Some people have a way with words, and some words have a way of making us laugh. One person asked the internet to share English words they think are inherently funny. Here are the best responses.
Note: Some quotes in this piece have been lightly edited for grammar.
1: Fun To Say
“I thought of tart,” the original poster said, kicking things off. Especially spoken in a British accent as a brief insult, they added. “Or umpti-thrumptiest. As in, ‘He proved for the umpti-thrumptiest time that he is a tart.'”
2: Not Unbelievable
“I’ve never heard of umpti-thrumptiest,” one person responded. “But since people say all sorts of stuff, I’ll accept that someone says that.” They added their favorite funny word into the mix, “Kumquat is funny.”
3: Goofing Off
One person mentioned “shenanigans” as their favorite hilarious word. Not only is it fitting when you’re getting up to no good, but it’s equally fun to say aloud.
4: Alphabet Soup
A seemingly naturally born linguist says anything with a “K” in it is fun to say. They point to “kerfuffle” as an example.
5: To Name a Few
It’s subjective, a commenter says, but they had a few funny words that came to mind: “Codswallop (noun): Nonsense; Hullaballoo (noun): A commotion or fuss; Mollycoddle (verb, transitive): Treat someone in an overly indulgent way.” The list goes on.
6: Silly Sayings
One Northeastern resident left “Gobbledygook” as an example of a hilarious English word.
7: Blowing Up
“I’ve always liked ‘bubbles,'” one English speaker said. “It’s not an onomatopoeia, but there’s something about the word bubbly that just feels bubbly.” They’re not wrong.
8: Name Calling
“Riff-raff” and “nincompoop” are pretty hilarious English words, according to one commenter. They also make for pointed insults.
9: A Laughing Matter
The word “poppycock” sends an English speaker into a giggle fit every time. “I just can’t keep a straight face whenever I hear it,” they said.
10: Doctor’s Orders
One person says while it may not be funny, it’s definitely fun to say “anesthesiologist.” Another responded, “Not as fun (or funny) as phlebotomist though.”
11: Messing Around
“I think the word diddle is pretty funny,” one English speaker said. You tried saying it out loud, didn’t you?
12: On a Roll
When they hit the bakery, one carbohydrate lover can’t help but think about how silly the word “pumpernickel” is, referring to the bread loaf, of course.
13: Truly Confused
“The always classic, ‘bamboozle'”one person says about their favorite hilarious word. It honestly never gets old.
14: It’s All Fake
A realist said while they know all words are technically made up, they love the word “sticktoitiveness,” meaning perseverance, because it sounds fake. “Sticktoitiveness is a perfectly cromulent word,” someone responded.
15: Not English
“English doesn’t have that many funny words,” one naysayer said. Yiddish, on the other hand, has plenty that we’ve borrowed from. For example, “Schmuck: a foolish person; Schmutz: dirt; and Klutz: a clumsy person” have all been adopted into American English.
Source: Reddit.
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