Word of the week: loke

Definition: A little more than like but not quite love (Merriam-Webster online).

Sample usage: "As a culinary experience, I loked the goat-cheese popsicles."

Popularity: Any word that describes an emotion short of "love" will seem like a criticism. "Like" has an eager hope, because the long "i" gives it a bright sound. "Love" is a nice pillowy word. "Loke," with its long vowel slamming into the brick wall of the "k," sounds dolorous. "I totally loked it" will be another way of saying "I hated it." Or, as we used to say, "That's different."

JAMES LILEKS