by Tonya Barton

Created on: November 13, 2006   Last Updated: May 05, 2007

What's in a word? It seems, through word play there is more to a word than meets the eye. With a little thoughtful effort, there can be some humor or idiocracy discovered in how we combine and define words.

For instance, why is it when we describe something, do we describe it twice using words that mean the exact same thing? I don't know if there is an actual name for this type of word usage, but I still find it a bit curious that we do this. Here are some examples of just what I mean.

*Blissfully Happy
*Undecidedly Torn
*Falling Down
*Immaculately Clean
*Unexpectedly Abrupt
*Silent Whisper
*Breakable Glass
*Broken Fragments
*Dead Silence
*Single One
*Half Divided
*Crazy Fool
*Mixed Blend

Oh, and we can't forget those ever-so popular oxymoron's now can we? You know, those two words we put together that contradict each other. Some might say Happily Married is an oxymoron and at this point I'd have to disagree. Nonetheless, here are some others.

*Hippocratic Oath
*Civil War
*Party Pooper
*Black Light
*Closely Divided
*Recent History
*Rolling Stop
*Alone Together
*Sanitary Sewer
*Slow Speed
*Jumbo Shrimp
*Cost Free
*Stress Relief

My favorites though, are idiosyncrasies. The things that make you go "hmmmm" because they are peculiar in nature. So with your forefinger pressing against your chin, you might ask yourself these questions among many others.

*Do you burn calories when you jog your memory?
*Do monkeys work out at a jungle gym?
*Why is an open door called ajar?
*Is an infertile bear considered unbearable?
*If you crack a cracker, aren't you the cracker?
*When you wait for a waiter, aren't you the waiter?
*Is a broker someone who's more broke than you are?

I know some of these are one's you may have heard before, but they are interesting food for thought don't you think? I enjoy reading and discovering those occasional quirks that seem to occur as we use our words. Maybe now you can think of a few playful words that fit into the criteria mentioned above. Just don't lose any sleep over it. If you lose sleep, can it be found?

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