* Adoxography - SPECIAL and FUN. Good writing on a trivial subject. posted by Aaron Mak, akcmak@singnet.com.sg * Atavistic - SPECIAL. A kind way of referring to something or person as "Neanderthal" or low-wattage in thinking and being. posted by Jorrie MacKenzie, bagpipes@wn.net * Bathykolpian - FUN. Means "deep-bosomed," as in, having a lot of cleavage. A word like this has to make one grin. cf callipygian and evancalaous. posted by Muad'Dib, usul@thepoint.net * Blatherscythe - FUN. Is along the same lines as "flapdoodle" - meaning useless phraseology. Can also be used as a modest replacement for "expletive deleted". E.g. - Oh, flapdoodle and blatherscythe, I just shut the car door on my finger! posted by Mike Humphrys, humph@direct.ca * Blob - FUN. If ever there was a FUN word, this is it. Who on earth decided that a labial stop should follow a round vowel? It sounds STUPID. posted by Phil Glanville, glanv@soton.ac.uk * Blort - SPECIAL. "Blort" is generally a word of convenience. The actual handiness of the word abounds when one is attempting to make a point, but forgets a word or two: simply insert a "blort" into the empty spaces and continue merrily on your way. Your audience may even believe that you are incredibly wise because (if "blort" is used correctly) doubtless they will assume by your confident manner that you actually KNOW what you are talking about. posted by Steph Halpert, sh1768@cs.arbor.edu * Buttafucco - FUN. For any one who snowboards, it means to crash in the half pipe. Usage: "Man, that dude tryed to catch a switchstance McTwist and buttafuccoed!" Even if you don't snowboard it sounds fun! posted by Aaron Janes, janes_c@gilex.com * Casson - ENDANGERED. A pile of cattle dung-a much nicer term than the more vernacular ones. posted by A. Grobmyer, AlGVOL@aol.com * Chary - ENDANGERED and FUN. Snce it means, approximately, "wary", people tend to "correct" it to "wary". But it's much more fun than that...it just IS. posted by Phil Smith III, phils@vm.relay.com * Cockshut - FUN. Unlike many other words on this list, this is one you have the opportunity to use every day. It means "evening time, or twilight". Just think of how much better the Platters' song would have sounded: "Heavenly shades of night are falling, it's cockshut time." posted by John Pezzullo, JohnP71@aol.com * Copacetic - FUN. 3 C's in one word! It means OK. posted by Dean Brown, ddb@harlie.pps.com * Cornhole - ENDANGERED. Originally, this word referred to the act of using a corncob for toilet tissue!!! They didn't have the soft and perfumed varieties of toilet tissue that we do today. posted by D.Thielen, rhogast@tcgcs.com * Crepuscular - ENDANGERED and FUN. Referring to twilight or dusk falling-- but it's just so beautiful to say. It rarely comes up in English; I learned it because in Spanish, that twilit time is called "crepusculo." Sounds even better like that: cre-PU-scu-lo. Yeah! posted by Sarah Ellerman, ske@mcs.com * Crwth - ESoF HAT TRICK. Look ma! No vowels! posted by Sandy Seegers, buena@ix.netcom.com * Cusp - SPECIAL. Even orange has a rhyme, but not this gem of a word... Unless you speak LISP. posted by S.R. Kight, hurukan@aol.com * Cwm - ENDANGERED and SPECIAL. Meaning "mountain hollow" or "rounded valley". Pronounced "koom". Probably from Welsh. What a bizarre-looking word. It also makes an appearance in some sort of sentence in which each of the 26 letters of the English alphabet is used exactly once. posted by Dennis Brennan, djb6@midway.uchicago.edu * Deasil - FUN. Our ancestors knew that some things moved in a "clockwise" direction before anyone invented clocks. This movement to the right was known as deasil until the name of the mechanical movement usurped its place. posted by Pete Juenemann, RNTT31A@prodigy.com * Declasse - ENDANGERED and SPECIAL. This is my favorite word. It means something that lowers one in social status. I use it to describe anything rude or vulgar. Also, it is supposed to have accent marks on both E's. Day-clah-say. It sounds so classy. posted by Chris Lipe, dnlipe@dreamscape.com * Desquamation - SPECIAL. The unappetizing condition of having one's skin fall off due to its being EXTREMELY waterlogged. Usually only a danger to people left bobbing in the sea after some appropriate disaster. But, it's also a fun, if obscure threat for anyone hogging the bathtub or shower. posted by Tim Fowler, tjf@tyrell.net * Desuetude - SPECIAL and FUN. Okay, it means "the state of being no longer used or practiced;" like the word itself, for instance. That's why it's Endangered. It's special because it can be legitimately pronounced /des'wi tyood/ (though /dees'wi tood/ is the more common (?) pronunciation. Of course it's fun. All words no-one knows the meaning of are fun. posted by C. Dodd Harris IV, usul@thepoint.net Desuetism is an emerging art movement, based in Los Angeles, which appropriates the traditional semiotics of the machine age and turns them back upon themselves while maintaining utter seriousness. By the way, the preferred pronunciation of the word among desuetists is "Dess-YOU'-it-iz-em. Kind of rings out, you know? posted by Hugh Stegman, rfwatts@primenet.com * Dysphemism - FUN. An antonym of 'euphemism', dysphemism is the substitution of an unpleasant or derogatory word for a pleasant one (Concise Oxford). Saying it reminds me of how my mouth feels when my brain short-circuits and I'm left spewing random syllables until everything gets back on track. posted by Taina Makinen, makinen@lismail.ism.ca * Eidetic - SPECIAL. Extraordinarily detailed and vivid recall of visual images. posted by Dee, deev@crosslink.net * Eldritch - ENDANGERED and SPECIAL. One of my favorite words. Doesn't it simply exude images of a dark, (probably) haunted forest inhabited by elves and witches? The pronunciation, spelling (the "t" is, of course, quite essential), and meaning all seem perfectly matched. posted by Rick Toews, rtoews@earthlink.net * Eroteme - ENDANGERED. The formal name for the question mark "?". posted by Aaron Mak, akcmak@singnet.com.sg * Eschew - ESof HAT TRICK. Means "avoid." Endangered and Special because it's falling into disuse, but sounds so lovely rolling off the tongue. Can be especially Fun when it precedes the word Obfuscation (c.f.). posted by C. Dodd Harris IV, usul@thepoint.net * Eucalegon - ESof HAT TRICK. I heard this fifteen years ago but I've never seen it in print. It means a man who, on waking in the morning, sees his neighbour's house on fire. posted by Carl Moss, carl@cueball.demon.co.uk * Evancalaous - FUN. Means pleasant to embrace. cf callipygian and bathykolpian. posted by Muad'Dib, usul@thepoint.net * Fissiparous - FUN. adj. Tending to break up into parts; divisive. posted by Bobbie Salzer-Rae, 102662.3610@compuserve.com * Flapdoodle - FUN. n. Something foolish, meaningless, or worthless; nonsense. posted by Bobbie Salzer-Rae, 102662.3610@compuserve.com * Fleegle - SPECIAL. (flea'-gul) v. Usually refers to the migratory movments of small woodland mammals avoiding some sort of undesirable or uncomfortable situation. Can also be applied to humans, who "fleegle" for much the same reasons small woodland creatures do. posted by Steph Halpert, sh1768@cs.arbor.edu * Flibbertigibbet - ENDANGEREDand FUN. (flib er tee jib it) - An irresponsible, flighty person. Don't think I've ever heard this spoken. posted by Dan Strader, culby414@ix.netcom.com * Floccipoccinihilipilification - SPECIAL and FUN. Pronounced: flox-ee-pox-ee-ni-hi-li-pi-li-fi-cay-shun. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this is the longest word in the English language. It means "the act of rendering as useless." This word is one letter longer than antidisestablishmentarianism, and contains much fewer morphemes. posted by Lorianne Earl, lre135@mail.usask.ca * Fod - ENDANGERED. Fod is an airforce term for garbage on the runway. A potentially dangerous object for an airplane! posted by John Klopptard, izzy4au@mvs.oac.ucla.edu FOD is really an acronyn meaning Foriegn Object Damage. The actual piece of debris should be refered to as just 'FO'. Its not damage yet. However, this is not the case; we still call it FOD. The Air Force's slogan is; FOD, see it, pick it up! posted by Former USAF (now National Guard) Major. Mike Donnelly, mdonnel@ids.net * Foma - SPECIAL and FUN. All the dictionaries say it doesn't exist. But I thought it was pretty nifty. It supposedly means: harmless untruths intended to comfort simple souls. posted by Brigitte, RHart@flash.net * Foofaraw - ESoF HAT TRICK. Literally, much ado about nothing. As if my old southern granny were to wake from a nap to a bunch of kids screaming and arguing about dirt...she would undoubtedly shout "what's all this ruckus, you kids cut out that foofaraw." Its a good word to keep your friends from bickering about nothing in general (once they know it). posted by Sean Tabor, maudhen@aol.com * FUBAR - ESoF HAT TRICK. acronym (there's a good word too!) for 'fouled up beyong all recognition'. May be used as a verb as in 'It's all fubared". posted by IG (Slim) Simpson, ssimpson@cnwl.igs.net * Gallimaufry - ENDANGERED. A jumble; a hodgepodge. [French galimafrée, from Old French galimafree, sauce, ragout : probably galer, to make merry; see GALLANT + mafrer, to gorge oneself (from Middle Dutch moffelen, to open one's mouth wide, of imitative origin).] posted by Bobbie Salzer-Rae, 102662.3610@compuserve.com * Gardyloo - ENDANGERED. It's what folks shouted when they tossed slops from second-floor windows in colonial times and before. It comes from the French garde a l'eau (watch out for the water). I found the French phrase incorrectly presented in one U.S. dictionary as gare de l'eau (water station) so even the bastions of the English language seem to be having trouble preserving this word. posted by Larry Pearson, lpearson@corcom.com * Gelogeric - ENDANGERED and FUN. A word meaning anything that is highly amusing or hystericly funny. posted anonymously * Glebe - FUN. Improves any sentence: A glebe saved is a glebe earned. Take time to stop and smell the glebes. It means land belonging to a parish church, but don't let that stop you. (It's also a road in Northern Virginia.) posted by Kris Raab, sirkraab@aol.com * Glycyrrhyza - FUN. Scientific term for licorice. Kinda fun to say. *grin* posted by Xiaowei Zhang, jzhang@polaris.me.jhu.edu * Gry - ENDANGERED. A rare and seldom, make that practically never, used word from the OED; Webster's Third Unabridged Dictionary. I find it an amusing little word, due to the fact that it is widely thought that the only two words in the English language ending in the letters 'gry' are hungry and angry. Wrong. We musn't forget the diminuitive word, gry, which means very small; dimiuitive. posted by Kay Wheeler, nwheeler@neosoft.com * Hablabamos - FUN. Say it with me. In the Spanish pronunciation. "Uh-blob-buh-moath." It means "we have spoken." posted by Dennis Brennan, djb6@midway.uchicago.edu * Heteronym - FUN. A word spelled like another, but pronounced differently and meaning different things. Fun because you can spend hours thinking up new pairs (The bass swam around the bass drum; the wind in my ears reminded me to wind my watch). posted by Joni Conway, joninet@cris.com * Histoplasmosis - ESoF HAT TRICK. It is a resporatory illness caused by inhaling festered bat dung. I'd call that endangered and therefore special. And it's fun because, well, all you have to do it try to say it and you'll see why. posted anonymously * Histrionic - SPECIAL. Adjective -- excessively emotional, calculated for dramatic effect. posted by Justin Tomlinson, justint@postoffice.ptd.net * Honorificabilitatibus - SPECIAL. I'm almost certain this word was coined in Joyce's Ulysses. I can't remember if it has any meaning or where exactly it appears in Ulysses. Anyone want to respond and re-enlighten me? posted by R. Lie, rlie@skypub.com * However - SPECIAL. One of the few words I know that is used all the time in writing, but is never spoken in conversation. posted by Donald Lancon, Jr., dcljr@stat.tamu.edu * Hunky-dory - FUN. Just say it! hunky-dory...hunky-dory...hunky-dory posted by Kathy Heffern, insight@basenet.net * Indubitably - FUN. This word is fun in our house because my husband just CAN'T pronounce it! posted by Janet Bell, J.Bell@surrey.ac.uk * Interdigitation - ENDANGERED and FUN. The act of holding hands. These days, both the word and the act are endagered and fun. Try it. Ask your date to INTERDIGITATE with you. Did you get your face slapped? You said it right! posted by Steve Seabolt, sseabolt@hiwaay.net * Interrobang - SPECIAL and FUN. A punctuation mark that is a cross between a question mark and an exclamation point. posted by Justin Tomlinson, justint@postoffice.ptd.net * Io - SPECIAL. The Jovian moon. At two letters, it's the shortest two-syllable word that I know about. posted by Dennis Brennan, spike@dolphin.upenn.edu * Ipecac - FUN. Who cares what it actually is? It looks cool and sounds even better. posted by Justin Tomlinson, justint@postoffice.ptd.net * Kudzu - FUN. Although it is a weed and a big, big, big problem in the southeast, it's still a fun word. After all, how many words do you use (or know) that have a k, z, and u in them? posted by Marybeth Charters, mfc1@ra.msstate.edu * Kutra Adhuna Gajam Nayami - FUN. It's not actually a single word, but a phrase every Sanskrit student learns. And a useful phrase it is, too. It means: Where do I lead the elephant, now? posted by The Hick, ess@tde.com * Lalochezia - SPECIAL and FUN. Talking dirty to relieve tension. posted by Aaron Mak, akcmak@singnet.com.sg * Literally - ENDANGERED. Literally used to mean literally, but now means metaphorically, as in "His heart literally leapt out of his chest." I know we have to accept that language changes, but there's no alternative word that I know of. posted by Ian Gent, ipg@cs.strath.ac.uk * Moribund - ESoF HAT TRICK. It means "about to die". It's endangered 'coz nobody actually uses it; it's special 'coz it's therefore self-descriptive; it's fun because any word ending in "-bund" just HAS to be fun! posted by Aaron J. Dinkin, aaron_j._dinkin@fourd.com * Mugwump - FUN. Although it means a bolter from the republican party, or an independent in politics, it sounds to me like some strange being that lives in ancient forests and under moss-covered bridges. posted by Rob Angiello, walkabout@igc.apc.org * Mytacism - SPECIAL and FUN. Excessive or incorrect use of the letter "M". posted by Aaron Mak, akcmak@singnet.com.sg * Nepenthe - ENDANGERED and SPECIAL. Webster Definition: 1: a potion used by the ancients to dull pain and sorrow 2: something capable of causing oblivion of suffering. posted by Ray Castro, aldur@hooked.net * Noumenon - SPECIAL. An object of purely intellectual intuition as opposed to an object of sensuous perception. posted by Justin Tomlinson, justint@postoffice.ptd.net * Obstreperous - ENDANGERED. My grandmother always told me I was being obstreperous and I could never understand why she sounded angry about it. I thought it meant some kind of distant cousin of the brontosaurus, which sounded pretty good to me. posted by Carmen Hammett, eyelashes@corcom.com * Octothorpe - SPECIAL and FUN. It's the official name of the "#" aka the hash mark or pound sign. You gotta admit that octothorpe rings like a man in plate mail falling down a flight of stairs... posted by Brandi Weed, brandi@primenet.com * Orrery - FUN. I just found this word on the web, and I like it. It rolls off the tongue. It is a model of the solar system in which the planets move around, demonstrating their orbits. It is from the Earl of Orrery. posted by Alicia Diehl, Aliciadieh@aol.com * Perspicuous - ESoF HAT TRICK. Endangered? Not used often. Special and Fun because if you use "perspicuous", meaning "easily understood, or lucid", you are probably not being perspicuous. posted by Bob Olsen, olsen@bnl.gov * Philology - ENDANGERED. The study of words and linguistics. posted by Bob Barnett, Strike-team@Big Bear.Net * Pilgarlic - ENDANGERED. Actually classified as an obsolete word, it means "A bald man" (apparently with reference to a peeled head of garlic). posted by Don Zablocki, zablocki@ic.net * Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis - SPECIAL and FUN. Longest word in the English language, found in a 1948 dictionary. Maybe there's a longer one now? It's a condition (osis) of the lungs (pneumono) caused by very (ultra) small (microscopic) particles of silicon from volcanic dust (koni). Use this in the footnotes to your monthly status reports. posted by Jim Johnson, jim.johnson@pobox.com * Pogonophobia - ESoF HAT TRICK. The fear of beards. posted by Lee Jackson, ljackson@mtn.org * Porpentine - ENDANGERED and FUN. Another cool Shakespearean word--"Like quills upon the fretful porpentine." It means porcupine, but sounds so much better. posted by Chuck Carroll, ccarroll@students.wisc.edu * Portcullis - ENDANGERED and FUN. It's that gate behind the drawbridge of a castle that goes up and down, and it just sounds so nifty! posted by Aaron J. Dinkin, aaron_j._dinkin@fourd.com * Potto - FUN. It's a small but very handsome lemur, related to the bushbaby and possibly to the aye-aye. posted by John, john.cohen@uchsc.edu * Preternatural - ENDANGERED and FUN. It's somewhere between "unusual" and "impossible", with just a hint of "spooky", as in, "The house was preternaturally quiet." posted by Aaron J. Dinkin, aaron_j._dinkin@fourd.com * Proclivity - ENDANGERED and FUN. Proclivity, proclivity, proclivity. It just rolls off the tounge and hangs out there in the middle of the room. For those who are reaching for the dictionary, don't bother. The word means an untoward inclination towards something objectionable. "He had a proclivity for women's shoes." Of course, it depends on who you talk to as to whether an inclination towards women's shoes is objectionable. Anyway, proclivity, proclivity, proclivity... posted by Antonio G. Len-Rios, pma_news@pananet.com * Prole - ENDANGERED and FUN. A prole is someone of the very lowest social class, well beneath a mere Plebian. Sympathy for the "economically disadvgantaged" has put it out of vogue, making it all the more fun to call a prole a prole. posted by JShamlin, JShamlin@aol.com * Pugry - ENDANGERED. Pugry is a kind of cloth used (in the 1930s in the usa) for making hats. It is an "obsolete" word (meaning that it's not used much any more outside the hat-making community) but it is one of the only three words in the English language that ends with the letters "gry" (the other two being angry and hungry). posted by Bruce Salamandir, slmndr@frugal.com * Qunck - SPECIAL. (kwunk) [from QuoteUnQuote = QunQ = Qunck] [mod. colloq] n. a game in which language is utterly destroyed by the re-arrangement of words, the object being to move the words so as to restore the original meaning; played by one or more persons, causing great merriment among them. | v. t. (to qunck) 1. Archaic, obsolete Willfully to disrupt, deconstruct, or dismember language or text (as wanton schoolboys qunck without remorse, etc. etc.). 2. Modern To endeavor to restore structure and meaning to language (and, by extension, life itself) which has been wantonly destroyed (see 1. above), and thereby to solve cunning language puzzles. 3. To play the game known as Qunck(tm) posted by Bill Dawes, 73732.724@compuserve.com * Racemic - SPECIAL and FUN. Featuring 2 copies of the letter 'c', each pronounced differently. Means a mixture of isomers having different handed-ness. posted by Dean Brown, ddb@harlie.pps.com * Remotion - ENDANGERED and SPECIAL. Means "the act of removing; a removal". As often as move, motion, and remove are used, it's funny that you almost never hear this one. posted by Justin Tomlinson, justint@postoffice.ptd.net * Sacrosanct - SPECIAL. It means holy in an extravagant sort of way. Doesn't it sound better like this: "sancrosact"? posted by Ethan Eade, cromoman@aol.com * Sciolist - FUN. One who pretends to know all, a blow-hard, who actually knows little or nothing. See also: occasional coworkers, Dilbert inspirations, etc. posted by Kathy Lessa, klessa@airmail.net * Spackle - SPECIAL and FUN. It just to seems to have a ring to it. That and "grout". posted by Matt Keeley, mrme@eskimo.com * Spatchcock - ESoF HAT TRICK. Literally, a foul killed, prepared and cooked immediately; by extension, a hastily constructed argument. Synonymous with, but more beautiful than, the common or garden 'cobble together'. cf SPATCHCOCK regarding eel. posted by Phil Glanville, glanv@soton.ac.uk * Spheropygian - ESoF HAT TRICK. Having full and rounded buttocks. Very useful. posted by TMTMTL Joshua W Roby, jroby@westmont.edu * Sticky-beak - FUN. Wanna know what it means? Well don't be such a sticky-beak! Look up nosey parker instead. posted by Gasket, gde224@anu.gpo.au * Strength - SPECIAL. As far as I know, the longest word in English (without a tense or number suffix) which contains only one vowel! Won many a "Hangman" game with this one! posted by Judi Hardison, juditeachr@mexia.com * Stretched - SPECIAL. Because it's the longest one-syllable word that I know about. posted by Dennis Brennan, spike@dolphin.upenn.edu * Sussuration - ENDANGERED and FUN. Sussuration is the act of making the sound that wind makes through trees. A pleasing, quiet kind of sound. posted by Dan Jackson, umjacks2@cc.umanitoba.ca * Swive - ENDANGERED and SPECIAL. An innocuous-sounding word that would have caused commotion if uttered in polite company three or four hundred years ago. For those MCP's among you who wish to retain an air of political correctness while simultaneously making obscene suggestions to nubile females. Analogous to (if not the same as) f***. Difficult to use with artistic accuracy. posted by Mike Smith, msmith@sugar-land.anadrill.slb.com * Sylph - ESoF HAT TRICK. Sylph odd as it may be would be an invisible bee Or / A slender, graceful woman you see. / Ask of me no more here on, / and seek it more in your lexicon. posted by Norm Gharibian, blksmith@terraport.net * Synecdoche - SPECIAL. A synecdoche is an expression in the singular form which can stand for plural things. For example, you can call a group of policemen by the expression "the man". "The man" is a synecdoche for policemen. Pronunciation is "si-NEK-do-key". posted by Doug Ordunio, ordunio@primenet.com * Tanstaafl - SPECIAL. There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Even the DEFINITION goes against basic rules of English! posted by Matt Kupferer, OldestWolf@aol.com * Tarantism - FUN. An irresistible urge to dance. posted by Bill Dawes, 73732.724@compuserve.com * Tomentose - SPECIAL. Me and a few of my friends found this in a large, two-volume dictionary. It means, "covered with coarse, matted, wooly hair." It's just one of those words that everyone should have in his or her vocabulary. posted by Kristine Rogers, kmrogers@cougarnet.byu.edu * Transfenestration - SPECIAL and FUN. Fun because of what it means, special because it's familiar but different. It means "to throw someone/thing through a closed window". posted by Tony Vila, tvila@sfnb.com * Transmugafy - SPECIAL and FUN. The manner and methods by which we take a perfectly normal object (code, device, etc) and "trans"form it by "mugging" out a result that was never intended. Dig. posted by Rick Rohles, rohles@mot.com * Triskaedekaphobia - ENDANGERED and FUN. A wonderful and sadly rare word meaning irrational fear of the number thirteen. For the connaisseur. posted by Ginny Green, v.a.green@uea.ac.uk * Uh! - FUN. Used as an expression of disgust at someone. Kind of good when you can't find any appropriate insult. "Your such an Uh!!" Universal and easy to use. posted by Aaron Janes, janes_c@gilex.com * Ultracrepidarian - FUN. One who speaks on matters upon which one has no authority. posted by TMTMTL Joshua W Roby, jroby@westmont.edu * Ultramundane - ESoF HAT TRICK. This is a great word 'coz it means exactly the opposite of what it sounds like. It means, literally, "out of this world," not "especially mundane". posted by Aaron J. Dinkin, aaron_j._dinkin@fourd.com * Usufruct The right to use and profit from someone else's property so long as it is not used up. If you're so lucky as to hold someone's property and live off the profits, that makes you a usufructuary! posted by Harold E. McKinney, mcvistas@coastalnet.com * Verisimilitude - FUN. It means "the state of appearing to be true." A liar might wipe grease on his hands to add verisimilitude to his story that he had a flat tire. What makes the word fun is that it sounds like and almost means "very similar to [the truth or reality]." posted by Tom Kreitzberg, tak@bushrat.jpl.nasa.gov * Widdershins - FUN. Our ancestors knew that some things moved in a "counterclockwise" direction before anyone invented clocks. This movement to the left was known as widdershins until the name of the mechanical movement usurped its place. posted by Pete Juenemann, RNTT31A@prodigy.com * Xanthic - FUN. "Yellow". It's fun because there just aren't that many words that start with an "x". posted by Dan Strader, culby414@ix.netcom.com * Ylang-ylang - FUN. Sounds nice, smells good, and it always amuses me to have to say this twice to mean it once. posted by John Bacon, jbacon@interaccess.com * Ylem - SPECIAL. Ylem is the basic substance from which the universe is made, thus everything is made of "ylem". I clicked special because It isn't very fun (unless you like sounding esp. weird) and, it is more than falling out of use (it IS out of use) so it isn't endangered, it's effectively dead. I am not sure exactly where the word comes from, but I originally found it in the "Superior Person's Book of Words", which is certainly a tome that everyone should have lying around, being both remarkably amusing, and like the word ylem, out of print. posted by Justin G. Cordesman, sldbrass@infi.net * Zomoskepsis - ESoF HAT TRICK. The contemplation of soup. posted by Tony Vila, tvila@sfnb.com * Zymurgy - ENDANGERED and FUN. Just look at it! Seven letters and only one vowel! And it's a U! Two y's and a Z! Man, they just don't make 'em like that any more... posted by Tony Vila, tvila@sfnb.com