Favorite words

I didn't know this until I saw the Sentinel's website this morning and found it in a headline. It got me thinking of other words I get silly happy getting to use: referenda for example. I've gotten to use it a lot in the last couple of years, and while I sometimes tire of writing about the topic, the word never loses its novelty. My spell check insists I need to replace it with referendums, but referenda is a completely acceptable form of the word. Actually, any word that forms a plural with "a" or "i" I find fun. Like octopi.

Another one I like is porcine.

This probably makes you think I am a major nerd, and perhaps that is true, but I bet there are words that really bother you. Like phlegm or smegma or domestic worker.

I hope that like me, when you are having a bad day and nothing seems to be even remotely good, you can take some joy in your word choices. Or inflict discomfort on others with them. Words are powerful things.