Reddit user emkatherine asked:
“In the English language, what's an old-fashioned or obscure word you wish were used more often?"
“Overmorrow/ereyesterday just easier to say than the day after/before tomorrow/yesterday. l still use these terms in Dutch (overmorgen/eergisteren).”
“I wonder why the English stopped.”
-cantbakemistake
“Quibble: a slight objection or criticism of a trivial matter.”
-FintheFig
“Clement, which means mild and is most often used as an adjective to describe weather. We use ‘inclement weather’ all the time, so why not ’clement weather?’”
-atreeofnight
“Perambulate ~ Walking for pleasure”
-KnotKarma
”I use this and my girlfriend rolls her eyes.“
“I take the cat on his morning perambulations.”
-Emergency-Hope-1088
“Boondoggle. Something that is a waste of time, but has the appearance of being practical.”
-aloha_skye
“Boondoggle is super common in American politics. I don't know if it's used elsewhere. Politically, it's often used to describe an expensive project that is presented as being for the public good but is actually a favor to a particular donor or a way to filter government funds to the contractor that builds it.”
-TheRevEO
“Gobsmacked, I thinks it's more common in the Commonwealth but not in America.”
-soline
“‘Common in the commonwealth’ tickled me a tad.”
-OverunityMachine
“Defenestration—the act of throwing something or someone out of a window.”
-TimeTraveler3056
“If I could throw in an Old English word I wish we used?”
“Bōchord or maybe bochord : library, collection of books, essentially book + hoard.”
-KarmaKitty4-3
“Aglet. That's what the end of a shoelace is called but I never hear it being used.”
-orangeheatt
“Swell. It has such a endearing charm to it.”
"’Mmm this chicken is swell!’”
"’I had a swell time with you last night’"
-fallencabanel
These words may have fallen out of fashion in much of the world, but there’s no reason we can’t bring them back.
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