Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#128172 05/03/04 06:10 PM
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 67
G
journeyman
OP Offline
journeyman
G
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 67
In your opinion, what are the ten most useful words to know? Please don't include things like "a" or "the", I'm talking words that can enhance your conversation. Also, try to avoid words that are only used in your job/field (but you can use job-related words that have migrated to common usage if you so desire).

As for me...
10. undoubtedly
9. luminescent
8. intuitive
7. serendipitous
6. superiority
5. optician
EDIT: After nancyk's post, I am changing this one to:
5. retrospect
4. blamelessness
3. sundry
2. intelligence
1. (forgive me) please

Feel free to disagree...and keep in mind, what comes in handy one day may not be so helpful the next.


#128173 05/03/04 09:46 PM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Hmmm, what an intersting question. Let me think on it.


#128174 05/03/04 11:07 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
great question! ican only think of a few right now, I'll have to add more later.

thank you
yes
no
please
why not?
welcome



formerly known as etaoin...
#128175 05/04/04 11:56 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
R
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
R
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
I've been thinking about this, on and off, since I first saw the post at about 10 pm BST last night.

eta's right, It IS an interesting question, and not one to be answered lightly.
My main problem with it is that, as gonoldothrond has rightly said, my list of words is very context-oriented. Some lists would be totally different from others - the pub list would include words from "Tahnk you, I'll have another pint" whereas my UNi list would be headed by "However" and "It's not my period" (the trusty standby for all historians!)


#128176 05/04/04 12:14 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
10. Reply:
9: These
8. words
7. I
6. need
5. now
4. to
3. acknowledge
2. your
1. question


#128177 05/04/04 04:44 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
N
addict
Offline
addict
N
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
I wouldn't know where to begin, but I have a question for you, gonoldothrond: optician is one of the 10 *most useful words you know? Why, please?


#128178 05/04/04 05:21 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
yeah, I couldn't quite see that one, either, nancy...



formerly known as etaoin...
#128179 05/04/04 05:37 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
bavardage, fecklessness, floccification, naff, quisquilious, recrementious, shmata, straminious, trumpery, vermiform..

oh, wait.. you said "useful"!
never mind.


#128180 05/04/04 05:42 PM
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 67
G
journeyman
OP Offline
journeyman
G
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 67
In retrospect (there's a good one), optician may not be that useful after all. I think the reason I originally listed it was because I believe that knowing what to call something can greatly increase your (apparent) intelligence...that is, if you can say optician as opposed to eye doctor or "that doctor that gives you glasses or contacts". Then again, how often does that really come up? Thanks for pointing that out.

oh, and to tsuwn...they may not be useful, but those are great words!


#128181 05/07/04 07:46 PM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Put all the money in the sack. Small unmarked bills.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. Yep. Ten words.



TEd
#128182 05/07/04 07:51 PM
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
>if you can say optician as opposed to eye doctor or "that doctor that gives you glasses or contacts".

Having a very close friend who is an optician, I can say with confidence that, at least in Zild, the UK and Oz, an optician is NOT a doctor, of any sort. In these countries, an optician is the eye equivalent of a pharmacist, the person who fills a prescription written by a optometrist or an opthalmologist. Of the three, only an opthalmologist is an M.D. Here in Zild there is an effort being made to change the law to allow opticians to write prescriptions as well as merely dispensing them.


#128183 05/08/04 10:56 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Forgive ME, gonoldothrond, but I could cheerfully strangle you at the moment for making me choose so few among so many! However, I shall at least begin. Conversation-enhancing, hmm? O-kay...

you
think
feel
delighted
happy
really (can have a question mark after it)
specific
understandable (-bly)
enjoy
significant





#128184 05/09/04 01:30 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Aloha
Love
Together
Son (I have two boys)
Granddaughter
Etcetera
Wriggle room
SNAFU (situation normal - all fouled up)
Grateful
Beautiful
Reasonable
Summery
Wherewithall
Think
Swimmingly
Wonderful
Oh, you got me started ... now I'll be conscious of words I use all day! Like a song you can't get out of your head.
Welcome. Quite an auspicious start.


#128185 05/10/04 01:04 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
Talking of enhancing my conversation, I think it's good to remember that conversation requires at least two people, and therefore, "Yes", and silence, are by far the most useful contributions overall.


#128186 05/13/04 02:41 PM
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 122
R
rav Offline
member
Offline
member
R
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 122
Put all the money in the sack. Small unmarked bills.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. Yep. Ten words.






Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 676 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5