Before I celebrated my seventeenth birthday I was making my living with words; writing them, reading them aloud, and taking them apart in an attempt to learn a deeper or bigger truth. How well did I do with any of that?
Well. You're reading this so you do the math.
Over a lifetime (so far) with words of various lengths, meanings, and languages, I'm not sure I can describe what if anything I've learned about them. In essence, I'm at a loss for words(?)
I'm not sure if English has the most words of any (other) language but I suspect if it doesn't, it's pretty close to the top since it seems to borrow from just about everyone and we're not troubled at all about the larceny.
According to Merriam-Webster who somehow has become a sort of gatekeeper for English, we now have an additional 370 words more than we had last year. (Quibble: Yeet is a question in many parts of my home state usually followed by a plate full of food).
Perhaps because of my advanced years, I'm drawn to and nostalgic for the classics and maybe, what we used to call in rock radio, the deep cuts. Especially when I'm angry at someone. It's nice to be able to reach for a more ancient and somehow more caustic pejorative, like one from this list.
That may be why it was suggested I make my words soft and sweet so that they're easier to swallow.
-bill kenny
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