de gustibus
The most common forms of synesthesia involve associations of words, letters, or numbers with colors. Some estimates say that as many as 1 in 200 people may have word-color synesthesia. By contrast, there have only been five documented cases in the past century of "word-gustatory synesthesia," where hearing or seeing a word evokes an involuntary taste association. Mathew Gendel spent several months working with a woman with this type of synesthesia who goes by the initials "TD."
. . . Whether or not TD is an authentic synesthete, her case is fascinating. The tastes she associates with each word are remarkably vivid. She even has a list of 28 "ugly words" that she avoids using or writing (including Cincinnati, number, portable, squirm, and phony) because of the disgusting tastes she says she experiences along with them.
"Cincinnati," sure, but "portable"? Odd.If I knew someone with this condition I would spend all my time trying out obscure words in an attempt to inflict weird and horrible taste sensations on them, and be honest, so would you. It would be like being a wizard.