A few days ago I tweeted this…
The next song on shuffle turned out to be “Once We Were Anarchists” and from the lyric “old enough to be jaded” my monkey mind jumped to “Oh, how about a blog post about all the (lovely) English words @frankturner taught me over the years” I’m beyond help #nerd
— Susanne D (@dennasus) December 18, 2021
… and today I thought it was about time to follow through.
I’ve mentioned often enough that I love the English language. That might be because it is the only language – except my native tongue – I really comprehend quite well. Even with a thorough comprehension of the language, I still learn new (to me) phrases and words all the time. Through TV shows I watch, novels or articles I read and yes, over the years quite a few through Frank’s lyrics as well. Also through some of his interviews, because let’s face it, he is one eloquent ‘public school boy’, though he might not look like it 🙂
Here is the list of my ten favourite words Frank “has taught” me through his songs. And no, I often can’t really explain why I like this particular word more than others, so I won’t even try to. It’s a sonic thing, I think. Looking at this list it seems like I have a thing for R’s and S’s.
#10 scurrilous, adjective
definition: expressing unfair or false criticism that is likely to damage someone’s reputation
“With greed in his heart and his scurrilous claim,
He took the land for his own.” (English Curse)
#09 insidious, adjective
definition: (of something unpleasant or dangerous) gradually and secretly causing harm
“Your distance insidious,
As soft as a blow.” (Smiling At Strangers on Trains)
#08 scurry, verb
definition: to move quickly with small, short steps
“Now you can go down with the wreck, or you can scurry from the deck” (Out of Breath)
#07 wrought, verb
definition: (only as a past participle and in the past tense) caused something to happen
“And it seemed to be working for a couple of years;
I wrote a few songs and they wrought a few tears” (Romantic Fatigue)
#06 tarry, verb
definition: to stay somewhere longer than expected
“She earned her reputation on those bitter Camden streets.
If you’d tarry with the Bingham girl, you’d hold your manhood cheap” (Jinny Bingham’s Ghost)
#05 mire, noun
definition: an unpleasant situation that is difficult to escape
“[….] one who condescends
To wash his hands down in the mire among the misery of men” (One Foot Before The Other)
#04 furtive, adjective
definition: done secretly and often dishonestly
“Life is about love, last minutes and lost evenings,
About fire in our bellies and furtive little feelings” (I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous)
#03 ire, noun
definition: anger
Love, Ire & Song (song and album title)
#02 skirt, verb
definition: 1. to go around the edge of something; 2. to avoid discussing a subject or problem, usually because there are difficulties that you do not want to deal with:
“I’ve been skirting round the rim of doing something
Brave, and not just standing, but jumping in” (Plain Sailing Weather)
#01 jaded, adjective
definition: not having interest or losing interest because you have experienced something too many times
“I’m young enough to be all pissed off
But I’m old enough to be jaded” (Once We Were Anarchists)
[All references are from the Cambridge Dictionary, because my OALD is on the shelf at home and the online version isn’t available for free.]
