# Words you want to use someday



## Tom (Feb 2, 2015)

Hey, just curious. 

What are some words you've never used before in your writing, but hope to use someday? Why haven't you used them before, and why do you want to use them?

The two words I would like to use but haven't yet are _tenebrous _and _eldritch_. Tenebrous means "dark, murky", and eldritch "wierd, eerie, otherworldly". 

My liking of both words lies mostly in how they sound. Tenebrous sounds dark and empty--it has this resonant quality, like the deep, low hum of a bass guitar. Eldritch is a strange word, which reflects its meaning, and its unusual combination of sounds gives it a dissonant quality that I find slightly unsettling.

I've never used either because my writing voice is casual and personal, and those two words would sound extremely strange in any of my characters' narration. Using them could also get me accused of purple prose or thesaurus abuse, but I'm not too concerned about that. I'm planning on starting a high fantasy with a more formal, impersonal tone, so I might be able to fit those two words in if the narration calls for them.


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## Mythopoet (Feb 2, 2015)

Thews. Non-Euclidean.


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## Jabrosky (Feb 2, 2015)

It's a phrase rather than a single word, but I'd like to describe a character with "skin as dark as the river's silty banks". The best-known Egyptian toponym for their own country, "Kemet", is generally interpreted as describing to the Nile floodplains' dark soil since it literally names the color black. It'd work great for a setting with Egyptian influences.


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## Incanus (Feb 2, 2015)

Cool thread!  Half the reason for the existence of my current novella WIP was to find a home for my arcane word-hoard.  Thus, it is a first-person narrative by an arrogant scholar/sorcerer who has a penchant for this sort of thing.  This way, I have a place to use all the weird words, and will be less tempted to use them in more 'normal' stories.  'Tenebrous' and 'eldritch' have already been used, as well as dozens of other off-the-beaten-path words.  I rarely use a thesaurus for this purpose, I just pay attention to cool words.  It's been a lot of fun getting them off my chest.

Interestingly, my fourteen-year-old niece, who has been reading the first-draft installments, hasn't complained about the vocabulary one bit.  Indeed, last time I saw her (at Christmas), she was asking for the next chapter.

Edit:  Oh, yeah.  I choose words by the 'sound' quite a bit as well, hoping for a touch of the 'poetic' in my prose.  Some just don't have the right feel or effect when placed next to each other.


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## Jabrosky (Feb 2, 2015)

Incanus said:


> Cool thread!  Half the reason for the existence of my current novella WIP was to find a home for my arcane word-hoard.  Thus, it is a first-person narrative by an arrogant scholar/sorcerer who has a penchant for this sort of thing.  This way, I have a place to use all the weird words, and will be less tempted to use them in more 'normal' stories.  'Tenebrous' and 'eldritch' have already been used, as well as dozens of other off-the-beaten-path words.  I rarely use a thesaurus for this purpose, I just pay attention to cool words.  It's been a lot of fun getting them off my chest.
> 
> Interestingly, my fourteen-year-old niece, who has been reading the first-draft installments, hasn't complained about the vocabulary one bit.  Indeed, last time I saw her (at Christmas), she was asking for the next chapter.


Given that certain e-Book software comes with in-built dictionaries that let you look up words in mid-read, it could be that complaints about vocabulary abuse will diminish as more readers turn to digital literature. Is your niece reading your writing digitally or on paper?


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## Incanus (Feb 2, 2015)

@ Jabrosky:  I'm not 100% certain.  I'm sending Word-docs, but I don't know if she's printing them out or not.  I guess this means 'not-digital' though.

Thought of a few I haven't used yet:

feckless
peregrination
cynosure
purblind

And of course, the longest one I know, but probably won't use:

antidisestablishmentarianism

And how about this one:

formication--the sensation of insects crawling beneath one's skin.  Probably related to 'formic acid'.  The obvious problem here:  the 'm' might be read as an 'n', changing the meaning quite a bit!  Still, awesome word!


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## Devor (Feb 2, 2015)

There's a word I used to use a word a lot back in the day when I used to DM online.  It was one of those go-to words that helped me get into the vibe and get comfortable, so I used it a lot in the opening paragraphs.

The word is "quietude."

Then one day, like a year after all those games ended, I popped back into the program to say "hi."  And one of the players got so excited and had to tell me, "I saw that word, that word you always use.  Quietude.  It was in a movie!  All this time I thought you had made it up!"

*facepalm*

I've never used it since.


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## Incanus (Feb 2, 2015)

Oh, man, I'm going to end up thinking of more and more things to put in this thread.  Please forgive me, I can't help myself!

Anyway, I think its fun to know some unusual words that are small, like five letters or less.  I've used these:

tor
karst
geas (pronounced:  gaysh)
veld

And, yup, I've used 'quietude', and will use it again gosh-darnit!

One more I have yet to use:  vizard  (you have to admit, that's a cool 'sounding' word.)


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## Devor (Feb 2, 2015)

Incanus said:


> And, yup, I've used 'quietude', and will use it again gosh-darnit!



You're braver than I am.  But I have to admit that I miss it.


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## Tom (Feb 2, 2015)

Incanus said:


> Oh, man, I'm going to end up thinking of more and more things to put in this thread.  Please forgive me, I can't help myself!
> 
> Anyway, I think its fun to know some unusual words that are small, like five letters or less.  I've used these:
> 
> ...



I'm looking for a situation where I can use_ tor _and _geas_. Two very awesome words, with awesome meanings.


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## Jabrosky (Feb 2, 2015)

Incanus said:


> tor
> karst
> geas (pronounced:  gaysh)
> *veld*


"Veld" is the Dutch Afrikaans word for field, but it's most commonly used for subtropical grasslands in South Africa and nearby countries. It could work fine for a setting based on that specific region, but elsewhere its geographically specific connotations might not transfer smoothly to a fantasy world.

Though to be fair, it seems the word "savanna" can connote Africa as well despite its more general definition. I prefer to use it for any tropical grassland, but most people's idea of a savanna is the African variety with all those flat-crowned acacia trees. I'd even go so far as to say that the savanna has become the quintessential African habitat in the public imagination, as you'll find out once you type in "african landscape" in Google image search.


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## Delwyn (Feb 2, 2015)

Corporeal and viscosity - together in the same sentence!


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## Incanus (Feb 3, 2015)

Jabrosky said:


> "Veld" is the Dutch Afrikaans word for field, but it's most commonly used for subtropical grasslands in South Africa and nearby countries. It could work fine for a setting based on that specific region, but elsewhere its geographically specific connotations might not transfer smoothly to a fantasy world.



Actually, my Oxford English Dictionary (2 vol. print copy) gives a general, all-purpose definition, though the etymology is shown to be Dutch Afrikaans.  I Like the OED the best, and stick to its definitions (except those few words that aren't in it!)  I can't remember exactly but I might have used 'highveld', or 'high-veld'.

In the meantime, here's a cool word with a fascinating meaning I haven't used yet, but plan to, as it's part of the upcoming plot:

simulacrum

A good one for writers of fantasy to know, I think.


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## Tom (Feb 3, 2015)

Incanus said:


> In the meantime, here's a cool word with a fascinating meaning I haven't used yet, but plan to, as it's part of the upcoming plot:
> 
> simulacrum
> 
> A good one for writers of fantasy to know, I think.



Nice. That sounds already like it's going to be a good plot. Is it a human simulacrum?

Another word I've never used is _pennoncel_. It's sort of like a pennant or flag. I like how it sounds Medieval.

I also want to work _cairngorm_ into a story. That word is just too expressive and interesting to pass up.


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## Incanus (Feb 3, 2015)

How cool, I've not come across 'cairngorm' before!  It's got character.  'Cairn' is nice all by itself, even.  'Pennoncel' is quite nice too, good one.  There's also 'oriflamme':  haven't used either of these yet myself though.

Yes, the main character in the novella is human, and a sorcerer.  He will create a simulacrum of himself to help get out of a scrape, though I still have to figure out a few details.  This scene will be the penultimate obstacle.  After that, it's on to the finale!  It's a pretty weird story:  This sorcerer is from the fantasy world I've been working on for my future novel(s), but he opened a portal into another dimension--a fantasy world, hidden within my fantasy world!  The story already has a whimsical feel, but I'm toying with the idea of hinting that the first person narrator is 'unreliable' (to be added in a later draft), making the whole venture questionable.  On the other hand, his sorcery designs are built upon by later generations, and he later becomes a semi-important historical figure.  I think I like the idea of making him a little controversial, not fully understood by historians or sorcerers.

Hmmm, what else?  I haven't used the word 'dolmen' yet, but I have used the related words, 'cromlech' and 'menhir'.


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## KC Trae Becker (Feb 3, 2015)

What a fun thread! 

I haven't made a list of words I want to use yet, but I like Incanus's idea of writing a character that uses fancy words to be able to use some of these gems. 

Words that would be fun to use off the top of my head: lugubrious, vicissitude, enigmatic.

I also adore the word eldritch. It sounds so ancient and mysterious.

Thanks, Tom, for starting this thread, you've all given me a new rabbit hole for ideas for stories.


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## Gryphos (Feb 3, 2015)

Eldritch is one of those words where if I'm ever talking to someone in real life and they actually use it, I _will_ punch them in the face. Something about it just screams 'I'm a tosser.'

But that's just in real life, and one day I do hope to use it in my writing, probably when I want to write an utter tosser.


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## Tom (Feb 3, 2015)

Ha, yes, _eldritch _is a very pretentious-sounding word for everyday conversation. However, I actually know someone who talks like that, but he's also endearingly (and unwittingly) awkward, so I'd give him a pass for using it.

I like the sound of the word _gloaming_, an old Scottish word for twilight, but I haven't used it yet. It's one of those words that you'd think would sound harsh and ugly when you say it aloud, but it comes out surprisingly soft and full. (At least, in my accent it does.)


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## Incanus (Feb 3, 2015)

Good one Gryphos!  That's amusing.  I'm not sure I've ever heard 'eldritch' come up in verbal conversations before, it seems to be a word for literature only.  Should someone utter it in front of me, I'm liable to smile and shake their hand.  One person's 'tosser' is another's buddy.  It's safe to say that I'd never punch anyone who hasn't punched me first.

I haven't a shred of doubt that no small segment of the population would consider my writing pretentious, ridiculous, terrible, wordy, weird, purple, etc.

I'm trying to think of a reason why I should care about any of this, but I'm not coming up with anything.

There's a common writing 'rule':  use simple language.  I don't plan on bending this rule, I plan on breaking it right in half and tossing the remains over my shoulder without another thought.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you're not at least bending one or two of the 'rules', then you're probably not writing anything interesting, and likely being formulaic.

So, I've used:  vicissitude, enigmatic, gloaming (I'm pretty sure that one is in the piece I have in the Showcase now), not sure about lugubrious--I might have used it; I like that one.


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## Velka (Feb 3, 2015)

Penumbra
Aphelion
Susurrous
Caesura
Mellifluous
Vatic
Doyen
Insouciance


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## BronzeOracle (Feb 3, 2015)

Haha I used eldritch in the second chapter of my story because it was describing something weird, eerie, otherworldly - but I guess it does have its baggage.  As its in writing I'm not sure if I get punched or a handshake?  I feel cheated somehow. 

I tried to use _conflagrant _in a sentence but it jarred my beta reader.  But I also used _crepuscular _and it slid under their radar - hah!  Got that one reading the wonderful Anne McCaffrey.


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## Incanus (Feb 3, 2015)

I see 'conflagration' all the time, but I don't recall 'conflagrant'.  Very cool.  And 'crepuscular'!  I'd forgotten about that one.  Oh yeah, there's a place for that one in my novella somewhere...

I'd shake your hand, BronzeOracle, but you're like 200 feet taller than me--


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## Shreddies (Feb 3, 2015)

Velka said:


> Susurrous



I've loved that word ever since I read Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett.

There are so many great words I want to use! Like:

Recidivism
Borborygmus (rumbling of the stomach)
Antecubital Space (front of the elbow)
Salubrious
Machismo
Acme  (It's a real word!)
Flibbertigibbet
Pandiculation
Pulchritudinous
Effluvium
Confabulation (the psychiatric term, not chatting)
Perfidious
Caliginous

And finally Kerfuffle, Confusticate and Discombobulate!


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## KC Trae Becker (Feb 4, 2015)

Tom Nimenai said:


> I like the sound of the word _gloaming_, an old Scottish word for twilight, but I haven't used it yet. It's one of those words that you'd think would sound harsh and ugly when you say it aloud, but it comes out surprisingly soft and full. (At least, in my accent it does.)



The title of the first book of five in the series I'm working on is: Into the Gloaming. I've had a few critique partners balk at it, but they were roundly rebuffed by the others present. 

Should I take that as a warning sign or laugh it off? Where does one draw the line on wonderful words? Oh the delightful quandaries of writing!


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## CupofJoe (Feb 4, 2015)

Shreddies said:


> Pulchritudinous


One of my all time favourite words...
And for my tastes...
Cyclopean 
Rusticate


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## Incanus (Feb 4, 2015)

Nice lists by Velka and Shreddies.

Of these, I've already used:

penumbra
susurrus (spelled differently in england, I guess)
salubrious
pulchritude (this word is just too much!)

Haven't busted out these ones yet:

mellifluous
insouciance
effluvium (but I did use effulgence)

Haven't seen borborygmus before, but I was thinking of using peristalsis (probably 'reverse peristalsis', for describing someone vomiting).  And while I love 'confusticate', I think this is strictly a 'Bilbo-ism'.

This is great!  My ridiculous character thanks Tom for starting this thread and providing him with yet even more odd words that might not have occured to him otherwise. (!?!)


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## Gryphos (Feb 4, 2015)

Probably the fanciest word I've ever used in my writing (and incidentally my favourite word) is _skulduggery_. I just love the way it sounds. If someone says that to me in real life I definitely won't punch them in the face.


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## Shreddies (Feb 4, 2015)

CupofJoe said:


> Rusticate



Wow, I haven't heard that one in a long time. 



Incanus said:


> Haven't seen borborygmus before, but I was thinking of using peristalsis (probably 'reverse peristalsis', for describing someone vomiting).



Have you used Eruct yet? (Or eructation, eructative) I know it's mostly used for belching just gas (and sometimes a little stomach acid), but it also means to issue out violently, like debris from a volcano. And I _have_ heard it used for vomiting violently.



Incanus said:


> And while I love 'confusticate', I think this is strictly a 'Bilbo-ism'.



True. You could try confubuscate or conflabberate instead.


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## Tom (Feb 4, 2015)

I use words of Old English origin more often than those of French and Latin origin, so some of these words you guys are listing would take a great leap of faith for me to use.  

I'd like to use _susurrus_. It's one of those words that perfectly describes its meaning through sound--that's called onomatopoeia, right? _Susurrus_ always reminds me of the sound of snow falling on a quiet night--sort of a hissing, whispering sound.


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## Penpilot (Feb 4, 2015)

Just came across this amusing article on cracked.com, containing a bunch of words that would be funny to use. Be warned most of the words are a bit colorful, so read at your own peril.  

9 Foreign Terms More Awful Than Any English Profanity | Cracked.com


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## fshamas (Feb 6, 2015)

I would like to start a similar thread. Quotes you would like to us. They are all original and my count is already past 500 and I have deleted many unneccesary ones. I would like to share but I am a bit selfish. Somehow I still feel there might be a good novel in me. I have been only one year into writing and I have written like one complete novel


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## Surad (Feb 6, 2015)

I want to create an entire library of quasi-military terms and slang based on real military terms. I just don't know where to start.


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## Incanus (Feb 6, 2015)

Well, I can cross 'lugubrious' off the list.

And also, I summoned up my simulacrum last night.  It was about the last thing I did, so he's standing there ready to take action.

One good thing about stopping your writing session right in the middle of things:  I positively can't wait to get back to it tonight.  Nothing short of a nuclear bomb being dropped where I live could prevent me from engaging in my next session.


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## psychotick (Feb 9, 2015)

Hi,

I hate to tell you guys this but one of the characters I use in Neverwinter Nights 2 is an Eldritch Knight. Quite frankly if you play the game don't use them. They're a weak build.

One of the words I do use and love is "arse". I just can't stand the American "ass". Each time I see it I imagine a mutant donkey, and then I think about the writer - what a piker! Too afraid to use the right word.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Tom (Feb 10, 2015)

psychotick said:


> Hi,
> 
> I hate to tell you guys this but one of the characters I use in Neverwinter Nights 2 is an Eldritch Knight. Quite frankly if you play the game don't use them. They're a weak build.
> 
> ...



Oh dear. I use "ass" quite a bit. But here in America, it's the norm, and the only people who say "arse" are either transplants from across the pond, writers who think it sounds better, Doctor Who fans (and even then, only with other Whovians), or everyday idiots who think they're being YooNeek with their profanity.


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## Incanus (Feb 10, 2015)

psychotick said:


> I hate to tell you guys this but one of the characters I use in Neverwinter Nights 2 is an Eldritch Knight. Quite frankly if you play the game don't use them. They're a weak build.



Interesing, but I'm unclear as to what a RPG character build has to do with using an old word in a fantasy story.  The word is around 500 years old, the game is less than a decade old.

Arse is pretty cool, though.  My writing tends to be English-y, so this would fit.


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## Shreddies (Feb 10, 2015)

Well, I'm Canadian and I agree with arses over asses. *shrug*

Mind you, I never _use_ arse, but I find ass to be too soft sounding to sting much, while arse has a nice . . . er, shape? A nice shape to the sound.

And I had always assumed eldritch was a common word in fantasy settings. Is it really that uncommon?


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## Devor (Feb 10, 2015)

Some of you aren't going to like this, but I've always taken "arse" to be one of those words said by little old New England ladies too shy and polite to say "ass."


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## Tom (Feb 10, 2015)

Shreddies said:


> Well, I'm Canadian and I agree with arses over asses. *shrug*
> 
> Mind you, I never _use_ arse, but I find ass to be too soft sounding to sting much, while arse has a nice . . . er, shape? A nice shape to the sound.



To me, "ass" sounds harsher than "arse". The R+S combination sounds soft in my Great Lakes Cities accent; it hardly has the strength of a serious insult. It probably sounds harder to British speakers, since their accent is non-rhotic. However, in a heavily rhotic accent like mine, it loses its shock value. "Ass" has a bite to it.


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## Laurence (Feb 10, 2015)

I live in London; most people I've met would only usually say 'arse' coupled with the word 'hole'.


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## Tom (Feb 10, 2015)

Laurence said:


> I live in London; most people I've met would only usually say 'arse' coupled with the word 'hole'.



So it's not very common? Huh. Over here, its American counterpart is the one of the most commonly used expletives. I often hear it upwards of twenty times a day. 

Do you think "arse" has the same impact as "ass"?


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## KC Trae Becker (Feb 10, 2015)

I have a rough, middle aged female use arse instead of ass  to try to clean up her language for the kids and church for an American audience.


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## Laurence (Feb 10, 2015)

Tom Nimenai said:


> So it's not very common? Huh. Over here, its American counterpart is the one of the most commonly used expletives. I often hear it upwards of twenty times a day.
> 
> Do you think "arse" has the same impact as "ass"?



I think where I'm from, 'dick' has the equivalent impact of 'ass'. Can't remember what I would've said under the age of, say, 10!


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## Velka (Feb 10, 2015)

Here's a very interesting article on 10 different kinds of swear words and their history. 

10 Curse Words You Don't Know | Words You Don't Know


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## Tom (Feb 10, 2015)

Laurence said:


> I think where I'm from, 'dick' has the equivalent impact of 'ass'. Can't remember what I would've said under the age of, say, 10!



Interesting. Over here, "dick" seems to have a greater impact than "ass". It's used more often as a direct, personal insult, and definitely has a more confrontational feel, whereas "ass" is used to refer to stuff that is just bad or a pain in general. 

If I call someone an ass, I might be joking or mildly irritated, but usually I'd say dick or a-hole is reserved for when I'm truly angry.

(How'd we get talking about expletives, anyway?)


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## Trick (Feb 11, 2015)

I'm sure everyone noticed that the comparison between 'dick' and 'ass' was just brought up... Front or back, which is worse? Sometimes, I think that English expletives are the least creative on the planet.


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## Velka (Feb 11, 2015)

Trick said:


> I'm sure everyone noticed that the comparison between 'dick' and 'ass' was just brought up... Front or back, which is worse? Sometimes, I think that English expletives are the least creative on the planet.



Shall we bring in the middle-ground then? Bollocks. Discuss.


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## Devor (Feb 11, 2015)

Velka said:


> Shall we bring in the middle-ground then? Bollocks. Discuss.



Bollocks isn't really a thing in the US.


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## Svrtnsse (Feb 11, 2015)

Finally I have a contribution to this thread.
A friend of mine just used the word "crotchfruit" to refer to other people's kids. I'd like to fit that into a story at some point.


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## Tom (Feb 11, 2015)

I just saw the word "riven". I don't think I've used that one yet. I like the sound of it.


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## Shreddies (Feb 11, 2015)

Another nice word is horripilation.


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## Laurence (Feb 13, 2015)

^Never heard of that one; I guess I never questioned the fact that goosebumps obviously isn't a technical term.

Incipient/Incipience are words I'm surprised aren't used more often.


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