Vocab quiz

What’s an unusual word that you like to use?

One of the best words I learned in childhood was “cachibachi”—we used this to describe the contents of our junk drawers and the heaps of things you might find at a flea market. These days I also use it to describe all the annoying little “bits and bobs” on my to-do list, like “Schedule dentist appointment” or “Scrub kitchen sink”.

I’d kind of grown to believe that this word was a quirky term used only in a small Andean corner of the world. But much to my surprise I’ve just found it on Wikipedia, and discovered that (with slight variations in spelling and usage) it’s long been in use across the Spanish-speaking world. I’m delighted to learn thatcachivache is in fact out and about in the big wide world, and I hope other folks are putting it to use as often as I do.

Now that I’ve shared a story about one of my favorite obscure words, I’d love to hear about one of yours! What’s one of those useful terms that doesn’t get enough use? And what do you like about it?