobia | The fear of running out of reading material. |
| Absquatulate | To leave or abscond with something. |
| Allegator | Some who alleges. |
| Anencephalous | Lacking a brain. |
| Argle-bargle | A loud row or quarrel. |
| Batrachomyomachy | Making a mountain out of a molehill. |
| Billingsgate | Loud, raucous profanity. |
| Bloviate | To speak pompously or brag. |
| Blunderbuss | A gun with a flared muzzle or disorganized activity. |
| Borborygm | A rumbling of the stomach. |
| Boustrophedon | A back and forth pattern. |
| Bowyang | A strap that holds the pants legs in place. |
| Brouhaha | An uproar. |
| Bumbershoot | An umbrella. |
| Callipygian | Having an attractive rear end or nice buns. |
| Canoodle | To hug and kiss. |
| Cantankerous | Testy, grumpy. |
| Catercornered | Diagonal(ly). |
| Cockalorum | A small, haughty man. |
| Cockamamie | Absurd, outlandish. |
| Codswallop | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Collop | A slice of meat or fold of flab. |
| Collywobbles | Butterflies in the stomach. |
| Comeuppance | Just reward, just deserts. |
| Crapulence | Discomfort from eating or drinking too much. |
| Crudivore | An eater of raw food. |
| Discombobulate | To confuse. |
| Donnybrook | An melee, a riot. |
| Doozy | Something really great. |
| Dudgeon | A bad mood, a huff. |
| Ecdysiast | An exotic dancer, a stripper. |
| Eructation | A burp, belch. |
| Fard | Face-paint, makeup. |
| Fartlek | An athletic training regime. |
| Fatuous | Unconsciously foolish. |
| Filibuster | Refusal to give up the floor in a debate to prevent a vote. |
| Firkin | A quarter barrel or small cask. |
| Flibbertigibbet | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Flummox | To exasperate. |
| Folderol | Nonsense. |
| Formication | The sense of ants crawling on your skin. |
| Fuddy-duddy | An old-fashioned, mild-mannered person. |
| Furbelow | A fringe or ruffle. |
| Furphy | A portable water-container. |
| Gaberlunzie | A wandering beggar. |
| Gardyloo! | A warning shouted before throwing water from above. |
| Gastromancy | Telling fortune from the rumblings of the stomach. |
| Gazump | To buy something already promised to someone else. |
| Gobbledygook | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Gobemouche | A highly gullible person. |
| Godwottery | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Gongoozle | To stare at, kibitz. |
| Gonzo | Far-out journalism. |
| Goombah | An older friend who protects you. |
| Hemidemisemiquaver | A musical timing of 1/64. |
| Hobbledehoy | An awkward or ill-mannered young boy. |
| Hocus-pocus | Deceitful sleight of hand. |
| Hoosegow | A jail or prison. |
| Hootenanny | A country or folk music get-together. |
| Jackanapes | A rapscallion, hooligan. |
| Kerfuffle | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Klutz | An awkward, stupid person. |
| La-di-da | An interjection indicating that something is pretentious. |
| Lagopodous | Like a rabbit’s foot. |
| Lickety-split | As fast as possible. |
| Lickspittle | A servile person, a toady. |
| Logorrhea | Loquaciousness, talkativeness. |
| Lollygag | To move slowly, fall behind. |
| Malarkey | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Maverick | A loner, someone outside the box. |
| Mollycoddle | To treat too leniently. |
| Mugwump | An independent politician who does not follow any party. |
| Mumpsimus | An outdated and unreasonable position on an issue. |
| Namby-pamby | Weak, with no backbone. |
| Nincompoop | A foolish person. |
| Oocephalus | An egghead. |
| Ornery | Mean, nasty, grumpy. |
| Pandiculation | A full body stretch. |
| Panjandrum | Someone who thinks himself high and mighty. |
| Pettifogger | A person who tries to befuddle others with his speech. |
| Pratfall | A fall on one’s rear. |
| Quean | A disreputable woman. |
| Rambunctious | Aggressive, hard to control. |
| Ranivorous | Frog-eating |
| Rigmarole | Nonsense, unnecessary complexity. |
| Shenanigan | A prank, mischief. |
| Sialoquent | Spitting while speaking. |
| Skedaddle | To hurry somewhere. |
| Skullduggery | No good, underhanded dealing. |
| Slangwhanger | A loud abusive speaker or obnoxious writer. |
| Smellfungus | A perpetual pessimist. |
| Snickersnee | A long knife. |
| Snollygoster | A person who can’t be trusted. |
| Snool | A servile person. |
| Tatterdemalion | A child in rags. |
| Troglodyte | Someone or something that lives in a cave. |
| Turdiform | Having the form of a lark. |
| Unremacadamized | Having not been repaved with macadam. |
| Vomitory | An exit or outlet. |
| Wabbit | Exhausted, tired, worn out. |
| Widdershins | In a contrary or counterclockwise direction. |
| Yahoo | A rube, a country bumpkin. |
| @ | The “at” sign. |
Another 10 Words That You’ve Probably Been Misusing
There are so many words in the English language that it’s not surprising that the definitions for some of them have gotten mixed up over the years. It’s possible that you’ve gone your entire life without realizing your mistakes. I’m sure people have noticed. How long have you been using that word incorrectly, you wonder? How many angry Facebook rants have you ruined with your improper grammar? While I can’t give you an answer to those questions, I can at least provide you with a list of other tricky words so that you may never have to suffer from this embarrassment ever again:
1. Travesty
What you may think it means: a tragedy, an unfortunate event
What it actually means: a mockery; a parody
This one, I’ll admit, is my own personal error. For the longest time, I equated travesty with tragedy, mostly because in passing, they sound like the same word. It’s stupid, I know, but if you knew how many times I confused fetal position with beetle position, you wouldn’t be laughing. It’s a serious problem.
2. Ironic
AWARDS
Just English 