3 Good Things (Word Challenge edition)

  1. sibilance:  a speech sound characterized by hissing, such as (s), (z), (sh), or (zh).
  2. citified: having, or pretending to have the sophisticated style of urban life.
  3. supernumeraries: in excess of the regular, necessary, or usual number.

Every once in a while you come across a word that is too delicious to relegate to the dark recesses of casual acquaintance.  Every now and then you must force yourself to use a word in conversation or writing with the hope of integrating its fabulousness into your everyday vocabulary.

If you read or write poetry, using sibilance should pose no problem for you. The challenge for citified is to speak it without using a Southern accent and without using it to refer to folks, whereas supernumeraries should be used to refer to people.

If you’re up for the challenge, let me know how it turns out.


Comments

C. August said…
Sibilance... I can't read or hear that word without thinking of Tom Hanks' appearance on Wayne's World in the late 90's. He played a roadie for Aerosmith, and tested the mics by repeatedly saying "sibilance!" If I could access hulu or youtube at work, I'd include a link.
March 9, 2011 at 1:33 PM
Lynne said…
Hey, you OWN that word! I could not have remembered that episode (or word) to save my life. That's hilarious. Now I own it, too. Thanks!

(Forward to 4:30 if you can't take the rest.)

http://www.hulu.com/watch/4088/saturday-night-live-waynes-world-with-aerosmith
March 9, 2011 at 3:09 PM
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