He paused, then said, “Gahhh, I love the word crux. How could anyone not love that word?”
I giggled.
He continued, “The word even looks like what it is, like this important little block, this core.”
“Mmm,” I said in agreement. “How about cavalier? Rolls right off your tongue.”
“Applause,” he said.
“Callous.”
“Archaic.”
“Valor,” I said. “Doesn’t it just make you want to storm a castle?” I pushed up my sleeve. “Look, I have goosebumps!”
Other favorites:
intrepid
sentinal
civic
rogue
What are yours?