Upon completion of Nomenclature: Part 1, I couldn’t let it go. I continued keeping a list of the myriad of words and phrases that were often thrown at me during my daily life. Eventually, the list grew to contain thirty-eight additional words or phrases.  As in part one, the initial use of each word or phrase is in bold, underlined, and italicized in black for easy identification. To add to what will probably be viewed as another bat poop crazy rant, I have put bold, underlined and italicized in red any of the words or phrases in this article that were also used in the first nomenclature article.

As a preface to this article, consider the word juxtaposition. It is the one word I could not determine how best to use in the body of the article and a word I’ve heard used many times. The dictionary defines juxtaposition as the “act of or an instance of placing two or more things side by side.” Perhaps, if you have not read Nomenclature: Part 1, it would be best to read it first immediately followed by this one, thus completing these tasks back-to-back or side-to-side.

To begin, let me state that I was a little trepidatious about writing this fearing that some of the individuals who may have read part one became offended thinking I was specifically talking about them. By the way, trepidatious it is often spelled two ways: trepidatious and trepidacious, but I digress.

Let me reiterate that the purpose of my writing this is not to offend. You have to understand, the manner in which these words and phrases are used is often times comical; at least that’s how I perceive them. Arguably, I’m sure the user did not intend for them to be that way. In some cases, it is not that the words or phraseology is comical, but that it is overused; overused to the extent that I, as the listener, become distracted by it resulting in what one person I know might refer to as cognitive dissonance. Examples of these words and phrases include such, like, you know and really. According to the dictionary gods Miriam and Webster, the word “like” is defined as “to be suitable or agreeable to.” The word Is also defined as “to feel attraction toward or take pleasure in,” meaning to enjoy.  Like I am not agreeable to; take no pleasure in or feel inclined to have a conversation with someone when every other word or phrase they speak is “like”, “really” or “you know”.  Like, you know you have to understand, the reality is such conversations are stultifying; there is no feelgoodery in them.

Recently, my wife and I had the privilege of watching the classic film The Princess Bride. Yes, I know, calling The Princess Bride a classic film is somewhat nebulous. While enjoyable, some might argue the film pales in comparison to classic films like Casablanca, Gone with the Wind and Star Wars. They might say that at best, The Princes Bride contains sporadic sprinkles of what a true lover of film would call classic. Regardless, watching the film again was a palatable experience and led to an institutional euphoria, particularly the scenes involving actor Wallace Shawn and his use of the word inconceivable. In the movie, Vizzini, the character played by Wallace Shawn, constantly describes various events as “inconceivable.” Eventually, Inigo Montoya, the character played by actor Mandy Patinkin, questions Vizzini’s use of the word. “You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means,” he tells him.

Why do I share this with you? As I was watching this scene I was struck with a moment of educational enlightenment. To explain why it was so important, let me take you back to the time shortly after I originally wrote the first nomenclature article. It was June 2011. I had just finished the article and posted it to an old webpage of mine. I had no plans for a second nomenclature article, but during the days following my posting I was bombarded with additional words that I had not noted before. The first word that struck me was stultifying. Upon hearing the word, which was used by the same individual who inspired the original article, I experienced a minor metamorphosis and thus began my preparations for this article. Over time, I added word after word to my list of new nomenclature. Unfortunately, writing the article was not going to be a drop in the bucket; the creativity conclave of that innovative instrument known as my mind would not allow me to make it happen. I just couldn’t write anything. It was as if the creative side of my brain, at least when it came to writing this article, was frozen. Every time I tried to start the article it just didn’t seem right, but when the scene in The Princess Bride with Vizzini and Inigo and the misuse of the word inconceivable hit the screen, I was galvanized. I immediately realized there was a logical corollary between the way Vizzini uses the word inconceivable and the way many of the words and phrases I hear on a regular basis are used as well as my use of many of them in this pointless commentary. In fact, at that moment, I turned to my wife and said “Crap on a cracker! Why didn’t I think of this before?” She gave me a strange look signifying she was not sure as to my attitudinal with my actions and I acceded to her non-verbal request to watch the movie.

The good news is, finally, the writer’s block was over. I felt inspired to once again, many years later, share Part 1 and finally write Part 2. So, if you have made it this far, then you have reached the end. This article is probably not any more exciting as the first and I use the word exciting loosely; but, the article is done.

In the end, writing a second article has not changed my opinion. I still believe that prior to using some of these words and phrases a critical focus on the incubation process of the nomenclature would be strategically advantageous to the user.

P.S. Nomenclature: Part 3 is not happening. As you can see I did not use all thirty-eight of the words I kept note of after Part 1. I couldn’t figure out how best to use each of these words and if I had, it probably would have made this a much longer article, but in case your curious, here’s a list of the 16 words or phrases I did not use:

Extemporaneous
Clandestine
Fiduciary
Superlative
Peed on Our Corn Flakes
Poop in a Group
Com moving
Palpable
Having said that
Are you for real
Dais
Aplomb
Paramount
Moreover
Madder than a wet hen
Utilitarian