[Scene: we're grocery shopping...]
Me: "Those baguettes look good."
Beth: [age 14] "Baguettes. That's a good word."
Me: "What?"
Beth: "Baguettes. It's on my list."
Me: "Your list of what?"
Beth: "I have a list of favorite words. It changes a lot, but baguettes is on there."
Me: "What else is on the list?"
Beth: "Right now, it's baguettes, vendetta, barbel, and darkling. Maybe one or two others."
Me: "Darkling? Like the character from Shadow and Bone?"
Beth: "It was a word before that. It means something that is dark, or turning dark."
Me: "I did not know that. And barbel? Do you mean barbell?"
Beth: "No, a barbel is that little whisker thing that some fish have under their mouths."
Me: "Oh, like catfish."
Beth: "Right."
Me: "Why are these your favorite words?"
Beth: "They sound right when you say them. It doesn't even matter what they mean. Their letters and syllables just have a good vibe."
Me: "So they have a good 'mouthfeel' like people say about food?"
Beth: "Yes."
Me: "It's sort of like why there are so many kinds of pasta. They each hold sauce differently and have a different mouthfeel when you're eating them. So maybe it's the same for words?"
Beth: "I guess. A lot of pasta names are also pretty good words. Like rigatoni."
Me: "Pasta generally has a good vibe, no matter what it's called."
Beth: "Maybe, but it tastes better when it has a good name."