Editor’s note: Poynter announced that the newly renamed 2024 Poynter Journalism Prizes will feature a category honoring longtime writing coach Roy Peter Clark and recognizing compelling short writing ...

Some of the words are cutesy (kerfuffle, jubilee). Others are onomatopoeic, with a similar sound to the idea they’re describing (meow, clink, squeak). Some are bizarre sounding (for example, syzygy: ...