Awkward - what a lovely word that is, noble possessor of a rare and precious wkw 1. See how the three consonants lurk behind the a, ready to trip up Anglophone tongues unaccustomed to its pouting qualities. Fittingly, the word is derived from perhaps an even more awkward adjective, the Old Norse afugr, meaning 'turned the wrong way' (and if you should turn it the wrong way, ...