Lists

List-o-mania

Lists today are exceedingly popular morsels of arcania and many enjoy them for both fun and information. Their commercial popularity peaked with the publication of the volume The Book of Lists by David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace in 1976, an exhaustive compilation of lists of all kinds. More recently lists and “listicles” have become favorite features on amazon.com and other Internet websites, where they are used more to prompt the sale of product than inform and entertain. But they do that too and that’s what makes them interesting. I have met a few people over the years who made a hobby of compiling lists. I guess it rubbed off on me. These lists are my contribution to the genre. They are not and are not intended to be exhaustive, just trivial.  Most are factual and others are opinions and preferential. I had a lot of fun compiling them but I must admit, this is a hobby that can become burdensome, as the scope and variety of lists is endless. These few dozen are my modest contribution to the trend. Hope you find something useful here.

//

Popular Conjunctive Phrases I collected a mountain of these and then promptly misplaced it. So I started over again and wrote them down as they occurred to me. A conjunctive phrase is a pairing separated by the word “and.” So here is an abbreviated list that will likely grow when I get around adding to […]

//

“D” Word Epithets For some reason, insults that begin with the letter “D” are very common. Typically they refer to diminished metal capacity and others are mildly pejorative descriptions of dubious character. Here is my little list of them for your delight.   Dork Dummy Dumpkoff Dink Dunce Doofus Daft Dip Drip Dolt Dimwit Derelict […]

//

Sister Acts Since the days of vaudeville family acts, sisters have teamed up as performers. As a brother to five sisters, I can understand why. There is something special and unique about sisters, especially when they were born in close range. They have a cosmic connection akin to twins. My sisters could almost be quintuplets.  […]

//

Viral Video Pranks You can almost bet on the following video pranks going viral or at least become considered for broadcast on TV’s America’s Funniest Home Videos or become popularly viewed on YouTube. Skateboarding upon a steel railing Snoring in a rocking chair Whacking a piñata at a children’s birthday party while blindfolded Water-tubing without […]

//

Varieties of Apple It is impossible to mistake an apple for another fruit even though they are grown in an immense number of varieties. The names they are often given is less descriptive than ideally warranted. Here is a list of some of the ones I have enjoyed but Lord knows there are many others, […]

//

Vernacular Toasting Expressions To compliment my list of foreign language toasting expressions I thought it would be a good idea to collect a few popular English language toasts popular in the US. Incidentally, the word “toast” describing the clinking of glasses along with the expression of happy wishes for those present, has an interesting origin. […]

//

Titles of Nobility Though titles of nobility are specifically prohibited in the US Constitution, they live on in anachronistic European, Asian and African kingdoms. Here are a few I stumbled across. Lord knows there are many more as privilege knows no blounds. Emperor/Empress Tsar/Tsarina King/Queen Prince/Princess Duke/Duchess Earl/Lady Baron/Baronette Marquis/Marquese Count/Countess Kaiser Fueher Emir Sultan […]

//

Television Westerns Hollywood made an extraordinary number of Western movies. With the advent of television, their popularity only increased. In fact, Westerns became the first genre that was copied over and over. Other genres emerged: family adventures, police and private detective dramas, medical dramas, sci-fi series, situation comedies and now reality TV.   Here are the […]

//

Synonyms for Prison Prison is called an assortment of things, probably because it helps to create euphemisms for such an unpleasant place. I discovered these mostly from watching old movies. There an an awful lot of movies set in prison. Wonder why? Big House Stir Slammer Hoosegow Clink Rock Tank Cage Hole Pen Barrel Pokey […]

//

Synonyms for Money I like synonyms used in the vernacular and those for money are particularly useful. Many of these are outdated but still interesting. My favorite is “velvet.” Cash Lucre Cabbage Lettuce Loot Skins Green/Greenbacks Scratch Clams Stacks Velvet Jack Screed Scrilla Bangers Hay Samoleans Moolah Dough Bucks Cream Cheese Bread Smackeroos