If you know me, you know I love a good thesaurus. In fact, “thesaurus” is one of my favorite words. Every time I hear it, I will forever picture a wise-looking brontosaurus wearing a tiny pair of glasses and a sweater vest.

In a recent naming brainstorm, we stumbled upon the topic of why some words sound cute and others are just … wrong. We couldn’t really pinpoint why. A linguist might say it has to do with roots, syllables and the ratio of vowels to consonants. A psychologist might note it’s positive or negative associations from your past. An anthropologist might tell you it’s all about your own cultural norms and values. And a marketer would say it’s whichever word has available social handles and URLs.

For better or for worse, some words just stick.

So this week, I am sharing my running Google Doc of favorite words (and a few standout phrases) in the English language. Use it for good, not evil.

Incredibly useful words:
Moreover
Clairvoyant
Zhuzh
Malleable (Thanks, ninth grade physical science.)
To be fair …
Quintessential
Local
Cognizant (Though most of the times I’ve used it, I wasn’t 100% sure what it meant.)
Adamant
Et al. (Incredibly handy!)
Vernacular
Regardless (Not “irregardless.” Ever.)
Astute
Per (Literally the most useful word in the workplace. Per your notes, per the client’s edits, per my last email … per anything.)

Incredibly cute words:
Lint
Olive
Dollop
Feeble
Corn
Millet
Cherub
Soup
Tweed
Aglet
Twelve (I don’t know why.)

Words that get stuck in my head in an incessant loop:
Gumption
Arugula
Disingenuous (This is just a roller coaster of a word.)
Toile
Plein de vie
Skimbleshanks (Yes—as in, the Railway Cat.)
Delusional
Literally (I know. I’m literally so sorry.)

Words I have to spell out in my head whenever I hear them:
Restaurant
Definitely
Architect
Equanimity (I have never seen this used anywhere except vocabulary lists.)
Glissando
Cumulonimbus (Humblebrag: I spelled this correctly to clinch the fifth grade spelling bee, and I have been chasing that feeling of utter elation ever since.)
Filibuster
Dietitian
Pronunciation
Aardvark
Respect (Thank you, Aretha.)

My favorite business buzzwords (guilty as charged):
Forefront
Wheelhouse
Leverage
Work smarter, not harder
Sidebar
Touch base
Bootstraps (Would also be a cute name for a cat.)

Old-timey words that need to make a comeback:
Swell
Fiddle-faddle
Capital (As a synonym for “awesome,” shoutout to “Little Women.”)
Bee’s knees
Know your onions
My old man (Petition to start calling our dads “my old man” again.)
Sock it to ‘em
Nifty
Applesauce (A sort of expletive for something that doesn’t make sense, akin to “horsefeathers.” Used in a sentence: “Aw, applesauce!”)

If you ever want to get in tune with your linguistic self, start listing your favorite words. It’s pretty swell.