I’m Thankful for the Cheekiness of Old Words

@HaggardHawks Tweeting about the word 'pastinaceous'

@HaggardHawks bringing the awesome with interesting old words on Twitter

Awesome old word voted most likely to be used (in good humor!) of a relative this Thanksgiving — PASTINACEOUS: adj., looking all parsnip-like

If you haven’t guessed yet, in addition to my love of ridiculous new words, I have to confess that I also love ridiculous old words. As I wrote for the Copyediting blog:

Old words demand nothing from the conscientious editor. Time has set them aside in a nice, comfortable place where they aren’t asking for our judgment or acceptance. My favorite current sanctuary of old-time words is Haggard Hawks Words.

Check out the full post on Copyediting or go straight to Haggard Hawks on Twitter.

Image credit: “Pastarnoko šaknys,” Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0

About PurplePenning

Dawn McIlvain Stahl has been kindly bringing style and order to writing for more than 15 years. She provides editorial services for individuals and organizations — editing and proofreading books, articles, reports, websites, and social media. Stahl keeps one finger on the pulse of current editing, language, and publishing news. Catch the beat of that pulse by following her on Twitter and across the web @PurplePenning.

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