GET WORDY, y’all. This is a new segment of my blog (hooray for new segments!). Since I was an English major in college and I taught high school English for two years, I love vocabulary. In school, I looked forward to making a gazillion vocab flashcards. Honestly, I LOVE words. So, I’ve decided to call this segment GET WORDY where I feature a word of the day/week/month/year that I am currently using, want to start using, or have made up. Yes, I like to make up words, too. I’m an improviser, making stuff up is what I do.

Today’s Word: Aforementioned

She's pointing to the aforementioned dude over there.

Main Entry: afore·men·tioned
Pronunciation: \-ˈmen(t)-shənd\
Function: adjective
Date: 1587
A : mentioned previously

I love this word. I LOVE the word aforementioned. I’m a dork and I try to use this word as often as humanly possible – or wherever I can feasibly fit the word into a sentence. Why? Because I feel like this word makes you seem a whole lot smarter than you really are. No, no, no, I’m not saying that you aren’t already smart. What I AM saying is not a lot of people throw the word “Aforementioned” around… and if you were to toss it out in an unexpected scenario, people might say, “Man, that guy/girl/thing is S-M-A-R-T.”

So it means mentioned previously. But what does THAT mean? Well in this case I would be referring to the AFOREMENTIONED definition of the word – meaning that I am mentioning the previously mentioned mention of the definition of the word.

Oh no, I’ve gone cross-eyed.

I don’t want to confuse you. I don’t think that I have, but in the off chance that I have, I am sorry.

So, use the word in a sentence today. As soon as you go to reference something previously talked about in the conversation, be sure to refer to it as the AFOREMENTIONED topic.

Ahhhh that’s nice.

Leave me a comment referencing something I already said. I want you to wow me.

Word.