Free Essays - Of Farctate and Roadkill :: Personal Narrative Essay Example

Of Farctate and Roadkill Being a writer and reader, I love words-not only what they mean, but also how they sound. So I rely on my trusty Webster's New Universal Unabridged. It's over four inches thick and chock-full of tens of thousands of glorious words. Some people have trouble with dictionaries because they can't spell the words they're looking for. Me, I just get lost. Whenever I set out to look up a word, I often get sidetracked by other words. For instance, the other day I was headed for "farthingale," but "farctate"stopped me in my tracks. I don't care that it's a botanical term meaning "stuffed, crammed, or full." But the word itself-farctate-what a fun word to say! Another time, while in search of "synergy," my eye fell upon "susurrate," meaning to "whisper, murmur, rustle." It almost sounds like what it means-they all do, in fact. Maybe not close enough to be true examples of onomotopoeia-but, hey, that's another great word! And let's not forget sastruga, habanera, and Zwinglianism, to pick only a few. Even without knowing what they mean, they're delicious on the palate. They almost have a taste, like exotic spices among the salt and pepper of everyday language. Great words pop up in the most unexpected places. Years ago, I was waiting in a doctor's office, my paper gown sussurating around me. Flipping through a magazine to pass the time, I came across a beautiful ad with the word "nimiety" in it. I was entranced. Lest I should forget this new treasure, I tore out the page and hid it in my purse. I checked the dictionary when I got home: What an elegant way to say "the state of being too much; excess; redundancy." Consider now the writing of business and government.