A Conversation for The h2g2 Word of the Day (Discontinued)

Existing WOTDs

Post 1

Zulu One

I notice from the list that 'erudite (adj)' is a word of the day, but I don't think that it is particularly disused. It's quite scary, actually, I use these words quite frequently...
Anyway, I notice that 'ferrule (n)' is on the books, but there is also 'ferrule (v)' meaning to beat with a metal rod.
Apart from this, I am worried that entry in the Collins Concise Dictionary is used as a requirement, as many etymologically sound and respectable words are left out of some dictionaries for no reason other than that editors feel that there is no reason for their continued existences. A more comprehensive work like OED should be consulted, in my opinion.


frugal?

Post 2

Zulu One

Hey, I didn't know that frugal was an out-of-use word, but I do know a rather amusing story about it.
There was a young boy whose teacher told him to write a short story containing the word 'frugal', so he asked his mother what it meant. She told him that to conserve or save is the essence of being frugal, so he wrote the story:
"There once was a beautiful princess who was locked up at the top of a tower and she wanted to get out, so she shouted 'Frugal me! Frugal me!' and a prince came and he frugalled her and they went off together and both lived happily ever after. The end."

You may disagree with the use of the word "amusing" but that doesn't really concern me.


Key: Complain about this post

Write an Entry

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."

Write an entry
Read more