Being as I am a language sponge, it is no surprise when I find myself adopting new words and phrases, or using more often words of whose existence I have recently been reminded. Before having an Australian boss, for example, I was never known to say, ‘no worries,’ which is now an integral part of my vocabulary. After watching Buffy Season Three for the first time there was a spike in my use of ‘wicked’ as ‘neat’, and after rewatching it I fear it stuck (although I’ve managed to keep use of ‘five by five’ down to consciously controlled levels.)
However, sometimes words and phrases just percolate up into one’s consciousness. Some phrases that occur and recur to me I try to exorcise or harness by using them in fiction…some are merely nonsense. Ah, but words…words I have little control over. They bubble up unseen from crevices in my mind, dislodged by who knows what secret stirrings. I seem at any given time to have one or two words that are inserted, smurf-fashion, wherever a sound is needed or I don’t know what to say. This can be confusing for others, especially when the nonsense word of the moment is a real word, such as, for example, ‘pickle.’ ‘Pickle’ had a long stay, as did ‘picketty’ (picked up from [Katrina Van Tassel is introduced singing, ‘The Picketty Witch, the Picketty Witch, who’s got a kiss for the Picketty Witch?’|text|Tim Burton’s lovely ‘Sleepy Hollow,’]), which I still utter rhythmically when I’m trying to concentrate. The current reigning champion is ‘schmrr,’ which has the advantage of being unmistakably meaningless. These words shift over time, and while I can exert pressure by conscious usage, I am not truly in control.
From time to time, however, non-nonsense words bubble up from the darkness. The latest monster to force itself upon an unwilling brain-surface is a term of endearment. A horribly saccharine, pink, fluffy term of endearment: ‘pookie.’
When I complain of my plight to sister sledge, she will only say that ‘pookie’ is perfectly nice and I should keep it. However, I’m afraid that if I don’t extirpate it, I’ll find myself calling lots of people ‘pookie’ who I really, really shouldn’t. It’s a disease. Next thing I know I’ll be a 60-year-old woman with a big purple necklace calling girls I don’t know ‘sweetheart.’ For the moment, I’m coping with my pookie-urges by channeling them towards appropriate targets. Apparently sister sledge digs the pookie, and as far as I know, Qubit doesn’t care what I call her, so long as the scritches keep coming.
Comments
Pookie is a fine word.
In fact, I named my first computer that. Not that I’m very creative with the computer names. My PB is named shiny and the computer I built myself is johnny5 after the Short Circuit robot.
Re: Pookie is a fine word.
I think fangirlism is the best way to name a computer! (fanboyism is the runner-up.)
My computers are named Titania (the desktop) and Puck (the PowerBook) and I’ve named my router Sneezle, not that it matters. My printer is named Oola, legacy of my original computer-naming scheme, which was Asimov; literally, in the case of my first ever PC, whose name was Isaac! My second computer was Norby, and therefore the printer was named Oola after the All-Purpose Pet in the Norby books.
Oh, and I named my celphone Sylph (it had to have a name for bluetooth). In keeping with the whole faerye theme.
Sometimes I think my gadget-lust is partially fueled by the desire to name more things.
And therefore, returning to the point at hand, I don’t think you lack creativity.
And your support of ‘pookie’ is noted. I’m afraid it’s started creeping in as a nonsense word, too, today. sob