A Loss for Words

New words come into our language, and are added to the dictionaries: staycation, jeggings, LOL, tweetup, unfriend, roadkill. And some are inevitably lost or listed as archaic, obsolete, etc. I can think of one perfectly good word which is neither archaic or outdated in meaning, but is hardly ever used any more. The word is "frightening." Whereas the word once was used to describe a harrowing or unsettling experience or scenario, anything formerly considered frightening is now referred to as "scary." A scary tsunami, the scary prospect of nuclear fallout, a victim of a dreadful assault as having lived through a scary experience. Once scary was used in relation to little children and Halloween sights, or for a little animal character in children's literature being lost in a scary woods. Sure, frightening has 3 syllables instead of scary's 2, and 11 letters instead of 5, but is it worth sacrificing the dignity of language for the minimal savings of time or print? Personally, I find it somewhat incongruous and a little humorous when a dignified-looking spokesperson for some agency or another labels a major threat to our economy or world peace or survival of the planet as being "scary." BOO!