# What's your favorite word, and why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 3, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683 "2013-04-03T00:28:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/21 "2013-04-03T13:29:11Z")
Brouhaha. (So I loved finding out there’s a Doper named Brujaja.) ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/22 "2013-04-03T13:29:56Z")
Vicissitudes. I once tried to put it into a scientific report, but was overruled. I learned the word on an episode of _ALF_, when he joints a monastery and tells the Tanners that he wants to contemplate the vicissitudes of life. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/23 "2013-04-03T13:33:51Z")
Defenestration. So often, I want to do this to certain people, and only restrain myself by saying the word over and over in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/24 "2013-04-03T13:34:51Z")
Pulpo. Spanish noun for _Octopus_ ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/25 "2013-04-03T13:49:53Z")
_[Quincunx](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincunx)_. Both because it has a Q and an X in it, and also because it is the word used to describe the ‘five-spot’ pattern we all recognize from dice. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/26 "2013-04-03T14:45:03Z")
“Free” has to be at the top of my list, particularly when followed by the word “beer.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/27 "2013-04-03T14:50:38Z")
[Discombobulate](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discombobulate). Because it’s fun to witness, and even more fun sometimes to instigate. ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/28 "2013-04-03T14:58:08Z")
Plethora. Who doesn’t like a plethora of just about anything. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/29 "2013-04-03T15:35:11Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Mellifluous. Because it sounds so nice. Well played, **gigi**. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/30 "2013-04-03T15:44:48Z")
Absquatulate. It’s a pseudo-Latinate word meaning to leave, probably made up for humorous purposes a hundred years ago. I discovered it as a crossword clue in the past tense, absquatulated, and the answer to the clue was left. Do you encounter people who use “What’s the good word?” as a greeting? I tell them absquatulate. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/31 "2013-04-03T15:45:39Z")
Bird. It’s _the_ word, after all. Seriously, though, callipygian. The classiest way ever to tell someone they’ve got a nice ass. (Also fond of steatopygian, the classiest way ever to tell someone they’ve got a fat ass. But of course, as Sir Mix-a-Lot would point out, for at least some folks, steatopygian and callipygian are not mutually exclusive…) ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/32 "2013-04-03T15:46:11Z")
My favorite word is ‘why’, because much of what I do is in answer to that question. And, I like to know why things happen. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/33 "2013-04-03T15:46:32Z")
Yes ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/34 "2013-04-03T15:46:41Z")
Persnickety. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/35 "2013-04-03T16:14:58Z")
If I had to pick a second favorite word, I’d go with [heterological](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grelling%E2%80%93Nelson_paradox). ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/36 "2013-04-03T16:18:08Z")
Bodacious: a blend of Bold and Audacious and so very effective in describing something outrageously awesome. Often linked with ta-tas. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/37 "2013-04-03T16:34:58Z")
I’m partial to _corpulent_ and _mendacious._ They allow you to call someone a _ **big fat liar** _ with both elegance and _panache._🆒 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/38 "2013-04-03T16:40:42Z")
Fallopian. It’s fun to say. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/39 "2013-04-03T16:44:42Z")
> [@Ms.Pumpkin](#): > > I came in to say “serendipitous”! > > Also, “twitterpated” and “schadenfreude” “Schadenfreude” is what I came in to mention. Not only is it fun to say, it’s a great concept. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683/40 "2013-04-03T16:48:15Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Defenestration. Up until about 15 years ago, I didn’t even know that was a word. But I got the meaning almost immediately from the context of the conversation. My friends were wondering how you’d fenestrate someone. A few years later I found out. Again, from context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-word-and-why/654683.md?page=3)