(Roughly) Daily

In 2004, the British Council asked over 40,000 non-native English speakers in 46 different countries to name the most beautiful word in the English language. The top ten, from a non-native speaker’s perspective are:

mother
passion
smile
love
eternity
fantastic
destiny
freedom
liberty
tranquility

Contrast this to the list of (native) lexicographer Willard Funk (author of the Reader’s Digest “It Pays to Increase Your Word Power” column):

Asphodel
fawn
dawn
chalice
anemone
tranquil
hush
golden
halcyon
camellia

(Thanks, Beyond Words)

As we choose our words with care, we might recall that it was on this date in 1954 Marilyn Monroe made Tom Ewell’s day:  the famous shot of Marilyn Monroe, laughing as her skirt is blown up by the blast from a subway vent in The Seven Year Itch, was filmed.

source: imdb