As a reader and a writer and a talker, I really like words, and I always appreciate having the right words. In fact, I think I would rather enjoy reading a dictionary someday and highlighting my best finds. Oh, how I adore a good synonym! And my heart soars when an accurate adjective comes to mind. Descriptions are important to me, and I view everyone as someone I might have to write a character sketch about someday, so I’m always rehearsing the language I might use to portray a person.
I keep a note on my phone of new words I learn that I like. I get excited when there’s a word for something that I’ve always wanted to describe but didn’t know there was a term for. Here are some words (but also phrases and terms) from my list:
Postprandial
refers to after lunch or dinner. So one might go for a postprandial walk, take a postprandial nap, or get postprandial diarrhea.
Mirepoix
is a mixture of diced vegetables, typically celery, carrots, and onion, sautéed in oil, as one might prepare for a soup or a chicken pot pie. I also just realized I don’t know how to pronounce this word, but six years of French leads me to guess “meer-pwah.” I’ll google later to see if that’s correct, but it’s not like I’m gonna go around actually saying this word.
Mykokymia
is a term for involuntary twitching of the eyelid. I go through bouts of eyelid spasms a few times a year. The first time I remember it happening was while I was playing Donkey Kong on the Super Nintendo when I was a kid. It typically happens several times a day for about three weeks, and then my eyes will be fine for a while. I don’t remember where I came across this word, but I was excited when I found it!
Frisson
is an emotional reaction where you get goosebumps or chills or even get teary eyed as a response to music and other art forms (here’s a blog post I wrote about frisson earlier this year).
Fundamental attribution error
is our tendency to blame people’s personalities for their behavior rather than considering external factors. For example, I might assume that the guy in traffic who runs the red light is an impatient a-hole, when really, he had lunch at Cafe Rio and is about to poop his pants.
Baader Meinhoff phenomenon
is also known as frequency illusion. This is when we become aware of something for the first time and suddenly it seems like it’s everywhere. It might be a word you’ve never heard of or an actor you’ve never seen before, and then they’re all over the place.
Mariko Aoki phenomenon
is when you have the urge to poop when you go to certain stores. This would never happen to me, but let’s say (hypothetically) that my stores were Sam’s Club and Hobby Lobby.
Portmanteau
is a word that is made from combining two words - like brunch or bromance.
Semantic satiation
is a sudden feeling that a word you are using has no meaning. Have you ever said a word and then felt completely unsure if that was the right word, and then you question what that words means? And the sound of the letters together seems iffy, and you aren’t even sure it’s actually a word at all? Then a few seconds later the word seems correct again, and all is well?
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As you can see, I have a bit of a thing for cognitive biases.
What amuses me the most is the amount of these words I’ve learned from TV.
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