Word Nerd Confessions: May
It is the month of Maying. Flowers blooming, warm weather, longer days, one month until summer break. Yes, there is much to like about May. Since May is full of color, warmth, and anticipatory of summer, I thought a smorgasbord of words would be appreciated for this month’s Word Nerd Confessions:
1. ergate: worker ant
2. dorp: village
3. paladin: defender of a noble cause
4. kibitzer: giver of unwanted advice
5. ululate: to complain loudly; to howl as a dog might
6. banausic: to serve a mechanical or practical purpose only
7. incogitant: thoughtless; inconsiderate
8. antinome: something that is contradictory
9.polyhistor: someone of great and varied learning
10. tittle: a small mark in punctuation as in the dot over the “i”
11. aggiornamento: bringing something up to date for current needs
12. thimblerig: the sleight of hand game to fool someone as in the pea under the cups
13. nocent: harmful; injurious
14. cruciverbalist: a designer or aficionado of crossword puzzles
15. hypogeal: underground; subterranean
What three words caught your fancy this month?
I’m partial to antinome. I’m gonna throw that one at Mike during a Debatable. Ssh, don’t tell him. Nocent and paladin could also be appropriate for a Debatable.
What two words did you not realize that there existed such a word of explanation?
Didn’t know a cruciverbalist is what you call people who create crossword puzzles. I just thought they had more time and talent than me. Worker ants are ergates–I had no idea.
What word do you simply like because of the way it sounds?
Tittle, of course. It tickles the tongue and makes me want to laugh. That little dot is a tittle. Tee hee.
Pam Webb 
“Tittle” does make me giggle like a schoolgirl.
But “dorp” is the biggest surprise; it sounds too much like “derp” to work for me—unless there is a connection between village-dwellers and derpiness.
Derp?
Slang. Google it. With photos.
Haha. Derps could be from dorps of knowledge-deprived residents.
Perhaps!
Definitely did not know about 8, 11, or 14. Agree with Mike on his thoughts. 😀 I’ve always liked more onomatopoeiac words like ululate.
learning new words is only half the fun—the other half is figuring out how to use them😉
Very true. Otherwise they don’t stick.