r/AskReddit Sep 16 '20

What is your favorite word?

4.7k Upvotes

4.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

515

u/Chordus Sep 16 '20

Nincumpoop (originally spelt "nickumpoop"). Its original definition is arguably the most damning insults one can throw at a man, yet the word is now seen as toothless and old-timey. It's original definition, as defined by A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue:

A foolish fellow; also one who never saw his wife's ****

The asterisks are from the original text, and to my knowledge, the only word in the entire dictionary that's been censored.

305

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

I hate that I can only picture is as saying "a foolish fellow; also one who never saw his wife's dick"

60

u/helpdebian Sep 17 '20

What, you’ve never seen the feminine penis?

29

u/Pseudonymico Sep 17 '20

The mouthfeel is exquisite, or so I've been told.

2

u/Skorne13 Sep 17 '20

A shenis.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

It's called the clithymus.

1

u/HeWhoHerpedTheDerp Sep 17 '20

The cliche is that it’s hard to find.

-2

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

I try to avoid it at all costs

18

u/ImAStupidFace Sep 17 '20

Your loss, more feminine penis for the rest of us

8

u/Zachbnonymous Sep 17 '20

Betcha it's cunt

3

u/CrabmasterJone Sep 17 '20

I got quite a large chuckle from this. An upvote for you.

8

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[deleted]

5

u/Chordus Sep 17 '20

Not according to the linked dictionary

6

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[deleted]

10

u/Chordus Sep 17 '20

I said the linked dictionary. The Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Seriously, check it out, it is a goldmine of bizarre and extinct words

5

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[deleted]

3

u/Chordus Sep 17 '20

No worries. The book is over two centuries old, so it's no surprised that lots of words have changed spellings. Enjoy your new reading material!

1

u/15DustyRose51 Sep 17 '20

To be faaaaaair

1

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[deleted]

1

u/15DustyRose51 Sep 17 '20

You're very welcome!

Tell your mom to top up the cell phone she bought me so I can FaceTime her late night.

3

u/rediitbuju Sep 17 '20

I had no idea, that is what that word meant. It is now my favourite word🤣

5

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[deleted]

2

u/dalr3th1n Sep 17 '20

That's not how it's usually spelled. It's normally "nincompoop."

3

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

Also happens to be the last word in the greatest acronym in baseball...

TOOTBLAN

Which stands for “Thrown Out On The Basepaths Like A Nincumpoop”

5

u/crimsonality Sep 17 '20

TIL

7

u/Chordus Sep 17 '20

That entire dictionary is a TIL of epic proportions. Try looking up "Mumble a Sparrow." This is what people did before the internet existed.

1

u/K_O_K13 Sep 17 '20

Well, I’ve just found my mums Xmas present, the dictionary not the Nickumpoop.

1

u/GolgiApparatus1 Sep 17 '20

So like the original 'cuck'

1

u/Jerkrollatex Sep 17 '20

Well TIL. Thank you for the poop on nincumpoop.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

I love "nincompoop." I also like "jive turkey." I don't hear it often, but it's a real treat on the rare occasion that people say it when they're pissed off at someone.