I've been typing up an old journal from 1996 over the last months, and came across the following entry. I said at the time it was a piece after my own heart. It was originally a letter to the Editor in the New Zealand Listener, published on the 27th January, 1996. The writer was John Ruck. Kim Hill was a very popular broadcaster at the time, and more than 25 years later her gravelly voice can still be heard on Saturday mornings.
‘Kim Hill’s use on National Radio of the word ert to
describe breast implants that should have been inert, but weren’t, makes me
wonder how many other potentially useful words lie rusting on our lexicographical
scrapheap.
Couth and gruntled have already emerged from the
shadows, of course. But what else might we find with a bit of judicious
backforming?
Well, there’s delible. It means ‘easily erased,’ as
in ‘use something delible, like a 6B pencil,’ or ‘the Democrats have
made a delible impression on our national politics.’
Trepid might slide timidly into our language. Truder
would be a welcome guest. And ique (pronounced eeek) must eventually be
found everywhere.
Note that, to be useful, such decapites [he gives the
two letter es an acute accent] must be shorter than the words or phrases
they replace; in these hectic times, a syllable saved is a syllable gained.
So poverish just too long to enrich our vocabs. But pologist
(for example) is much snappier than ‘public relations consultant’ (he of
the hevelled appearance and peccable morality.)
Hey, how about dertaker for the fellow who has to dig
‘em up again? Is becile too facile for a member of Mensa?
Interested readers who find other treasures may care to
forward them to Kim Hill for possible transmission. Terested readers, on
the other hand, might just as well turn the page.’
I hope the Listener and Mr Ruck will both forgive me for copying this here, but it seems to good to be lost in the archives of a magazine.
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