Blog — Page 73

If you had to guess how many words you know, what number would it be?

Definitely more than hundreds.

It’s thousands, for sure.

But how many thousands?

4,000? 5,000?

Well, if you were an average teenager in the 1950s, you’d know a whopping 25,000 words, according to research. Those were the days when black and white TVs had just been introduced in the US, and “Leave It to Beaver” was a hit TV show.

Nowadays, the average teenager knows less than half that number–about 10,000. While that might still sound like a lot of words–and it is–it makes you wonder why there’s been such a huge drop in the number of words now being used.

Some words get used a lot these days–for example, “duh,” “like,” “no way,” etc. But that can’t be the only reason.

What’s your theory of why teenagers now know so many fewer words than in the past? Is everyone becoming a bit too laconicDefinition: Terse, using just a few words?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: laconic

Can’t Stand It!

OK, so we’ve all got a lot of favorite words.

Sometimes, it’s a word that just makes us smile when we say it—We’ve got to skedaddleDefinition: Flee, run away if we’re going to catch the 8:15 bus.

Or a word that just sounds cool when it rolls off the tongue—I almost stepped in a loblollyDefinition: Mudhole on the way home today.

But what about those words we don’t like?

Are there any words that you consider absolutely loathsome?

It could be a word that just gives you a queasy feeling when it’s said—Last night’s dinner made me want to regurgitateDefinition: to throw or surge back (as in undigested food).

Or a word that makes you want to hold your nose–That smell is really noxiousDefinition: Disgusting, unpleasant, harmful.

So tell us, esteemed cool-word watcher, what word do you most dislike?