01.23.09
What unearth?
I maintain a small file of “perfect words,” ones that elegantly match form and content. One such word is sesquipedalian, which from its Latin roots roughly translates to “a foot and a half long.” It means “using or characteristic of long words.” Words a foot and a half long.
Sesquipedalian represents perfection for everyone. I recently unearthed a perfect word for me. Consider:
- I once harbored a deep fascination with archeology.
- I think aardvark is a funny word.
- I love puns, wordplay, and neologisms.
Thus:
Aardvarchaeology is a science blog I stumbled across and that I frankly know nothing about. Yeah, I could read the “About” section, but I’m still reveling in the word creation. I appreciate several things about this word concoction, in addition to the opportunity it affords me to use another bulleted list:
- Perfect word for me personally, as described.
- This perfect word was constructed by a Swede—I only dream of being able to concoct wordplay in a second language.
- The neologism was created with an archaic (reference intended) spelling of archeology, at least to American eyes—because, after all, shouldn’t old subjects use olde spellings?
Now, I also once harbored a deep fascination with the American Civil War, and I think carburetor is a funny word . . . I wonder what I might stumble upon next.
, 
and 
. Feel free to 
JohnnyB said,
January 23, 2009 at 8:33 am
The first favorite word that I can recall is “serendipity” because I thought it was a delightful word to discover unexpectedly.
GeorgiaGirl said,
January 23, 2009 at 2:02 pm
An American friend recently moved with her husband and young child to Strasbourg, France, for a three-year work assignment.
She titled her blog about the experience…wait for it…”Strasbourgeoisie.”
The Ridger said,
January 23, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Martin’s English (at least in writing) is extraordinarily good. And the blog is often fascinating.
SoupAddict Karen said,
January 23, 2009 at 8:16 pm
“Anticarburbellum”
(Yeah, okay, it’s been a long day ….)