We didn’t light the autumn sky with homemade rockets or harness the wind to electrify remote villages. But in 1974 a group of juniors sitting in the back of biology hung on every word our teacher said, because we never knew when he would add a new entry to “Great Words from Mr. Blake’s Unlimited All-Star Vocabulary.”
To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of this milestone in science education, I present here the unabridged list, copied exactly from my faded, folded, and slightly torn original, that I’ve kept all these years. The words are in chronological order; the numbers indicate the times Mr. Blake repeated the word. In italics are comments I added as I assembled this post.
Some words and phrases are common, but spelled the way he said them. Others are common and he said them correctly, but they were funny just because he said them. Still others he said just right, but we had never heard them before, and that made them funny.
The List:
- bosh (5)
- pshaw (15)
- flick (4) as in movie
- adjournal (2) as in, “We’ll now adjournal into the lab.”
- chuckyplum
- savee (8)
- samosamo (2)
- oomps
- gaak (20)
- beasty (12) he had lots of generic word for organisms – it was biology afterall
- contangerous he liked to change just one letter or syllable
- pardnon he also liked to add a letter or syllable
- bugger
- hissy (1)
- bogus
- larvay
- anuse
- pfffft (1st 9 weeks) he considered vowels optional
- kiddiebumps as in, “You kiddiebumps need to study more!”
- krkhjjh
- duh (1)
- crimenently
- plumchucky
- mongamous (1) in other words humongous
- comoselama (2) that l was pronounced “la”
- Holy Pete
- boo – ooo (4)
- croak (1)
- trite bit of ariation as in, “What was that trite bit of ariation, Jill?”
- guk
- walag
- yi-ee-aa
- AAHHH!!
- peachy keen
- boob tube (4)
- figidy
- gook as in a sticky mess
- tad bit (11)
- funky dory
- Johnny Bloenose
- Price of Newcastle
- bulla bulla bulla
- befuddled
- blubber
- pinky sheet as in, “Do all the problems on the pinky sheet.”
- zap (2)
- bannanas (8) as in, “Don’t go bananas, but…”
- señor mouse (1)
- tody habits
- chicky eggs
- bag of worms (1)
- Sam Hill
- Whooo (1)
- Ya-oooo
- Pall Mall
- coposati
- snicker snicker
- kitty kat
- bow wow
- snot
- mish mash
- bling
- ding bat (2)
- super duper
- bugaboo
- chewing gum for the eyeball
- chew on your nuts to a class full of adolescents?
- heapies (1)
- iota
- joggers
- how some ever (2)
- critters (7)
- hook & crook
- conotes
- crawlies
- poor little hairy hide
- cookery
- zip zip
- croak
- taboo
- cheapy
- bunch of spaghetti
- oodles
- cut the mustard
- doosch
- haul our bods as in, “Let’s haul our bods into the lab”
- plaza loma
- boomp
- 600 nitro express (1)
- babababababoon this was sung – “Baaa ba ba ba ba boooooooon”
- nomenclature
- minuous
- o-observay
- twosies as in, “Work on this assignment in twosies.”
- zerah
- Ricky Baby as in, “Ricky Baby, be quiet!”
- zamples
- fortay
- spewtum
- 6 of 1 1/2 dozen of the other (2)
- cute attacks of apoplexy as in, “David, would you explain your cute attacks of apoplexy?”
- krambs
- cobre
- scrage
- The Hanging Drop
- the gobbling up things as in carnivors
- tayboo
- sitting on your buffs waiting for the goats to come home
- hebies
- toydie
- Sandy Cumerzis I made the list; He liked me! He really liked me!
- wluwluwlu
- fruitcake
- bludublubdadublu
- hokeed up
- do our thingie
- Suzy Q
- the big TIT I wonder why I capitalized it
- horsies
- moo moos
- nerd
- flim flam
- cow
- fly by night
Late in the year the list was published in the school paper. Mr. Blake thought it was funny. I think I’ll start saying these words in my teaching. After all, he got us engaged with them.
But I think I’ll avoid 67 and 118. And maybe some others.
Comments 2
Amazing how some teachers are so memorable! Great reflection that had me chuckling out loud!
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