# Most underused words these days **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 11, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484 "2007-01-11T01:08:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/41 "2007-01-13T03:14:51Z")
[QUOTE=According to Pliny] German-American. Also British-American. And okay French-American. [/QUOTE] I believe Anglo- and Franco- used to be pretty common, at least until the former came to mean anyone who doesn’t speak Spanish, and the latter was besmirched by associations with a Spanish dictator and a sugared orange pasta product. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/42 "2007-01-13T03:37:28Z")
**Groovy**. Ya just don’t hear Groovy enough these days. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/43 "2007-01-13T04:17:41Z")
**Nincompoop.** When I heard Jack Nicholson say it in _About Schmidt_ several years ago, it stopped me cold. Especially the way he says it: “_My daughter married a ninnn-commm-poop._” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/44 "2007-01-13T04:32:13Z")
On _these_ boards? “I don’t know.” ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/45 "2007-01-13T04:57:34Z")
Perhaps. Tertiary. Doncha just love words? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/46 "2007-01-13T10:41:16Z")
You **whippersnappers** ought to **kowtow** to your **elders**. If not, show some **gumption** and get off your **arse** and **partake** in political **discourse**. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/47 "2007-01-13T11:02:02Z")
**Pillock** is a favourite of mine that rarely gets much airtime these days. **Confound, Accursed, Merrily,** and **Deft** are others that one doesn’t often hear in the course of casual conversation, either… ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/48 "2007-01-13T11:17:10Z")
Conflagration. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/49 "2007-01-13T12:03:41Z")
[QUOTE=Green Bean] “Heel” and “drip” are underused. I mean, we use them all the time, as in the heel of a shoe and a dripping faucet. But we don’t use them enough to describe people. From [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com): Heel: a contemptibly dishonorable or irresponsible person Drip: unattractive, boring, or colorless person [/QUOTE] These are right up there with “dolt”: a dull, stupid person; blockhead. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/50 "2007-01-13T14:04:06Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I have a few words I seek to revive: -Blatherskite -mandragon -plug-ugly -forsooth -smite [/QUOTE] You’ll be happy to know I use both blatherskite and smite. Both are very useful in the villainy business. Forsooth I mostly abjure, though, and mandragons are not to be trusted. ---
**Author:** ![e-bow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@e-bow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/e-bow)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/51 "2007-01-13T14:08:04Z")
leaf ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/52 "2007-01-13T14:41:26Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] You **whippersnappers** ought to **kowtow** to your **elders**. If not, show some **gumption** and get off your **arse** and **partake** in political **discourse**. [/QUOTE] You clearly haven’t been paying much attention to my posts. “Arse” makes regular daily appearances. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484/53 "2007-01-14T03:03:19Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] You clearly haven’t been paying much attention to my posts. “Arse” makes regular daily appearances. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Oh, and here I thought you were just a New Yorker who didn’t know how to pronounce “ours”…as in, “Yo, dem beers are arse.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-underused-words-these-days/387484.md?page=2)