wpsum #3

With the dawn of the 20th century came exciting new developments such as women's suffrage, penicillin,  Cornflakes, and spiral-bound notebooks. Unfortunately it also meant the end of fancy, flowery language that rolls off the tongue and leaves a pleasant taste in your mouth.* Now our collective vocabularies include words that aren't even words like YOLO and lol. So in my personal opinion, we need to readopt some of the old fancy language of ye olde times. (as a brief side note, I'd like to mention that I'm all for the evolution of the English language and such, but that's really another post for another time.)

So, let's start small. Let's start with the simple word fancy. It's a versatile word, really, and can be used in a plethora of situations. Even better, it can be used as noun, verb, and adjective. Basically, it's the parts of speech jackpot. 

When should you use fancy, you ask? Well let me give you a few appropriate situations.

When describing something that is more than ordinary

Wow, what a fancy party you've thrown. 

When inquiring about your roommate/friend/chum's feelings toward a certain someone. [insert eyebrow waggle]

So, uh, do you fancy him/her?

When expressing a desire to do or have something. 

Well, I'd certainly fancy a box of Hot Tamales right about know

OR

We'd fancy a quick trip to the zoo. 

When showing your surprise about a situation

Fancy that! I didn't know that you have a pet arctic fox. Might I see him sometime?

When you want to get crazy and use the all of the aforementioned uses of fancy at once.

Fancy that! I didn't know you fancied her and  fancy asking her out on a fancy date.

*Disclaimer: I have done no research to prove that this is the period in which this actually happened. I just thought it sounded good....

wpsum #2

Woo
Last semester, I was a Writing Fellow at BYU which basically meant that I got paid to read, critique, and respond to student papers from a certain class before they were turned in for a grade. I was assigned to a geology class, so I read a bucket load of papers about dinosaurs. More specifically dinosaur feathers. Basically there is this theory that dinosaurs actually had feathers that were used for a variety of purposes blah blah blah blah. One of these hypothesized purposes was to attract mates. (This story has a purpose, I swear!) So I got this one paper arguing that attracting a mate was the main use of these special feathers. For about a paragraph and a half, the writer of this paper discussed how male dinosaurs used their plumes and fancy feathers to woo a mate. She must have used the word woo about six times in this short space.

I thought it was hysterical. It's really just a funny word that I thoroughly enjoy using.

Here are some examples of appropriate usages of woo:

When discussing a failed date with your roommate

Yeah, I don't know what was wrong with him. He didn't even try to woo me with chocolate or Hot Tamales.

When giving a pep talk to a friend who wants to pursue a girl

If you want to woo her, you woo her! Just grab her and woo her. Woo the crap out of her!

When your roommate goes on way more dates than you do 

She's wooing men, hallelujah! She's wooing men, ah ah ah!

When you see a hottie

Man, I'd like to woo that!

Okay, so I'm aware that all of these are basically the exact same situation, but I just really like to use the word woo and I really like quoting movies/songs. Deal with it.

words people should use more

So here's some background:

The other day, I was reading my history textbook like a good little student (which I'm totally not being right now, but that's not the point, now is it?) and came across the word schism. After reading this, I commented to Hailey's boyfriend, who was also being a good little student, that I thought more people should use the word schism because it's just a really cool word. Call me a word nerd if you want--I will take zero offense. So I decided that I wanted to make a list of words I think people should use more. So I did. And now I want to share some of that list with you. So, I've decided that whenever the fancy strikes, I will share a word people should use more (wpsum) complete with some dandy examples of what I deem appropriate uses.

wpsum #1--gander

To show you how much fun the word gander can be (and also to prove that my brothers are cooler than yours) I need to share this lovely conversation I had with my 15-year-old brother:

Isn't that enough to convince you to use the word gander more? Because I think it should. You cannot be unhappy when you use the word gander. Similar to the way that you can't say bubbles in an angry voice. I used to think that was a myth, but then last Sunday I tried and it really is quite impossible. Anyway, back to gandering.

It's just fun, guys. It's quirky and different and entertaining. Yes, I think that words can be quirky. So sue me. But seriously, try it out. Next time you are tempted to say "Yeah, I can take a look at that for you" RESIST THE URGE. Instead, say "Yeah, I can take a quick gander at that for you." It will make your day. And the day of the person you are talking to.

Other appropriate uses of gander:

When somebody is checking out your friend/roommate/sister/third cousin's boyfriend's sister's next door neighbor:

"Girl, [or man, if you're talking to a boy. wouldn't want to discriminate] did you see that? That hottie over there just totally gandered you!"

When you're wasting away your life on the internet:

"Hey, what are you doing?" -- "Oh, I'm just gandering at some web pages."

When your friend suddenly realizes that a mutual acquaintance is exceptionally attractive:

"Been there, gandered that."

When you feel that you can improve upon the timeless masterpieces that are Alan Menken lyrics:

"I want to gander at, I wanna gander at them dancin'"
"All those days gandering from the windows"
"A hundred thousand things to gander at"

When you realize that you have a biology test tomorrow that you're woefully unprepared for and really, really need to study for (definitely NOT a true story, for the record):

"Wow, I should probably stop blogging and take a gander at that study guide."