Today's Globe had an interesting article on some English words that are on the linguistic chopping block for the next edition of the Collins English Dictionary. Forced to economize space and incorporate new vocab, the dictionary authorities have deemed these poor words under-utilized and unloved by modern language. In short, they will be exuviated.
My favourites are: muliebrity, oppugnant, and niddering. I challenge anyone to use a word off of that list during conversation tomorrow.
Also, isn't agrestic also the name of the suburb in the teevee show Weeds? I wonder if that's intentional irony. Either way, that must surely count for popular usage.
UPDATE: here's an interesting video of Ed Rondthaler that reveals the irrationality of the English language. The confusing nature of English is apodeictic, but I still think the sort of rational spelling he proposes would take some of the fun out of it all.
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