My Favorite Compliment

You know those jokes in grade school that revolve around a demonstration of a superior vocabulary? Like "Your epidermis is showing!" I never had trouble because I have always had a fairly good vocabulary. Which is why I was caught completely off-guard when someone called my husband and I a "diphthong". I froze while my mind considered whether to be affronted to pleased. I finally settled keeping my expression frozen while I asked what a "diphthong" is. Any foreign speaker probably already knows this, but a diphthong is where two vowel sounds come together to create a new sound. Like in house or tow or join. Basically, we had just gotten the best compliment a marriage could get. And I suspect someone enjoyed delivering a wonderful compliment and one-upping our vocabulary simultaneously.