what i meant was that the word doesn’t have any longevity in that specific sense and since the sense you describe isn’t in the dictionary i was effectively refering to the word as a whole (since the word currently only has one sense).

puns are difficult, because technically, as the definition of a pun entails, a pun is a play on words and thus not a word in itself.

if a particular pun gains a lot of currency, however, then it can of course become a word in its own right.

i love the way the kids at your school use the word, though! thats hilarious!

here’s hoping that the word, as your boys use it, gains more popular currency and that it one day goes in the dictionary!

i’m trying to think of a way to do it ironically perhaps, or something… or tongue-in-cheek? but no – its too weird a word!

you went above and beyond using it, though. i’m just happy people found the word interesting, i really don’t expect people to actually say it.

although, perhaps saying “you sir, are a jobbernowl” could work…? with a put-on haughty accent or something…?

i also like the french accent a lot. theres something so goofy about it and then also romantic, of course.

i can’t believe a word can’t come out either…? and you’re right, its exactly like not changing a bad call.!

i think the reason they don’t take words out is so that the oed can be a chronicle of all the words that have been in use at any stage. there are lots of interesting words that are now obsolete and haven’t been used in 200 years. i think the verb “job” as in to poke is now termed obsolete. but its interesting to know that it was once used.

“sexophone” is another matter, of course, and that one is definitely a mistake, like the referee’s bad call. yeah, i think they should amend that rule so that they can correct bad calls!

As for accents I like English, French, and Italian. I also can’t believe you can’t take a word out of OED once it’s made it’s way in. That shocks me even more than how a word gets in. I would think the use of words would fall out over time and thus not be relevant for inclusion anymore. I find it quite baffleing. It’s like a referee in a sport making a bad call and not changing the call.

I also have seen the book Chris has mentioned and I think you would love it.

As for jobbernowl. I pretty sure I can work it in soon. I know there are a lot of jobbernowl’s out on the road when I’m driveing.

I promise to think of words I enjoy tryig to keep alive for future posts.

or

Gday, I play the sexophone.

See?? It works!!

fence, does that mean we can look forward to seeing the word sexophone in your writing sometime…?

by the way, i spelled it wrong in some places – its “sexophone” with an “o”. i’ve corrected it now…

but charlotte’s sexophone with italian accent can still work!

Or you could just adopt one of those accents for your every day speech and easily use the word sexaphone.

Or if you were italian it would be easy too. If you were calling a sex line you would be calling a sexaline. You would be on the sexaphone. ha ha!!!

I too love words – I love silliness too : )

That sounds like a challenge to me

nymeth, i’m glad you like “jobbernowl” – and you’re right, it definitely fits its meaning. there is something very stupid sounding about the word!

“the meaning of liff” sounds very funny – i’ll have to try and get hold of it. i like douglas adams and that kind of humour. i love made up words and i agree, there are loads that i wished actually existed! i remember my mom used to have a spoof almanac which had words of the day that didn’t exist and one of them was “ludlow” which is a was of newspaper that you use to keep a table steady with or something. haha!

go chris! let me know how you get on! i’m going to be calling people (or their heads!) jobbernowls from now on… or if i can’t find someone i’ll call myself a jobbernowl!

sexophone is going to be a little trickier…! i’m trying to work out how to bring it in ordinary conversation… but then, we could just shove it in, like “i wish i had a sexophone” or “i feel all tingly, maybe someone’s playing a sexophone?”. or perhaps we can just be very silly and say “do you play the sexophone?”

what accents do you like in particular, chris? i also like accents! the irish and the scottish accents are always cool to hear! and i’m particularly taken with the liverpudlian accent at the moment.

oh, and the right word for the right moment is a wonderful thing!

i’ve never heard of brave new words. haha! i’ll check it out.

kim, yeah 5 citations is the bare minimum and then you have to go on from there. its not thaaat simple, but also not that much harder to get the word in either. the main thing is, is the word being used, does it have a life? and then the citations (which sort of go hand-in-hand).

oh, share some of your words with us! i love the idea of throwing it into a serious context like a meeting! haha! thats brilliant

you should definitely start doing that again!

and chris and nymeth (and this goes for everyone actually), please share any words you like or have discovered. as i said, i want this post to be interactive, so if there are any words you like please share them. and since i’ll be posting about this fairly regularly, there’ll be loads of opportunities to share all your favourites and any new ones you discover.

I’m amazed it only takes 5 citations to get something into the OED. Yet another reason to get at least 5 things published in my lifetime