# Words that are fun to say **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 25, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997 "2004-09-25T03:33:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/61 "2004-09-26T00:54:10Z")
My new favorite phrase is **“magnanimous as Agamemnon”** – although one has very few chances to say this unless one is playing Fluellen in _Henry V._ 😉 (Speaking of fun phrases to say that occur in _Henry V,_ “Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester” is also fun to say. Actually, most English place names are, now that I think of it…) Others… **medulla oblongata plume-plucked squib Lollardy eschatology revelry quibble lascivious epithalamium salubrious particularities fascicles** Oh, and the phrase **“the multitudinous seas incarnadine.”** Mmmmmm, Shakespeare… ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/62 "2004-09-26T00:55:36Z")
I’ve always had a soft spot for the word Mongolia, but you have to yodel it, like this: **MON** \*go-------------------------------------------------------\*lia----- ---
**Author:** ![SpectBrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@SpectBrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpectBrain)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/63 "2004-09-26T00:58:20Z")
I’ll drink to ‘zymurgy’ ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/64 "2004-09-26T01:05:45Z")
Sagacity - the complement that sounds like an insult! ---
**Author:** ![Spudo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Spudo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spudo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/65 "2004-09-26T01:07:57Z")
Box and weasel. Mostly weasel though, especially if I think of a weasel doing something as I say the word. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/66 "2004-09-26T01:37:52Z")
flounce serendipity razzmatazz titillate ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/67 "2004-09-26T02:33:18Z")
Lately my favourite word has been _crepuscular_. No idea why. And I’ve always been astonished that the English language can contain words that sound as **different** from each other as _sleep_ and _clock_. I mean, think about it. _Sleep_ is this long, drawn out sound, soft, with a little sibilance at the start. And _clock_ is this short, abrupt little sound, hard all the way through, practically. ---
**Author:** ![bashere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bashere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bashere)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/68 "2004-09-26T02:34:59Z")
> [@Katisha](#): > > My new favorite phrase is **“magnanimous as Agamemnon”** – although one has very few chances to say this unless one is playing Fluellen in _Henry V._ 😉 > \*\* My old favorite phrase is “like proud Achilles sulking in his tent”. There are surprisingly few times when this phrase seems appropriate, though. This phrase replaces “Damn your sir, damn your eyes”, which in turn replaces “You go too far, sir, too far by half”, and indeed every phrase that implies too much by 50% (e.g. “too clever by half”). Words that are fun to say Expectorate Elocution Opal Susurrus Disingenuous Byronic Genuflect ---
**Author:** ![c\_carol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@c\_carol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_carol)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/69 "2004-09-26T02:49:15Z")
Are proper names allowed? Because I really like to say “Cullowhee”, which is the name of the little town where I went to college. “Cullowheeeeee” – see, it’s fun! ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/70 "2004-09-26T03:15:02Z")
> [@c\_carol](#): > > Are proper names allowed? Because I really like to say “Cullowhee”, which is the name of the little town where I went to college. “Cullowheeeeee” – see, it’s fun! Wisconsin has some fun town names. Wauwatosa Sheboygan Prairie Du Chen Oshkosh Manitowoc Muskego ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/71 "2004-09-26T03:35:03Z")
**Smock** made me think of **grommet**. _Grommet grommet grommet_. Man that’s fun! And now, a story. Back in my sophomore year of college I took a class called Voice For the Actor. One of our assignments was to compose a list of “delicious” words, like this thread, meaning words you like to say or like how they roll off the tongue. There was an older woman in the class, Ramona, who was not quite right. She never quite understood what was going on, and we all suspected she might be homeless because of the way she dressed. Anyway, we get to the due date of the assignment and we’re going around the room sharing our lists. We get to Ramona and she begins reading: “apples, pears, hot chocolate, peaches, plums…” Our professor stops her. Yeah, Ramona took the ‘delicious’ aspect all too literally. We all had to keep from laughing. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/72 "2004-09-26T03:42:06Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > For some reason I like _Madagascar_. > > It just trips off the tongue. As does its capital, Antananarivo. The Illinois women’s basketball team recently had a player named [Aminata Yanni](http://www.wtvo.com/Global/story.asp?S=2005414&nav=7k8EQP6d), whose name lends itself to being vocalized to the tune of that [Mah Na Mah Na](http://www.wtvo.com/Global/story.asp?S=2005414&nav=7k8EQP6d) ditty. I once worked with someone who got the biggest kick of saying “brouhaha” in a cackling, about-to-crack-open-a-cold-one tone. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/73 "2004-09-26T04:27:01Z")
BALDERDASH! …spoken like a 19th-century industrialist with jowls. I once started a thread on the subject, which promptly died. ---
**Author:** ![lynxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e99b99/32.png) [@lynxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynxie)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/74 "2004-09-26T10:18:10Z")
Pistachio. ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/75 "2004-09-26T11:25:14Z")
As you’ll notice I have the humour of an 8 year old but these always tickle my fancy: **panties** and **phalanges** It’s like they’re meant to be naughty…but there not…panties ---
**Author:** ![coop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/87869e/32.png) [@coop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coop)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/76 "2004-09-26T12:24:41Z")
**svelte** ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/77 "2004-09-26T12:48:45Z")
defenestrate ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/78 "2004-09-26T14:28:18Z")
thirty-three and a third sphincter pollywog croak mooncalf stucco ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/79 "2004-09-26T14:34:41Z")
I like saying “aliminum” backwards. “Munimula!” “Shock and awe”. I watched the attack on Baghdad live, and it didn’t really look shocking or awesome; but it’s fun to say fast. “Shockenaw!” “Shocknaw!” “Leonard James Shockenaw!” I think my favourite word is “plummet”. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997/80 "2004-09-26T17:49:43Z")
I like petcock, Antwerp, and unguent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-fun-to-say/265997.md?page=5)