17 Comments
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Simon Dowling's avatar

Surely Gleek had a resurgence when the Glee fandom chose that as their collective noun

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Jack Shepherd's avatar

Oh I had no idea! Glee + Geeks! It make so much sense.

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Sera's avatar

What a joy it is to read tongue in cheek faux-snark that actually works. So many writers just give up and sound bitter. Much appreciated!

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Jack Shepherd's avatar

Thank you!!

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Chris Bateman's avatar

Great to have you back, Jack! I'll put this piece into the May Bazaar that's running at the end of this week, in the hope to bring more wordy peeps into your bucket of fun.

Stay wonderful!

Chris.

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Jack Shepherd's avatar

Oh, that's awesome. It's good to be back! Thanks so much!!!

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JoeTee's avatar

That is not the definition of gleek that I am familiar with. I am familiar with it meaning when someone sprays out saliva out of their mouth (intentionally or not intentionally). I guess that is more of an "urban" dictionary word rather than a "oxford english" dictionary word. I wonder how the "urban" dictionary word came about...

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Jack Shepherd's avatar

I haven't heard it in awhile, but I definitely remember this usage from the '90s. There's no sign of it in the OED, but I think it must be onomatopoeic!

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Quiara Vasquez's avatar

I think FUBSY can re-enter the English lexicon if beloved singer-songwriter Shaboozey writes a sequel to his hit "A Bar Song" wherein people get "fubsy" rather than "tipsy." Suggested lyrics below:

Getting portly drinking port, feelin' lovely

All my shorties getting shorter and chubby

Lotta bellies full of beer at the club, see

Everybody at the bar getting fubsy

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Jack Shepherd's avatar

THIS is what our country needs right now.

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Tiffany B's avatar

gonna actually try some of these words and report back 🫡

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Mo (Maureen) Conlan's avatar

I so much enjoyed this essay and some new words to remember and or forget.Being a cat lover, I especially like the word Sloom. If any here also play Words with Friends on Facebook, do you notice that they disallow some bone fide words; allow some dubious ones; state that a word is not accepted, but accept its play on the board? I love this game nearly as much as Wordle, but it seems to be ever less authentic.

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Jack Shepherd's avatar

Yeah, it's a great word for cats. I have two kitties who are slooming pros.

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Raphael Solomon's avatar

I have been surprised that the word TASED hasn't entered most English dictionaries. While TASER is a brand, the verb is an action. It seems much more common in usage than the five words mentioned above.

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Jack Shepherd's avatar

Looks like TASED is in the OED as of 1991, though it started off life as the even less elegant TASERED.

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Lou Tilsley's avatar

An absolute pleasure to read! Made me laugh out loud in a couple of places.

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Jack Shepherd's avatar

Thank you for saying so!!

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