Do You Like Words? Prove It!

When copywriter Robert Pirosh landed in Hollywood in 1934, eager to become a screenwriter, he wrote and sent the following letter to all the directors, producers, and studio executives he could think of.

The approach worked, and after securing three interviews he took a job as a junior writer with MGM. Pirosh went on to write for the Marx Brothers, and in 1949 won an Academy Award for his Battleground script.

Dear Sir:

I like words. I like fat buttery words, such as ooze, turpitude, glutinous, toady. I like solemn, angular, creaky words, such as straitlaced, cantankerous, pecunious, valedictory. I like spurious, black-is-white words, such as mortician, liquidate, tonsorial, demimonde. I like suave “V” words, such as Svengali, svelte, bravura, verve. I like crunchy, brittle, crackly words, such as splinter, grapple, jostle, crusty. I like sullen, crabbed, scowling words, such as skulk, glower, scabby, churl. I like Oh-Heavens, my-gracious, land’s-sake words, such as tricksy, tucker, genteel, horrid. I like elegant, flowery words, such as estivate, peregrinate, elysium, halcyon. I like wormy, squirmy, mealy words, such as crawl, blubber, squeal, drip. I like sniggly, chuckling words, such as cowlick, gurgle, bubble and burp.

I like the word screenwriter better than copywriter, so I decided to quit my job in a New York advertising agency and try my luck in Hollywood, but before taking the plunge I went to Europe for a year of study, contemplation and horsing around.

I have just returned and I still like words.

May I have a few with you?

Robert Pirosh

So, to recap:

Description of Word	Example #1	Example #2	Example #3	Example #4
fat, buttery	ooze	turpitude	glutinous	toady
solemn, angular, creaky	straitlaced	cantankerous	pecunious	valedictory
spurious, black-is-white	mortician	liquidate	tonsorial	demimonde
suave “V”	Svengali	svelte	bravura	verve
crunchy, brittle, crackly	splinter	grapple	jostle	crusty
sullen, crabbed, scowling	skulk	glower	scabby	churl
oh-Heavens, my-gracious, land’s-sake	tricksy	tucker	genteel	horrid
elegant, flowery	estivate	peregrinate	elysium	halcyon
wormy, squirmy, mealy	crawl	blubber	squeal	drip
sniggly, chuckling	cowlick	gurgle	bubble	burp