Have you ever tried to increase your vocabulary, by learning a new word, every day?

I used to do that, but I am not as good at remembering to do that, as I should be. When I was a kid and going to school every day, I tried to find and learn a new word each day (before leaving home), then drive my classmates crazy (or fascinate them) with my new-found knowledge.

What was really terrific about that, was that many of us would enter into a kind of competition with each other, seeing who could come up with the day’s most unusual word. It became commonplace for some of us to see each other in a school hallway and greet each other with, “What’s the good word?”

Yesterday, I learned a new word, and it was exciting, for some reason. It was part of a crossword puzzle clue, and the new word I learned was YEGG, which is a slang word for a thief, especially a burglar or safecracker.

I think the most unusual word I ever learned (assuming I could actually choose one) would be “vox populi” which has to do with public opinion.

I remember the feeling it gave me, when I heard that word (phrase?) uttered during the movie, NETWORK.

So, have you had similar “adventures” expanding your own vocabulary, by learning new words? What’s the most unusual one you know?

August 30, 2008, 8:89 AM EDT