Tuesday, July 31, 2007

New and Useful Words

There's a wonderful website I visit every day called "Word Spy" (http://www.wordspy.com/index.asp), which features newly-coined or otherwise unusual words that have recently appeared in the English language. I guess it stirs that long-dormant degree in Linguistics buried deep in the back of my brain, in addition to just being fun.

Two recent and related entries are worth sharing because I can relate to them: the first is floordrobe, defined as "a pile of discarded clothes on the floor of a person's room;" the other is carbage, defined as "the garbage that accumulates in some cars, particularly in the back seat."

Much as I try to keep myself organized and my surroundings relatively neat and tidy, it doesn't always work. While I manage to return my dirty clothes to the laundry hamper and the clean ones to the closet most of the time, the back seat of my car does tend to accumulate a great deal of stuff that I now realize is carbage. I just wonder if there's an equivalent word to describe the vast clutter that seems to spring out of nowhere to cover the floor and all desk surfaces in my study. I spent almost all day last Sunday dusting, shredding, scanning, filing, and reorganizing...and the room still looks like it was decorated by the Hamas and Fatah after they finished practicing on the Gaza Strip. It's more than just a simple and chaotic mess...I can't find the cable I need to sync my iPod with my computer. AARRGGHH!!

Oh, well...no deep thoughts today, just a few reflections on words that seem ideally suited for the life I lead. Check out Word Spy and see if there are any you enjoy. Or relate to.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

2 comments:

Jean-Luc Picard said...

I would define 'floordrobe' as a wardrobe fitted in the floor, not cast all over it.

Amanda said...

I love Floordrobe! I used to have a clothes tree and a clothes bush. The tree was the tall, coat hanging thingi that I use for my clothes. And the bush was the towel rack that I also use for my clothes. I'm neat now so.....don't need them anymore :)