There are currently 171,476 words in the English language. That's a lot of options when it comes to finding the words to express ourselves. I think our capacity for expressing ourselves peaked somewhere between the 1800s and early 20th century. Everything sounded so dramatic! Here are some old-timey words and expressions I think we should bring back.
1. Palaver
You'll hear this one a couple times on the episode I released today. It means "unnecessarily long and complex procedure. This can refer to waiting in line at the DMV or the process of waiting just the right amount of time to respond to your crush's text. So dramatic, and the word just rolls off the tongue nicely.
2. The Depths of Despair
My personal favorite, this comes from Anne of Green Gables. It means you are just so incredibly upset. This is a very funny one to throw around when you're mildly inconvenienced. The more trivial the issue, the better results.
3. Gallivant
A word that means " to go around from one place to another in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment." Did you get your 10,000 steps in today? Congratulations! You gallivanted.
4. Got the morbs
I honestly cannot believe that this is not contemporary slang. This sounds too modern, but it comes from the Victorian era and means "temporary melancholy". Ever have those days where you're just kinda down for no reason? Tell people you've got the morbs. And try not to laugh cause it sounds super funny out loud.
5. Highfalutin
Sounds like cowboy time. A word that means "(especially of speech, writing, or ideas) pompous or pretentious. If someone is using too many fancy words, call them highfalutin. Careful, someone might call you this after you start using these fancy new words.
Have any more highfalutin words? Comment below.