Word Challenge: O

~ beetleypete

Please add your own choices for this letter. Foreign words are acceptable with translation, and American spellings are allowed too. No abbreviations though.

Onomatopoeia.
Not only did I once find this word difficult to pronounce, I always have trouble spelling it correctly. (Even today) When the word sounds like the sound described. For example, ‘Sizzling’.

Omnipotent.
Once only used for the unlimited power attributed to ancient gods, this has more uses in the modern world of ours. All-powerful, having great influence.

Oxymoron.
Not a moronic person from Oxford, as I once thought. A phrase that contradicts itself, by including opposites to the same effect. Something I am guilty of doing, all the time. Perhaps one of the easiest examples to use to illustrate this is the common expression, “Same difference”. Another one that we have all heard is, “Act naturally”.

63 thoughts on “Word Challenge: O”

  1. Oxymoron always makes me think of jumbo shrimp…

    One of my favorite words is OCARINA, a beautiful but irregularly shaped ancient wind musical instrument. Another favorite is ONYX, especially of the black variety, which could conceivably be found in the shape of an ocarina. I also like ORCHID (the flower) and OXYGEN (which allows me to breathe while smelling the flower).

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  4. Good Morning Pete:
    You nailed me on Onomatopoeia. The only economic term I can apply the concept to is an OWNER, one who owns. (Yes, I know pretty feeble). Beleive it or not, the FEDs OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS are Omnipotent. If you do not believe me, try challenging one of their open market operations and you will end up struck by lighting (or at least high-interest rates). Although economics itself if an Oxymoron a clearer example is the concept of an OPEN ECONOMY.
    Warmest regards, Theo

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  6. “Onomatopoeia” is a great word, and like you, I have trouble spelling it. It’s interesting, too, when you see different cultures coming up with different sounds – – in Spanish comic books, the guns usually go “Pum!” instead of “Bang!” etc.
    I see “obnoxious” already listed — I don’t know if they have these in the the UK, but in the US, there are millions of 3-letter stickers on cars. Some are based on airport codes (LAX for Los Angeles) but LAX is also shorthand for lacrosse.
    For a couple of years, I kept seeing “OBX” on cars, and thought people were being given warning labels, for “Obnoxious”.
    But it turns out to be a vacation bumper sticker from “The Outer Banks” (the barrier islands off North Carolina) So, a long-winded way of 2nding “obnoxious”

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    1. Thanks for that insight into some American quirkiness, Robert. I first noticed the differences in European sound spelling when studying French at school. We used to read a popular French comic, called Lucky Luke’, and the sounds were things like ‘Pfaff’, and ‘Poff’. Then there was Tintin and Asterix of course, both with unusual sound spellings.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  7. Pete, I’m only going to reiterate one of your words, which was featured on a brilliant Todd Rundgren album called “Hermit Of Mink Hollow” – here you go:

    “Onomatopoeia every time I see ya
    My senses tell me hubba
    And I just can’t disagree
    I get a feeling in my heart that I can’t describe
    It’s sort of lub, dub, lub, dub
    A sound in my head that I can’t describe
    It’s sort of zoom, zip, hiccup, drip”

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  9. Obdurate – Callous, hard
    Objectionable – offensive
    Observe – watch
    I Observed the Obnoxious and Obdurate young persons and found them to be Objectionable.
    [wow, I’m really grabbing at straws for some of these sentences!!]

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  10. I’ll give you a couple of negative O words first: Odious and Obnoxious. Plenty of those types around these days unfortunately (or maybe we just give them too much press.) Here’s a fun local word, Ohanapecosh (say it out loud for full effect.) It’s a glacier on Mt. Rainier, the meltwaters become a beautiful river; also a campground named after it in the Park.

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    1. I presume that’s a Red Indian word, Susanne. Like Sasquahanna, or Rappahannock, it’s nice to say.
      (I’m not American, so rarely use ‘Native American’. After all, they were never ‘Americans’. Nor were they Indian, for that matter. I think ‘Indigenous people’ is preferable. I also avoid African American, and prefer ‘Black’. But I am undoubtedly old-fashioned.)
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  17. From Geordieland
    Oxters – armpits
    Oot – out
    Ower – over so ower & oot if you’re communicating spitfire to base 🙂

    also I like
    Oiling his wig – drinking heavily ( and probably falling into neighbours gardens!) 😉 😀

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