Doplic, but not crazy

If I'm a Grammar Geek, my husband is the Dictionary King. His vocabulary is rather impressive and there are very few words he does not know. I've only stumped him twice in our four years together.

The first: akimbo. As is standing akimbo, with with hands on hips. I won this victory somewhere in the middle of Idaho on our way home from Utah when we actually called his grandparents in Eugene to check the dictionary for us.

The second: doplic. As in clumsy, goofy, not so brilliant. The debate has gone on for several years until finally this evening during a little pizza making (no seriously, we were making pizza), we again pulled out the dictionary so I could prove it was a word. To my horror, it was not listed. I know I didn't make this one up, though I've been know to do this on occasion, because I've heard other people use it. Turning to our trust friend, Google, we quickly found it online at www.enwiktionary.org. "Doplic: lacking dexterity, non-skilled, clumsy." See!? I told you! Ah, but wait, there's more... "Originated in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, possibly from Pennsylvania Dutch."

Crazy!

But, when I thought about it, I guess I really haven't heard the word used since I moved from PA. (Side note to those who don't know: Lancaster County is used in the same way as Orange County. You're from Lancaster County, not from Lancaster or Willow Street or Donegal.)

I immediately called my sister in Southern Oregon who, as soon as I asked her if she'd heard of the word, informed me that it wasn't in the dictionary. She, too, is having an on-going conversation with her boyfriend about the legitimacy of the word and found the immense humor in my discovery. Unfortunately, we haven't reached a conclusion.