Courtesy of my pal Bob Fergusson comes the “Slim Gaillard Vout- O-Reenee Dictionary”.

Slim Gaillard was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his vocalese singing and word play in a language he called “Vout”. Hence the dictionary. Some of the pages are missing, but its worth taking a look to relive a classic bygone age (oh for a time machine) and revel in his ingenuity and creativity.

]]> http://fromtheothersideofthemirror.com/2009/04/09/the-original-hipster-dictionary/feed/ 5 Jt slim_dictionary_cover slim_dictionary_04 slim_dictionary_06 slim_dictionary_08 slim_dictionary_10 slim_dictionary_14 slim_dictionary_16 slim_dictionary_18 slim_dictionary_20 slim_dictionary_22 slim_dictionary_24 slim_dictionary_26 http://fromtheothersideofthemirror.com/2009/02/18/mystery-voice-is/ http://fromtheothersideofthemirror.com/2009/02/18/mystery-voice-is/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:46:46 +0000 john http://jt1anglais.wordpress.com/?p=240 ]]> Drum roll please

The voice was from the old TV show Sea Hunt, and belonged to the one and only

Lloyd Bridges

Congratulations and thanks for your suggestions. Here’s the clip for those who missed it.

There are some words that Americans can say that just sound right when they say them. But several of these words are now being used liberally by English peeps (the Scots can usually get away with it) and they just sound terrible. They sound awkward, butchered, inane, foolish. Friends, feel free to smack me in the mouth if I use any of them.

Here’s the list I came up with, let me know if you think of others and I’ll post the results.

Cool

Awesome (sidenote-this is perhaps the single most overused word in the American vocabulary…it means you are literally in awe…so please really think about what you’re describing feeling awesome about. There are plenty of substitutes for awesome, trust me, look them up)

Dude

Parking Structure

Soccer

Vacation

Grits

Den (as in, let’s go to the den to watch telly)

Pastor

Cup of Joe

Acclimate