Art of Eloquence Blog — dictionary RSS



Is Funner a Word?

Is Funner a word? I’ll bet you’ll say it isn’t, but according to Merriam Webster it is!  (added about 2010) But is that all we should consider in order to communicate effectively?  NO! Effective communication is also about the impression we make on people.  Using the word funner makes you sound like a you're *UNedUmaCaTed.* I don't care if the dictionary does say it's a word, if you sound like an idiot you'll be treated that way and all credibility goes out the window. So, funner IS a word, but if you use it, you’ll communicate that you’re not too bright.  And if you use the term more funner, they’ll be sure of it!

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Yesterday was Noah Webster's Birthday

Noah Webster was born Oct 16, 1758 so I thought we'd celebrate words today.  Here is an article I wrote on words and how their meanings change over the years. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Over the years, the meanings of words do change and for many different reasons.  I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of these words.  Enjoy! Some words have changed meanings for technological reasons. 1. A tweet used to be the sound a bird makes.  Now it’s a 140 character message you type on a social networking site where people share things from political news to what they had for dinner. 2. The word friend is now a verb.  Where I used to have...

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Share your family's made up words

Wednesdays are usually the times when I share an obscure word or a deeper meaning of a commonly used word.  Since we've been celebrating Dr. Seuss this week, I thought I'd ask you all to share your own favorite made up words/terms this Word of the Week. Dr. Seuss made up silly, nonsense words and terms for his books.  It's what made his books so much fun.  Some made up words eventually find their way into the dictionary.  Many of the words we commonly use today were made up by a man named William Shakespeare. My family has made up words and terms.  My daughter and son made up the word "nork," a combination of the word nerd and dork which they affectionately use...

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Excerpts from the English/Techanese Dictionary

For those of you following the latest in the Terrible Techie Trouble Saga, I want to give you the benefit of my experience in trying to speak Techanese: the language of the computer.  Here are some Techanese terms and their English definitions: Techanese: Windows detected a hard drive problem.  Translation: We have no idea what the problem is, but YOU'D better find out quick! Techanese: Microsoft Word has encounted a problem and must shut down. Translation: We have no idea what the problem is, but you can't use Word right now! Techanese: Memory is low, please restart your computer. Translation: We know exactly what the problem is, but you'll never be able to fix it this way! Techanese: Warning!  A critical...

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