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Imagine my surprise…

…when it was pointed out to me that the spouse of my best friend Vicki is now an author! The Dictionary of Uncomfortable Words: What to Avoid Saying in Polite (or Any) Conversation by Andrew Witham and Brian Snyder, published by Cumberland House Publishing, is now on bookstore shelves around the country, and available at Amazon. Congratulations Brian! Some of the Amazon description:

The Dictionary of Uncomfortable Words contains more than 650 words and definitions that make people uncomfortable when in public. These are not dirty words, but rather uncomfortable words like “dike,” “flaccid,” or “penal.”

“Over the years,” the authors write, “we have repeatedly found ourselves stifling laughter at certain words, such as ‘tool,’ ‘dump,’ and ‘moist.’ Other words such as ‘spackle,’ ‘loaf,’ and ‘frothy’ sound plain peculiar. And still other words, while perfectly harmless, like ‘masticate,’ ‘climax,’ and ‘undulate,’ made us want to hide our heads in shock. We noticed that a lot of other people had the same reactions. They’re not dirty words, but they cause a markedly uncomfortable reaction in a group.”

Realizing a dictionary was necessary to alert the public, they created The Dictionary of Uncomfortable Words. Each word is followed by a brief explanation of why it makes people uneasy when spoken, such as:

• Abhor: Looks innocuous enough on paper but utterly filthy when spoken aloud.
• Bull: In most circles, this word is merely a prefix. We prefer the term “man-cow.”
• Congeal: Just because gooey becomes crusty doesn’t mean we want to hear about it.
• Crotch: This word is disturbing even when referring to trees.
• Dingleberry: This is one fruit you don’t want to eat.
• Half-cocked: Sounds like a circumcision that went too far.
• Horehound: A drunk with too much money in his pocket on Saturday night

By griffey

Jason Griffey is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at NISO, where he works to identify new areas of the information ecosystem where standards expertise is useful and needed. Prior to joining NISO in 2019, Jason ran his own technology consulting company for libraries, has been both an Affiliate at metaLAB and a Fellow and Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and was an academic librarian in roles ranging from reference and instruction to Head of IT at the University of TN at Chattanooga.

Jason has written extensively on technology and libraries, including multiple books and a series of full-periodical issues on technology topics, most recently AI & Machine Learning in Libraries and Library Spaces and Smart Buildings: Technology, Metrics, and Iterative Design from 2018. His newest book, co-authored with Jeffery Pomerantz, will be published by MIT Press in 2024.

He has spoken internationally on topics such as artificial intelligence & machine learning, the future of technology and libraries, decentralization and the Blockchain, privacy, copyright, and intellectual property. A full list of his publications and presentations can be found on his CV.
He is one of eight winners of the Knight Foundation News Challenge for Libraries for the Measure the Future project (http://measurethefuture.net), an open hardware project designed to provide actionable use metrics for library spaces. He is also the creator and director of The LibraryBox Project (http://librarybox.us), an open source portable digital file distribution system.

Jason can be stalked obsessively online, and spends his free time with his daughter Eliza, reading, obsessing over gadgets, and preparing for the inevitable zombie uprising.

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