Top 10 Funniest Outdated Words

As a writer I love thumbing through the dictionary to find attention-grabbing expressions for my characters. I enjoy writing them into their dialogue. I'm also the grandparent of an eight year old who enjoys my amusing usage of these so called "back in the day" words that she considers to be absolutely side-splitting. These often mispronounced, antiquated words provide us with a big dose of daily entertainment.

Personally, I think a great sense of humor is one of the most appealing qualities in people. I'm sure that's the reason I married my husband. He makes me laugh until my stomach aches. He's English and most of his expressions and vernacular I must admit are alien to me. Nevertheless, I do think that most people would laugh if someone called them a cheeky monkey. Laughter keeps us healthy. It allows our thoughts to drift into a whimsical state of relaxation and focus on those facial muscles we rarely used during our wearisome work day. The words below made my top ten funniest words I love to use at least once a day when I need a good belly laugh:

10.Rigmarole: (noun) needless motion, complex, excess steps - Have you seen all the rigmarole you have to go through at airport security these days?

9.Gobbledygook: (noun) nonsense or jargon - This manual is full of gobbledygook.

8. Malarkey: (noun) insincere talk - The politician's speech was full of malarkey.

7. Bamboozle: (v.) cheat somebody - The sales person tried to bamboozle us into purchasing the defective items.

6. Cockamamie: (adjective) trivial, ridiculous - It was a cockamamie idea to begin with.

5. Mollycoddle: (transitive verb) pamper and spoil somebody - The king insists his royal staff mollycoddle his children.

4. Guttersnipe: (noun) somebody from lower class - There was no place in the village for the likes of a guttersnipe.

3. Hoi polloi: (noun) the masses, ordinary people - After receiving his Oscar the actor decided to mingle with the hoi polloi.

2. Balderdash: (noun) senseless or pointless talk or writing - In an attempt to make his point the journalist's article was total balderdash.

1. Flibbertigibbet: (noun) flighty person, irresponsible, scatterbrained - The professor was more of a flibbertigibbet than an intellectual.

Sources: Words and definition provided by Webster's Dictionary and Encarta Dictionary however the term cheeky monkey was provided by my loving husband.