Because it’s on my mind, here is a list of the most irksome words I can think of. It’s not that I find any of these especially offensive or vulgar; rather they are phonetically ugly or otherwise unpleasant:
lubricate
commode
thumb
crate
tit(ty)
inject
wriggle
regular
finger
escalate
thigh
nug(get)
thespian
jar
But, in the interest of balance, here are some lovely, fun, words with nice sounds and rhythms:
investigate
clever
flugelhorn
abscond
knee
crackle
scintiller (fr)
belletrist
diaphanous
translucent
trickery
Oddly, I only like “scintiller” in French, and am disinterested in “scintillate” in English. I also wonder why so many of the words on the first list are body parts. Is this some Freudian sublimation thing? I’m sure my students could sort it out.
Feel free to submit your own lists!
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