# What words do you never use? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 4, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997 "2011-12-04T00:44:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/41 "2011-12-05T05:06:03Z")
**Didactic** and **seminal** , found in criticism of all kinds but never spoken in real life. I’ve never hear anyone say the word **sanguine** either. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/42 "2011-12-05T05:18:17Z")
Oh, just the usual stuff - Promethean, cock, pusillanimous, fart ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/43 "2011-12-05T06:02:46Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > **Didactic** and **seminal** , found in criticism of all kinds but never spoken in real life. > > I’ve never hear anyone say the word **sanguine** either. While not exactly _common_, I find _didactic_ and _seminal_ used often enough. For example, a band or artist’s “seminal album/work.” I’ll give you _sanguine_, though. That one I very very rarely come across in conversation. But I have heard it. As far as words I’ve never spoken aloud, I think “za” may fit the bill, although I may have used it in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Pretty damned sure I’ve never said “irregardless,” although I accept it as a word. ---
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/44 "2011-12-05T07:31:20Z")
“No thank you, I don’t want another drink.” Oh, I use all the **words** , I just never string them together. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/45 "2011-12-05T21:32:13Z")
Antiquing? _pow_ ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/46 "2011-12-05T21:33:09Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > As far as words I’ve never spoken aloud, I think “za” may fit the bill, although I may have used it in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Pretty damned sure I’ve never said “irregardless,” although I accept it as a word. “Za” meaning pizza? That strikes me as one of those words which you see listed in newspaper items about new slang terms but which is not actually a word that people use, or at least has no real viability in the lexicon. “Rents” meaning parents is another one like that; it’s hard to believe very many people use “rents” that way. ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/47 "2011-12-05T21:58:52Z")
I have never said aloud or typed out the common word for flatulence. I find it abhorrent. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/48 "2011-12-05T22:26:22Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > “Za” meaning pizza? That strikes me as one of those words which you see listed in newspaper items about new slang terms but which is not actually a word that people use, or at least has no real viability in the lexicon. “Rents” meaning parents is another one like that; it’s hard to believe very many people use “rents” that way. “Rents” was common in my peer group in college circa 1993-1998. I don’t know whether I used it or not, but I certainly heard it used unironically with regularity. “Za” dates back a while, too. [Etymonline.com has it from 1968.](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=za&searchmode=none) I’ve certainly heard it in the early-to-mid 90s, as well. ---
**Author:** ![HardlySanguine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HardlySanguine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HardlySanguine)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/49 "2011-12-05T22:42:14Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > I’ve never hear anyone say the word **sanguine** either. Nobody in real life is actually cheerful. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/50 "2011-12-05T23:06:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > “Rents” was common in my peer group in college circa 1993-1998. I don’t know whether I used it or not, but I certainly heard it used unironically with regularity. “Za” dates back a while, too. [Etymonline.com has it from 1968.](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=za&searchmode=none) I’ve certainly heard it in the early-to-mid 90s, as well. I remember first seeing “za” in 1980, in the Official Preppy Handbook. I think “rents” was there too but I don’t remember for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/51 "2011-12-06T00:01:27Z")
Loaned. I was taught that the noun is ‘loan’ and the verb is ‘lend’. And the distinction is maintained rigorously where I work. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/52 "2011-12-06T01:13:43Z")
“phlegm” is a word that I try my very best not to use. I find another way to get the meaning across. The word itself is physically upsetting to me and makes me gag. Bleah. ---
**Author:** ![ASanders](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asanders/32/3367_2.png) [@ASanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASanders)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/53 "2011-12-22T13:09:55Z")
> [@ASanders](#): > > I know there was one I read recently that made me think, “huh, no one ever SAYS that but I see it in print all the time” and now, of course, I can’t remember what it was. CLAMBERED! As in a version of “climbed.” Does anyone actually SAY that? (Wow, am I glad that finally came to me. It was driving me nuts!) ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/54 "2011-12-22T21:22:06Z")
I try to use as many words as possible, but just can’t bring myself to say “circumambulate”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/55 "2011-12-22T21:42:03Z")
I never use the word stocky because I can’t wrap my head around what it means. A stocky person is a thick person, but whenever I hear the word I always imagine the stalk of a plant, which is the skinniest part of a plan, and so I imagine the word to mean “a very skinny person.” ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/56 "2011-12-23T05:23:44Z")
Methinks. It makes me think of Oscar Wilde during a really weird night. And man, he must have had some really weird nights. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/57 "2011-12-23T05:28:47Z")
If I told you, that means I’d be using them. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/58 "2011-12-23T05:31:14Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Cacophony. I would never use it. Have you ever looked at the changing leaves in Autumn? They’re a cacophony of color, and pleasantly so, I think. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997/59 "2011-12-23T23:43:53Z")
Darn. I ran across one of those words today and thought of this thread. Now that I am home and able to post, can I think of it? Of course not, I never use it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-never-use/604997.md?page=2)