Linguistic comeback

These 10 outdated words are too good to stay buried!

Over time, language evolves, and with it, certain words fade into the background, replaced by new phrases and expressions. But some of these forgotten words have fascinating histories and meanings that will make you smile—or scratch your head. So, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and rediscover some outdated words that deserve a comeback. You’ll be surprised how much fun they are!

Image: Jornada Produtora

Remember that time you rushed out the door without breakfast and sat down in an important meeting? Just as the director began speaking, your stomach grumbled so loudly that everyone could hear it. That’s curmuring, the noise your stomach makes when it’s protesting from hunger.

Image: David Boca

Imagine jumping into the ocean on a hot summer day, and the cold water hits you like a shock to the system. You want to scream and gasp for air, and that’s called a curglaff.

It’s a Scottish term from the 1800s, and it perfectly captures that initial chill when you dive into icy waters. Who knew that there was a word for that heart-stopping moment?

Image: engin akyurt

Have you ever woken up with your hair in complete disarray, as if it had a wild night? That’s elflock, a term for messy hair that looks like it was tangled by mischievous elves while you slept. It’s fun as it is specific, don’t you think?

Image: Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦

If you’ve ever overheard a conversation where someone was gossiping about trivial matters, you might have caught them twattling. It’s an old-fashioned way to say that someone is talking nonsense or spreading rumors. Language evolves and changes, just like gossip and the many ways we find to name it!

Image: Kenny Eliason

This one might sound a bit fancy, but excogitate means to plan or devise something thoughtfully. It comes from Latin roots and refers to bringing something to life by thinking it through carefully. It’s a plan, but in the scheming way, not the to-do list way, you know? This is a word worth keeping; we could all do with a little more of it!

Image: Angelina

Have you ever met someone who thinks way too highly of themselves? That’s a cockalorum: A person who’s full of themselves despite not having much to show for it. The word has been around since the early 1700s and is the perfect way to describe someone with a high opinion of themselves, especially if they’re not actually as impressive as they think they are!

Image: Vitaly Gariev

You may not know the word, but you’ve surely witnessed a brabble. When two people argue over something so small and insignificant that you can’t help but shake your head, that’s a brabble. Whether it’s a petty disagreement over the last slice of pizza or a heated debate about the TV remote, you can bet it is one of these.

Image: Val Tievsky

Back in the 1800s, gentlemen enjoyed a leisurely activity called lunting, which was simply walking while smoking a pipe. It’s a charming image, don’t you think? Picture strolling along with your favorite pipe in hand, taking in the fresh air and enjoying a quiet moment. Next time you go for a walk, why not try a modern version of lunting? Just once in a while can do no harm!

Image: Jon Tyson

Imagine meeting someone and immediately thinking they’re good-looking. That’s when you can call them a snoutfair. This word, dating back to the 1500s, refers to someone with an objectively attractive face. So, if you’re ever complimenting someone’s appearance, try telling them they’re a snoutfair, it’ll certainly catch their attention!

Image: K

Have you ever met someone who could just captivate you with their charm? That’s the effect of being gorgonized. This word comes from the mythological Gorgon, Medusa, whose gaze could turn people to stone. While you won’t actually be turned into a statue, you might find yourself completely mesmerized by their presence!

Some names stick around

From Table Tap Joe to Ziggy Stardust: Who are the best song characters?

Sometimes, a character is the perfect alter-ego to write a song about oneself without self-referencing so much. Other times, a character is just a character. Over the years, musicians have come up with lonely dreamers, fearless heroes, mysterious strangers, and even supernatural villains who have become just as famous as the songs themselves. Some were inspired by real people, others sprang entirely from imagination, but all of them left a lasting mark on music history. Which of these 12 do you remember?

Tom Waits has always had a soft spot for society's oddballs, and few are even stranger than Table Top Joe. Introduced on the 2002 album Alice, Joe is born with only a head and hands, yet grows into a brilliant piano player whose extraordinary talent earns him fame despite the odds stacked against him.

The song unfolds like a forgotten American folk tale, complete with references to Coney Island's legendary Dreamland amusement park and composer Igor Stravinsky. Although many listeners assume the story is based on an old carnival legend, Table Top Joe is entirely Tom Waits' own creation.

Few fictional musicians have ever become as famous as Ziggy Stardust. Introduced in 1972, Ziggy is an alien rock star sent to Earth shortly before humanity's end, only to be consumed by the very fame that makes him a savior to millions.

David Bowie blurred the line between fiction and reality by performing as Ziggy onstage for more than a year. When he unexpectedly announced Ziggy's retirement during a concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1973, many fans believed the character, and perhaps Bowie himself, had truly reached the end of the story.

Tommy Walker isn't just the hero of a song, he's the central figure of one of rock music's first great operas. After witnessing a traumatic event as a child, Tommy becomes deaf, mute, and blind, yet somehow develops astonishing pinball skills that transform him into an unlikely celebrity.

Pete Townshend built an entire musical world around Tommy, exploring themes of trauma, faith, and redemption. First released in 1969, Tommy later became a hit film, a Broadway production, and one of the most influential concept albums ever recorded.

Johnny B. Goode is every aspiring musician's dream. Growing up in rural Louisiana with little more than a guitar and natural talent, he plays so brilliantly that listeners predict "his name will be in lights."

Chuck Berry based the character partly on himself and partly on pianist Johnnie Johnson. Originally described as a "colored boy," Johnny became a "country boy" in the final lyrics, making the song more likely to receive airplay during the segregation era. Nearly two decades later, Johnny's anthem would even travel into space aboard NASA's Voyager Golden Record.

Few fictional characters have captured loneliness as powerfully as Eleanor Rigby. She quietly moves through life unnoticed, while Father McKenzie delivers sermons that no one hears, creating one of popular music's saddest portraits of isolation.

Paul McCartney later explained that Eleanor's name came from actress Eleanor Bron and the Liverpool shop Rigby & Evens. The discovery of an actual Eleanor Rigby gravestone in Liverpool only deepened the song's mystique, though McCartney maintained the coincidence was unintentional.

Billie Jean may be one of pop music's most famous women, yet Michael Jackson insisted she wasn't a real person. Instead, she represented several women who falsely claimed that he had fathered their children during the height of the Jackson 5's fame.

Released in 1983 as part of Thriller, the song became a global phenomenon. It also provided the stage for Jackson's legendary moonwalk during Motown 25.

Unlike many legendary song characters, Stagger Lee actually existed. His real name was Lee Shelton, a St. Louis criminal who murdered Billy Lyons during an argument over a hat on Christmas Eve in 1895.

The shocking crime quickly entered American folklore through countless folk songs before Lloyd Price transformed it into a chart-topping hit in 1958. More than a century later, Stagger Lee remains one of the most enduring antiheroes in American music.

Tom Dooley was inspired by Thomas Dula, a Confederate veteran executed in North Carolina in 1868 after being convicted of murdering Laura Foster. His surname was locally pronounced "Dooley," giving the ballad its familiar title.

The Kingston Trio revived the old Appalachian folk song in 1958, turning it into an international hit and helping launch America's folk music revival.

When the narrator of "Lola" meets an intriguing stranger in a Soho nightclub, expectations quickly give way to surprise. Ray Davies crafted one of rock's earliest mainstream stories exploring gender ambiguity, decades before the topic entered popular conversation.

The recording rarely reached British radio. Because BBC rules prohibited commercial product names, Davies had to interrupt a U.S. tour and fly back to London simply to replace the lyric "Coca-Cola" with the now-famous "cherry cola."

Unlike most famous song characters, the Piano Man is really Billy Joel himself. Before becoming a superstar, Joel spent six months in 1972 and 1973 performing under the pseudonym Bill Martin at the Executive Room, a piano bar in Los Angeles, after becoming trapped in a bad recording contract. The song transforms those experiences into a bittersweet portrait of ordinary people searching for escape at the end of another week.

Joel has said that virtually every character in the song was based on a real person, from bartender John to "Paul, the real estate novelist" and Davy, who really was in the Navy. Yet the Piano Man himself became the story's most enduring character: a quiet observer who offers music as a brief refuge for dreamers, lonely souls, and regulars alike. More than fifty years after its 1973 release, "Piano Man" remains Billy Joel's signature song, and its title has effectively become his lifelong nickname.

Standing nearly seven feet tall and missing an arm, Amos Moses roams the Louisiana swamps hunting alligators. Jerry Reed filled the song with colorful Southern expressions and exaggerated storytelling that make Amos feel like an authentic folk legend.

Although fictional, Amos embodies the larger-than-life heroes found throughout American tall tales. His adventures turned the song into one of Reed's biggest crossover hits and secured Amos a permanent place among country music's greatest characters.

Big Bad John hardly says a word, but he doesn't have to. The towering coal miner earns everyone's respect through quiet strength before sacrificing his own life to save fellow workers when a mine collapses.

Jimmy Dean's 1961 ballad became a smash hit, winning a Grammy and inspiring several sequel songs. More than sixty years later, Big Bad John still stands as one of country music's defining working-class heroes.