Vocabulary
It may seem like a strange thing to write about, but for fun, here are some of my most commonly used words and expressions.
Accost - Used by some friends of mine while gathering to go to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert on December 27th, 2005, to describe the feeling of being asked for money by beggars downtown, and how it is usually best to try to avoid getting into that situation.*
Angst - Used to indicate general displeasure with a given situation, particularly when things don't go according to plan.
Assail - A word originally employed by my Psychology 125 class at St. Olaf, made all the funnier when used by our wonderful teacher, Gary Muir:
"See, the trouble with babies is they can't communicate. You can't ask them things like 'Do you see a doggy?'
'Do you just hear a buzz?'
'Are those entrails you're being assailed with?'" - Gary Muir
Automagically - Generally used to describe the inner workings of a computer; this makes the user feel less ignorant if they believe there is some element of magic happening that even the tech guy may or may not understand.
Context - It's a legitimate word in and of itself, but it entered my vernacular as a tribute to my love for Apple computers. How on earth do those relate? The presenters in more than a few of Apple's online publicity videos for various software products like to use phrases about keeping workflow items in context (the specific example I have is the demo for Shake). Also, with the introduction of Mac OS X "Tiger" came the advent of Apple's "Core Data" system, in which managed objects are maintained within a "managed object context". Yes, it's a stretch, but after writing an Objective-C program using the Core Data backbone, words like that tend to seep into my vocabulary.
Core ____ - No, it's not an apple core. When I use the word "core", it's most often in the context of referring to a basic underlying set of pieces (be that principles, values, beliefs, courses, or anything else that might be considered a building block of something larger). This, like "context", comes as result of my exposure to Apple's Objective-C programming environment, in which one comes across words like "Core Foundation", "Core Data", "Core Image", and "Core Audio". And then there are the "CoreServies" in OS X's system folder. Yes, I'm a geek.
Homegoing celebration - I'd never heard this combination of words until one day in August, 2006, when one of the KTIS hosts was talking about his friend's funeral. It really resonated with me; I've long believed that funerals are supposed to be times to celebrate a person's life and accomplishments, especially when concerning someone who has lived a full, long life, and also to celebrate the beginning of their journey heavenward - this new phrase seems to aptly fit that aspect of my theology.
Howdy - When I first started in retail at the age of 14, I commonly greeted customers with a mere "Hi", but that didn't have enough syllables for my liking, so I gradually progressed into the more formal "Hello". That's okay for in-person encounters, but it's way too formal for the intrinsically impersonal email, thus I stole the word "howdy" from friend and former co-worker Peter Jerde.** (I also use the greeting "Hey!" or "Hey there!" because it is even more informal than "howdy" yet still maintains a higher respectability than a mere "hi").
It went - For when something has not gone particularly well, though not necessarily as badly as possible; this phrase is most often used in reference to tests to show a certain level of exasperation, the effect being something similar to: "the [test / event] is over, it didn't go as well as I'd hoped, but I don't think I completely failed, either."
Minor details - Used as an attempt at humorous recovery when I recognize some required action is quite substantial or important. For example, if I invite someone to see a movie, but they reply they've a ginormous test for which they need to study, I might reply "minor details," indicating I understand the necessity for them to study.
Pretend Computer - My way of describing a Windows machine.
Simplistically put - Stems from one of the texts from my first-year religion class at St. Olaf. This phrase is generally used in a sarcastic sense, the reason for which you will understand after reading the original quote:
"Simplistically put, reality is composed of an unending stream of transient, constantly changing, unreliable, contingent, and conditioned entities/forces, which are seemingly oppositional in nature, yet simultaneously harmonious, inseparably unified, and interconnected with their opposite and with all other reality in an interdependent, interpenetrating web of existence." - Lyn Bechtel
St. Mattress and Bedside Baptist - Terms uses to describe mornings spent in bed instead of in church. An example usage might sound like this: "I worshipped at the Church of St Mattress / Bedside Baptist this morning" or "I was practicing my horizontal prayer to St Mattress."
Sufficiently awkward - Used by the wonderful math teacher in one of my favorite movies, Mean Girls, to describe her out-of-school encounter with some of her students.
Y'all - I use "y'all" partly because I used to work with a southerner (at Minnehaha's theatre), but primarily because I have long held to the belief that English should have a separate and distinct plural version of "you" like so many other languages. "Y'all" fits this description nicely, and it's distinctive enough to make my language stand out slightly (at least amidst my midwestern surroundings). As an aside, I also would love if English had a respectful form of "you" (like "usted" in Spanish).
*This is not an endorsement or ridicule of the spoken viewpoint, merely a factual retelling of the event that brought this word into my often-used vocabulary
**Peter always used "Howdy there" because it has three syllables, and can thus help cover up the fact that he had most often forgotten the person's name whom he was speaking to.