A few years ago (well, 13½ years ago — time flies), Alan explained why alit should not be common. According to the Ngram Viewer, pleb is even less common, outside of a spike at the end of the XIXth century which seems sufficiently long ago that it shouldn't be a factor. ISTM consistency should make pleb a rare word.

That is why I call them stupid, easy words — with the emphasis being on my stupidity for missing it!

But here’s a word many of us have heard of and it’s demoted to rare. Why can’t TRex and Rogue-mother and lilys field learn a new word and add it to their vocabulary?

Jacki, I don't think you've thought this through. Why can't you — or everyone for that matter — learn every word in the Chihuahua dictionary? Every word could be 'common'. It would certainly make thing easier for Alan, who does a great job ajudicating these things, IMO (though I don't agree with every ruling).

I'd expect nasally to be much more used. I agree with making it rare.

'second-to-last' sounds a bit odd to my ear — 'next-to-last' seems more normal ... what do others use? (Personally, I'd use penultimate.)

Thanks, Alan

Since replies have been consistently affirming gelignite as common, I took a look at the Ngram Viewer. Very interesting. There is a large difference between its frequency in American English and British English. In American usage the word has never been much used. In British English, its usage took off in the late 1880s [Alfred Nobel invented the stuff in 1875] and despite being on an overall decline since circa 1910, remains much more frequently used in British English. It does appear to have always been rare in American English.