See also: Al Swearengen's favorite word (which, I know, is problematic when taken literally, but beautiful in its explosiveness as a combination of vowels and consonants).
@returnofcow “Butt goblin” at least follows the rules for how vowels sound good when they go in a certain order. It’s why clocks say “tick tock” and not “tock tick.” Vowels will go from high to low in those kinds of adjectives, so I assume that phenomenon of the vowels “sounding right” might work for the u and o sounds in “butt goblin.” It’s been a long time since grad school, and I’m NOT a linguist, but I’d think that the predictable order of the u and o sounds followed by the higher vowel i at the end of “goblin” gives it an extra, unexpected punch at the end that makes it that much better.
I was wondering whether the vowel thing applied outside of adjectives with repeating consonants (tick tock, zig zag, sing song), and then I found this to support my butt goblin theory:
“That’s why we say “big bad wolf” instead of “bad big wolf.” A short “i” sound, as in “big,” comes before an “a” sound, as in “bad.”
Of course, “big bad” is not itself a reduplication—that is, a single element being echoed. But we have a choice in how to arrange two short adjectives. And the preferred order is based not on the meaning of the words but on their vowel sounds.“
(Note that the normal adjective order in English WOULD put “bad” before “big,” which is important for the context of that quote.)
I was wondering whether the vowel thing applied outside of adjectives with repeating consonants (tick tock, zig zag, sing song), and then I found this to support my butt goblin theory:
“That’s why we say “big bad wolf” instead of “bad big wolf.” A short “i” sound, as in “big,” comes before an “a” sound, as in “bad.”
Of course, “big bad” is not itself a reduplication—that is, a single element being echoed. But we have a choice in how to arrange two short adjectives. And the preferred order is based not on the meaning of the words but on their vowel sounds.“
(Note that the normal adjective order in English WOULD put “bad” before “big,” which is important for the context of that quote.)
From here: https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog...