Post B2tNfmt2nnlFnWipIO by Plumbert@thecanadian.social
(DIR) More posts by Plumbert@thecanadian.social
(DIR) Post #B2tLHNvjjrqFXQDYZc by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-01T22:44:44Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I think the most masterful writing seems simple and plain-spoken, but still manages to use interesting, obscure words, whilst always neatly framing these oddballs in a little tableau with other words so the meaning is perfectly clear. This is kind of the opposite of how most jargon are applied: Jargon makes you stop reading and look things up. The writing may be more concise and precise but it's like stumbling over rubble to read it.
(DIR) Post #B2tMcoZFzqZABiU9E8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-01T22:59:49Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Use obscure words in a way that makes your readers feel smart and want to use those words too. Don't use them to make people give up and feel lost. (and if you do that by accident, explain the word or fix it)COOL: I'm using obscure words because they are so neat and I want to share them.NO COOL: I'm using obscure words to keep people out, and make them feel like they can't keep up with me.
(DIR) Post #B2tN4hHIh0XngiNime by jcdescy@mastodon.social
2026-02-01T23:04:48Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird You might like "Hidden Pictures" by Jason Rekulak. In some parts there were some religious undertones that somewhat irked me, but if you can look past that (and I could) it's a great story and I just love the writing. It's so clear and concise without being bland.
(DIR) Post #B2tNFxUYkZtD9xxAMC by donlamb_1@mastodon.online
2026-02-01T23:05:40Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Hemingway's short stories are great.
(DIR) Post #B2tNfmt2nnlFnWipIO by Plumbert@thecanadian.social
2026-02-01T23:11:27Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird This!I was thinking the other day that a couple of words that I learned while studying political theory decades ago have recently become part of the general conversation. For years I didn't use the words 'oligarchy' or 'hegemony' because using them seemed more likely to exclude people than to bring them into the conversation. Now those words (or variants of them) seem to be everywhere -- for all the wrong reasons.
(DIR) Post #B2tNoruFVeFXyIcEq0 by graveolensa@mathstodon.xyz
2026-02-01T23:13:09Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird :some sources of obscure words:The phrontisteryhttps://phrontistery.infoThe dictionary of obscure sorrowshttps://www.thedictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/concept/yrathFarscape slang and terminology:https://farscape.fandom.com/wiki/Slang_and_terminologyhyperspace lexicon: https://wiki.dmt-nexus.me/Hyperspace_lexicon
(DIR) Post #B2tO6d9Z6DhDQdFW4G by clew@ecoevo.social
2026-02-01T23:16:22Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Maybe a third thing, unusual words used to alert the reader that the mainstream interpretation isn’t what’s meant. Knowing you don’t understand a term is less ignorance than incorrectly interpreting a term. It feels like more though. Only relevant when there’s a word with both a common and a specific meaning?@futurebird
(DIR) Post #B2tPiNXpgDX3ygADRo by PizzaDemon@mastodon.online
2026-02-01T23:32:00Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I remember reading Vonnegut 's last book of essays around the same time as one of Al Franken's book. Franken is insightful and funny but Vonnegut just cut right to it surgically. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truth_(with_Jokes)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Man_Without_a_Country
(DIR) Post #B2tQW5q9mLSbY0RMtk by zymandia@social.xenofem.me
2026-02-01T23:16:23.905127Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird i was reading fear and loathing in las vegas and he uses the word “atavistic” occasionally so i kept looking it up and remembering what it meant. it was an interesting experience, sometimes it takes a couple tries to get the hang of things like that
(DIR) Post #B2tQW7FiWnV5vZPINU by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-01T23:43:23Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@zymandia Part of my problem with atavistic is I often don't agree that the thing being called "atavistic" is "atavistic" so I get confused about what it means. It's often used for ... spooky, spiritual, vaguely religious stuff. But it's supposed to mean something more like "the previous primitive version" ...Eg. "These ants live lives hunting alone echoing the atavistic ways wasp-like ant ancestors."But often it's "an atavistic vision of a talking horse" Confusing!
(DIR) Post #B2tQgtP2MRry9uuAe8 by ohmu@social.seattle.wa.us
2026-02-01T23:45:17Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I'm trying to decide how, say, Neal Stephenson falls given this metric. And suspect it just comes down to whether a given person likes him or not.
(DIR) Post #B2tV9iXIF5Qafdlbpw by llewelly@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T00:35:24Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @zymandia in my experience, this is a common problem with words that have particular meanings in evolutionary biology; in fiction they're often used with quite different meanings. (Sometimes, but not always, derived from misinterpretations that became popular in the 19th century. Other times derived from what the word meant before evolutionary biology adopted it.)
(DIR) Post #B2tZNKldoGXqpBE66K by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-02T01:22:41Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@zymandia ... you know the ways of the antcestors.(... Sorry ... it will happen again. )
(DIR) Post #B2uXGBFimX2cXNiXCa by adriano@lile.cl
2026-02-02T12:33:40Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Broke: gatekeep with obscure wordsWoke: entice with obscure wordsBespoke: Be Shakespeare and make up those obscure words by the truckload