A Way With Words

It might seem as if William Shakespeare lived forever and a day ago, but he still is known in all corners of the world nearly 400 years after his death.

If you saw his writing, you might say "it's Greek to me," but you would be giving yourself short shrift. That's because Shakespeare invented many of the household words we use. Rather than disappear into thin air, these words have become fixtures in our speech -- used even by people who are tongue-tied.

"Shakespeare's contribution to the language is probably greater than any other writer of the English language," said Michael Collins, who teaches English here at Georgetown University.

In addition to the bold-faced words and phrases above, Shakespeare is thought to have created the expressions seen better days, good riddance, charmed life, for goodness sake, didn't sleep a wink, in a pickle and heart of gold. Among the words he invented: laughable, laughingstock, zany, gloomy, excitement, bedroom, luggage and worthless.

Collins said Shakespeare made up so many words because English was "more fluid" in his day, when fewer people could read and write. "If you could ask Shakespeare," Collins said, "the answer would be, 'I had to make these words up because that was the one word I needed, to say what I wanted to say.' "

Don't you wish you could do that? You can! The next time you're scribbling in your diary and are stuck for the perfect word, invent one. It's funtastic.

-- Margaret Webb Pressler