Feeling rhopalic?
7 Dec, 2009 | Written by Rob | under Writing/Grammar
Another one for the activity box. Thanks to Paul for pointing it out.
One of the great resources over at Wordsmith.org is a newsletter called A.Word.A.Day. Today’s word is “rhopalic,” which apparently means “having each successive word longer by a letter or syllable.” Along with the word, the site challenges readers to submit “a rhopalic newspaper headline (can be of increasing or decreasing word lengths) for a real or imaginary event.”
I gave it a go:
Scrabble Tourney Ruined! Final Game Has No ‘X’
(Figured fellow word nerds would love something Scrabble-related.) The contest ends this Friday. Good luck, and let me know if (and what) you enter!
Rob Meyerson works with clients to find creative solutions that inform brand strategy, positioning, identity, and communications.
Paul van Winkle | December 8th, 2009 at 12:46 pm #
‘X’ is not very ideal should winning semantic arguments impulsively contrindicate.
[Hey, I took a shot.]
Thanks, Rob — always good stuff here.
Rudi Seitz | December 9th, 2009 at 6:57 pm #
Loved your headline about the Scrabble tournament — what a tragedy! I came across your blog when googling for all things rhopalic, having recently become addicted (via wordsmith.org) as well. I’ve posted some of my own rhopalic attempts here.