15 Words You Should Know

While my bailiwick (a person's specific area of interest, skill, authority or work) is not vocabulary education, I believe knowing and using uncommon but interesting words should not be delegated to Scrabble players or cruciverbalists (a person who constructs crossword puzzles or enthusiast of word games). Everyone should endeavor to learn as many words as possible, no matter how soporific (inducing or tending to induce sleep) that task.

With so many beleaguered (beset with troubles or problems) people in the world today, its no wonder that so many have no time to read the dictionary or otherwise educate themselves on the myriad of words that comprise the English language. And while some peoples caprice (impulsive change of mind) will prevent them from attaining their quixotic (caught up in the pursuit of unreachable goals) dream of mastering every word in the English language, a sangfroid (coolness and composure especially in trying circumstances) individual will be able to master a great deal of it.

While you may think with a chortle (a snorting, joyful laugh or chuckle), "Why should I expand my current vocabulary repertoire," the answer is simple, to prevent malapropism (ludicrous misuse of a word, especially by confusion with one of similar sound) and impress your 8^th grade English teacher of course. Who knows, when the answer on Final Jeopardy is "This hard to pronounce animal is the state fish of Hawaii" you will know that the correct question is "What is the humuhumunukunukuapuaa" (a triggerfish native to outer reefs of Hawaii.)

Even if my advice seems like palaver (idle chatter that may be intended to charm or beguile) only a troglodyte (member of a prehistoric race that lived in caves dens or holes) would not seek to increase their vocabulary by reading anything they can, including articles on Associated Content. The subject matter you read need not be sesquipedalian (given or characterized by the use of long words) in nature, most any intelligent writing will give you the opportunity to learn new words.

So go ahead, stay on your coccyx (small triangular bone at the base of the spinal column) and continue reading anything you can, even if you take a desultory (having no set plan, haphazard or random) approach at learning new words, you are bound to pick up a few new ones here and there.

If you did happen to know the meaning of all the underlined words above, kudos to you, if not don't feel bad, I didn't know most of them either.