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Saturday, April 9, 2016

H - Unusual Words - A to Z Challenge





Chrys’s Theme: Unusual Words

I love to fit unusual words into my writing if I can. I also love to discover new-to-me words. They are so much fun. I enjoy looking at them, saying them, and writing them. Yes, I have a real love for words. I bet many of you do too. So I am sharing 20 odd words for each of my letters.

Today is H!

Hackneyed – unoriginal
Hagridden – obsessed
Halcyon – calm
Hara-kiri – suicide
Hardihood – boldness
Harlequin – clown
Harridan – a critical, scolding woman
Harrier - bully
Harry – to plunder; ravage; destroy
Hedonist – one with pursuit of pleasure
Herculean – huge
Heteroclite – abnormal
Hinterland – frontier
Hoary – ancient
Hokum – nonsense
Homunculus – a very small human
Hoodoo – jinx
Hugger-mugger – secret/secretly
Husbanding – conservation
Hyperbole – exaggeration

I’ll be back for P!







Author of Hurricane Crimes, 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. Blogger. Reader. Auntie. Vegetarian. Cat Lover.

16 comments:

Sarah Foster said...

I've definitely heard some of those words but I've never used them in my writing! That would definitely require the right kind of voice or character to pull it off.

Chrys Fey said...

@Sarah, you're right. A character like a professor or a historical setting could pull these off, but not you're everyday character or contemporary story.

Darla M Sands said...

Don't you just adore words?
Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
Best wishes!

Karen Baldwin said...

This was fun! Always love learning new words or revisiting ones I'd forgotten.

Sarah Allan said...

I love obscure words--language is so fun. Hugger-mugger is a favorite.

Liz A. said...

I'd never seen hagridden before.

Jeffrey Scott said...

I love unique words too. Not sure how often they actually creep up into my writing, but if I can get away with using and, and my thought still making complete sense, I will utilize them.

Beth Lapin said...

Hugger-mugger! Really?!

Beth Lapin
Activities for a Good Life
https://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com

diedre Knight said...

Please excuse my harlequin attempt to relay in all hardihood that I am a hagridden hedonist for this new hinterland of herculean hyperbole! Thanks for the wondrous words, lady Chrys :-)

Bushman said...

Some of those are pretty neat. My favorite is Homunculus!

Anonymous said...

A few of those words are familiar to me, but I did learn some new ones. =)

~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

Carrie-Anne said...

I love using unusual and less-common words in my writing, though I can't gut-load them in. My favorite H word is hands-down hemidemisemiquaver.

Chrys Fey said...

@Darla I do love words! :D

@Em-Musing, I'm glad you enjoyed this.

@Sarah, language is fun. There are so many less-used and outdated words out there that just tickle me. :)

@Liz, I'm glad I could introduce you to "hagridden". ;)

@Jeffrey, it is hard to use these odd word, but I try to use them when I can too.

Chrys Fey said...

@Beth, yup..hugger-mugger. That was a new one for me too.

@Diedre, great use of these words. :D

@Jeff, they are neat and fun to say.

@Patricia, I'm glad I could share a few new ones with you. :)

@Carrie-Anne, you're right. Gut-loading isn't good with these odd words, but sprinkling them in is nice. I didn't come across that H word! That obe is a beast!

Sharon Himsl said...

That's quite a list! I think hara kiri is Indonesian origin

Chrys Fey said...

@Sharon, it might be.