Sprezzatura. That's a lovely word. Italian is a beautiful language. When I was in Italy, I delighted in listening to ordinary Italians speaking. Even their cursing sounds like music.

A fascinating book I read some years back is titled Sprezzatura: 50 Ways Italian Genius Shaped The World, by Peter D'Epiro and Mary Desmond Pinkowish.

Richard

I like sfumatura and abbronzatura even more.

I've compiled my own list.

Duncan

This was fun to read. "Quagmire" is a bold choice.

Thanks, Susan! I added "quagmire" last of all, originally thinking to say it might belong to Deshoda's list of 100 whimsical words. Then I decided it was more beautiful than whimsical.

I knew I'd think of more words after completion. The first one is "quixotic".

The word "honey" is used as a verb by Douglas Dunn in S3 of his elegy for Larkin, "December's Door". Wonderful choice of word in the context:

A leaf-marked book aches on my windowsill.
0Straw gold and central green were there
A year ago, but book-locked winterkill
0Disfigured them in printed air.
In a closed shadow, opened now, a door
0Into December's estuary
Beneath a wigged moon, it honeys the floor
0To starry oak, reflected Tay.
Geese draw their audible, Siberian bow
0Over the moon and Buddon Ness,
And now I can't repay the debt I owe,
0A withered leaf, a dry distress.

Duncan

spline : a thing with wheel hubs; a flexible wood or rubber strip used esp. in drawing large curves.

rhumb line a sailing curve.

meridian.

gnocchi.

I've always been grateful that my parents didn't christen me Quag.

Richard

Csymbalum
 

Despite the doubts I previously expressed and linked below, I am almost ready to go for spelling my problem word with cee ess, viz [videlicet]:

Csymbalum,

as in csárdás.

Word-tasters out there, any semaphores for me, pro or con????

I am fascinated by this thread..the command of language (s) so many of you have....amazed even. cerebrum, pancreas, aorta, limbic, immune are all beautiful words...until something goes wrong with one or all of them. A list of ugly words might be even easier to do. Go for it! I'm curious to know which list you would put dirt in. : )