Word of the day is...

It has come to my attention that some words are grossly underused, and it's a shame. What spurred this realization was a sentence uttered by Monty Burns in The Simpsons episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns, Part 2"

If you watch this clip, the sentence is at 00:54, "I was free to wallow in my own crapulence"

Brilliant. Not only use of the word "wallow" but the word "crapulence" had never before appeared on my vocabulary radar.

According to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language:

crap·u·lence (krpy-lns)

n.

1. Sickness caused by excessive eating or drinking.

2. Excessive indulgence; intemperance.

---

[From crapulent, sick from gluttony, from Late Latin crpulentus, very drunk, from Latin crpula, intoxication, from Greek kraipal.]

As a writer, reader and all-around geek, when I come across a word that is somewhat unusual and rarely used, I get a little tingly from excitement. Crapulence, just the very name invokes giggles. It's absolutely brilliant, way better than any of its synonyms, including inebriated. The English language could be livened up considerably if everyone just owned a thesaurus.

I take that back, the English language could be livened up considerably if everyone:
a.) knew what a thesaurus was (give you a hint, it's not a type of dinosaur...)
and
b.) knew how to use it

A thesaurus owner doesn't necessarily translate into a thesaurus user, my bad for leaping to conclusions.



----------------
Now playing: Weezer - Island in the Sun
via FoxyTunes

Technorati: the simpsons, montgomery burns, who shot mr. burns, crapulence, thesaurus, word