Unpaired Words

Jonah Goldberg is one of my favorite writers. Mr. Goldberg is author of The Goldberg File on nationalreview.com and the book "The Tyranny of Cliches" (buy it and the next one, too). Today's post is mostly from his Friday post, with all but the first hyperlink (part of his original post) relating to the words already covered in this blog. The Charles to which he refers is Charles Krauthammer. And now, here's Jonah: 

Anyway, Charles is a big fan of “unpaired words.” I don’t mean words with the Bluetooth turned off. I mean . . . hmmm . . . how do I explain?

Well, many times, during the commercial break on Special Report, we’ve gone back and forth -- brandy snifters in hand -- talking about how we need a president with more feck running an ept and gormful foreign policy. These conversations usually take place after the make-up lady comes into the studio to make sure that we look kempt and shevelled. Well, last Wednesday, the topic came up again, and we kept bandying them about. Which made me think, “This is pretty cool.” It also made me think, “This would be a good riff for the G-File.”Still, I’m hoping that he isn’t gruntled by this somewhat nocuous and entirely effable effort to rip off one of his favorite parlor games. Indeed, I could have dropped this choate schtick without name-dropping Charles, which might have made it seem less petuous, but why leave my motivation unbeknownst when it can be beknownst? Better to go communicado and cognito, I say. Particularly when I’m still throat clearing as I try to scrounge up a real topic to discuss. 

Still, I fear I seem quite chalant as I search for sipid things to say. If I don’t work harder, this “news”letter will never be combobulated. (“I don’t want to disrupt your flow here, so I’ll rupt it. But you should know this all comes across as soucient and below even your pareil writing style. I would have thrown this whole thing out the window, but you opted to fenestrate it.” -- The Couch)

Right off the bat Jonah used the unpaired form of two words I was surprised I didn't find in my list of blogged words: feckless and gormful. They've been on my "to do" list for a long time, so let's get to them. 

Feckless means ineffective, incompetent, or futile; it can also mean irresponsible, lazy, or indifferent. While feckless is funct (to unpair a word), the word from the 1400s from which it is formed, feck, is defunct. It is a word the Scottish shortened from the word "effect", and meant not only effect but value or vigor. The writer Carlyle (according to etymonline.com) popularized the word. Apparently at one time there the word feckful was extant.

Gormless is an adjective that came into English in about 1746 (according to etymonline.com; it is their unspecific specific date) as a "British dialectical word." Not to be confused with a British delectable word, one of the few times you'll see delectable and British in the same sentence. Gormless is defined as stupid or somehow lacking in intelligence. 

I did not realize when I began this blog (ept was in my first post) that I would be in such esteemed company. I trust I viscerated Jonah's column appropriately; I wouldn't want to sult him.