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I Can adopt that word, can I? 1

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 11 Nov 2008

They say that talk is cheap, but this week it became a little less so, as the children's charity I Can teamed up with Collins to offer members of the public the opportunity to own part of the English language.

www.adoptaword.com is offering prospective buyers the chance to adopt a word of their choice for the sum of £20, with the exception of several ‘premium words', such as caviar, posh, diamond and Concorde, which cost £30.

All proceeds go to I Can, which works with children who struggle to speak and understand words, and in return, buyers receive not just ownership of their chosen word, but a gift pack including a certificate and an aftercare advice booklet.

Several celebrities have already made purchases, including Timmy Mallett (‘brilliant'), Mel C (‘red') and Countdown dictionary corner doyenne Susie Dent, who chose ‘moonset'.

She said of her choice: "It was the late, great Richard Whiteley's favourite word on Countdown, a show I have been with for over 15 years.

"When ‘moonset' could be found among the jumbled nine letters of a round, Richard's eyes would melt and he would simply repeat it softly, almost as a whisper."

Another celebrity to have purchased a word is none other than the fundraising community's pre-eminent agency guru Alan Clayton, who chose the word ‘good', stating his reason as being "because it is good". With logic like that it is no wonder he is so well respected.

I Can has taken the opportunity to release a list of words that Collins is considering removing from the dictionary because they have fallen out of common usage, as particularly ripe for adoption.

These include gems such as ‘niddering', which means cowardly, ‘skirr', which means to move, run, or fly rapidly, and ‘fubsy', which means short and stout.

You wouldn't want to let poor old fubsy die out in the cold this winter, now would you?

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Who's Who: Celina Ribeiro