Cellar Door

[wildhorses]

say it quietly to yourself...

is that really the most beautiful "sound" in the English langauge? What word or group of words make up the most beautiful sounds to you? Is the English language melodic?

[anarch]

1. to me, the most beautiful words in the English language are

"Here's your suitcase full of diamonds."

[wildhorses]

6. like the sparkly things do ya?

:rofl:

[Haole Girl]

2. I feel that way about Italian...

I just love the way Italian sounds!

On a related note, to the OP, my father used to work with a woman who said she loved the sound of the word "pregnant." Weird, huh? :shrug:

[wildhorses]

7. just the sound of it?? or did she mean she liked being in the state

of pregnancy? cos the word itself does not sound so gentle on my ear? :shrug:

[Haole Girl]

13. She liked the sound of it.

That's the weird part..huh?

[MoseyWalker]

3. twila and twilight betwixt the shadowed shutters causes me to shudder!

I like yours better, though.

:)

[wildhorses]

8. oh wow!! that's a real tang toungler

:wow: watch out twila :wow:

[miss_american_pie]

4. "Is the English language melodic?"

Oh heavens, read some Eliot, even if you don't get it just read it. Read this. Aloud.

Casabianca

Love's the boy stood on the burning deck
trying to recite "The boy stood on
the burning deck". Love's the son
stood stammering elocution
while the poor ship in flames went down.

Love's the obstinate boy, the ship,
even the swimming sailors, who
would like a schoolroom platform, too
or an excuse to stay
on deck. And love's the burning boy.

-- Elizabeth Bishop

[wildhorses]

5. well, I think it is but, I did not want to color anyone's opinion...

:hi: and thanks for the Bishop....for you is it the sound itself or the meaning of the words that reasonate in that piece?

what if the words themselves made no sense to you...would the sounds be soothing?

[miss_american_pie]

9. Oh I knew you did

I was giving you a bit of a hard time. :pals:

Both. Bishop was freaking brilliant. On the surface that poem is a parody of a much older piece by the same name, about a boy who dies insisting on obeying his father who has already died...

But yeah, the sound of it, the rhythm... "Love's the son/ stood stammering elocution/ while the poor ship in flames went down." That's enough for me to come undone. :D

[mainegreen]

10. It's called a bulkhead up here.

[wildhorses]

15. cellar door=bulkhead?

wonder how that happened :shrug:

I think I like the "sound" of cellar door better than the "sound" of bulkhead. however when I think of what a cellar door is...I kinda get scared:scared:

whereas the word bulkhead does not scare me in and of itself I guess because, I have no connotation of the word:shrug:

[deucemagnet]

11. My cell biology prof in college always thought the words

"cyncytium" (sin-si-shum) and "ouabain" (wah-bain) were beautiful words. I can kinda see his point.

[wildhorses]

16. I think a lot of scientific words have a beautiful sound to them

and those are two especially melodic ones, thanks :hi:

[deucemagnet]

31. Duh! I spelled one wrong!

It should be syncytium. I guess I should have payed more attention in cell biology!

[wildhorses]

37. I think you'll be okay

:rofl::hug:

[Orrex]

12. The fever of her offer of her effervescent smile

Is bitter, but her better bids embitter battered love.


Whoa...

I've always like the word "oubliette," but I don't know if that's as nuts-and-bolts English as "cellar door."

[wildhorses]

17. ba bi ba bu boobaba say what??

:spray: that was a good one....hold on a minute while I wring out my tounge :rofl:

how do pronounce "oubliette"? oo-bee-li'-ett? Did I just slaughter that? Is it french? What does it mean?

thanks for posting:hi:


yeah, ya gotta admit "cellar door" is pretty damn nuts and bolts;)

[Orrex]

25. I think it's of French origin

It's a little cell into which you place someone when it's not desired that the person exit any time soon. I believe that the primary stress is on the final syllable.

[wildhorses]

28. oh, okay...I get it. its french equivalent of cellar door...

I would love to hear it pronounced by a native frenchman. thanks for the info :loveya:

[Orrex]

41. If you liked that one, here's the rest

The couplet I posted the other day was an alteration of something I penned years ago. Here's a further sample for your boundless amusement:

Your wintered windows wander with the wonder of a child's,
But if her offer of her ever-effervescent smile
Is bitter, but her better bids embitter battered love,
Then seize her seas' disease, as she foresees a season of
The mourning morning mooring more and more in morbid lairs.
Suppose her poses pose important, potent portents there.
Suppose you were to worship with a whisper or a shout,
A witless witness wishing for the wisdom of a doubt.
Her seven servants surface, so forsaken in descent
That each incursion urges generations to relent.
A curse incurs its currency in countries in control
As quiet cries inquire of the souring of souls.
A vaunted, vengeful vulture vies voraciously for meat
Like carrion to carry on in curious defeats.

Memorize it, and quote it at parties. You'll be the belle of the ball, for sure!

[wildhorses]

43. thanks for posting these. they are a hoot and a half and

impossible to say after a few drinks:toast:

[skygazer]

14. I guess I go more for absurdity

I really enjoy the words and phrases that sound really odd and offbeat, especially if you repeat them several times.

Like the word "mouths." Say that 5 or 6 times out loud. Makes your whole face feel funny. :rofl:

[wildhorses]

22. well, yes it does. I guess cos it takes your whole face to say the

word "mouths" hey, the word "mouth" is a "mouth-full" :rofl:

I like to repeat certain words over and over until the meaning is gone and the syllables are just hypnotic...I find it comforting. As a little girl to comfort myself I would sing "baa baa black sheep have you any wool? Yes sir Yes sir three bags full." I would softly sing it to myself until whatever was bothering me seem to lose its grip :shrug:


yeah, so I was a weird kid...wanna make sumpin' of it:P

[marzipanni]

33. When I say "beasts" it seems funny at the end

because it has that sss-t-sss sound, which makes it seem like more than one syllable.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. Tolkein fan or Donnie Darko fan?

[wildhorses]

20. well, what about that!!

I wondered if anyone would recognize the reference. You are right. I am a fan of Tolkein but, how

does this fit with him? And, of course I saw Donnie Darko. Drew Barrymore's character has this

written of the board before she was fired. I think she meant it to be the topic for discussion

that day:shrug: Anyway I thought I would throw it out to you Lizards and see what kind of

conversation we could get going. Thanks for posting and would you care to share the Tolkein

reference:hi:

[Lethe]

34. another DD fan here

supposedly Tolkein was the writer who she was referring to in the movie

[wildhorses]

36. oh really? thanks for the info

:hi:

[tarkus]

19. "Summer afternoon", according to Henry James

And he was the greatest author ever so there shouldn't be much more debate.

[wildhorses]

21. ah yes, very soothing and melodic those sounds are and,

the connotation of those words are gentle on the mind. I would have to agree I have fond memories of many summer afternoons. :hi:

[bertha katzenengel]

23. childhood song

Say, say, oh playmate,
Come out and play with me
And bring your dolly three
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
Forevermore

your subject line reminded me of this, of course

and "childhood song" - what they imply, bring to mind, make them beautiful words

[WritingIsMyReligion]

24. HAHA! I thought the EXACT same rhyme when I saw this thread.

:evilgrin:

:hi:

[wildhorses]

27. thanks for sharing that bertha. I have never heard that rhyme

before. is it a sing song kinda thing? :hi:

[bertha katzenengel]

30. yep, it's a song you sing while doing the slappy hands game

i wish i could sing it for you

:hi:

great thread

[wildhorses]

39. wouldn't that be nice? if we could play the slappy hands game

and you could teach me the song:loveya:

and I am glad you like the thread *aw shucks*:blush:

[MassLiberal]

32. same song, different lyrics

Here's how we sang it:

Oh jolly playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rain barrel
Slide down my cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
Forevermore more more more more

[wildhorses]

38. that is so sweet. both versions are nice.

thanks for sharing and welcome to the Lounge:hi:

[idgiehkt]

26. I like the old anglo-saxon ones

you know, the ones that you can't say in polite company, and that get threads locked...

:rofl:

[wildhorses]

29. oh idgie!! you know I can get a thread locked...

its keeping one going that I have trouble with:P

[reyd reid reed]

35. The English language can be melodic

it can also be harsh and gutteral. That's one of the things that I love about it, its expressiveness. Sometimes I find myself just getting swept up in the cadence of it, the rise and fall of the syllables and the way the sounds just flow together and almost sing or shout or curse...

*sigh*

[wildhorses]

40. well said 3r. I totally agree with you...I love to "play" with our

language and see what happens:loveya::hi:

[av8rdave]

42. My favorite would be "open bar"

[wildhorses]

44. does have a nice ring to it...

:rofl::toast:

[Blue-Jay]

45. "Sometime I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion"