Words, oh how I love thee

I subscribe to Dictionary.com's Word of the Day emails. They're free and I'd like to think they're helping to expand my vocabulary. But even if that's not true, they're still informative and, often, damned entertaining.

Today's word is moue (a pouting grimace). I've seen this word many times in books but never had the occasion to say it out loud. In fact, I'd argue that it's the kind of word one never actually does say out loud. I think there are some words that are used almost exclusively in print--some that shouldn't be used at all anymore, perhaps, because they're outdated, and then some that are just used in print because they're a little too formal or precise or whatever for everyday speech. But they still have a place in writing because we're often looking for that level of precision (or formality or whatever) when we write.

But I digress. Moue.

When I've seen this word, I've always pronounced it in my mind's voice as "mew." Today, I learned that it is actually pronounced "moo." Which is, of course, completely absurd.

I'm not saying Dictionary.com is wrong. That's crazytalk. I love that site. It's just that "moo" is what a cow says. It's not an actual people word. And it's certainly not the sound of something as pretentious as the word "moue."

Another often hilarious thing about the Word of the Day? The examples Dictionary.com gives to illustrate the word's meanings. For example:

Word of the Day for Saturday, November 6, 2010
nacreous \NEY-kree-uhs\, adjective:
Resembling nacre (mother-of-pearl); lustrous; pearly.

Nacreous pearl light swam faintly about the hem of the lilac darkness; the edges of light and darkness were stitched upon the hills.
-- Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel

Um, soooo... Pearly pearl light swam faintly about the hem of the lilac darkness? Because I'm pretty sure my critique partners would have been all OVER my ass if I wrote that. But apparently not so! Apparently that gets you into Dictionary.com! As an example of correct word usage! Awe. Some. ;P

So anyway, get thee over to Dictionary.com and sign up for their free word of the day emails. Well worth it for the entertainment value alone (if you're a word geek like me) and, hey. You might just learn something. :) (Like the fact that "demotic" has nothing to do with demons but actually means "of or pertaining to the common people or everyday language" and whoa isn't THAT and interesting contrast... )