From: utzoo!decvax!decwrl!sun!megatest!fortune!guzis Newsgroups: net.nlang Title: Re: Surprising words Article-I.D.: fortune.784 Posted: Sun Feb 13 21:27:42 1983 Received: Wed Feb 16 03:44:37 1983 References: iheds.205 uw-beave.338 I vaguely remember an 18th century report of a description of one of Sir Christopher Wren's buildings as - "both artificial and awful" Which was intended as a compliment! Artificial = having the qualities of an artifice; Awful = inspiring or creating a feeling of awe. Though, I'll grant "awful" was probably spelled "awefull". interesting how both words have acquired a negative connotation. - Chuck Guzis ...fortune!guzis