Isn't language great?

Some words just feel so good to say. They sound like the gentle babble of a creek tide washing over some well worn limestone. It may sound pretentious, but to be able to use a word that you particularly enjoy is one of those little cards up your sleeve. Do you have any special words that make you feel good?

Conversely, some words are so lovely to hear others say. I forced both the Glamazon and Mamela to attend a three hour play with me ("Faith Healer") so I could hear Ray Fiennes' marathon metered soliloquies, chock full of beautiful wordplay and nuance. I was in heaven, near swooning. Mamela fell asleep.

But let's take the objective road on this and defer to those choices of the popular vote.

So what does the general public think are the ten most beautiful words of all time? According to the Book of Lists, Vol. 2, they are: GONORRHEA, GOSSAMER, LULLABY, MEANDERING, MELLIFLUOUS, MURMURING, ONOMATOPOEIA, SHENANDOAH, SUMMER AFTERNOON, WISTERIA

Yes, those are nice, although I wouldn't have rolled this out with a sexually transmitted disease, per se, but those crazy anal retentives and their need to alphabetize. Perhaps these words were selected because they all sound so ethereal. Ethereal. That's a good word too. Note to self: Add to good word list.

What words (excluding expletives) were considered the ten ugliest sounding words in English? According to ESPY, they are: FRUCTIFY, KUMQUAT, QUAHOG, CREPUSCULAR, KAKKAK, GARGOYLE, CACOPHONOUS, AASVOGEL, BROBDINGNAGIAN, JUKEBOX

What the fuck does aasvogel mean? I'll have to look that one up when I'm done here.

I don't buy these as THE ten worst sounding words of all time, so I have to refer back to that oracle of encyclopedic reference, The Book of Lists. They cite these ten words: CACOPHONY, CRUNCH, FLATULENT, GRIPE, JAZZ, PHLEGMATIC, PLUMP, PLUTOCRAT, SAP and TREACHERY.

OK, we have a problem. I love the word cacophony and well, jazz and flatulent are ingrained in my patois. I'm throwing this decision to ESPY here, but do let me know if you disagree.

I had to think of those words that I find pleasing...how about fawn, anemone, tendril. luminous, cerulean, myrrh, pansy, oleander...I will actually have to sit down and make a proper list.

I have collected a few other words, thanks to my colleagues who occasionally gift me with the odd new word. Hollaback Girl gave me the word Grammelschmalz which means those naughty bits of meat and juice that remains at the bottom of the pan after a BBQ. They call it debris in New Orleans. Yes, I like this word very much.

One of the online peeps. See-Klar, gave me the word Plebe. This means a freshman at a military or naval academy. That just sounds good rolling off your tongue.

And of course, I am an on a daily Yiddish learning course with Mamela. My favorite Yiddish word has got be to Mishigas, which mean craziness ("What kind of mishigas is that?"). Not to be confused with Meshugine, which just means out right crazy.

My grandma, Hilda, came from a very poor family and had to leave school at age 12 to go and work in the factories in England. She resented the fact she had to surrender her education at such a young age in order to support her family and she spent her entire life educating herself. She used to READ the dictionary and she worked the New York Times crossword puzzle every single day. She succeeded and indeed, she was the most erudite person I ever knew. She loved words and she instilled that in me.

And if she were still living, I would have asked her to write this entry.