Monday, May 07, 2007

Words worth espousing - oenanist

I am currently writing an article for the Skeptic Journal wherein I coin a word which I hope gains some currency. I think the word is potentially a very happy marriage between an existing word (onanist), and the first syllable of a couple of words related to wine connoisseurship (oenophile and oenologist).

I apply the word to pretentious wannable wine connoisseurs who use a debased technical phraseology (presumably borrowed from wine labels, and/or wine judging and blind tasting events) in order to impress bystanders, friends and acquaintances.

So, next time you overhear someone claiming that the wine he or she has just tasted is a "cheeky little white, with a nose that suggests just a hint of sun-dried apples dipped in cognac", you can say "wow, very impressive, you must be an oenanist". The person will believe that you are complimenting him or her on his exquisite taste, whereas you are really summing him or her up as a wine wanker.

If you really don't wish to spare the person's feeling of course, you can simply call him or her a wine wanker in the first place and dispense with the neologism "oenanist "(as an unnecessary subterfuge).