Duleigh
Just an old dog
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2004
- Posts
- 6,184
Charles Dickens, one of my literary heroes, had a penchant for making words when existing words didn't fit the situation. I found a list of words that Charles Dickens invented and I was surprised to see he crafted these additions to the English language. Quite often when he needed an adjective and the right one didn't exist he broke out the -y suffix to make new adjectives (mildewy, bulgy, swishy, soupy, waxy, trembly) and the iness suffix for a really useful adjective (messiness, cheesiness, fluffiness, seediness). Some times he went overboard but the Oxford English Dictionary still contains metropolitaneously ("in metropolitan fashion") but the OED marked it as a nonce word meaning that Dickens was the only one to use it. I guess that's a benefit of being a world renown author, you get a personal, private word published in the dictionary.
Dickens's very first novel, The Pickwick Papers from 1837, introduced such slang terms as butter-fingers (a clumsy person"), flummox ("bewilder"), sawbones ("surgeon"), and whizz-bang (sound of a gunshot).
I figured out one that stumped the language editor at the Wall Street Journal Ben Zimmer:
Other words Dickens created:
Sassigassity - Dickens only used this once, 1850 in “A Christmas Tree,” in the line “…the sassigassity of that dog is indeed surprising…” According to Dickens, “sassigassity” means “audacity with attitude.”
Comfoozled - Dickens invented this word to mean “exhausted” or “overcome,” The Pickwick Papers: “He’s in a horrid state o’ love; reg’larly comfoozled, and done over with it.” This is not to be confused with the relatively new word “confuzzled,” which is a portmanteau of “confused” and “puzzled.”
Jog-trotty - Traditionally, a jog-trot is a slow trot (commonly seen in horses), but Dickens transformed it into an adjective to describe something that is boring or dull.
My absolute favorite addition to the English language is rarely used verb
Dickens's very first novel, The Pickwick Papers from 1837, introduced such slang terms as butter-fingers (a clumsy person"), flummox ("bewilder"), sawbones ("surgeon"), and whizz-bang (sound of a gunshot).
I figured out one that stumped the language editor at the Wall Street Journal Ben Zimmer:
I don't think many people on earth have actually seen turpentine, it's not what you see now, a thin clear nasty smelling liquid, that's Spirits of Turpentine. Turpentine is very thick and tarry, it was used to seal the hulls of wooden ships. It appears they were sealing the leaves, the separate sections that make up a table top, then buffing them with bees wax
Other words Dickens created:
Sassigassity - Dickens only used this once, 1850 in “A Christmas Tree,” in the line “…the sassigassity of that dog is indeed surprising…” According to Dickens, “sassigassity” means “audacity with attitude.”
Comfoozled - Dickens invented this word to mean “exhausted” or “overcome,” The Pickwick Papers: “He’s in a horrid state o’ love; reg’larly comfoozled, and done over with it.” This is not to be confused with the relatively new word “confuzzled,” which is a portmanteau of “confused” and “puzzled.”
Jog-trotty - Traditionally, a jog-trot is a slow trot (commonly seen in horses), but Dickens transformed it into an adjective to describe something that is boring or dull.
My absolute favorite addition to the English language is rarely used verb
I'm sure the writers here could have a grand time with their own versions of being mother-in-lawed
