[John Whitworth]

You may be interested to know that 'berserk, fart, testicles' have been voted the three ugliest words in the language. 'Penis' and 'lesbian' were also much disliked. I'm surprised by 'lesbian'. It sounds a lovely word to me. Come on then. The UGLIEST words?

Aardvark? Wigan?

[W.F. Lantry]

Originally Posted by Richard Meyer

Long ago I read in a book that the most beautiful sounding expression in the English language is cellar door.

God bless Cyrus Lauron Hooper, who Tolkien plagiarized 40 years later. Interestingly, the book in question is now available for free from Google Books.

Here's the citation itself: http://books.google.com/books?id=cp4...20door&f=false

If you scroll up a little, you'll find he gives his own list of 'most beautiful words' on the preceding page...

Thanks,

Bill

[Jim Burrows]

"gambol" but not "gamble"
"summery" but not "summary"
"brood" but not "brewed"

I like "sumpture", but I've only ever seen it one place, that I can remember: "in the pomp and sumpture of her hey-day".

[Duncan Gillies MacLaurin]

I've compiled my own list.

Duncan

[Susan d.S.]

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

[Duncan Gillies MacLaurin]

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

[Allen Tice]

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.

[Richard Meyer]

Originally Posted by Susan d.S.

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

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

Richard