I don’t know about the rest of you, but the general inconsistency of English has always bothered me. Especially with regard to prefixes, suffixes and infixes. There are so many words that exist in only one form where there should be more. Prefixes are the worst offenders in this regard – a lot of...
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Campaign for Symmetrical English
The Campaign for Symmetrical English: Introduction
Antiversary
Antiversary -noun Any day which is not an anniversary for the person or people referred to. A day which would have been an anniversary if things had turned out differently. Derivation A punning backformation on anniversary, bearing the same relation to its original as unbirthday does to birthday A more cynical variant, leaning more...
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Mentia
Mentia -noun Notable improvement of intellectual faculties, such as memory, concentration, and judgment. It is sometimes accompanied by an ending or lessening of emotional disturbance and beneficial personality changes. An ordinary or average degree of sanity. Mential -adjectival form of Mentia. Bookmark and Share: sociallist_c8f12afc_url = 'http://thecentrecannothold.net/blog/humour/campaign-for-symmetrical-english/mentia/'; sociallist_c8f12afc_title = 'Mentia'; sociallist_c8f12afc_text = ''; sociallist_c8f12afc_tags...
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Nepot
Nepot -noun One who commits nepotism. One who bestows favours and rewards upon relatives due to said relationship, rather than due to actual ability or worthiness. Bookmark and Share: sociallist_3e6b2818_url = 'http://thecentrecannothold.net/blog/humour/campaign-for-symmetrical-english/nepot/'; sociallist_3e6b2818_title = 'Nepot'; sociallist_3e6b2818_text = ''; sociallist_3e6b2818_tags = '';
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Outsomnia
Outsomnia -noun The ability to sleep in any place other than in a bed. The ability to sleep at any time other than in at night. The ability to sleep in manner not considered ‘normal’ by the majority of people. Bookmark and Share: sociallist_d8113f51_url = 'http://thecentrecannothold.net/blog/humour/campaign-for-symmetrical-english/outsomnia/'; sociallist_d8113f51_title = 'Outsomnia'; sociallist_d8113f51_text = ''; sociallist_d8113f51_tags =...
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Plomb
Plomb -noun Lack of balance, disequilibrium, instability Lack of confidence, dignity or grace in one’s bearing The basically chaotic nature of the world that is the enemy of all art in ballet Bookmark and Share: sociallist_00124112_url = 'http://thecentrecannothold.net/blog/humour/campaign-for-symmetrical-english/plomb/'; sociallist_00124112_title = 'Plomb'; sociallist_00124112_text = ''; sociallist_00124112_tags = '';
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Quarian
Quarian -noun One who engages in that most difficult of all hobbies, the collection of artifacts dating from the future. Bookmark and Share: sociallist_934a532b_url = 'http://thecentrecannothold.net/blog/humour/campaign-for-symmetrical-english/quarian/'; sociallist_934a532b_title = 'Quarian'; sociallist_934a532b_text = ''; sociallist_934a532b_tags = '';
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Whelm
No doubt we are all aware of the verb overwhelm (and its back-formation and antonym, underwhelm). But as Bianca Stratford so rightly pointed out (in “10 Things I Hate About You“), there is no such word as whelm. Until now. Whelm –verb (used with object) to fail to affect to fight to a draw...
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