25 Weird, Witty, and Wonderful Language-Related Terms

25 Weird, Witty, and Wonderful Language-Related Terms Grammar nerds everywhere will appreciate these weird, witty, and wonderful terms used to describe language. Use them to amuse and perplex your friends and teachers.   Allegro speech: the deliberate misspelling, respelling, or non-standard alternative spelling of words (as in the Chick-fil-A slogan Eat Mor Chikin)Bicapitalization  (also known as  CamelCase, embedded caps, InterCaps,  and  midcaps): the use of a capital letter in the middle of a word or name- as in iMac or eBayClitic:   a word or part of a word thats structurally dependent on a neighboring word and cant stand on its own (such as the contracted nt in  cant)Diazeugma:  a sentence construction in which a single subject is accompanied by multiple verbs (as in the sentence Reality lives, loves, laughs, cries, shouts, gets angry, bleeds, and dies, sometimes all in the same instant)Dirimens copulatio:  a statement (or a series of statements) that balances one idea with a contrasting idea (as in Ben Franklins counsel not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment)Feghoot: an anecdote or short story that concludes with an elaborate pun Grawlix:  the series of typographical symbols (*!#*!) used in cartoons and comic strips to represent swear wordsHaplology:  a sound change involving the loss of a syllable when its next to a phonetically identical (or similar) syllable (such as the pronunciation of  probably  as probly)Hidden verb:  a noun-verb combination used in place of a single, more forceful verb (for example,  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹make an improvement  in place of  improve)  Malaphor:  a blend of two aphorisms, idioms, or clichà ©s (as in Thats the way the cookie bounces)Metanoia:  the act of self-correction in speech or writing (or to put that a better way, self-editing)Miranym:  a word thats midway in meaning between two opposite extremes (like the word translucent, which falls between transparent and opaque)Moses illusion:  the phenomenon whereby readers or listeners fail to recognize an inaccuracy in a textMountweazel:  a bogus entry deliberately inserted in a reference work as a safeguard ag ainst copyright infringementNegative-positive restatement:  a method of achieving emphasis by stating an idea twice, first in negative terms and then in positive terms (as when John Cleese said, Its not pining, its passed on. This parrot is no more!) Paralepsis:  the rhetorical strategy of emphasizing a point by  seeming  to pass over it (as when Dr. House remarked, I dont want to say anything bad about another doctor, especially one whos a useless drunk)Paraprosdokian:  an unexpected shift in meaning (often for comic effect) at the end of a sentence, stanza, or short passagePhrop:  a phrase (such as I dont like to boast . . .) that often means the opposite of what it saysPoliteness strategies:  speech acts that express concern for others and minimize threats to self-esteem in particular social contexts (for instance, Would you mind stepping aside?)Pseudoword:  a fake word- that is, a string of letters that resembles a real word (such as  cigbet  or  snepd) but doesnt actually exist in the language  RAS syndrome:  the redundant use of a word thats already included in an acronym or initialism (for example, PIN number)Restaurantese:   the specialized language (or jargon) used by restaurant employees and on menus (such as any item described as farm-fresh, succulent, or artisanal) Rhyming compound:  a compound word that contains rhyming elements, like fuddy duddy, pooper-scooper, and  voodooSluicing:  a type of ellipsis in which an interrogative element is understood as a complete question (as in My folks were fighting last week, but  I dont know what about)Word word:  a word or name thats repeated to distinguish it from a seemingly  identical word or name (Oh, youre talking about  grass  grass)