Vocabulary Mnemonics

We noticed that a recent Word of the Day on the Interwebs was “gawky.”

This word takes us back to our teenage years. It means “nervously awkward and ungainly.” Think gangly 15-year-old at his first high school dance. Nervous as all get out… terrified of the girls… trying unsuccessfully to look natural on the dance floor.

The word gods gifted us a perfect mnemonic. They put “awk” right in the middle of the word, which can’t help but make you think of “awkward.”

That gives me an idea… maybe we can create a portmanteau and start calling people “gawkward,” ala “guesstimate.”