Word: funke
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Wilfred J. Funk was born to words. He reveled in them, ranked them and made a small fortune from them. A lifelong lexicographer, he was a tireless missionary for the English language, and by the time he died at 83 last week, he had succeeded in converting many others to his cherished belief: "It pays to increase your word power...
...Funk made the entire nation self-conscious about its vocabulary. For 20 years he turned out a monthly column on vocabulary building for the Reader's Digest, and he wrote innumerable books: 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary, 25 Magic Steps to Word Power. No pedant, he praised Walter Winchell for adding phffft to the language, and H. L. Mencken for contributing booboisie. "Simple and clear expression," he said, "is usually the difference between a sizzle and a fizzle...
...founder of Funk & Wagnails, publisher of dictionaries and encyclopedias, Funk joined the family firm after graduating from Princeton, where he was class poet and began absorbing all the world's words. He became company president in 1925, later started his own publishing house (Wilfred Funk, Inc.). He tried his hand at light verse, drew up a list of the ten most beautiful words in the English language (dawn, hush, lullaby, murmuring, tranquil, mist, luminous, chimes, golden, melody) and the ten most overworked (okay, terrific, lousy, definitely, racket, gal, honey, swell, contact, impact'). He even compiled a canine dictionary...
...course of his career, Funk suffered one major mishap with words. In 1936 he was made editor in chief of Literary Digest, Funk & Wagnalls' weekly compendium of comment on current affairs, and he promptly ran a poll that showed Alf Landon trouncing Franklin Roosevelt...
...Sycamores, the CRIMSON smiles beneficently; but when there is a facetious fun and games, it is shocking and irresponsible. In that this anti-protest protest aroused such indignation from you and the SDS it was more successful in making its point than the March on Washington. William F. Funk...