I'm usually opposed to the idea of favorites. Whenever somebody asks me "What's your favorite (fill in the blank)" I find myself at an impasse. I mean, how can you narrow it down? How can I pick just one Beatles song, or ice cream flavor, or animal I'd like to eat (or be eaten by)?
I did, however, have a favorite word: diphthong. I just thought it sounded cool: "dip-thong!" I'd work it into conversation, or I'd just say it at random breaks in the conversation. Nothing fills up that awkward pause like a good old "DIP-thong!" Preferably said in a loud and high-pitched voice.
But that's all over now. Katie, in her time-honored practice of spoiling EVERYTHING, challenged me to look up "diphthong" in the dictionary. She said she didn't think it was really a word.
Well, I did: and I found out that I'd been saying it wrong. It's not "dip-thong." It's "diff-thong."
Sheesh. Where's the fun in that?
So now I gotta find a new favorite word. Luckily I got a rich pool of candidates. I think I have it narrowed down to either "caboodle" or "verisimilitude." Hmm. Not bad. But they just don't compare.
Thanks a LOT, Katie.
