I stumbled upon a funny-sounding word in a book I recently read: pooh-pooh .  When you hear or read the word, you just can't help but think of: (1) Winnie the Pooh, and/or (2) "poo," as in excrement. At first, the word to me sounded like it could mean to deride or lampoon someone -- something you'd expect to see a stand-up comedian do. To pooh-pooh is to dismiss an idea or suggestion as being foolish, impractical, or unworthy of serious consideration. It's happened to all of us before, whether at work or at home. Maybe you've pooh-poohed someone yourself. For example, if someone approaches you and argues that the sky is really orange, you might "pooh-pooh" his claim as nonsense. Other synonyms include reject, discount, rebuff, belittle, and repudiate. It just goes to show you the sheer variety of words in the English language, some sounding more offbeat than others. Had you heard of the word pooh-pooh before reading this?

I've made what I -- and several others -- consider to be an astute observation:  Many people become highly obnoxious when they get together with other people -- whether their friends, coworkers, or others they're close to.  They become looser and less conscious of their surroundings, which often translates into firing off cuss words and lame jokes. Such behavior is only magnified when drinks are involved. I don't take any issue with people having fun with their friends. It's being so silly as to be annoying -- getting drunk, joining forces to demean others, making fools of themselves -- that gets on my nerves.  As I've pointed out in prior entries, people tend toward civilized behavior when they're alone because there's no audience to impress. They don't have to worry about channeling someone else's behavior -- being "part of the group" -- because no one else is there. Thus, when people are alone, they're more vulne...