Saturday, March 14, 2009

My Favorite Words

I got to use one of my favorite words yesterday, and I was so excited about it that I had to share it with you:

PELETON!

I love the word "peleton." I love the way it sounds, I love that there's a word for this thing that could just be described by so many other words (pack and field come to mind), and I love that knowing this word makes me feel smart and cool. I love that it always makes me think of my brother, who is notorious for using a 25-cent word when a 5-cent word would do (he was quoted in the newspaper as saying "You see these bums and vagabonds in the street and it's appalling." When he was 10). And I love that it's a word that doesn't come up very often, so that when it does, I feel EXTRA smart and cool. Thanks, peleton.

What are your favorite words?

peleton - A

3 comments:

Senora Fuerte said...

I like "lend". It seems like such a run-o-the-mill word, but most people misuse "loan" in its place, and most people don't notice. I question whether there is even a right or wrong in these cases where most people do it wrong without realizing. But when I hear someone else properly use the word lend, or when I get the opportunity to use it properly, I get a little charge out of it.

For those who might be wondering, and you are certainly in the majority, so please don't take my snobbery about this personally...

A loan is something you give or apply for. A loan is currently something denied by a bank. A noun.

You lend your sister your favorite sweater or $20 for crystal meth. A verb.

Try it out. Getting it right, even if no one else will know the difference, will make you feel great!

Anonymous said...

p-e-l-o-t-o-n

amanda said...

to the spelling bee champ: I looked it up and was told it was spelled "peleton." My bad - but you could have let it go, you know...