Word of the Day - Crapulous

My dumpster diving into Dictionary.com turned up another gem:

crapulous - suffering the effects of gross intemperance, especially in drinking

I wouldn't call this one useless because even if your audience doesn't know what it means they'll be able to guess! They'll guess wrong, of course, but they'll still get the gist of what you're saying. Notice, too, that it's another one of those dictionary-in-hand ad hominem attack words I was talking about yesterday. Those guys really know how to tell each other off, don't they?

Useless words

There are really quite a few useless words in the English language. I saw one the other day in an online post:

tintinnabulation - the sound of ringing bells

This word is a waste of breath. Why not just say "ringing"? But it did me one favor: it sent me running to the dictionary. Do you ever spend time just flipping through the dictionary looking for words you never heard of? I do. Of course these days you can do it online. You can do everything online these days. (Well, almost everything). So I found a few more useless words I'd like to share with you:

eleemosynary - of or for charity; charitable
flagitious - disgracefully or shamefully criminal
rodomontade - vain boasting; empty bluster
scaturient - gushing forth, as a fountain

These words are useless because so few people know them that if you ever used them no one would understand you. Unless you're writing for The New Yorker.

Can you come up with some more? I have two rules. You must be able to look up the word at dictionary.reference.com. And it can't be a jargon word (medical, scientific, etc.)

Occupation Names

Have you ever thought about how many English last names derive from occupations? When Number Two Son was much younger it was a favorite game of ours to try to list as many as we could think of. Here are some of those. Can you think of others?

Archer - one who fires a bow and arrow
Baker - one who bakes bread
Barker - one who advertises something by calling out verbally
Boatwright - one who makes boats
Bookbinder - one who makes books
Bowman - one who fires a bow and arrow
Butcher - one who slaughters and dresses animals
Butler - the chief male servant of a household
Carpenter - one who builds things from wood
Carter - one who drives carts
Cartwright - one who makes carts
Carver - one who carves wood
Chandler - one who make candles
Collier - one who mines coal
Cook - one who cooks food
Cooper - one who makes barrels
Cox - one who steers a boat
Farmer - one who grows crops
Fletcher - one who makes arrows
Fowler - one who hunts birds
Gardener - one who tends a garden
Harper - one who plays a harp
Horner - one who plays a horn
Mason - one who lays bricks
Merchant - one who sells goods
Miller - one who operates a mill
Nanny - one who cares for children
Parsons (Parson) - a member of the clergy
Porter - one who carries things
Potter - one who makes vessels from clay
Sadler (Saddler) - one who makes saddles
Shepherd - one who herds sheep
Singer - one who sings
Smith - one who makes things from metal (blacksmith)
Tanner - one who makes leather
Tinker - one who mends metal utensils
Turner - one who makes things on a lathe
Wainwright - one who makes wagons
Weaver - one who makes woven cloth
Woodman - one who fells trees
Wright - one who makes things

And a few more that aren't in the dictionary as common nouns but probably originated from an occupation:

Belter
Foster
Musselman
Sandler
Tucker
Walker