 Comedy: February 23, 2022 Issue [#11231] |
This week: Comical Words Edited by: Lornda  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
 
1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions
"As far as I'm concerned, 'whom' is a word that was invented to make everyone sound like a butler."
~ Calvin Trillin - American Journalist
"What's another word for Thesaurus?"
~ Steven Wright - American Stand-up Comedian
"Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words."
~ Mark Twain - American Writer 
 When writing comedy, it’s out with the boring words and in with the humorous ones.
|
| ASIN: 0997970618 |
|
Amazon's Price: $ 14.99
|
|
Words are weird. As writers, we try our best to string the right ones together to tell an entertaining story. If those words are boring, you might lose the reader. No matter which genre you write in you want the word choice to stand out. The best part about writing a comedy is with the addition of some fun words the humor stands out.
While it’s true readers should not have to search the dictionary for an unfamiliar word every five minutes, with some strategically placed words, you can punch up the writing to enhance the humor. Many boring words should be avoided in writing. For instance, sad, smart, walk, pretty, ran, nice, big, good, and bad are considered boring.
Instead of writing the boring words, here are three words as an example of a stronger word choice. This is the first step to polishing the humor. After this edit, consider editing it again by replacing it with a humorous sounding word.
 Descriptive words for: big: huge, massive, giant, and immense.
 Comical word choice: colossal, gargantuan, enormous, humongous and behemoth.
 Sentence Example: The list for non-boring words is humongous.
Descriptive words for: look: gazed, spied, peered, watched, observed, glimpsed, and stared.
Comical word choice: squinted, gandered, leered, goggled, and rubberneck.
Sentence Example: I had to google the word goggled to find the definition.
Descriptive words for: ran: raced, dashed, jogged, rushed, and bolted.
Comical word choice: skedaddle, scuttled, bolted, scampered, and sprinted.
Sentence Example: Every time I read boring words, I want to skedaddle to the hills!
To punch-up the humor, the examples above show some of the simpler words to write instead of the boring ones. To push the comedy further, there are some funny words to use, but it should be used with caution so the reader does not get confused. Make sure to explain the word within the story or perhaps by having the character say it through dialog. Here are some standout humorous words.
~ Another humorous word for look is: squinny. It means to look or peer with eyes partly closed or to squint. It was first used in 1605. It should be resurrected because it’s a hilarious word.
~ Instead of writing about a character who steals books. There’s a funny word for a person who does this: a biblioklept. Or maybe the character has a fear of running out of things to read. The fun word to use is, abibliophobia.
~ If there’s a big uproar in your story, a comical word you could use is brouhaha.
~ Write the word rigmarole to show some kind of confusing situation, or if your character is perplexed or flustered, use the funny word bumfuzzle!
These are only a few comical words to write into a humorous story. Remember to cut out the boring words and replace them with the funny ones. It’s even better if the word makes you laugh, snicker, or bellow!
I see the agelast
| A person who never laughs; one who has no sense of humor. |
| To squint or peer with eyes partly closed. |
| Refers to something or someone who resembles a hedgehog. |
| depart quickly or hurriedly; run away. |
|
  Try writing some comical words with an entry to these contests!
~Opens March 1st, 2022
~Opens April 1st, 2022
|
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
| ASIN: 0995498113 |
|
Amazon's Price: $ 19.95
|
|
 If you had the opportunity to eliminate an overused or boring word in the English language, what would it be?
 Feedback from my last newsletter, "Password Emergency!" . I asked the question: What’s your experience with passwords, and how many times do you reset it? Yikes! Many people have some issues with passwords.  Thanks for all the comments!
Fivesixer  : "Great newsletter! I used to work for a company I won't name (let's say it rhymes with Malgreens) it had a web-based system for employees and another, antiquated one for managerial stuff including inventory control (which was my job). The web-based one required you to change it every 30 days, and it couldn't be something you used before or resemble something close to what you previously had. I'd spend half the month typing in old passwords before remembering the new one, and locked myself out a couple times. Madness!!And the old system we used for inventory stuff? Equally as bad."
 That's horrible! I'd go bonkers. Thanks for the comments. 
brom21  : "I put all my passwords on my IPhone under "Notes." Something worse than passwords are those darn "Check all the boxes that are...whatever" so being non-robotic is confirmed. My latest passwords have reflected my faith like using the name Jesus in some way. What hate the most is when I put in a password I know is accurate and it gets rejected! Anyway, that's my spiel. Thanks for the NL!"
I hear you on the 'are you a robot' doo-dad. It's so annoying.  Thanks for the feedback!
Elfin Dragon-finally published : "OMG! I'm so tired of passwords!  When I was on Active Duty the computers we used automatically asked us to reset our passwords every 30 days. (sometimes every 28). And we couldn't use anything resembling words. They usually resembled something like this...yuiopasd23!@."
That would make be tired, too! Crazy stuff.  Thanks for sending in your thoughts.
Max Griffin 🏳️🌈  : "I don't really mind changing the passwords. I use a password-rememberer called TrueKey. It even makes up 16 character gibberish to use for a password. What I *hate* is that then I have to reconfigure my email on (1) my phone; (2) four different laptops that I regularly use; (3) my desktop system. I also do have some catchphrases use when I make up passwords. It helps to use homonyms and numerals, for example EyeH8Passwords."
Great advice! Thanks for passing this info along.
QueenNormaJean maybesnow?!  : "Passwords - I have two that I interchange. And if they don't work, then I have a backup. And if that doesn't work, I make up a new one. And if that one doesn't work I rely on a notecard. I've never had a problem. Yet. There are billions of combinations. We have 100 billion brain cells. So the possibilities are endless."
You got it! Thanks for the comments. 
dogpack saving 4premium  : "Thank you, I got a laugh out of this newsletter. I'm glad the newsletters do not require passwords. Thank you for sharing the information about passwords."
I'm glad they don't either!! Thanks for the comment!
 Comments from the Newsfeed:
bryanmchunter: "It depends on the website. I always keep my passwords a secret, but I usually change them whenever the website requires me to."
Turkey DrumStik  : "My day job involves lots of password wrangling, so...."
THANKFUL SONALI Library Class!  : "I forget passwords and I only reset when I'm forced to. Don't even get me started on experiences!"
tj-turkey-jobble-jobble-hard-J  : "Constantly having to set new passwords, have them long enough and fulfill site requirements, and then be able to remember them without writing them all down someplace, which kind of nullifies using passwords in the first place? How indeed.
I remember when I had to step in for a person who was in the hospital for a stretch of time. I had Power of Attorney and needed to take care of all finances, but since he did everything online, I also needed all his passwords. When I asked him, he informed me that they were all on a list taped to the underside of his keyboard...
I use a premium password manager that encrypts everything, creates random passwords, and yes, I have it password protected. One password I can manage, change and remember."
elephantsealer : "If you ask me, I think passwords should be eliminated from any where in the world. They are not even worthy of mention; if I have a say in it..."
Louis Williams  : "Some websites get their password reset Every. Single. Time I enter them. I can't quite figure out how to incorporate gang signs and squirrel noises into a password that's memorable."
TheBusmanPoet : "If I'm prompt to change a password or I get an email that tells me a site I use has been compromised, I change the password but I speak Alien so it's almost impossible to decipher mine.  I'll also change all other passwords to my financial accounts on top of that."
Humble Poet PNG  : "My brother came up with a clever idea for writing down his passwords in such a way that only he could read them. Even if he had written them in a pocket notebook and lost it on Main Street, no one could possibly decipher it. He used a wildcard in the middle of his password. It would represent a short, easy to remember word or phrase. When setting up, for instance, an email account, he would enter something like "APasswordSandwich2022". Then, he'd write it in his notebook of passwords as "APassword*2022". My brother served aboard a submarine. So, "sandwich" would be easy for him to remember, but it would be a stretch for anyone else to associate it with him. Someone who knew how proud he was to have served in the navy might think "sub", "submarine", etc but probably wouldn't connect "sandwich" to my brother or his service. I use his password technique to this day. I can write down all my passwords and only need to remember what the *one* wildcard represents."
Anna Marie Carlson : "I get messages that tell me that it's important that you change your passwords every so often to protect your privacy. This gets confusing."
|
| ASIN: B083RZ2C5F |
|
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available. |
|
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
This printed copy is for your personal use only. Reproduction
of this work in any other form is not allowed and does violate its copyright. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
