Words

Came across a new word today. I love words (guess that much is obvious!!!) but I try to keep most of the "big grammar" in my head since there's no point using words that no-one really knows the meaning of (or cares, really!).
I have this book - okay, okay YSho & Co, I will confess - I have so many books I have no space to put them so they're in suitcases, cartons, stacked on the tables, on the floor (some against the wall, some not). Anyway, I have this book called 100 Words Every Word Lover Should Know and yesterday I happened to be flicking idly through it and feeling smug that I had not seen any word that I had never seen or heard of before, even if I was not sure of the origin and/or the meaning (I always like to know the origin of a word - original language, it's evolution, etc) and suddenly, there's a, to me, totally new word that I had never seen nor heard of before. And was it long or what? I must say, very proudly too, that once I pronounced the word as it was spelled, I knew that it was Polynesian in origin. Yep! I am boasting!!!
It's got 21 letters in it and sounds like something someone made up!

HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUAA
And for the plural form, just add an 's' at the end of the word! I kid you not. I checked the Merriam-Webster website and it's really a word! And, wait for this, it is a noun and a type of.........(drumroll)......fish. A FISH, a triggerfish to be precise, found in the coastal waters of Hawaii.
Imagine that word in a crossword - it will drive you nuts. Or would have. Now, you'll know the answer to "21 Across - a small Hawaiian fish. 21 letters!"

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