The Good Word List

A while ago I started keeping a list of good words on a sticky note. Words I came across in books or conversations or crossword puzzles, words that are as fun for your mouth as popping grapes. Now the sticky note is full, and I wanted to type up the list before it got lost or thrown away (which happened once, to an earlier version), and figured I'd let you all in on the fun while I was at it. Some of these words I love for their connotations, some for the connection between their sound and meaning, some for the colors of their letters (yes, only in my head.) All of them for their feel in your mouth. So go for it. Read the list out loud.

polypeptide
smock
springform
flounce
swagger
rickrack
cheroot
ferhoodled
bizarre
exaltation
rigamarole
persnickety
spiel
flummox
pilfer
fidget
arugula
chlamydia
obtuse
glum
inevitable
fierce
gypsy
dilapidated
collateral
nomenclature
reciprocal
crinkly
ubiquitous
gnarled
volcanologist
plump
spritz
trapezoid
zephyr
finagle
tantalizing
ambiguity
pyroclastic
poignant
peculiar
shrewd
rickety
shellac
snarky

Well done. Now get your own sticky note and make your own. And don't forget to tell me what they are.