Treacle

Harry and Ron really enjoy treacle tart, as does Dr. Dolittle. (read the Harry Potter series and The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle)

Triskaidekaphobia

Have no fear! 13 is my "lucky" number.

Banshee & Presage

A banshee is a presage of death.

Phlegmatic

I can think of a few people this might describe, but not many.

Quotidian

I could use this word every day, it's so cool!

Funnist

No, it isn't a word. It should be "funnest", which also is not a word.

Potable

The water in the Gulf of Mexico (in which I swam today) is not.

Monomania

Not me, not so much.

Shillelagh

Who doesn't like a random Irish word once in a while?! Plus, it's even cooler when you know how to pronounce it correctly.

Balmy

Oh so...

Err

It looks funny.

Dupable

Are you? My students seem to think I am, but I'm not!

Kinder

As in the German word for children. I often say to my students, "Vite, vite kinder!" when I want them to hurry. It means "quick, quick children!" Only, vite is French!

Quiff

Such a funny little word! Makes me think of Grease. Why? Look it up!

Ordinary

Words that start with O look funny. Things that we consider ordinary often turn out to be quite amazing, in fact.

Lucid

Not one of my favorites, but it's a good one and I used it the other day so I thought I better include it.

Wit

A funny little word.

Livid

This is a fun word to say, but I can't say that I have ever actually seen someone expressing this extreme emotion.

Toucan

I just love to say this word =)

Sitzmark

I wonder if TAD or Annie made many sitzmarks while they were skiing a few weeks ago? They're both pretty good skiers, so I doubt it.

You can probably guess this word is of German origin, which piques my interest immediately. I also love that it is just what it sounds like. So fun!!

Nebbish

This word makes me laugh, it sounds so funny! Unfortunately, a nebbish is not something anyone would wish to be.

Eponym

Any -nym word is a good word.

Safari

This word looks and sounds super cool. I like that it ends with an i.

Nomadic

I love the word "nomad", and I came across "nomadic" today so I decided to include it here. Doesn't it just sound cool?

Check out my other blog for an amazing little poem in which the word "nomadic" is used.

Aught

Is there aught I can say or do that will make you understand how much I love words?!

(it also means "zero")

Opine

Hm, rather interesting word, if you ask me.

Pertinent

Way fun to say! I also wanted to mention that I try to use interesting words with my students so their own vocabularies might expand somewhat for having known me. You should try it with your kids, it's fun.

Sojourn / Sojourner

From my verses this week "He...loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing, therefore love the sojourner..." Deuteronomy 10:18-20

I like the sound of this word. It seems like a very special, unique word.

Skew

Not particularly pleasant to look at, but oh so fun to say!

Smirked

Junior highers do it alot.

Clandestine

I used this word today and one of my students liked it so I had him look it up and he agreed with me that this is a fantastic word! It has a great arrangement of letters, it sounds very cool yet super important, and it's meaning is rather fun. This word could definitely be put into my "favorite word" category.

Chaotic

I like that the ch has a hard c sound. And I just like sound of this word.

My life is chaotic. I can't handle too much organization. For example, I can always count on my car keys to be somewhere on my bedroom floor amidst papers, books, and clothes; if they are anywhere else I'm in big trouble. My desk at school is no better. In the middle of the day you will see it covered with books, papers, notes to myself and everyone else, pens, etc. I like it chaotic; chaos keeps life spicy!

Terrestrial

Extra.

Journey

In this word I like how all the letters look together and I like how it sounds. "Life is a journey..." or something like that.

Skullduggery

Sounds like a pirate word, eh?!

Niche

Not an uncommon word, but a fun one!

Perfidy

A good word found in two of my favorite books: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Di Camillo and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. Don't know what it means? Look it up!

Silhouette

Sounds elegant, doesn't it? Well, it does to me.

Apropos

The words that I share with you on this blog are apropos for everyday use. I hope you are enjoying them and incorporating them into your vocabulary if you do not already use them.

Perquisite

One of the best perquisites of being a teacher is getting the entire summer off from school.

Perpetual

This list is never ending...

Mesmerize

This is another magical sounding word. Indeed, one of the definitions is "to spellbind." I also like the 'm' and 'z' sounds.

Treacherous

It just sounds so...dramatic. The roads were treacherous this past weekend, and today too.

Reminisce

This word just sounds so cool and the silent c adds a little challenge when you try to remember the spelling!

Germane

No, not Germany! I like this word because it is fun to say, and it does look like "Germany", a place which I have visited and like very much. We had a Spirit Day at school today, but that is not germane to our present topic.

Potent

God is omnipotent ... He is all-powerful. And it makes me think of Harry Potter.

Spice

We all need a little spice in our lives! Do something today to spice up your life or someone else's. Maybe that means sharing the Gospel with someone today! (I also like words that have the long "I" sound.)

Lunatic

Maybe you think I am loony for liking this word, but I don't care. I like how luna sounds and looks. Very pretty. The word means moonstruck or moonsick. We just use it to mean crazy or insane. Good word, unfortunate usage. Oh well.

Filibuster

Just say it out loud once and you'll know why I like this word. In case you don't know what it means, click here.

Queue

Because standing in a long queue is way more fun than standing in a long line!

Silver

First of all, I need to mention a few things that I thought of yesterday. Not every word is going to be as unusual as salmagundi. That is a special word. Most of my words will seem fairly ordinary to you, but they are wonderful to me. I also am not going to have an explanation for every word because if I did most of you wouldn't get it and think I am even weirder than you already thought I was. Finally, I said I like how words look and sound, but sometimes the meaning of the word is just as good so I will share that too. Anywho, moving right along...

"silver"
I like how this word looks and sounds. You will soon find that I like words that have the "s" sound. Say "silver" sometime today and see how it goes!

Challenge: find the word silver in the Scriptures (the verse I have on my blog doesn't count)

The First Word

One great passion in my life is reading, writing, and words in general. I am constantly finding words whose spelling or pronunciation I enjoy. Sometimes both. When I point out a word that I find particularly interesting, my students comment that I think every word is "cool". So be it. Every word is cool. Here you will find a salmagundi of my favorite words. Starting with the title of this blog.

I discovered salmagundi when I was trying to come up with a name for a Cd whose contents were quite eclectic. Sam and I found salmagundi and decided it would fit. Salmagundi is a salad or stew made of a variety of ingredients, but it is also a collection of a variety of items. Hence its use for the title of the blog. This blog is a collection of a variety of words. I also like the fact that, according to Wikipedia, salmagundi was supposedly a meal served on pirate ships. Way cool.

Please note that the most amazing word is God's Word. No fascinating, fabulous word that I post here will change your life, but God's Word will. Don't neglect the reading of His Word, that would be a big mistake. I posted a few verses to the side of this blog to remind us all of this most powerful Word.

I am not a super smart person that will come up with all these wild and wacky words. Simply put, I am going to share with you the "cool" words I see throughout my every day life and tell you why they stand out to me. Maybe you will find a word or two in the salmagundi that you can use in your life. If you do, be sure to mention where you found it!