Comments on: Every Word I Learned from ‘Infinite Jest’

By: Steve Carlson

Steve Carlson — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 19:05:17 +0000

What a fun article. I was going to comment that I know quite a lot of those words, but some I know only because I looked them up back when I read IJ. Others are words that those of us over age 60 didn’t realize might be uncommon today. Others are common words for those of us who have studied speech, those who have encountered various medical conditions, and those who looked up the same words when we were reading Pynchon. Thanks, Gabe, for daring to expose your own list–mine would be different (though overlapping), but would be at least as long.

By: EditorLA

EditorLA — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:31:06 +0000

Actually, upon rereading, I’d say the percentage of widely-known words is closer to 40%. But then again, I work with words for a living!

By: EditorLA

EditorLA — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:28:42 +0000

There is a fair number of well-known words in there; I agree with the 25% estimate. But I have to ask: what happens between the ages of 30 and 50?

By: Sara

Sara — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:28:51 +0000

I loved reading this–I hadn’t realized how many medical terms DFW uses in IJ until now. I appreciate your honesty about which words you didn’t know.

By: Sue Davis

Sue Davis — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:20:30 +0000

Nothing better than starting a new book and realizing you will need to keep a dictionary nearby!

By: Jessica Weissman

Jessica Weissman — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:12:59 +0000

Oops, I mean to say that I know 150 of the words.

By: Jessica Weissman

Jessica Weissman — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:12:07 +0000

“Aphasia” is in there a couple of times too. Along with “aphasiac”.

For what it’s worth I know 110 of the words, but then I’m over 60 and had a classical liberal arts education and like to read popular science and math books.

By: Clare

Clare — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:07:15 +0000

20. The first instance of “amanuensis” is spelled wrong.
141. As a noun, “matins” is always pluralized. “Matin” singular is the adjective.
183. “Whinge” is the British synonym of the American “whine.”

By: Margaret Miles

Margaret Miles — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:05:33 +0000

Thanks, this was fun!

One of my pleasures in unusual words is the way they can recall the context in which I first read them: lordosis, for example, from Willie Keith’s navy physical exam early in Herman Wouk’s THE CAINE MUTINY; and nacelle from descriptions of the original Starship Enterprise.

Word lovers who haven’t read Anne Fadiman’s “The Joy of Sesquepedalians” (in her essay collection EX LIBRIS) should definitely acquire a copy.

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:56:52 +0000

UMmm…on what planet? I’m an educated man who is turning 50 this year and I too had to take my reading a bit further when diving into Infinate Jest.