Real Yet Wacky Words Montanans Need in Their Vocabularies

How many of your are anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring and the dazzling aroma of that first petrichor?

Or perhaps you have resolved to be less pawky in 2024? If you're not already a brilliant wordsmith, perhaps a Michigan university's Word Warriors Program will enhance your gift of gab. Just don't be a blatherskite about it.

Wayne State University scours the English language to find new additions to their annual publication of "Long-lost Words Due for a Comeback." The publication is now in its fifteenth year.

This refreshing throwback approach is much different than some of the trendy words or phrases that get added to the dictionary each year. Who has already had enough of  "generative AI," "NIL" and "big pharma"? Or "gastrodiplomacy." What?

The school receives lots of nominations annually to add to their compilation. We're not sure how much each suggestion is scrutinized before being accepted, but if your vocabulary is on par with mine, there are some real doozies here that I am dying to work into a sentence for the first time ever.

This year's entries include:

Blatherskite: A person who talks at great length without making much sense.

Rawgabbit: A person who speaks confidently but ignorantly

Curglaff: The shock felt when one first plunges into cold water.

Kaffeeklatsch: An informal social gathering at which coffee is served.

Pawky: Having a mocking or cynical sense of humor.

Petrichor: The pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm and dry weather.

Thunderplump: A heavy fall of rain during a thunderstorm.

Pettifogger: An inferior legal practitioner.

Twankle: To twang with the fingers on a musical instrument.

Oh, and their word of the week: Sprauncy: Smart or showy in appearance; dapper.

If you would like to see a more thorough list, this year's Top 10 or submit a word, you can do that here.

Don't be shy. Er, we mean, don't be "aglifft."