04 January 2013

52 Things/Week 4: Make a List of 25 Interesting Words to Tattoo on Myself

Revision: 26 Words (one for each letter of the alphabet) - rather than 25.

I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to come up with 26 words (green) that I'd want tattooed on myself...  However, I more than succeeded with this task and came up with 100+ (but I'll only post 100).  I love words.  I love the way they sound, what they mean, and I love typography more than anything.  I expect I'll get a word cloud of some sort with each word in a different font on one of my thighs.  I also hope to expand on this tattoo each year with a new word (or possibly choose 34 words - the yellow words are the additional 8 words - one for each year of my life).  Obviously this tattoo is not quite done and I have a whole left arm sleeve that needs to be completed before I contemplate working on this one.  But I wanted to find a list of words I enjoy (whatever their meaning).

Here is the list (the highlighted words are those I've chosen for the first 26).  The choices I made, interestingly, have something to do with me in one form or another.  Words that describe me (Audacious, Soliloquy).  Words I use (Dystopia, Facetious).  Words that remind me of something (Oubliette from Labyrinth, Yeoman from Robin Hood).

Any other suggestions??



1.          Audacious – Daring
2.          Acquiesce – To consent without protest
3.          Ampersand – The name for “&”
4.          Assuage – To make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe; To pacify, calm
5.          Ballyhoo – Sensational or clamorous advertising or publicity
6.          Botryoidal – Mineral with a globular form shaped like a bunch of grapes
7.          Betwixt – Between
8.          Brouhaha – An uproar, hubbub
9.          Beguile – Deceive
10.      Cacophony – Jarring, discordant sound
11.      Caustic – Capable of burning, corroding, dissolving, or eating away by chemical action
12.      Cornucopia – Horn overflowing with whatever its owner desired, signifies prosperity
13.      Chrysalis – A protective covering
14.      Dystopia – A community or society that is undesirable or frightening
15.      Druid – A priest in the ancient Celtic religion
16.      Disingenuous – Insincere
17.      Effervescent – Bubbly
18.      Equinox - Either of the two times during a year when the sun crosses the celestial equator
19.      Euphoric – Feeling great happiness and well-being
20.      Epiphany – A revelation
21.      Enrapture – Delight
22.      Epitome – Embodiment of the ideal
23.      Erstwhile – At one time, for a time
24.      Facetious – Playfully jocular, humorous
25.      Flibbertigibbet – A silly, scatterbrained person
26.      Grandiloquent – Using high-flown, pompous, bombastic words and expressions
27.      Gumption – Boldness, initiative
28.      Hootenanny – Informal performance by folk singers, typically with participation from the audience
29.      Harbinger – Messenger with news from the future
30.      Hyperbole – A deliberate exaggeration used for effect
31.      Hoi Polloi – The common people
32.      Immolate – To kill oneself by fire
33.      Incognito – With one’s identity disguised or concealed
34.      Ineffable – Indescribable or unutterable, Taboo
35.      Insatiable – Impossible to satisfy
36.      Insidious – Beguiling but harmful
37.      Jinglingly – So as to jingle
38.      Juxtaposition – Placing side by side, especially for comparison or contrast
39.      Kismet – Fate, fortune
40.      Kerfuffle – A disorderly outburst or tumult
41.      Labyrinth – A maze
42.      Lachrymose – Inclined to weep
43.      Lascivious – Expressing lust
44.      Libertine – One who defies established religious precepts; a freethinker
45.      Languid – Slow, listless
46.      Lithe – Flexible, graceful
47.      Mellifluous – Smooth, sweet sounding
48.      Mottephobia – Fear of Moths
49.      Moxie – Determination, nerve
50.      Misanthropy – Hatred or mistrust of humankind
51.      Moist – Slightly wet, damp
52.      Ne’er-do-well  – An idle, irresponsible person
53.      Nebulous – Cloudy, hazy; vague
54.      Necromancy – Practice of communicating with the spirits of the dead; black magic
55.      Nefarious – Infamous by being extremely wicked
56.      Noctilucous – Shining in the night
57.      Obsequious – Exhibiting servile compliance
58.      Om – A mantric word thought to be a complete expression of Brahman
59.      Onomatopoeia – Words that imitate the sound they are describing (“quack,” “moo,” “boing”)
60.      Oubliette – A dungeon with a trapdoor in the ceiling as it’s only means of entrance or exit
61.      Opulent – Ostentatious
62.      Panache – Dash, verve
63.      Paramour – A lover, especially one in an adulterous relationship
64.      Penultimate – Next to last
65.      Penchant – A strong inclination
66.      Penumbra – A partial shadow, as in an eclipse
67.      Quintessential – Most essential
68.      Quiescent – Being quiet, still
69.      Quixotic – Extravagantly chivalrous or romantic
70.      Resplendent – Splendid or dazzling in appearance
71.      Reverie – Daydreaming
72.      Sarcophagus – An above-ground stone coffin
73.      Scintillating – Sparkling; A brilliant display of wit
74.      Soliloquy – The act of speaking to oneself
75.      Serendipitous – Chance
76.      Splendiferous – Splendid
77.      Steatopygian – Having and excessive accumulation of fat on the buttocks
78.      Superfluous – Being beyond what is sufficient
79.      Syzygy – The configuration of the sun, the moon and the Earth lying in a straight line
80.      Thew – A well-developed sinew or muscle
81.      Tittle – A small amount; to giggle
82.      Tutelage – Guardianship; care, protection
83.      Ubiquitous – Omnipresent, being (or seeming to be) everywhere at the same time
84.      Usurp – To seize and hold by force and without legal authority
85.      Undulation – Movement in waves
86.      Vestige – Trace
87.      Vim – Enthusiasm, vitality
88.      Voluptuous – Characterized by ample, unrestrained pleasure
89.      Wherewithal – The means
90.      Woebegone – Sorrowful, downcast
91.      Wanderlust – A strong, irresistible impulse to travel
92.      Xesturgy – Polishing
93.      Xylomancy – Divination by examining wood found in one’s path
94.      Xyloglyphy – Wood carving
95.      Yeoman – One who cultivates his own land/craftsman/trader
96.      Yesternight – Last night
97.      Zen – A school of Mahayana Buddhism
98.      Zephyr – A gentle breeze
99.      Zither – A stringed musical instrument
100.   Zythum – Ancient Egyptian beer

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