Weird words in English
The English language is not as easy as everyone makes it out to be. There are always new words that pop into our vocabulary. However, many of the following words have been around for quite a while, we just don’t use them because they are weird or sound funny.
| Abibliophobia | The fear of running out of reading material. |
| Absquatulate | To leave or abscond with something. |
| Allegator | Some who alleges. |
| Anencephalous | Lacking a brain. |
| Argle-bargle | A loud row or quarrel. |
| Batrachomyomachy | Making a mountain out of a molehill. |
| Billingsgate | Loud, raucous profanity. |
| Bloviate | To speak pompously or brag. |
| Blunderbuss | A gun with a flared muzzle or disorganized activity. |
| Borborygm | A rumbling of the stomach. |
| Boustrophedon | A back and forth pattern. |
| Bowyang | A strap that holds the pants legs in place. |
| Brouhaha | An uproar. |
| Bumbershoot | An umbrella. |
| Callipygian | Having an attractive rear end or nice buns. |
| Canoodle | To hug and kiss. |
| Cantankerous | Testy, grumpy. |
| Catercornered | Diagonal(ly). |
| Cockalorum | A small, haughty man. |
| Cockamamie | Absurd, outlandish. |
| Codswallop | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Collop | A slice of meat or fold of flab. |
| Collywobbles | Butterflies in the stomach. |
| Comeuppance | Just reward, just deserts. |
| Crapulence | Discomfort from eating or drinking too much. |
| Crudivore | An eater of raw food. |
| Discombobulate | To confuse. |
| Donnybrook | An melee, a riot. |
| Doozy | Something really great. |
| Dudgeon | A bad mood, a huff. |
| Ecdysiast | An exotic dancer, a stripper. |
| Eructation | A burp, belch. |
| Fard | Face-paint, makeup. |
| Fartlek | An athletic training regime. |
| Fatuous | Unconsciously foolish. |
| Filibuster | Refusal to give up the floor in a debate to prevent a vote. |
| Firkin | A quarter barrel or small cask. |
| Flibbertigibbet | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Flummox | To exasperate. |
| Folderol | Nonsense. |
| Formication | The sense of ants crawling on your skin. |
| Fuddy-duddy | An old-fashioned, mild-mannered person. |
| Furbelow | A fringe or ruffle. |
| Furphy | A portable water-container. |
| Gaberlunzie | A wandering beggar. |
| Gardyloo! | A warning shouted before throwing water from above. |
| Gastromancy | Telling fortune from the rumblings of the stomach. |
| Gazump | To buy something already promised to someone else. |
| Gobbledygook | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Gobemouche | A highly gullible person. |
| Godwottery | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Gongoozle | To stare at, kibitz. |
| Gonzo | Far-out journalism. |
| Goombah | An older friend who protects you. |
| Hemidemisemiquaver | A musical timing of 1/64. |
| Hobbledehoy | An awkward or ill-mannered young boy. |
| Hocus-pocus | Deceitful sleight of hand. |
| Hoosegow | A jail or prison. |
| Hootenanny | A country or folk music get-together. |
| Jackanapes | A rapscallion, hooligan. |
| Kerfuffle | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Klutz | An awkward, stupid person. |
| La-di-da | An interjection indicating that something is pretentious. |
| Lagopodous | Like a rabbit’s foot. |
| Lickety-split | As fast as possible. |
| Lickspittle | A servile person, a toady. |
| Logorrhea | Loquaciousness, talkativeness. |
| Lollygag | To move slowly, fall behind. |
| Malarkey | Nonsense, balderdash. |
| Maverick | A loner, someone outside the box. |
| Mollycoddle | To treat too leniently. |
| Mugwump | An independent politician who does not follow any party. |
| Mumpsimus | An outdated and unreasonable position on an issue. |
| Namby-pamby | Weak, with no backbone. |
| Nincompoop | A foolish person. |
| Oocephalus | An egghead. |
| Ornery | Mean, nasty, grumpy. |
| Pandiculation | A full body stretch. |
| Panjandrum | Someone who thinks himself high and mighty. |
| Pettifogger | A person who tries to befuddle others with his speech. |
| Pratfall | A fall on one’s rear. |
| Quean | A disreputable woman. |
| Rambunctious | Aggressive, hard to control. |
| Ranivorous | Frog-eating |
| Rigmarole | Nonsense, unnecessary complexity. |
| Shenanigan | A prank, mischief. |
| Sialoquent | Spitting while speaking. |
| Skedaddle | To hurry somewhere. |
| Skullduggery | No good, underhanded dealing. |
| Slangwhanger | A loud abusive speaker or obnoxious writer. |
| Smellfungus | A perpetual pessimist. |
| Snickersnee | A long knife. |
| Snollygoster | A person who can’t be trusted. |
| Snool | A servile person. |
| Tatterdemalion | A child in rags. |
| Troglodyte | Someone or something that lives in a cave. |
| Turdiform | Having the form of a lark. |
| Unremacadamized | Having not been repaved with macadam. |
| Vomitory | An exit or outlet. |
| Wabbit | Exhausted, tired, worn out. |
| Widdershins | In a contrary or counterclockwise direction. |
| Yahoo | A rube, a country bumpkin. |
| @ | The “at” sign. |
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