V is for Vagarious

It's the last full week of the A to Z Challenge.  We're almost there!

I have another cool vocabulary word for you.

Today's word is: VAGARIOUS

Vagarious is defined as erratic and unpredictable in behavior and direction.

This word is rare in its usage, though I can't quite understand why.  I mean, we can all think of someone or something that fits this description, right?

Reasons to know this word:

-You now know how to describe the drunken behaviors of your friends or family members.  Or your own, perhaps.

-It's kind of cool to look at the connections between this word and more commonly used ones such as vagary or vagrant.  You can hear how similar they sound and see the similarities between meanings.  The evolution of language is a neat thing indeed.

U is for Ubiety

I'm back with another vocabulary word for you!

Today's word is: UBIETY

Ubiety is defined as the condition of being in a particular place.  This word is rarely used, which I'm sure many of you might have guessed.

Reasons to know this word:

-If you're in a philosophical mood, instead of pondering the "whereness" of things, you can ponder their ubiety.  Sure, it's the same thing, but one feels more conducive to a philosophical mood.

-It rhymes with words like society, variety, sobriety, impropriety, notoriety, etc.  You could compose a lovely poem with ubiety and a few of these words listed here.

-It's kind of neat when a word with six letters has four syllables.  Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks that way.

T is for Tegestology

Today I have a fun little vocabulary word for you.  In fact, it was so fun, I wrote a Choose Your Own Adventure Story for it on my other blog.  You can find it HERE if you're interested.

Today's word is: TEGESTOLOGY

Tegestology is the collecting of cardboard beer coasters.  A tegestologist is the person who does the collecting.

Reasons to know this word:

-It's oddly reassuring that odd little hobbies like this have names of their own.

-Now that you know the word, you may be inspired to take up tegestology.  If you do, it could make for some interesting conversation at the next social gathering you attend.  Then again, I'm weird. Keep that in mind.

S is for Saltativeness

So you decided to come back for another stimulating vocabulary word?  Super!

Today's word is: SALTATIVENESS

Saltativeness refers to the ability to hop, skip, or jump.  It kind of sounds like the amount of salt you can find in your food or something, right?  When I first saw this word, though, I remembered my high school Spanish class and the word "saltar."  Saltar means "to jump."

Wow.  You kind of got two words for the price of one, didn't you?

Reasons to know this word:

-You can say sentences like "His saltativeness makes him an excellent hurdler."  I don't know why you'd want to say things like that, but you totally could!

-You can revel in the humor of this: Saying saltativeness might initially seem simpler than saying "able to jump" since you're using fewer words.  Yet the word saltativeness and the phrase "able to jump" contains the same number of syllables.  Perhaps that's why people use the word so infrequently.

R is for Raconteur

It's another day, and that means it's time to share a new vocabulary word.

Today's word is: RACONTEUR

A raconteur is one who tells stories or anecdotes with skill or wit.

Reasons to know this word:

-It's the sort of word that makes you sound sophisticated when you say it.  If someone is dominating the conversation by telling such witty anecdotes that no one is interested in anything you have to say, you can try using this word.  There's no guarantee it'll help, but hey, sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures.

-It's clearly French in origin, so you can try saying it in an exaggerated French accent.  It sounds pretty cool that way.  Or maybe that's just me.

Q is for Quagswag

Here we are starting the last full week of the A to Z Challenge.  The time sure is flying.

Today's word is: QUAGSWAG

Quagswag means "to shake to and fro."

Reasons to know this word:

-There aren't nearly enough words that start with Q, so it never hurts to have another one in your arsenal.  Or, lexicon, to be more specific.  While the action conveyed by this word could in fact inflict bodily harm in some circumstances, the mere use of the word will not.

-If you threatened to quagswag someone until their brain turns to mush, the look on their face should be pretty hilarious.

P is for Phlyarologist

Here we are, already wrapping up another week of the A to Z Challenge.

Today's word is: PHLYAROLOGIST

One interesting fact about this word is that there's a bit of a disagreement online about what the word means.  One source shows it as meaning "one who talks nonsense."  Another claims that it means "one who studies nonsense."  In either case, whichever definition you go with, it's still an awesome word.

Reasons to know this word:

-Any time you're trying to study something that makes no sense to you, you can say you're a phlyarologist.

-You can take comfort in the fact that the act of speaking or studying nonsense is worthy of a fancy name.