awfulizing
v.— «Heard a new word recently and decided I like it. Awfulizing is the practice of thinking something is so horrible and so awful that there’s no other way to feel but depressed, dejected and without hope. Awfulizing drags people into pitiful states of despair—usually needlessly. If you catch yourself awfulizing, stop and ask yourself, “what’s really the worst thing that can possibly happen here?”» —“Bits and bytes to ponder, even avoid” by Kelly Griffith Orlando Sentinel (Florida) July 3, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Julie in Fort Pierce, Florida, recalls that on sweltering days her mother would declare the weather was hotter than Billy Blue Blazes! The word blazes is a euphemism for “hell,” as in hot as blazes. The blue in blue blazes has long been used as an...
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a word-pecker is “a person who trifles or plays with, or quibbles over, words.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Word-Peckers” I always love it when I’m looking through the dictionary and...