Fungible

My Word: Fungible

Meaning: interchangeable.

My Connection: One of the things I have always loved about the English language, is just how many words can be (correctly) used interchangeably. When I've worked as a content writer, it is especially important if you are writing about a subject that has been written on a hundred times before, so you can avoid Google and other search engines flagging up supposed duplicate content. In poetry and fiction, it's great if you don't want to use the same word again and again.

What I discovered when looking at the list of unusual "F" words was just how many there were related to "nonsense" So, my poem reflects that while paying tribute to the word "fungible". Okay, so it is often used in economics and finance. I decided it could be used for interchangeable words, that have the same value. As writers, we have that power. Look, I love words. I love being tricksy and subversive.

For an extra fun Easter Egg thing, the repeated use of falderal serves an additional clever purpose related to its definition. Falderal means "a nonsensical refrain", often featured in old songs. So, I tried to incorporate that with a silly refrain for my silly song-like poem. Also, see the use of coda. I had a lot of fun with this. Can you tell?

My Poem

so many 'f' words, all nonsense and sound

as this and that, the fungible, flexible

*

is it flapdoodle or more a slight footle

who can tell if it's fiddlededee or fatuous

in the end, it's all fiddle-faddle, falderal

*

get involved in flimflam or maybe flumadiddle

talk a lot of flannel and ridiculous fadoodle

in the end, it's all fiddle-faddle, falderal

*

in the coda, words dance in the air

at its close, they spin and flare

in the end, it's all fiddle-faddle, falderal

*

so many 'f' words for such nonsense

as this and that, the fungible, flexible

interchangeable words guide the flow

fuels creation, ridiculous nonsense

*

in the end, it's falderal, the final fiddle-faddle

*

Thanks for reading!

Author's Notes: This is for Penny Fuller's Fantastic Part F: The A-Z of Unusual Words, which you can find out more about below.

Here are some other things by me: