Words

Mom was a champion speller in grade school (loosing a spelling bee to Cecilia Kapsner and resenting it for the rest of her long life) and a stickler for proper usage.  She believed you could fairly judge a person by the way they used words.  How hard was it to use 'saw' instead of 'seen'? To her, poor usage was willful stupidity.
So, I'm affected with a good share of it, too, but rarely run into it; I had to find my own peeve, and it turns out to be words-you-understand-on-the-page-but-can't-pronounce-or-use-even-tho-you-might-want-to.
For instance:

DEMUR (disagree or object)
DEMURE (modest, reserved)
EKES (...out a living) Great for crossword puzzles, tho.
SCION (...of a family)
TUMULT
DAIS
MELEE (a riot)
PUTATIVE
LEIGH (name)
LOUGH (pronounced lock)
PICARESQUE  (pik-uh-RESK)
adjective:
1. Of or relating to humorous or satiric fiction describing, in a series of episodes, the adventures of a roguish hero.
2. Of or relating to rogues or scoundrels.
PICTURESQUE  like a picture
LASSO
CHOATE is a school in Connecticut, right?  but then, what's
INCHOATE?

I think of Garrison's monologue about reading the word Egyptian and sounding it out in his head as E-gip-tee-un.  I truly get that, don't you?