Danny Finklestein in The Times is campaigning for 24 rarely used words not to be classified as recrement (waste matter, dross, refuse) by the editors of the Collins Dictionary and dumped, as he puts it, on the ‘semantic scrap heap’. There’s a poll where you can vote for your favourites. Several seem extremely useful for the kind of debates we have here at HP.
I voted for: apodeictic (unquestionably true by virtue of demonstration), fatidical (prophetic) and oppugnant (combative, antagonistic, contrary) – I assume oppugnant comes from ‘pugilistic’. I vaticinate (prophesy) that if enough people take part in the poll, and use these words in daily intercourse it will certainly roborant (strengthen, fortify) the 24’s chances of survival.
