{"id":7084,"date":"2019-08-13T14:05:05","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T18:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=7084"},"modified":"2019-08-13T14:05:05","modified_gmt":"2019-08-13T18:05:05","slug":"some-funny-english-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/some-funny-english-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Funny English Words"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo courtesy of Pixabay, CCO<\/p><\/div>\n

I recently had a conversation with someone who is much younger than I am (that\u2019s not hard to do, at my age), and I happened to say that something flummoxed<\/strong> me. She laughed and said, \u201cFlummoxed? I\u2019ve never heard that word before!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ah. I had entered the anachronous zone, where the common language of someone of an older generation crosses paths with a younger generation. It happens in reverse, too, of course. I remember earlier this year hearing someone use the word flex<\/strong> in a context that I\u2019d never heard before. So, yeah. It flummoxed me!<\/p>\n

To be flummoxed is to be confused by something to the point of being distracted and speechless. When that person you\u2019ve been crushing on suddenly strikes up a conversation, you\u2019re probably going to be flummoxed.<\/p>\n

In contemporary terms, to flex is to show off something in a way that draws way too much attention to yourself. If your friend shows up in his new car with the sound system blaring, that\u2019s flexing way too hard.<\/p>\n

So, this got me to thinking \u2013 what are some words that can be both funny-sounding and maybe a bit outdated?<\/p>\n

I have always liked the word discombobulated<\/strong>. Similar in meaning to flummoxed, to be discombobulated is to be distracted and fumbling around. If you have too many things going on at one time, you might be discombobulated.<\/p>\n

A donnybrook<\/strong> is a fight which got way out of hand. Instead of two people throwing punches, many more people got involved and now many punches are being thrown.<\/p>\n

A brouhaha<\/strong> is similar to a donnybrook in that a lot of people are yelling and arguing, but it may not necessarily involve punching. Both should be avoided, however.<\/p>\n

If you want to run away from something, you can skedaddle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you take too much time leaving a place, you are lollygagging<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If something is cockamamie<\/strong>, it is absurd and unreasonable. If someone suggests that climate change could be solved by blocking out the sun a few hours per week, that is a cockamamie idea.<\/p>\n

If someone babbles endlessly without making any sense, that is a rigmarole<\/strong>. For further understanding of this word, please see your local representative in Congress.<\/p>\n

A doozy<\/strong> is tremendous. A doozy of a lie is often told by a politician.<\/p>\n

Payola<\/strong> is a bribe.<\/p>\n

A politician, or anybody, who is planning to do something which is inappropriate and illicit is engaging in skullduggery<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If that same person has been arrested, then he or she is going to the hoosegow<\/strong>. Some people know it as jail or prison.<\/p>\n

If you are a member of the hoi polloi<\/strong>, then you are an average citizen.<\/p>\n

If you are a muckamuck<\/strong>, then you are a celebrity.<\/p>\n

Someone who is ornery<\/strong> is mean-spirited and unpleasant.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, someone who is a namby-pamby<\/strong> is weak and has no character.<\/p>\n

I once went to an event being held by some muckamuck politician, not a member of the hoi polloi like the rest of us. He got caught telling a real cockamamie doozy of a lie at this public hearing, which led to a brouhaha between his supporters and members of the press. The press accused him of engaging in some form of skullduggery to cover up a history of accepting payola. You could tell that the politician was flummoxed because everything he now said was a bunch of rigmarole. Soon, this ornery crowd began throwing punches and a real donnybrook broke out. I got discombobulated with everything going on around me. I’m no namby-pamby kind of guy, but I decided to skedaddle. This was no time to lollygag around!<\/p>\n

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I recently had a conversation with someone who is much younger than I am (that\u2019s not hard to do, at my age), and I happened to say that something flummoxed me. She laughed and said, \u201cFlummoxed? I\u2019ve never heard that word before!\u201d Ah. I had entered the anachronous zone, where the common language of someone…<\/p>\n

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