Words You See, But Never Hear

[Toxic-Avenger]

How many times have you been reading a news article and run across a speedbump like, "arbitrage."  What?  You say it out loud.  And six months later you not only hear someone say it but say what it means.  And you never heard this word before, and now you see and hear it all the time.  How many times have you seen words but rarely, if ever, hear them pronounced?  Words like:

Lozenge, ersatz, any ten dollar medical term for "cold."  

Or how 'bout,

Obfuscate, nascent, ephemeral, arbitrage, dulcinea, enamored, coquette, lothario, and oscular.

List your weird big words no one ever says but you see all the time.  

[Fyre]

Whoa, deja vu, or something. That happens to me all the time, and it drives me absolutely crazy. Hmm..the only example I can think of at the moment is the word "beeazlebub."

Anyway, that word just came into my head one day. I must have subconsciously heard it or something, but I would have sworn, at the time, that I just made it up.

Well one day I heard somebody say it on TV, and it pretty much dumbfounded me. I'd never heard anyone say it before it got stuck in my head, and all of a sudden, I hear it on TV, and if that wasn't enough, it's in that song "Bohemium Rhapsody." I never even realized it before.

That was at least 8 months ago, and now I hear it all the time. Strange how things work like that. If I can think of more words, I'll be back to post them.

*Looks at above mentioned words. Makes mental note to look all of them up later and use them in a sentence in an attempt to appear smart.* *LOL*

[tootrickyforyou]

Lugubriously, soliliquise, Obstreperous, and a couple of others.  I've NEVER heard those words anywhere else but a book.  

[Toxic-Avenger]

/\  I'll bet you see those in an otherwise dull article.  Or even a good one but the writer throws a couple of those words in there.  Hey, I'm all for improving one's vocabulary but not when I'm lost in story and hit something like, " . . . he wasn't aware of the glasnost in the place but it was his ne sais pais.

Okay I think I know what glasnost means.  But see, I have to stop and think, and that wrecks the my reading mode.  I know not much Français so, "ne sais pais," is completly lost on me to the point where I don't know if I spelled it right.  <br>
Then there's my personal favorite:  Arboretum.  I've seen this word for years and never have I heard anyone say it.  

[diamond.in.the.rough]

Yeah, I'll see words in books that I never hear in everyday life. But then instead of just going on with my life I try to use them when I talk just as kind of a joke. My friends get pissy with me cuz they say I use big words and it's hilarious.  ;D

[Toxic-Avenger]

Hi Fyre, the name Beelzebub is another name for the devil, Satan himself.  

" . . . Nothing really matters, anyone can see.  Nothing really matters to me.  Any way the wind blows."  (Gong sound)

Oracle I do that too, it drives people nuts.  Especially when they ask me a question.  

"What color is that?"
"Well you have to understand that it's not really a specific color but how much light said object absorbs as opposed to how much is bounced back."
(Bored) "Wow, thanks."

Ah, but they are not impressed.

[LisaRocksYourWorld, yo]

I always see words that I've never heard of before.  Thank goodness for our 3rd grade lessons on context clues; now I can usually pick up what a word means.  

We were doing a vocabulary unit in class, and one of the words was "wan".  The teacher went on to say how it is almost never used, etc.  I found it really funny, Toxic, that I came on here later that day and saw you use that word.  Twice in one day!  I always pronounced it like "wayne" (as did my teacher) but some dictionaries say that it's "wahn".  Which exactly is correct?

[Toxic-Avenger]

It's "wahn" all right.  It ryhmes with "Juan."  You say it the same way.  There only Juan way to say wan.

[Ich Liebe Rammstein]

That has happened before.. I forgot what the word was though

[Toxic-Avenger]

Anyone wanna take a stab at what "lagniappe" means? I saw it on the vests and uniforms of store clerks. "Remember Lagniappe!" Uh, yeah.

[Uphoria]

Toxic, well, for the term Arboretum, I hear it all the time. I it use myself even. But that's probably because I attended a school that has an arboretum.

As for the term "lagniappe," it means 1. a small gift given by a merchant to a customer for making a purchase; bonus. 2. a gratuity, tip.

Okay, so I cheated, but I love Mr. Webster
Anyways, that's one big word use for meaning gift.
Who use that word anyways?

I love medical terms, haa haa... they make use of the alphabets.