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HEIGHTISMPRONUNCIATION: (HY-tiz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: Discrimination based on height, especially the unfair treatment of people who are short.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by sociologist Saul Feldman, from height, from Old English hehthu (height), from heah (high). Earliest documented use: 1971.
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HIGHTISM - discrimination based on one's name (obsolete)
EIGHTISM - requirement that all mathematical statements shall be in Base 8
EIGHTISM (2) - monetary system based on the old Spanish dollar (
real de ocho) and its parts; "two bits" = a quarter = 25 ¢
HEIGHTIST - synonym of aerialist, high-wire artist
THEOPHORIC
PRONUNCIATION: (thee-uh/oh-FOR-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Having or derived from the name of a god.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek theo- (god) + -phoric (bearing). Earliest documented use: 1891.
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THEOPHOTIC - taking a picture of God
THEOCHORIC - singing God's praises (see also THEOPHONIC)
THEOPHORIC - I feel like a cup of tea
EKPHRASIS
PRONUNCIATION: (EK-fruh-sis)
MEANING: noun: A description of or commentary on a work of visual art.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ecphrasis, from Greek ekphrasis (description), from ek (ex-, out) + phrazein (to explain). Earliest documented use: 1632.
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ELK PHRASIS - the Sayings of the BPOE
EKPHASIS - the opposite of EMPHASIS
EEKPHRASIS - mouse-aphobia
DIEGETIC
PRONUNCIATION: (dy-uh-JET-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Happening inside a story.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek diegesis (narrative). Earliest documented use: 1970.
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DIE AGE-TIC - in Berlin, the twitch in your eyelid that comes with growing oder
DI-ERGETIC - producing twice as much energy
DYE-GET, I.C. - an international company that produces and markets hair coloring
YESTERWEEK
PRONUNCIATION: (YES-tuhr-week)
MEANING: noun: Last week.
adverb: During last week.
ETYMOLOGY: From yester- (a time one period before the present one), from Old English giestran (previous day) + week, from Old English wice (week). Earliest documented use: 1830.
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HESTERWEEK - the seven-day period when aficionados get together to re-read The Scarlet Letter.
EYES, TERWEEK! - Mr Terweek, copying answers from your neighbors' test papers is not permitted
YESTERWEED - a strain of marijuana so strong you're stoned for even before you use it
TZIMMES or TSIMMES
PRONUNCIATION: (TSIM-is/uhs)
MEANING: noun:
1. Fuss; confusion.
2. A stew of fruits and vegetables, and sometimes meat.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish tsimes (stew). Earliest documented use: 1892.
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T. ZIMMER - less-known younger brother of the guy who replaced Jackie Robinson at 2nd Base
TO "I'M ME!"S - toasting the victims of identity theft
TRIMMES - modest haircuts at the Olde Barber Shoppe
GRAVY TRAIN
PRONUNCIATION: (GRAY-vee trayn)
MEANING: noun: A situation offering a lot of money or benefits for little work.
ETYMOLOGY: The word gravy has been used for easily acquired money. Eventually it began to be used in the phrase: to ride the gravy train. Earliest documented use: 1895. See also sinecure.
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GRAVY TO RAIN - a task just a bit easier than turning wine into water
GRAVY STRAIN - taking the solids out of the drippings from roast turkey
GRAVY TRAIL - what Hansel and Gretel left after their father struck it rich and they ate roast beef instead of bread
COLD TURKEY
PRONUNCIATION: (KOLD TUHR-kee)
MEANING: noun: 1. An abrupt and complete withdrawal, especially from an addiction.
2. A frank and direct expression of views.
adjective: Abrupt and complete.
adverb: Abruptly.
verb tr., intr.: To abruptly and completely withdraw, especially from something addictive.
ETYMOLOGY: Apparently from the serving of cold roast turkey which requires no preparation. Earliest documented use: 1921.
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OLD TURKEY - brand of cheap bourbon
COLA, TURKEY ! - Ya want root beer with that, fella?
COLD TURNKEY - even the guards wear a coat in that cheap Duke's dungeon
NOTHINGBURGER
PRONUNCIATION: (NUH-thing-buhr-guhr)
MEANING: noun: Someone or something that turns out to be inconsequential.
ETYMOLOGY: From the metaphorical use of a burger missing a patty. Coined by Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons. Earliest documented use: 1942.
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NOT-HUNG BURGER - portrait of a bourgeois town resident that isn't yet up on the wall
BOTH IN G-BURG E.R. - the two of them have been taken to the city Emergency Room in Gettysburg
NO THINK! BURGER!! - Cookie Monster's cousin Hammie M. has no trouble deciding what to order at Macdonald's
PLAIN VANILLA
PRONUNCIATION: (PLAYN vuh-NIL-uh)
MEANING: adjective: The basic, plain, or bland.
ETYMOLOGY: From plain + vanilla, from Spanish vainilla (little pod), from vaina (sheath), from Latin vaginα (sheath) + -illa (diminutive suffix). Earliest documented use: 1942.
NOTES:
Once vanillin, the organic compound that gives vanilla its flavor, was synthesized, it became cheap to use vanilla flavor. It became the default flavor of ice-cream and soon the term was used for anything basic, unadorned, without any extras.
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PLAIN MANILLA - a simple unadorned Philippine city
SWAIN VANILLA - an uunremarkable, ordinary-loooking, but dependable suitor
PLAID VANILLA - a sweet Scottish dessert flavor
REPTILIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (rep-TIL-ee-uhn, -TIL-yuhn)
MEANING.
adjective:
1. Contemptible.
2. Treacherous.
3. Like a reptile.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin reptile, from repere (to creep). Earliest documented use: 1835.
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SEPTILIAN - a one followed by about a gazlllon zeroes (or maybe only 21)
REPTILICAN - inhabitant of the country of Reptilica
RETILIAN - someone who favors redoing the bathroom down to the grout
eager beaver
PRONUNCIATION:
/(ee-guhr BEE-vuhr)
MEANING: noun: One who is enthusiastic and hard-working, sometimes to the point of being overzealous.
ETYMOLOGY: From eager, from Old French egre, from Latin acer (sharp) + beaver, from Old English beofor. Earliest documented use: 1942.
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EAGER BEAVER
PRONUNCIATION: (ee-guhr BEE-vuhr)
MEANING: noun: One who is enthusiastic and hard-working, sometimes to the point of being overzealous.
ETYMOLOGY: From eager, from Old French egre, from Latin acer (sharp) + beaver, from Old English beofor. Earliest documented use: 1942
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EAGLER BEAVER - a swimming toothed rodent who hunts raptors
EAGER BEATER - a gung-ho Quiddich player with a paddle
EAGER SEAVER - Tom can't wait for his next turn to pitch
TESTUDAL
PRONUNCIATION: testudinal
PRONUNCIATION: (tes-TOOD/TYOOD-i-nuhl)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Slow.
2. Arched.
3. Old.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin testudo (tortoise). Earliest documented use: 1823.
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TEST U, DAN'L? - before you go into the Lion's Den, we should see whether you're coming down with COVID-19
TEST URAL - assay the earth from the euro-asian mountains
UTES-'TUDAL - really dislikes the Southwestern Indians
WEASEL
PRONUNCIATION: (WEE-zuhl)
MEANING: noun: 1. Any of various small slender carnivorous mammals of the genus Mustela.
2. A sneaky, cunning person.
verb intr.: 1. To evade an obligation.
2. To be evasive by using ambiguous or misleading words.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English wesule. Earliest documented use: c. 450 CE.
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WHEASEL - have a mild attack of asthma
WE, ABEL - Adam's son has a split personality
WEAK SEL - this Parisian salt has no flavor
BIG FISH
PRONUNCIATION: (big fish)
MEANING: noun: An important person or entity.
ETYMOLOGY: From big, perhaps of Scandinavian origin + fish, from Old English fisc (fish). Earliest documented use: 1827.
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I.G. FISH - the Inspector General in charge of seafood
BIG GISH - Lillian's put on a lot of weight since her acting days, hasn't she
BIG FIST - adapted from Theodore Roosevelt: what you may need to carry if you don't have a stick but still you want to speak softly
BRIDEWELL
PRONUNCIATION: (BRYD-wel)
MEANING: noun: A prison.
ETYMOLOGY: Originally it was a well, named for St. Bride (or Brigid) in London. The name St. Bride’s Well became Bridewell. Over time, the site has served as a church, a palace, an orphanage, a hospital, and finally, gained notoriety as a prison. Earliest documented use: 1583.
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BRIDGEWELL - what you have to play to be a Life Master
RIDEWELL - desirable quality for a horse at a Dude Ranch
BRIDE WEILL - generic way to refer to Lotte Lenya immediately after she married Kurt
GULAG
PRONUNCIATION: (GOO-lahg)
MEANING: noun:
1. The system of forced labor camps in the former Soviet Union.
2. Any prison or forced labor camp, especially one for political prisoners.
3. A place of great hardship.
ETYMOLOGY: From Russian Gulag, acronym from Glavnoe Upravlenie ispravitel’no-trudovykh LAGerei (Chief Administration for Corrective Labor Camps). Earliest documented use: 1946.
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G. SLAG - seventh on a list of by-products of the production of iron from ore
GAUL A.G. - the Attorney General of ancient France
GUY-LAG - men can take a little longer to understand things sometimes
CALABOOSE
PRONUNCIATION: (KAL-uh-boos)
MEANING: noun: A prison.
ETYMOLOGY: From Louisiana French calabouse, from Spanish calabozo (dungeon), from Latin calafodium, from fodere (to dig). Earliest documented use: 1797. Another Spanish word for a prison that has become part of the English language is hoosegow.
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CA. LA BOSE - high quality speakers made near Louisiana
CALLABOOSE - the lily display was rudely heckled
CA. LAB OOZE - my place in UCLA just synthesized Slime
PANOPTICON
PRONUNCIATION: (pan-OP-ti-kon, puh-NAHP-ti-kahn)
MEANING: noun:
1. A circular prison with a watchtower in the center so that any inmate can be observed from a single point.
2. A place marked by constant surveillance.
ETYMOLOGY: The design of such a prison was proposed by the utilitarian and philosopher Jeremy Bentham in 1787. From Greek pan (all) + optikon (sight, seeing). Earliest documented use: 1787.
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ANOPTICON - a magnifying device with no lenses in it (per Isaac Asimov)
PA? NO PAT ICON - when the states each selected a logo, Pennsylvania couldn't decide what theirs should be
PAIN-OPTICON - my hearing aids hurt my ears
LOB'S POUND
PRONUNCIATION: (LOBZ pound or lobz POUND)
MEANING: noun:
1. Prison.
2. Difficulty.
3. Entanglement.
ETYMOLOGY: From lob (a bumpkin, lout) + pound (enclosure). Earliest documented use: 1597.
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LAB'S POUND - animal shelter that admits only Labrador Retrievers
LOB'S POND - fishing hole out in the country
LOEB'S POUND - one-man show about the modernist American poet, commissioned by the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA
ALIBLE
PRONUNCIATION: (AL-uh-buhl)
MEANING: adjective: Nutritious; nourishing.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin alere (to nourish). Ultimately from the Indo-European root al- (to grow or to nourish), which also gave us adolescent, adult, old, alumnus, altitude, enhance, coalesce, prolific, altricial, adolesce, hauteur, and palimony. Earliest documented use: 1653.
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FALIBLE - capable of making misstakes
ALIBLED - what happened when the boxer sustained a cut
ALL-BLÉ - nothing but locally-grown flour in our French bread
FULGURANT
PRONUNCIATION: (FUHL/FULL-guh-ruhnt)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Flashing like lightning.
2. Brilliant.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin fulgurate (to flash), from fulgor (brightness), from fulgere (to shine). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhel- (to shine or burn), which also gave us blaze, blank, blond, bleach, blanket, flame, refulgent , fulminate, and effulgent. Earliest documented use: 1611.
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FULGRANT - a generous scholarship from the US government to fund "educational exchange" for US citizens to study abroad, and foreign students to do research here, at many levels of post-graduate study; it was begun after World War II after being proposed by Senator J. William Fulbright.
FULGURANTE - what you need to join a red-hot poker game
FUGURANT - capable of being developed into a many-voiced musical composition; Johann Sebastian Bach was a master of this type of composition
ANFRACTUOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (an-FRAK-choo-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Full of twists and turns.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin anfractus (winding), from an- (around) + fractus, past participle of frangere (to break). Earliest documented use: 1425.
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ANFRANCTUOUS - like the diary of a young girl caught up with her family in a catastrophic situation beyond her control
ANFRACTIOUS - not unruly, quarrelsome, testy
ANFRACTUOUS - never looking similar, no matter how much the scale is magnifed or reduced
HELlOTROPIC
PRONUNCIATION: (hee-lee-uh-TROP-ik, -TROH-pik)
MEANING: adjective: Turning toward the sun or the light.
ETYMOLOGY: from Greek helio- (sun) + -tropic (turning). Earliest documented use: 1875.
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HELlCOTROPIC - attracted to screwing
HELLOTROPIC - tending to turn to face those who greet you
ELlOT RO PIC - a photographic image created by Mr. E. Ro
HE-LlON TROPIC - preferring the lion with the best mane
ANTELUCAN
PRONUNCIATION: (an-tuh-LOO-kuhn)
MEANING: adjective: Before dawn.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ante- (before) + lux (light). Earliest documented use: 1609.
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INTEL-U-CAN ! - motivational slogan for a chip-maker
TANTE LUCAN - my mother's sister from Berlin
ANTE-LUCAS - that would be Hollywood before 1977 and the release of Star Wars (His American Graffiti had come out in 1973, but that doesn't count)
TERGIVERSATE
PRONUNCIATION: (tuhr-JIV-uhr-sayt, TUHR-juh-vuhr-sayt)
MEANING:
verb intr.:
1. To evade or to equivocate.
2. To change one’s loyalties.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin tergiversari (to turn one’s back), from tergum (back) + vertere (to turn). Earliest documented use: 1654.
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HER GIVER'S ATE - a way of assigning an estimate to how she responds to fund-raising appeals
FERGIVER SATE - ran outa patience with this kind of behavior
TERGID VERSATE - producing bulging, ready-to-pop poetry
LOGGERHEAD
PRONUNCIATION: (LOG-uhr-hed)
MEANING: noun:
1. A blockhead: a dull or slow-witted person.
2. A loggerhead turtle.
ETYMOLOGY: From dialectal logger (block of wood) + head, from Old English heafod (top of the body). Earliest documented use: 1595.
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LODGERHEAD - where the residents of the boarding house meet their bathroom needs
LONGERHEAD - one way to differentiate among hammers
LOGGER HEAR - how he knows to get out of the way when a tree is falling
HOUGH
PRONUNCIATION: (hok)
MEANING: verb tr.: To cripple, disable, or to make ineffective.
noun: The joint in the hind leg of a quadruped animal such as a horse, equivalent to the ankle in a human.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English hoh (heel). Earliest documented use: 1400.
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HOUSH - a drunk's residence
PHO: UGH! - I don't like that Vietnamese soup
HAUGH - a pugnacious air of superiority; if you have it you are "haughty"
ANTIFRACTIOUS - holding together, like the strong nuclear force
ANTIFACTIOUS - dogmatic and untrue
ANAFRACTIOUS - breaking up (opposite of catafractious, breaking down)
MERGIVERSATE - to summarize a chapter of the Bible
DIRGIVERSATE - to write elegiac poetry
TERGIVELATE - wearing a veil on one's back
HOUGH HAI - Oh yes (an archaic dialect form of Och aye, pronounced the same)
O'HUGH - former derogatory term for a person of mixed Irish and Norman descent
HOUGHNUT - slang English term for a Huguenot (rhymes with 'doughnut')
HOUGH HOUGH HOUGH - Santa's cry (a pretentious literary spelling of 'Ho ho ho')
MIDDLEBROW
PRONUNCIATION: (MID-uhl-brou)
MEANING: adjective: 1. (describing a person) Having tastes and interests that lie somewhere between sophisticated and vulgar.
2. (describing a work of art) Neither sophisticated nor vulgar.
noun: A person who has conventional tastes and interests.
ETYMOLOGY: Formed on the pattern of highbrow and lowbrow. From middle, from Old English middel (middle) + bru (brow). Earliest documented use: 1912.
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MUDDLEBROW - an eyebrow raised only part way because you're only slightly puzzled
MIDDLEBREW - beer that has been decanted halfway through the fermentation process
MIDDLE-FROW - second German wife out of three
FOOTLOOSE
PRONUNCIATION: (FUUT-loos)
MEANING: adjective: Free to go or do as one pleases without concerns or commitments.
ETYMOLOGY: From foot, from Old English fot (foot) + loose, from Old Norse laus (loose). Earliest documented use: 1650.
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FORTLOOSE - military installation near Tacoma, Washington
AFOOT; LOOSE - pair of synonyms for "roaming free and untrammeled"
FONTLOOSE - the result of not spacing your type so all the lines on the composing stick are the same length. It's unfortunately easy to pie your type in this situation...
DOGFOOD
PRONUNCIATION: (DOG-food)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To test a company’s product by having its employees use it in their regular workday.
ETYMOLOGY: From dog + food. The origins of the term are disputed. Earliest documented use: 1996.
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DIGFOOD - beets and other root crops, grubs, peanuts, potatoes, truffles, and any of a number of other edibles that grow undergrounnd
HOGFOOD - "What's that slop you're eating?" said Ralph Kramden to Ed Norton
DOG.FOO - an experimental dog for beta-testing; can be altered for development while original remains as archival copy
DOT-CONNECT
PRONUNCIATION: (DOT-kuh-nekt)
MEANING: verb intr.: To make connections between different pieces of information in order to reach a conclusion.
ETYMOLOGY: From the expression “to connect the dots”. From puzzles in which a line is drawn between a sequence of numbered dots to reveal a picture. From dot, of uncertain origin + connect, from Latin connectere (to join together). Earliest documented use: 2003.
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DON'T-CONNECT - two or more things that should not be juxtaposed lest dire consequences follow
DOC-CONNECT - to reach an actual physician
DOT-CONVECT - to float gently but randomly in the sunlight, llke dust particles
CROWDFUNDPRONUNCIATION: (KRAUD-fuhnd)
MEANING: verb tr.: To fund a project by raising money from a large number of people, mostly strangers and usually via the Internet.
ETYMOLOGY: From crowd, from cruden (to press, to hurry) + fund, from Latin fundus (bottom, estate). Earliest documented use: 2008.
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CROW-FUND - ask random people for money for the benefit of Corvids
CROWD-FOUND - raise a mob
CROWN-FUND - see
Morton's Fork
NEURODIVERGENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (nyoor-oh-duh/dy-VUHR-juhns)
MEANING: noun: The diversity of brain function, encompassing variations from what is considered typical.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek neuro (nerve) + divergence, from Latin di-/dis- (apart), from Latin vergere (to bend). Earliest documented use: 2013.
NOTES: Neurodivergence includes conditions like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and others. It underscores that there is no single “normal” way the brain functions. The opposite of neurodivergent is neurotypical.
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NEURODIVENGENCE - retaliating against your subconscious
NEUTRODIVERGENCE - getting your ass in gear
EURODIVERGENCE - fragmentation in the EC.
DEEPFAKE
deepfake
PRONUNCIATION: (DEEP-fayk)
MEANING: noun: Digitally manipulated images, video, or audio that make someone appear to do or say something they did not.
ETYMOLOGY: A combination of deep learning + fake. Coined by a user of the Reddit website. Earliest documented use: 2017.
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DEEPLAKE - Lake Mead
BEEPFAKE - when the driver behind you honks the horn and pulls out to go around you, but doesn't speed up enough to pass
KEEP FAKE - I know it's counterfeit but I still want to retain it for myself
MIDDLESOW - pig in the middle
MIDDLEBOW - the viola player in a string trio or quartet
FIDDLEBROW - the bridge on a violin
FOOTHOSE - socks
FOOLHOOSE - old Scottish term for a lunatic asylum
FOOTMOUSSE - ointment used in chiropody
HOT-CONNECT - to weld
SOT CONNECT - dating agency for alcoholics
DOT-CORRECT - to be a stickler for accuracy and detail
NEURODETERGENCE - brainwashing
NEUTRODIVERGENCE - a mutation that is neither beneficial nor harmful
NUCLEODIVERGENCE - the difference between isotopes of a chemical element
ADAGE
PRONUNCIATION: (AD-ij)
MEANING: noun: A general truth conveyed succinctly and often metaphorically.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ad- (to) + aio (I say). Earliest documented use: 1530.
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ADOGE - Venetian nobleman and head of state
A.D. AGE - the Christian Era
ADDAGE - what kids do on their fake ID
ACCEDE
PRONUNCIATION: (ak-SEED)
MEANING: verb intr.
1. To agree to a request, proposal, or demand, especially at the insistence of someone.
2. To assume a high office, such as a throne.
3. To become a party to an agreement, treaty, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ad- (to) + cedere (to yield). Earliest documented use: 1465.
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ACEDE - what grows into aplant
TACCEDE - rolled down to the end of the runway prior to takeoff
ACC ODE - a poem extolling the benefits of the American College of Cardiology
EFFACE
PRONUNCIATION: (i-FAYS)
MEANING: verb tr.: To erase or to make inconspicuous.
ETYMOLOGY: From French effacer, from Latin ex- (out, away) + facies (face). Earliest documented use: 1490.
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EFFARE (1) - paying for passage on public transportation with your smartphone
EFFARE (2) - a clandestine sexual relationship
LEF-FACE - a command from your drill sergeant
FACADE
PRONUNCIATION: (fuh-SAHD)
MEANING: noun:
1. The front of a building or a side facing a street or a public space.
2. The front part of something.
3. A false or superficial appearance.
ETYMOLOGY:
From French façade, from Italian facciata, from faccia (face), from Latin facia (face), from facies (face). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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FICADE - a deduction from your wages to pay for for future Social Security Retirement benefits
FARÇADE - a tongue-in-cheek representation, intended not to be taken seriously
FACTADE - an enzyme supplement that may make unpleasant truths easier to swallow
BEACHHEAD
PRONUNCIATION: (BEECH-hed)
MEANING: noun:
1. An area of the shore secured by an advancing military force from which to advance further inland.
2. A foothold opening the way for further advance.
ETYMOLOGY: From beach, of unknown origin + Old English heafod (top of the body). Earliest documented use: 1920.
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REACH HEAD - I managed to get to the outhouse
BEACH-HEAL - what you long for after you burn your feet on the hot sand
BE ACTH HEAD - Cushingoid facies from a pituitary tumor
FANCADE - parade of a victorious football team showing the Cup to their supporters
FACILADE - simplified version of a classic literary work
FANCYADE - upmarket drink made from a blend of exotic fruit juices
BLEACHHEAD - to brainwash (as in NEURODETERGENCE)
EACHHEAD - per capita
BEACHYHEAD - geographical feature similar to the well-known cliff on the south coast of England
BREACHHEAD - medieval spiked club
BEACHHEAD - Gaelic transliteration of 'behead'.
WHELM
PRONUNCIATION: (hwelm, welm)
MEANING: verb tr.: 1. To submerge.
2. To overcome; overwhelm.
noun: An overwhelming or engulfing quantity of something.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English hwelman. Earliest documented use: verb 1300, noun 1576.
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CHELM - literary middle-European city inhabited by innocent but well meaning dummies
WHY ELM? - Can't anywhere else be the site of nightmares?
WHEEL M - the thirteenth part of a complicated gadget drawn by Rube Goldberg
KNEECAP
PRONUNCIATION: (NEE-kap)
MEANING: noun: A small, flat, triangular bone that covers the front of the knee.
verb tr.: 1. To attack the knee as a way to cripple someone.
2. To undermine or disable, especially in an excessive manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From knee, from Old English cneow + cap, from Old English caeppe, from Latin cappa (cap). Earliest documented use: noun: 1660, verb: 1975. Also see hough and hamstring.
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KNEE CAPP - the middle joint on Li'l Abner's legs
KNEE CHAP - how you disable an assailant in the seedier parts of London
KNEE "C" APP - a small smartphone program that enables your third knee
GEGG
PRONUNCIATION: (geg)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To play a hoax or practical joke.
noun: A trick or practical joke.
ETYMOLOGY: Of Scottish origin. Earliest documented use: verb: 1826, noun: 1855.
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GREGG - a common school of transcribing Shorthand [Pitman being the other]
GENG - past tense of Scottish "gang", as in "the best-laid plans...geng aft agley"
GEGI - what comes around goes around ("garbage egress, garbage ingress")
T-BONE
PRONUNCIATION: (TEE-bohn)
MEANING: verb tr.: To collide with the side of, especially referring to a vehicle. Also known as broadside.
noun: 1. A collision of this kind.
2. A cut of meat with a T-shaped bone.
ETYMOLOGY: From the shape of the T-shaped bone. Earliest documented use: literal: 1916, metaphorical: noun: 1938, verb: 1968
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dB-ONE - a brand of commercial amplifier
TB. CONE - a device for the protection of medical workers who might be exposed to tuberculosis patients
T-BORNE - carried by the Metropolitan Transit Authority
MANICURE
PRONUNCIATION: (MAN-i-kyoor)
MEANING: noun: A cosmetic treatment of a person’s hands, especially the nails.
verb tr., intr.: 1. To take care of the hands and fingernails.
2. To groom in a meticulous manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From French manicure (now manucure), from Latin manus (hand) + cura (care). Earliest documented use: noun: 1866, verb: 1893.
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MAGICURE - a panacea that stopped off on Madison Avenue
PANICURE - it's used to calm a frightened mob
MANICURVE - any of several serpentine roads along the California shoreline - you gotta be crazy to drive on them
UMBRA
PRONUNCIATION: (UHM-bruh)
MEANING: noun:
1. Shade; shadow.
2. The darkest inner part of a shadow, as during an eclipse.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin umbra (shade, shadow). Earliest documented use: 1601. Some other words coined from the same Latin root are bumbershoot, umbriferous, umber, adumbrate, and umbrage.
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JUMBRA - extra-large brassiere
UM, BREA - it's tar, I think
DUMB RA - stupid Sun God !
OCCULTATION
PRONUNCIATION: (ah-kuhl-TAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. The state of being hidden or blocked.
2. The passage of a celestial object in front of another, hiding it from view.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin occultare (to conceal), frequentative of occulere (to conceal), from culere (to hide). Earliest documented use: 1453.
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OSCULTATION - mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
OCCULTATICON - old mechanical device for displaying eclipses (see "orrery")
ROCCULTATION - commercialization of the the popularity and reputation of boxer Marciano
PENUMBRA
PRONUNCIATION: (pi/puh-NUHM-bruh)
MEANING: noun:
1. A surrounding area or fringe, a zone of influence or activity that is less distinct or certain.
2. A partly shaded region between fully dark and fully lit.
3. The diffuse area around the dark central area of a sunspot.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin paene (almost) + umbra (shadow). Earliest documented use: 1665.
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OPENUMBRA - what you do in the ra (that's "the start of rain")
PENUM BARA - little-known cousin of silent movie star Theda
PENTUMBA - dance popular in Latin America in the 1960s after Dave Brubeck released "Take Five"
UMBRAGEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (uhm-BRAY-juhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Inclined to take offense easily.
2. Cast in shadow; shaded.
3. Providing shade.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin umbra (shade, shadow) + -ous (full of). Earliest documented use: 1587.
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YUMBRAGEOUS - sinfully tasty
'UMBLAGEOUS - disagreeably unctuous and blatantly subservient
UMBRAGE-TOUS - (French) sensing disrespect everywhere; offended by everything
OCULATION - making eyes at someone
OCTALATION - conversion of a number from base 10 to base 8
INCULTATION - wacky initiation ceremony
TOTALITY
PRONUNCIATION: (toh-TAL-i/uh-tee)
MEANING: noun:
1. The condition or quality of being complete or whole.
2. An aggregate amount or sum.
3. The phase of an eclipse when an obscuring body completely blocks the light source, e.g., when the moon completely blocks the view of the sun.
ETYMOLOGY: From total, from Latin totus (entire). Earliest documented use: 1598.
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TOTAMITY - the full amount of comradeship
TORALITY - 1. doughnut-shapedness; 2. degree of holiness ascribed to a sacred writing
TOTALITE - upper-caste person with everything
PRECIPITATE
PRONUNCIATION: (verb: pri-SIP-i-tayt; noun, adjective: pri-SIP-i-tit/tayt)
MEANING: verb tr.: 1. To make something, especially something undesirable, happen prematurely or suddenly.
2. To throw suddenly.
3. To cause (water vapor in the atmosphere) to condense and fall as rain, snow, hail, etc.
4. To cause a solid substance to be separated from a solution.
verb intr.: 1. To separate from a solution as a solid.
2. To condense from water vapor in the atmosphere and fall as rain, snow, hail, etc.
adjective: 1. Headlong; hasty; rash; abrupt.
2. Happening unexpectedly.
noun: 1. A solid separated from a solution.
2. Moisture condensed as rain, snow, hail, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin praecipitare (to cast down headlong), from prae- (before) + caput (head). Earliest documented use: 1528.
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PRECAPITATE - before the enumeration (before the heads were counted)
PRECUPITATE - before Cupid shot his arrow
PRECHIPITATE - when computers used vacuum tubes
TITRATE
PRONUNCIATION: (TY-trayt)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To carefully adjust something in measured increments to achieve a desired balance or effect.
2. To determine the concentration of a solution by gradually adding another solution until a specific reaction, often indicated by a color change, occurs.
ETYMOLOGY: From French titrer (to assay), from titre (title, fineness of alloyed gold or silver). Earliest documented use: 1860.
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TINTRATE - hairdesser's fee
NITRATE - the charge for picking louse eggs outa the kids' hair
TATRATE - what it costs to get a tattoo
PEDUMBRA - the shadow cast by one's feet while walking.
PLENUMBRA - complete darkness.
PENUMBRATE - to adumbrate, but not very much.
CRUCIBLE
PRONUNCIATION: (KROO-suh/si-buhl)
MEANING: noun:
1. A vessel used for heating substances to a high temperature.
2. A trying experience.
3. A situation or place where forces interact to bring about great changes.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin crucibulum (crucible). Earliest documented use: 1475.
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CRUCICLE - the vacation ship's staff enjoys a frozen treat on a stick (originally, two sticks)
CRUBIBLE - Holy Scripture with very short almost velvety pages
CARUCIBLE - like a male voice range capable of reaching high notes
VOLATILE
PRONUNCIATION: (VOL-uh-tuhl/tyl)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Fluctuating widely and unpredictably.
2. Evaporating easily.
3. Explosive.
4. Capable of flying.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin volare (to fly), which also gave us volitant, vole, and volley. Earliest documented use: 1325.
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VIOLATILE - made of fiddle-shaped stones, that can cover a floor or a wall
OVOLATILE - round or egg-shaped
VOILÀ-TILE - fond of saying "There it is!" on every occasion
SUBLIMATE
PRONUNCIATION: (verb: SUHB-luh-mayt, noun, adj.: -mit)
MEANING: verb tr.: 1. To divert basic or instinctual impulses to something more socially acceptable.
2. To refine or purify.
verb tr., intr.: To directly transform from solid to gas, or vice versa, bypassing the liquid state.
adjective: Refined; purified; elevated; exalted.
noun: A substance obtained by sublimating.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sublimare (to elevate). Earliest documented use: 1425.
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STUBLIMATE - your Significant Other didn't shave
SULLI-MATE - W S Gilbert
SUBLIMEATE - steak dinner at the Capital Grille restaurant
CRUCIBLE (adj) - potentially crucial.
CRUCIBELL - 19th-century warning signal on road/rail crossings.
CRUCIBALL - (1) spot-the-ball newspaper soccer puzzle. (2) game played in medieval monasteries, between two teams representing God and the Devil (banned by the papal decree De Ludis Profanis).
NEOPHILIA
PRONUNCIATION: (nee-uh-FIL-ee-uh)
MEANING: noun: The love of what’s new or novel.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek neo- (new) + -philia (love). Earliest documented use: 1899. The opposite is neophobia.
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ONE-O-PHILIA - love of tightly-fought low-scoring games
DEOPHILIA - affection for The Banana-Boat Song ("Daylight Come and me want go Home")
NETOPHILIA - penchant for playing way up toward the front of the tennis court
PYROPHOBIA
PRONUNCIATION: (py-roh-FOH-bee-uh)
MEANING: noun: An extreme fear of fire.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek pyro- (fire) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1858.
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PAROPHOBIA - fear of not making the cut after you've shot only even par on the first two rounds
SYROPHOBIA - fear of living in Damascus
YR-O-PHOBIA - the club that gifts you a different fear every day for 365 days
ZOOLATRY
PRONUNCIATION: (zo-OL-uh-tree)
MEANING: noun:
1. The worship of animals.
2. Extreme devotion to animals, for example, to one’s pets.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek zoo- (animal) + -latry (worship). Earliest documented use: 1784.
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AZO-OLATRY - worship of nitrogen
BOOLATRY - worship of simple logical concepts ( and, or, not, both )
ZOO, LARRY? - Curly and Moe are thinking of visiting the captive animals on display
CRYPTOGENIC
PRONUNCIATION: (krip-tuh-JEN-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Of unknown origin or cause.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek crypto- (secret, hidden) + -genic (producing, produced by). Earliest documented use: 1873.
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CRYPTOGENIE - Robin Williams blue cartoon character role in Aladdin at its most obscure
CRY "PETOGENIC" - claim loudly that something is the origin of domesticated animals
CRAPTOGENIC - describing the source of all b******t
SUBLINEATE - to underline.
S'BLIMEY MATE (contraction of "May Jesus blame me") - oath used in parts of 19th-century London.
DUBLINATE (adj) - pertaining to the style of James Joyce and his imitators.
PROPRIOCEPTION
PRONUNCIATION: (pro-pree-uh/oh-SEP-shuhn)
MEANING: noun: The awareness of location of parts of one’s body.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin proprius (one’s own) + reception, from recipere (to receive), from capere (to take). Earliest documented use: 1906.
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PROPRIOCEPT-ICON - how you recognize the applet that displays the location of your body parts
PRO PRIORCEPTION - in favor of picking up an earlier broadcast
PRO PRINCEPTION - a professional campaign director to facilitate the ascension of the eldest son to the throne
MACROSMOTICPRONUNCIATION: (mak-rahz-MAT-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Having a well-developed sense of smell.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek macro- (large) + osmatic, from French osmatique, from Greek osme (smell). Earliest documented use: 1890.
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MACRO-S'MORIC - like very large cookies made of Graham crackers and chocolate bits and marshmallows
MACRO-SMOOTIC - longer than the Harvard Bridge in Boston (which is 364.4-and-one-ear
Smoots in length)
MACH-OSMOTIC - diffusing through a semi-permeable membrane at supersonic speed
PHOTOPHOBIA
PRONUNCIATION: (fo-tuh-FO-bee-uh)
MEANING: noun: An abnormal sensitivity to light.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek photo- (light) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1772.
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PROTOPHOBIA - a fear that is as yet only half-formed
PHOBOPHOBIA - what Franklin D Roosevelt was warning about with his admonition "The only thing we have to fear is Fear itself"
PHONOPHOBIA - fear of the needle shrieking while skittering across an old 78-rpm record
AMUSIA
PRONUNCIATION: (ay-MYOO-zee-uh)
MEANING: noun: The inability to recognize, reproduce, or appreciate music.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek a- (not) + mousike (music), from Mousa (Muse). Earliest documented use: 1890.
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AMUSIAL - not having a shortstop, in St Louis
CAMUSIA - strangeness (just ask a scholar of French literature)
"AM USA !" - said Uncle Sam when he was just a nephew
GUSTATORY
PRONUNCIATION: (GUHS-tuh-TOR-ee)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to the sense of taste.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin gustare (to taste). Earliest documented use: 1684.
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JUSTATORY - dismissive pre-Revoutionary-War term for anyone sympathetic with the British
GESTATORY - pertaining to pregnancy
ANGUSTATORY - beef-flavored
ELLIPTIC
PRONUNCIATION: (i-LIP-tik)
MEANING: adjective
1. Marked by extreme economy of expression in speech or writing.
2. Cryptic, ambiguous, or obscure.
3. Marked by ellipsis: the omission of one or more words from a sentence.
4. Relating to or shaped like an ellipse.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek eleipein (to come short). Earliest documented use: 1715. The word is also used in its longer form, elliptical.
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ELLIP-STIC - mouth-coloring for men
ELL-OPTIC - the twelfth lens
ELI-P.T.-IC - like freshman Physical Education at Yale
TRIANGULATION
PRONUNCIATION: (try-ang-gyuh-LAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. Determining the position of a point by measuring angles to it from two points a known distance apart.
2. Positioning between two extremes, especially in politics.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin triangulare (to make a triangle), from triangulus (three-cornered). Earliest documented use: 1818.
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TRIANNULATION - three simultaneous divorce ceremonies
TRI-BANGULATION - wearing exactly three wristlets
TRIANNULATION - converting a modest show into a three-ring circus
SQUARELY
PRONUNCIATION: (SKWAIR-lee)
MEANING: adverb:
1. In a straightforward or frank manner.
2. Firmly.
3. Directly.
4. At right angles.
ETYMOLOGY: From square, from Latin exquadrare (to square). Earliest documented use: 1557.
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SQUAD-RELY - a US Armed Forces habit: the practice of depending on ones companions
QUARELY - iritable
'SQUARTELY - it's by 32-ounce increments
TANGENT
PRONUNCIATION: (TAN-juhnt)
MEANING: noun: 1. A line of thought or action that diverges from the main topic or course.
2. A line that touches a curve or a surface at one point but doesn’t cross it.
adjective: 1. Straying from the main topic.
2. Touching a curve or a surface at one point without crossing it.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin tangere (to touch). Earliest documented use: 1594.
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TAN-GENE - ...and he gets darker-skinned, not sunburnt, just like everyone else in his family
BAN-GENT - the rule says No Men Allowed
DANG E.N.T. - dad-burned otorhinolaryngologist
ASYMPTOTE
PRONUNCIATION: (AS-im-toht)
MEANING: noun:
1. Something or someone that gets closer and closer but never touches.
2. A straight line whose distance to a curve approaches zero as the curve approaches infinity.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek asymptotos (not falling together), from a- (not) + syn (with) + ptotos (falling), from piptein (to fall). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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ASYMPTONE - what a symp sounds like (see also ASYMPNOTE)
A SYMPH TOTE - a souvenir gift for donating to your local orchestra
EASY M.P. TOTE - a simple way to carry Military Police
SNAIL MAIL
PRONUNCIATION: (SNAYL-mayl)
MEANING: noun: The physical delivery of letters and other material. Also, a piece of such mail.
verb tr., intr.: To send a letter or other material by the postal system.
ETYMOLOGY: From snail, known for its sluggishness, from Old English snægl + mail, from Old French malle (bag). Earliest documented use: 1929.
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NAIL MAIL - armor made by cutting the heads off nails and twisting the remaining shafts into interlocking rings to form a deflector when worn
STAIL MAIL - when you send a check to your bank and it's returned because it took more than six months to arrive
SAIL MAIL - an invitation to join the crew of an Americas' Cup yacht
GREENMAIL
PRONUNCIATION: (GREEN-mayl)
MEANING: noun: The practice of buying a large quantity of a company’s stock as a means of hostile takeover, then selling it back to the company at a higher price.
verb tr.: To subject a company to this tactic.
ETYMOLOGY: From green (money), from greenback (US currency note, from the color of its printing) + mail (as in blackmail), from Middle English male (rent or tribute), from Old English mal (agreement, pay), from Old Norse mal (agreement). Earliest documented use: 1983.
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GREENMALL - a place to buy flowers, vegetables, seedings, grass, sod, and other organics, along with the tools and supplies useful in nurturing them, with many vendors in one market
AGREE'N'MAIL - what you do with the contract from an online company
GREEDMAIL - spam
POSTAL
PRONUNCIATION: (POHS-tuhl)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to the mail or the post office.
2. Very angry, insane, or violent.
ETYMOLOGY: From French poste, from the posting of horse riders at intervals to transport letters along a route. Earliest documented use: sense 1: 1842, sense 2: 1993.
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POSIAL - Flowery
PROSTAL - Of or pertaining to a cancer that afflicts only men
PROSTAL - when a paid athlete takes much more time than necessary to make his next action
MAILED FIST
PRONUNCIATION: (MAYLD fist)
MEANING: noun: A threat or show of force to maintain control.
ETYMOLOGY: Translation of German gepanzerte Faust (mailed fist), from Panzer (armor) + Faust (fist). The word mail here is an armor made of interlinked rings, as in chain mail, from Old French maile (loop). Earliest documented use: 1897.]
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MAILED FISH - starts to smell after three days...
MA, I LED LIST - Look, Mother, I was the first one mentioned!
MAULED FIST - my third metatarsal bone is broken
GRAYMAIL
PRONUNCIATION: (GRAY-mayl)
MEANING: noun: 1. A defense tactic in an espionage trial where the accused threatens to reveal secrets to avoid prosecution.
2. Email that the recipient no longer finds valuable even though it’s not spam. For example, a newsletter from a company where one has shopped.
verb tr.: To compel the prosecution to drop charges by threatening to disclose sensitive information.
ETYMOLOGY: Formed on the pattern of blackmail, utilizing “gray” to denote something that is indeterminate or falls into a “gray area”. The word mail here (as in blackmail) is from Middle English male (rent or tribute), from Old English mail (agreement, pay), from Old Norse mal (agreement). Earliest documented use: 1978.
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BRAYMAIL - postal service on Animal Farm
GRANMA, IL - how I just addressed a card to my father's mother in Chicago
GRAYMAIR - the old horse ain't what she used to be, now that she's aging
'A' TYMPNOTE - type of tuning for kettledrums
A LIMPNOTE - not a bang but a whimper
ASEPTITE - soft mineral that can be rubbed against the hands to sterilize them
POSITAL - hypothetical
PASTAL - relating to spaghetti etc
PROS(I)TAL - full of Bavarian heartiness
GALVANIC
PRONUNCIATION: (gal-VAN-ik)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Stimulating; energizing; shocking.
2. Relating to electric current, especially direct current.
ETYMOLOGY: After Luigi Galvani (1737-1798), physician and physicist known for his pioneering experiments on the electrical stimulation of animal tissues, which demonstrated the existence of electricity within biological organisms. Earliest documented use: 1797.
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GAL MANIC - the woman goes crazy sometimes
GALVANIA - a small former SSR just east of Minsk
GALLANIC - French, and full of respect, courtesy, and consideration
STAN
PRONUNCIATION: (stan)
MEANING: noun: An extremely zealous or obsessive fan.
verb tr., intr.: To be or act as such a fan.
ETYMOLOGY: After Stan (short for Stanley), the title character of rap artist Eminem’s song from the year 2000. Earliest documented use: 2000.
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ISTAN - the former Constantinople, after the male in the herd died
STOAN - what you don't want to throw first, but you also don't want it unturned
STRAN' - to leave without transportation home
MAECENATISM
PRONUNCIATION: (my/mi-SEE-nuh-tiz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: Patronage, for example, the support or financial sponsorship provided to artists, musicians, or writers.
ETYMOLOGY: After Gaius Cilnius Maecenas (c. 70-8 BCE), a wealthy adviser to the Roman Emperor Augustus. Maecenas was renowned for his generous patronage of poets like Horace and Virgil. Earliest documented use: 1606.
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MARE CENATISM - a large flat bright region on the back of the moon, not visible from Earth
MAE-CENT-ISM - campaign to replace Lincoln's head on the penny with the bust of a movie star
MARC-ENATISM - doctrine that Cleopatra was actually Marc Anthony's mother
ALASTOR
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-LAS-tuhr)
MEANING: noun: An avenger.
ETYMOLOGY.
After Alastor, a deity or spirit of vengeance in Greek mythology. The name is apparently from Greek a- (not) + lathein (to forget), alluding to this deity’s role in ensuring that the members of a family remember acts of vengeance and commit fresh crimes, thus perpetuating the cycle of bloodshed (think Romeo & Juliet’s families). Earliest documented use: 1603.
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ATLAS' TOR - the hill on which the Titan stood with the world on his shoulders
ALA STORE - place to buy your wings
ALAS...TORY - Not a popular position in pre-Revolutionary War Boston
PYGMALION
PRONUNCIATION: (pig-MAYL-yuhn, -MAY-lee-uhn)
MEANING: noun: A mentor, especially a man who mentors a woman.
adjective: Describing a word considered offensive, such as a swear word.
ETYMOLOGY: From George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion. Earliest documented use: noun: 1926, adjective: 1914.
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PYGMY LION- Prince of the Beasts
PY(G) MALIGN - Post-Year of Graduate School is evil...
PYGAMA LION - if Calvin and Hobbes had evolved slightly differently
PITCH-PERFECT
PRONUNCIATION: (pich-PUHR-fikt)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Perfect in every way, especially in being sensitive to a particular situation.
2. Right tone, pitch, mood, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From pitch, from Old English pic + perficere (to finish), from per- (across) + facere (to do). Earliest documented use: 1902.
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ITCH-PERFECT - the ultimate Poison Ivy remedy
PINCH-PERFECT - like my one-year-old nephew's pink cheeks
PITCH PER FEET - the proper slope for a pedestrian walkway
FANFARE
PRONUNCIATION: (FAN-fayr)
MEANING: noun:
1. A showy public display.
2. A brief, lively sounding of brass instruments, especially trumpets, in a celebration.
ETYMOLOGY: From French, ultimately of echoic origins. Earliest documented use: 1605. Also see fanfaron and fanfaronade. It’s not known if these two words are related to today’s word.
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HANFARE - meals on the Millennium Falcon
FANFAR - a person sitting in the last row of top tier of the stadium
FANFIRE - how you put the "blast" in "blast furnace"
DOWNBEAT
PRONUNCIATION: (DAUN-beet)
MEANING: noun: 1. The downward stroke of a conductor indicating the first or an accented beat of a measure.
2. The first beat of a measure.
adjective: 1. Gloomy or pessimistic.
2. Understated, muted, or restrained.
ETYMOLOGY: From down, from Old English dun/dune, from adune (downward), from the phrase “of dune” (off the hill), from dun (hill) + beat, from Old English beatan. Earliest documented use: 1766.
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DAWNBEAT - more succinct version of "The early bird gets the worm"
DOWNBOAT - launch the life-raft !
DOWNBLEAT - plaintive sound from a duck after its feathers are plucked
BOOGIE
PRONUNCIATION: (BOOG-ee)
MEANING: verb intr.: 1. To move, go, or depart quickly.
2. To dance in an energetic manner, especially to rock music.
noun: 1. A style of blues music played on the piano, characterized by a fast tempo and repetitive bass pattern.
2. A form of lively dance.
ETYMOLOGY: From boogie-woogie, from African American Vernacular English. Further etymology is uncertain, perhaps of West African origin. Earliest documented use as both noun and verb: 1929.
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BONGIE - affectionate name for a child's favorite water-pipe
B.O.-OGRE - a storybook monster who smells bad
MOOGIE - describing music that sounds as if it came from a synthesizer
FIDDLE-FADDLE
PRONUNCIATION: (FID-uhl-fad-uhl)
MEANING: noun: Nonsense.
verb intr.: To trifle.
ETYMOLOGY: Reduplication of fiddle, from Old English fithele, of obscure origin. Earliest documented use: 1577.
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FIDDLE-ADDLE - when the Concertmaster who lives upstairs drives you crazy with incessant practicing
FIDDLE-PADDLE - what the string player had to do when up the creek with no other means of propulsion
PIDDLE-FADDLE - the reason many players use a folded diaper between the violin and their clavicle, especially if the instrument has a liquid tone
HOORAY HARRY
PRONUNCIATION: (hoo-ray HEN-ree)
MEANING: noun: A young, upper-class man who behaves in a loud, obnoxious, and often pretentious manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From hooray, from hurra, alteration of huzza, perhaps a hoisting cry + Henry, a generic use of the name. Earliest documented use: 1936.
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HOLO-RAY HENRY - the guy who designed the first personal projector
HOTRAY HENRY - Who invented that gadget for keeping things warm on the buffet table?
SHOO RAY, HENRY - Hank, tell Ray to get outa here!
NERVOUS NELLIE or NELLY - n. nervous nelly, -nelly
PRONUNCIATION: (nuhr-vuhs NEL-ee)
MEANING: noun: One who is unusually nervous, timid, or fearful.
ETYMOLOGY: From nervous, from nervus (nerve) + Nelly/Nellie, a female given name. Earliest documented use: 1925.
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NERVOUS KELLY - how he felt after seeing the "NINA" in the want-ad
NE'ER VOUS, NELLIE - Non, Mademoiselle, you don't have to worry about this
NERVOUS NEELIE - how Francie Nolan's brother (in Brooklyn) felt about going on his first date
Are you thinking of the Duke of Sussex?
BOUGIE ROUGE - candlelit piano improvisation by Liberace
BOGGY BOGGY BLUE - upbeat version of the old English folksong The Foggy Foggy Dew
FLASH HARRY
PRONUNCIATION: (flash HAR-ee)
MEANING: noun: A man who dresses and behaves in a vulgar, showy, or pretentious manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From flash (showy) + generic use of the name Harry. Earliest documented use: 1960.
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FLASH LARRY - cousin of Leisure Suit Larry (in the Land of the Lounge Lizards)
FLASH HARPY - a mythological Siren, without clothes
LASH-HARRY - to torment your enemies with a whip as they flee before you
DROWNBEAT - fortissimo rhythm on percussion
DOWNBOAT - bathyscaphe
DOWNBITE - orthodontic term
AUNT SALLY
PRONUNCIATION: (ant SAL-ee)
MEANING: noun:
1. An object of criticism.
2. Someone or something set up as an easy target for criticism in order to deflect it from others.
ETYMOLOGY: From aunt, from Old French ante, from Latin amita (father’s sister), diminutive of amma (mother) + Sally, a form of the name Sarah. Earliest documented use: 1858.
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TAUNT SALLY - we do tease her a lot
PUNT SALLY - sudden attack via a flat-bottomed riverboat
AUNT SALTY - Mom's sister can swear like a sailor!
GOOD-TIME CHARLEY/CHARLIE
PRONUNCIATION: (GOOD-tym char-lee)
MEANING: noun: One devoted to the pursuit of convivial fun and amusement.
ETYMOLOGY: From good-time (pleasure-seeking) + Charlie/Charley, diminutive of Charles. Earliest documented use: 1925.
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GOOD-TIME HARLEY - devoted to pursuit of a convivial motorcycle ride
GOOD-LIME CHARLIE - makes the best drink in Margaritaville
GOOD-TIDE CHARLIE - prefers to wait until the proper moment, and then lead on to Fortune; Shakespeare's metaphor for "caveat emptor"
[Make that "carpe diem". What was I thinking ?!]
PERP
PRONUNCIATION. (puhrp)
MEANING: noun: One who commits a crime or is accused of committing one.
ETYMOLOGY: Short for perpetrator, from perpetrare (to carry out), from per- (through) + patrare (to bring about), from pater (father). Earliest documented use: 1968.
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PURP - what you get when you mix red and blue paint together (if you're into "perp"s)
(ERP) - belch from the OK Corral
PIER "P" - between Pier "O" and Pier "Q"
PEJORIST
PRONUNCIATION: (PEJ-uh-rist)
MEANING: noun: A person who believes that the world is getting worse.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin peior (worse). Earliest documented use: 1879.
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PEZORIST - a collector of plastic themed candy-dispensers; popular in the 19650s and 60s,
but actually created in 1927 and still available today
MEJOR-IST - a Spanish-speaker who thinks things can always be improved
PEORIST - citizen of central Illinois (about 400 miles east of Omaha, Nebraska)
GABERLUNZIE
PRONUNCIATION: gab-uhr-LUHN-zee)
MEANING: noun: A wandering beggar, especially one who is licensed.
ETYMOLOGY: From Scots, further origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1508.
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GABERLUNGIE - air-breathing
GABERDUNZIE - a tightly woven fabric with a smooth, lustrous finish, twill weave, and diagonal ribs on the right side.
GABERLUN-ZINE - an electronic publication devoted to news of Gaberlun.
DANDIPRAT
PRONUNCIATION: (DAN-dee-prat)
MEANING: noun
1. An inconsequential person.
2. A person of small stature.
3. A child.
ETYMOLOGY: Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1525. Dandiprat was also the name of a silver coin in 16th-century England, worth three halfpence.
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DANDI CRAT - proponent of government by the foppish
DONDI PRAT - comic strip waif makes an ass of himself
D. AND I RAT - we're turning States evidence
LOGODAEDALUS
PRONUNCIATION:
(log-uh-DEE-duh-luhs)
MEANING:
noun: One skilled with words.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin logodaedalia, from Greek logodaidalia, from logodaidalos, from logos (word) + daedalus (skillful). Earliest documented use: 1611.
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LOCO DAEDALUS - How could he fly so close to the Sun like that? Of course he was crazy!
LOGO: DAEDALUS - Assessing the interest level in Portrait of the Artise and Uysses Steven decided to establish a formal Web presence with all the trappings, and hired a commercial artist to design a truly memorable icon
LO! GOD AGED ALL US - Dust we were and to dust returneth, eventually
LENTITUDE
PRONUNCIATION: (LEN-tuh-tood/tyood)
MEANING: noun: Slowness or sluggishness.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin lentus (slow). Earliest documented use: 1623.
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LENTITUDE - the sense of entitlement and grudging surliness that accompanies a loan
LANTITUDE - mixing urine with one's beer
LENTITTDE - the water level in the bay rises and falls twice a day, but oh, so slowly
VIRID
PRONUNCIATION: (VIR-id)
MEANING: adjective: Bright green.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin viridis (green), from virere (to be green). Earliest documented use: 1600.
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VIROID - like Roman numeral 6
VIRIDE - when you take your girlfriend Violet for a spin in your convertible
VIXID - Who was that foxy lady I saw you with last night?
COTERMINOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (koh-TUHR-muh-nuhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Having the same or coincident boundaries.
2. Meeting at the ends.
3. Contained within the same boundaries.
4. Having the same scope, meaning, extent, etc.: synonymous.
ETYMOLOGY: Alteration of conterminous, from Latin con- (with) + terminus (boundary). Earliest documented use: 1799.
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CO-VERMINOUS - simultaneous infestation of rate and mice
CO-GERMINOUS - having chicken pox and a strep throat at the same time
COPTER-MINUS - we need one more MedEvac aircraft
SALVIFIC
PRONUNCIATION: (sal-VIF-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Having the power to save or redeem.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin salvus (safe). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sol- (whole), which also gave us solid, salute, save, salvo, soldier, catholicity, solicitous, solicitude, salutary, and salubrious. Earliest documented use: 1591.
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SAL' VI-IC - Room 6-99 in the Rome Hilton
SOLVIFIC - genius at working out problems
SALVIAFIC - like a plant in the largest genus of the sage family Lamiaceae
AUNT RALLY - large family get-together
GAUNT SALLY - spoof version of 1970s rock band Thin Lizzy
VAUNT ALLY - stick up for your friend
AUNTIE'S ALL(E)Y - BBC broadcasting station at Alexandra Palace, London (from the BBC's nickname 'Auntie', and the building's nickname 'Ally Pally')
AIN'T SILLY - Well said!
DANDICAT - Puss in Boots
CANDIMAT - vending machine for confectionery
RANDIPRAT - lecherous fool
HYALINE
PRONUNCIATION: (HY-uh-lin/leen)
MEANING: adjective: Like glass: transparent or translucent.
noun: A substance that is transparent or translucent.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hualos (glass). Earliest documented use: 1661.
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HYALIE - nickname for a Forida racetrack
HYALIE - or a former Emperor of Ethiopia
SHY A LINE - how to describe my incomplete script
BALSAM
PRONUNCIATION: balsam
MEANING: noun
1. Something that soothes or heals.
2. An aromatic resinous substance from certain trees and plants.
3. A preparation, for example an ointment, made with such a substance.
4. Such a tree or a plant.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin balsamum, from Greek balsamon, of Semitic origin. Earliest documented use: before 1150
(BAWL-suhm)
MEANING: noun
1. Something that soothes or heals.
2. An aromatic resinous substance from certain trees and plants.
3. A preparation, for example an ointment, made with such a substance.
4. Such a tree or a plant.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin balsamum, from Greek balsamon, of Semitic origin. Earliest documented use: before 1150.
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BAWL, SAM - if you're gonna play such sad songs on your piano, that's what I'm gonna do
BALSA "OM" - a talisman carved out of soft wood, for purposes of meditation
BALI SAM - the consort of Bloody Mary, in South Pacific
EXULTATION
PRONUNCIATION: (eg-zuhl-TAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun: The act or state of triumphant joy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin exsultare (to exult, to leap up), from ex- (out) + saltare (to leap), frequentative of salire (to leap). Earliest documented use: 1425.
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EXCULTATION - counteracting the brainwashing practiced by some extreme groups
LEXULTATION - the joy of reading a dictionary
EXUSTATION [pronounced "eks-you-STA-shən"] - former name of the tube connecting the oropharynx with the middle ear
BALDERDASH
PRONUNCIATION: (BAWL-duhr-dash)
MEANING: noun: Nonsense.
ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1596.
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BALDER CASH - remuneration for selling your hair to a wig-making company
BALD END ASH - what's left after you burn your hairless wood baseball bat
BALD, DER DACH - today the walls; soon, the roof!
BALLSOME - having cojones
BALL SUM - the number of spheres that will fit into a given volume
BALHAM - a London suburb, near the proverbial 'man on the Clapham omnibus'
AMIABLE amiable
PRONUNCIATION: (AY-mee-uh-buhl)
MEANING: adjective: Pleasant; friendly.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin amicus (friend), which also gave us amity, amicus curiae, amigo, inimical, and enemy. Earliest documented use: 1375.
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ACIABLE - ful of oxidant berries
ARIA BLÉ - song about French wheat
ACMIABLE - Wile E. Coyote can order this item from the catalog
PALOOKA
PRONUNCIATION: (puh-LOOK-uh)
MEANING: noun:
1. Someone incompetent or inexperienced, especially as a boxer.
2. A clumsy or foolish person.
ETYMOLOGY: Of unknown origin. The word was popularized by the comic strip Joe Palooka, which debuted in 1930. Earliest documented use: 1920.
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PA, LOOK ! - See, Dad? No hands!
POLO OKA - a gourd which when dried is used for a ball in the gentlemen's sport involving ponies and mallets
PALOOMA - a Spanish bird, "doove" in English
LYCANTHROPY
PRONUNCIATION: (ly-KAN-thruh-pee)
MEANING: noun:
1. A delusion that one has transformed into a wolf.
2. The process of or ability to transform into a wolf.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek lykos (wolf) + -anthropy (human). Earliest documented use: 1584.
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SLYCANTHROPY - becoming a clever and deceptive critter every full moon
LYCANTH ROPE - a thick cable made from lycanth stems and leaves
LYSANTHROPY - transforming into a disinfectant
HELIOPHOBIA
PRONUNCIATION: (hee-lee-uh-FO-bee-uh)
MEANING: noun: Fear of sunlight or bright light.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek helio- (sun) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1885.
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HELIOPHORIA - the glorious sense of the warm sun on your skin
HELICOPHOBIA - fear of screwing
HELIOPROBIA - sending exploratory instruments to examine the sun
EXHALATION – it takes my breath away!
EXULATION – exterior insulation
EXILLARATION – strict association of cause and effect (from Latin ex illa re, 'from that fact')
PIZZAIOLO
PRONUNCIATION: (peet-suh-YO-lo)
MEANING: noun: A pizza maker.
ETYMOLOGY: From Italian pizzaiolo (pizza maker). Earliest documented use: 1956.
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PINZAIOLO - an actor who does impressions of an operatic bass
PIZZACOLO - a cheesy very high-pitched musical instrument
PIZZAIOLIO - pizza with a mixture of toppings
SCIAMACHY or SCIOMACHY
PRONUNCIATION: (sy-AM-uh-kee) (Also skiamachy (sky-))
MEANING: noun: A mock fight or a fight with an imaginary enemy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek skiamachia, from skia (shadow) + -machia (battle). Earliest documented
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SCI-AMOCHY - indulging in a cup of coffee as you read your science magazine
SCI-AMACHY - fighting over the just-arrived issue; also, my magazine hurts
SCIATACHY - pain in the low back radiating down one or both legs
SOCIAMACHY - a flame war on a social internet platform
CRACKER-BARREL
PRONUNCIATION: (KRAK-uhr bar-uhl)
MEANING: adjective: Plain, rustic, homespun, direct, or unsophisticated.
ETYMOLOGY: From cracker (wafer), from crack, from Old English cracian (to resound) + barrel, from Old French baril, from Latin barriclus (small cask). Also see pork barrel and double-barreled. Earliest documented use: 1877.
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CRANKER-BARREL - how the gasoline-air mixture gets from the carburetor into the cylinders of your Model T
CRACKLER BARREL - a whole lot of bubble-wrap
CRACKER-BARRED - no Ritz saltines permitted
JAMBOREE
PRONUNCIATION: (jam-buh-REE)
MEANING: noun: A large rally, assembly, celebration, etc. characterized by festive activities and a sense of community.
ETYMOLOGY: Of unknown origin. Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting Movement, popularized the term by using it for the first World Scout Jamboree in 1920. However, the term existed even before the movement was founded. Earliest documented use: 1868.
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LAMBOREE - Springtime celebration when the first pregnant ewe delivers
JUMBOREE - a festival of elephants
JA, MORE E - yes, Concertmeister, play louder on your open first string (about 330 Hz)
LICKETY-SPLIT
PRONUNCIATION: (lik-uh-tee-SPLIT)
MEANING: adverb: At great speed.
ETYMOLOGY: A fanciful formation from lick (fast) + split. Earliest documented use: 1859.
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CLICKETY-SPLIT - timing he individual laps in a long track race
LINKETY-SPLIT - how my watchband broke
LICKETY-SPLINT - instant first-aid for broken bones
RIPSTAVER
PRONUNCIATION: (RIP-stay-vuhr)
MEANING: noun: Something or someone remarkable.
ETYMOLOGY: From rip (to tear) + stave (to break or crush). The combination of these verbs suggests a forceful energy or a breaking of boundaries, implying something exceptional. Earliest documented use: 1828. A synonym is ripsnorter.
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RIP-STAYER - a stitch placed at the end of a tear so it won't extend further
RIP-STAVER - one who tears barrels open with his bare hands
TRIP-STAVER - an event that makes planned travels unnecessary
HUNKY-DORY
PRONUNCIATION: (HUHNG-kee DOR-ee)
MEANING: adjective: Very satisfactory; fine.
ETYMOLOGY: From hunky (satisfactory), from hunk (in a good position), from Dutch honk + dory (of unknown origin). Earliest documented use: 1866.
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HUNNY-DORY - how Pooh transports his jars of sweets up and down the stream
HUNKY-DORA - the tomboy explorer
HUN SKY-DORY - small amphibious German warplane, ca. 1917
ADULTERATE
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-DUHL-tuh-rayt)
MEANING: verb tr.: To add a cheaper or inferior substance to something.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin adulterare (to corrupt), from ad- (toward) + alter (other). Earliest documented use: 1526.
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ADULTER AGE - how old you have to be to buy alcohol or tobacco products (usually 18 but may vary by state)
ADULTERITE - what people consider you a grown-up after you do it
ADULATE RATE - speed at which flattering remarks issue from your obsequious mouth
METROMANIA
PRONUNCIATION: (met-ruh-MAY-nee-uh)
MEANING: noun: A mania for writing poetry.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek metro- (measure, meter) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented use: 1791.
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METROMANIC - giddy over riding on the subway
MELT ROMANIA - what will happen in Bucharest if global warming continues unabated
METEROMANIA - the parking-limit enforcers are going crazy
SEXENNIAL
PRONUNCIATION: (sek-SEN-ee-uhl)
MEANING: noun: An event occurring every six years.
adjective: Happening every six years; lasting for or relating to six years.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sex (six) + annus (year). Earliest documented use: 1646.
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HEXENNIAL - like a six-carbon unsaturated hydrocarbon with a low flash point
SELENNIAL - moonstruck
SEXENONIAL - characterized by fifteens, like the game of cribbage
PLACER
PRONUNCIATION: (for 1 & 2: PLAS-uhr, for 3 & 4: PLAY-suhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. A deposit of valuable minerals found in sand or gravel.
2. A place where such a deposit is washed to extract the valuable minerals.
3. One who finishes in a particular place in a contest.
4. One who arranges something.
ETYMOLOGY: For 1 & 2: From Spanish placer (sandbank), from Catalan placer (shoal), from Latin platea (street), from Greek plateia hodos (broad street). Earliest documented use: 1829.
For 3 & 4: From place, from Latin platea (street), from Greek plateia hodos (broad street). Earliest documented use: 1578.
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UPLACER - one who fastens footwear firmly on the feet
POL-ACER - a Canadian (maple-leaf) politician
P.R. ACER - one who pulls off a public-relations riumph
PSYCHROPHOBIA
PRONUNCIATION: (sy-kruh-FO-bee-uh)
MEANING: noun: An abnormal fear of cold.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek psychro- (cold) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1727.
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PSYCHROPHONIA - the noise made by very cold ice as it shrinks further
PSYCHROPROBIA - micro-mapping the temperature gradients in vessels of liquid helium
POSY-CHRO-PHOBIA - fear of bright-colored flowers
CHEKHOV'S GUN
PRONUNCIATION: (chek-ofs GUHN)
MEANING: noun:
1. The literary principle that if an element is introduced in a story, it must be shown to have a purpose.
2. An element introduced in a story that is revealed to have a purpose later on.
ETYMOLOGY: After the playwright and doctor Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) who espoused this principle. Earliest documented use: 1951.
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CHEKHOV'S GUN - a special removable adhesive devised by Dr Chekov for attaching moustache and beard to the actors' faces, as needed, as part of their costume
CHECK-H.O.V. GUN - for when traffic enforcers encounter road rage while verifying compliance with the High-Occupancy Vehicle regulations
CHEKHOV'S NUN - unexpected cast member in The Three Sisters
PARKINSON'S LAWPRONUNCIATION: (PAHR-kin-suhnz law)
MEANING: noun: The observation that work expands to fill the time available.
ETYMOLOGY: After C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993), author and historian, who first articulated this observation in 1955 in an article in The Economist. Earliest documented use: 1955.
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PARKINSON'S LAWN - Grassy expanses grow to fill time available for watering, mowing, fertilizing, weeding, grub treatments, aerating, and other things you haven't even thought of
PARKING SON'S LAW - start turning the steering wheel back when you're even with the tail ight
PARKINSON SLAM - see https://
www.facebook.com/watch/?v=485244885181880
BARNEY'S BULL
PRONUNCIATION: (bar-neez-BUL)
MEANING: noun: Someone or something in a very bad condition or situation.
ETYMOLOGY: Apparently from a popular 19th-century pantomime in which an escaped bull is chased by various characters until the exhausted animal
s captured by a farmhand. Earliest documented use: 1834.
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BLARNEY'S BULL - Yes, it is
BARN EYES BULL - Ferdinand gets looked at by an owl
BARNEY SKULL - ...and all this time Hamlet's been using the wrong name
JOHN THOMSON'S MAN
PRONUNCIATION: (jon THOM-suhnz man)
MEANING: noun: A man excessively submissive to his woman.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin. Perhaps the original form was Joan Thomson’s man. Earliest documented use: 1513. Some other adjectives to describe such a man are uxorious and henpecked.
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JOINT: HOMSON'S MAN - Funny name, but it's a reasonably good pub
JOHN THOMSON'S MANE - J.T. has quite the head of hair, doesn't he?!
JOHN THOMSON'S MOAN - cain't tell whether he's in misery or ecstasy
COLLIER'S FAITH
PRONUNCIATION: (KAHL-yuhrz fayth)
MEANING: noun: Unreasonable faith; blind faith.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin fides carbonarii (collier’s faith), from German köhlerglaube (collier’s faith). The term may have arisen from the dangerous and uncertain nature of coal mining. Earliest documented use: 1680.
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COLLIE'S FAITH - Timmy will always be there to save Lassie. Or the other way 'round.
COLLIER'S FAINT "H" - coal-miner's distinct Cockney accent
COLLIDER'S FAITH - the physicist's confidence that his cyclotron will behave as expected
CHEKHOV'S GUN - a special removable adhesive devised by Dr Chekhov for attaching moustache and beard to the actors' faces, as needed, as part of their costume
GRUNTLED
PRONUNCIATION: (GRUHN-tuhld)
MEANING: adjective: Contented; happy.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from disgruntled, from dis- (intensifier) + gruntle (to grumble), frequentative of grunt. Earliest documented use: 1938.
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GAUNTLED - put through a series of [usually unpleasant] experiences administered by a line of people consecutively
GRANT-LED - 1. the Union armies in the later stages of the U. S. Civil War; 2. most scientific research these days, unfortunately
GRUNT-LEAD - (verb) to make an inadvertent sound of reluctance as one plays the first card in a Bridge hand; (noun) the card so led
EPT
PRONUNCIATION: (ept)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Competent; skillful.
2. Effective; appropriate.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from inept, from Latin ineptus (unsuitable or absurd), from in- (not) + aptus (apt). Earliest documented use: 1938.
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LE PT - physical therapy school in Québec
EPOT - marijuana for vaping
ERT - what flowers grow in, on Flatbush Avenue
Sorry to be gone so long,my browser company was migrating to yahoo for some reason and I got lost.
I appreciate the sentiment. Thanks, wofa.
RUTH
PRONUNCIATION: (rooth)
MEANING: noun:
1. Compassion.
2. Contrition.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle English ruthe, from ruen (to rue). Earliest documented use: 1200. The common affixed form is ruthless.
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RITH - one of the three Rs, according to modern "shorthand" parlance 9cf "rents" for parents and "shrooms" for mushrooms)
DRUTH - if you had yours you'd prefer comparatively more than one of them
WRUTH - what God did when he invented the telegraph (sorta) according to the first message ever sent, in 1884 opening the Baltimore–Washington line
RECK
PRONUNCIATION: (rek)
MEANING: noun: Care or concern.
verb tr., intr.: To care or concern.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English reccan (to care). Earliest documented use: 1150. The common affixed form is reckless.
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GRECK - past tense of "GREEK"
MR ECK - pitcher Dennis Eckersley, formally
ZECK - Nero Wolfe's nemesis
DESCRIPT
PRONUNCIATION: (di-SKRIPT)
MEANING: adjective: Having distinctive features or qualities.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin descriptus, past participle of describere (to describe), from de- (off) + scribere (to write). Earliest documented use: 1665. The opposite, more common affixed form is nondescript.
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DESCRIPT - take away a doctor's license to order medicines
DECRIPT - translate code into plaintext
DISC RIPT - my Frisbee® is torn
GEE-WHIZ
PRONUNCIATION: (jee-WIZ/HWIZ)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Marked by wonder, surprise, enthusiasm, etc.
2. New; impressive; exciting.
interjection: Expressing surprise, dismay, enthusiasm, annoyance, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: Euphemism for Jesus, with the second syllable replaced by whiz, a playful exclamation evoking surprise and wonder. Earliest documented use: 1872.
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BEE-WHIZ - apiarist
GEE-WHIP - to increase the speed of a spacecraft by sending it in a carefully calculated path around a large massive object
GEE-WHIZ - 1) one who knows all the words beginning with the seventh letter of the alphabet;
2) one who can control a horse using only verbal commands
SACRE BLEU
PRONUNCIATION: (sah-kruh/kray BLUH/BLOO)
MEANING: interjection: An expression of surprise, dismay, annoyance, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From French sacrebleu (sacred blue), from sacré bleu, minced oath for sacré dieu (holy god). The term is no longer used in contemporary French. Earliest documented use: 1869.
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SABRE BLEU - an anodized sword wielded by the French Foreign Legion
S.A. TREBLE U. - where Salvation Army workers go to learn high-pitched songs
SAC-REBEL, E.U. - protesters in the European Union who carry their meager possessions with them in a bag
TARNATION
PRONUNCIATION: (tar-NAY-shuhn)
MEANING: interjection: Used to express surprise, anger, irritation, annoyance, etc.
noun: Damnation; hell.
adjective: Damned.
adverb: Damnably.
ETYMOLOGY: Alteration of darnation (influenced by tarnal) which itself is a euphemism for damnation, from Latin damnare (to condemn), from damnum (damage). Earliest documented use: 1790.
USAGE: “Speaking of ignorance, what in tarnation is going on with the Miss USA pageant?”
Dianne Williamson; It’s Kind of a Wacky Li’l World; Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts); Jun 10, 2012.
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TEAR NATION - when a country becomes when everyone has a ripping good time
TAR NOTION - Br'er Fox's idea of how to catch Br'er Rabbit with a baby doll
TARNATHON - twenty-four solid hours of people taking tarns
BALLYHACK
PRONUNCIATION: (BAL-ee-hack)
MEANING: noun: Hell.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin. Perhaps after the Irish village Ballyhack, where a castle was the holding place for confederates caught in a rebellion before they were expelled. Earliest documented use: 1843.
USAGE: “‘But what about the Sorbonne?’
‘The Sorbonne can go to Ballyhack.’”
John Dos Passos; Three Soldiers; George H. Doran Company; 1921.
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BULLY HACK - when the victim takes bloody revenge
BALLSY HACK - brazenly gaining unauthorized access to someone else's computer
BALL YACK - trash-talk in the sports arena
GORBLIMEY
PRONUNCIATION: (gor-BLY-mee)
MEANING: interjection: An expression of surprise, dismay, etc.
ETYMOLOGY:m. A contraction of “God blind me”. Earliest documented use: 1896. Also used in the form corblimey and blimey.
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GORE LIMEY - the former American VP joins the Royal Navy
IGOR, BLIMEY - Surprise! It's the Russian!
GOR, BLIMEY ! - the Cockney expresses surprise
MACHTPOLITIK
PRONUNCIATION: (MAHKHT-pol-ee-teek)
MEANING: noun: Power politics: policies that advocate the use of power and physical force to attain their goals.
ETYMOLOGY: From German Machtpolitik (power politics), from Macht (power, strength) + Politik (politics, policy). Earliest documented use: 1916. Compare with realpolitik
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MACHET'POLITIK - policies that rely on the use of sharp heavy blades to attain their goals
MATCH-POLITIK - a public-relations campaign to change smoking habits
NACHTPOLITIK - bedroom negotiations
DOGWATCH
PRONUNCIATION: (DOG-wach)
MEANING: noun:
1. A short watch, especially one of the two two-hour watch duties on a ship: 4-6 pm or 6-8 pm.
2. A night shift, especially the last one.
ETYMOLOGY: Loan translation of either Dutch hondenwacht or German Hundewache. Perhaps from the assumption that only dogs are awake at night, or from the short sleep of a dog. Earliest documented use: 1657.
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DIGWATCH - treasure-hunting at the beach
DOOGWATCH - following a TV series about an improbably young doctor
DOGWITCH - if Hermione Granger had married Sirius Black, their children might be...
PRONUNCIATION: (BRIJ-hed)
MEANING: noun:
1. A foothold opening the way for further advance.
2. A fortified position at the end of a bridge nearest the enemy.
ETYMOLOGY: Loan translation of French tête de pont (bridge head). Earliest documented use: 1760. Also see beachhead.
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BRIDEHEAD - BBC series about an old aristocratic British family, prequel to a 1945 book by Evelyn Waugh
RIDGEHEAD - a geological formation often seen at the Continental Divide
BRIDGE MEAD - a brew often served shipboard at the Officer's Mess
EARWORM
PRONUNCIATION: (EER-wuhrm)
MEANING: noun:
1. A catchy song or tune that keeps involuntarily repeating in one’s mind.
2. An agricultural pest commonly known as corn earworm, of the species Helicoverpa zea or Helicoverpa armigera.
ETYMOLOGY: Loan translation of German Ohrwurm (earwig, earworm). Earliest documented use: 1598. See also earwig.
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BEARWORM - a parasite that infects ursines
EARWARM - what people wear hats to keep their
FEARWORM - that gnawing worry you just can't shake
IMMISERATION
PRONUNCIATION: (i-miz-uh-RAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. The act of making miserable or the state of being made miserable.
2. Impoverishment.
ETYMOLOGY: Loan translation of German Verelendung (impoverishment) using Latin in- (into) + miserable, from Latin miserari (to pity), from miser (pitiable, wretched). Earliest documented use: 1942. Also spelled as immiserization.
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IMMIE-SERATION - cutting a sawtoothed surface into your marble
I'M MISER-ACTION ! - Scrooge McDuck announces he's a tightwad
I'M MISTER "-ATION" - I specialize in making verbs into nouns
GRAWLIX
PRONUNCIATION: (GRAW-liks)
MEANING: noun: The characters, such as @#%$*!, used to convey profanity in a comic.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by the cartoonist Mort Walker (1923-2018). Earliest documented use: 1964.
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CRAWLIX - long critters that move around on many short legs
GRABLIX - what actress Betty does to an ice cream cone
GRAW LOX - smoked salmon caught in the sea near Graw, in Ireland
BARDOLATRY
PRONUNCIATION: (bar-DAH-luh-tree)
MEANING: noun: Excessive admiration of William Shakespeare.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by George Bernard Shaw from bard (poet) + -latry (worship). Shakespeare is often referred to as the Bard of Avon, or simply the Bard. Earliest documented use: 1901.
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BIRDOLATRY - excessive admiration of Indiana native, Boston Celtic Number 33
BAR-IDOLATRY - having extreme reverence for lawyers
BAR NO L.A. TRY - internal slogan to encourage the Olympics be held in Los Angeles, California
SEMELPAROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (se-MEL-puh-ruhs)
MEANING: adjective: Reproducing only once in a lifetime.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by the biologist LaMont C. Cole (1916-1978). From Latin semel (once) + -parous (producing). Earliest documented use: 1954. The opposite is iteroparous, reproducing multiple times in one’s lifetime.
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USE ME, L. PAROUS - Louis Parous, the casting director, gets a lot of requests like this
SEMEL: PAR OUT - Psychiatry Grand Rounds topic for the week: When Consistenly Excellent Isn't Good Enough
SEMI-ELGAROUS - how to describe the Enigma Variations when re-written eliminating every second note
BROADBROW
PRONUNCIATION: (BRAHD-brow)
MEANING: noun: A person with a broad range of interests.
adjective: Appealing to people with a broad range of interests.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by J.B. Priestley (1894-1984), from broad + brow, on the pattern of highbrow and lowbrow. Earliest documented use: 1924. Also see middlebrow.
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BROADBREW - vulgar name for beer produced by a niche company owned by women
BROADBLOW - a rare fan-shaped display produced by a spouting whale
BROAD B-ROW - second tier of seats at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles
TOPOPHILIAPRONUNCIATION: (top-uh-FIL-ee-uh)
MEANING: noun: The love or the emotional connection to a particular place.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by the poet John Betjeman (1906-1984), from Greek topo- (place) + -philia (love). Earliest documented use: 1947.
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TYPOPHILIA - unusual fondness of making careless mistakes at the keyboard
TORPOPHILIA - pathological admiration of lethargy and sloth
TOP O' PHILIP - a felt "Robin Hood" hat, often red, with a feather (see
illustration)
EVANESCENT
PRONUNCIATION: (e-vuh-NES-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Fading quickly; transitory.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ex- (out) + vanescere (to disappear), from vanus (empty). Earliest documented use:
1708.
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HEVANESCENT - a gift from the Gods, if your spelling isn't too good
VANE'S SCENT - that's the smell of the rooster who tells you the direction of the wind
EVADE CENT - accept not even a penny
SPLENDIFEROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (splen-DIF-uhr-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Extraordinarily impressive; magnificent.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin splendor (brilliance) + -fer (bearing). Earliest documented use: 1500.
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SPLEENDIFEROUS - when he's angry, it's just a little different from most of us
SPENDIFEROUS - throwing money around wildly, without regard to the cost of things
'S PLEAD IF ERROUS - if I made a mistake I'll beg your pardon
ONTIC
PRONUNCIATION: (ON-tik)
MEANING: adjective: Having or relating to a real existence.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek onto (being). Earliest documented use: 1907.
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ANTIC - scurrying, busy, active; like an insect of the family Formicidae
OSTIC - bony
ONOIC - (pronunciation: "oh-NO-ick"): dismayed upon discovering something unexpected and unwanted
PHANTASMAGORICAL
PRONUNCIATION: (fan-taz-muh-GOR-i-kuhl)
MEANING: adjective: Illusory; strange; deceptive; imaginary; surreal; hallucinatory.
ETYMOLOGY: From French fantasmagorie, from fantasme (phantasm) perhaps combined with Greek agora (assembly). Earliest documented use: 1828.
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PHANTASMAORICAL - describing the spirit world of indigenous New Zealand
PHANTASMAYORICAL - the wildest dreams of the Chief Executive Officer of New York City
PHANTASMAGONICAL - like the maunderings of the Transformation Professor at Hogwarts
CONSUMMATE
PRONUNCIATION: (adj.: KON-suh-muht, kuhn-SUH-muht; verb: KON-suh-mayt)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Complete or perfect.
2. Highly accomplished or skilled.
verb tr.: 1. To finish, complete, or make perfect.
2. To make a marital or other romantic union complete by having sex.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin consummatus (brought to completion), past participle of consummare (to complete or sum), from con- (together) + summa (sum). Earliest documented use: 1447.
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COSUMMATE - two people add up the same column of numbers and get the same answer
CONSUME, ATE - present and simple-past tenses of the fuzzy verb "to ingest"
CONSUME MATE - what a female praying mantis often does after copulation
EFFERVESCENT
PRONUNCIATION: (ef-uhr-VES-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Lively; animated; vivacious.
2. Bubbling.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin effervescere (to foam up), from ex- (out, up) + fervescere (to start boiling), from fervere (to be hot or to boil). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhreu- (to boil or to bubble), which also gave us brew, bread, broth, braise, brood, breed, barmy, defervescence, and perfervid. Earliest documented use: 1684.
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E.F. SERVES CENT - Eugene Frances grasps for every penny !
OFFER V. E. SCENT - Would you like to re-experience the aroma of Victory-in-Europe Day, which ended World War Two in the West?
EFFER DESCENT - he who Effs goes down
MALODOROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (mal-OH-duhr-uhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Having a foul smell.
2. Highly improper.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French mal- (bad) + odorous (having a smell), from Latin odor (smell). Earliest documented use: 1850.
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MALODOROUST - after the skunk sprayed, everyone left in a hurry
MAN-ODOROUS - the guy really needs a shower
MALLODOROUS - the garbage collectors' strike created a very smelly shopping center
PIQUANT
PRONUNCIATION: (PEE-kuhnt/kahnt, pee-KAHNT)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Pleasantly pungent or spicy.
2. Engaging or stimulating in a provocative manner.
3. Sharp or stinging.
ETYMOLOGY: From French piquer (to prick). Earliest documented use: 1494.
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PI-QUART - how much milk you want after you eat the whole thing by yourself
BIQUANT - purchase a specified anouont
PI-QUINT - approx 15.7080
FULGENT
PRONUNCIATION: (FUHL-juhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Shining brilliantly; radiant.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin fulgere (to shine). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhel- (to shine or burn), which is also the source of blaze, blank, blond, bleach, blanket, and flame. Earliest documented use: 1475.
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FURLGENT - the guy who folds up the flag
FUNGENT - a gigolo
BULGENT - showing a beer-belly
ASPERSION
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-SPUHR-zhuhn/shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. A damaging accusation: slander.
2. The sprinkling with water, as in baptism.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin aspergere (to sprinkle), from ad- (toward) + spargere (to strew). Earliest documented use: 1570.
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ASPERSICON - a collection of insinuations
ASSERSION - accusation made while intoxicated
CASPER'S ION - a friendly but charged ghost
MISOGYNOIR
PRONUNCIATION: (muh-soj-uh-NWAR)
MEANING: noun: Hatred or prejudice directed toward Black women.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by the scholar and writer Moya Bailey (b. 1983) as a blend of misogyny + French noir (black). The word misogyny is from Greek miso- (hate) + gyne (woman). Earliest documented use: 2010.
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MI SONY NOIR - my black Spanish/Italian Play-Station
MISS GYN, SIR - You say you won the beauty contest for physicians? What title was that, Madam?
OUTGRABE
PRONUNCIATION: (out-GRAYB)
MEANING: verb intr.: To emit strange noises, such as bellowing, whistling, and shrieking.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Lewis Carroll in the poem Jabberwocky. He described the word as connected with the old verb to grike or shrike. Earliest documented use: 1855.
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OUTGRATE - to scrape off more parmesan cheese than the other contestant
OUTGRAB - what you have to do to get the bride's tossed bouquet
OUTGO ABE - how Andy Johnson became US President
INTERTEXTUALITY
PRONUNCIATION: (in-tuhr-teks-chuh-WA-luh-tee)
MEANING: noun: Interpretation of a text in relation to other texts, rather than in isolation.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by the philosopher and novelist Julia Kristeva (b. 1941) in French as intertextualité, from inter- (between) + textuel (textual), from Latin texere (to weave). Ultimately from the Indo-European root teks- (to weave), which also gave us context, texture, tissue, tectonic, architect, technology, subtle, and subtile. Earliest documented use: 1970.
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INTERTEXT-QUALITY - how much and what part of your text is informed by others'
INTERSEX-TU-ALITY - addressing a member of another gender by the familiar ("tu") pronoun
INTERTENTUALITY - hanky-panky on an overnight hike
GENTEELISM
PRONUNCIATION: (jen-TEE-liz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: The substitution of a word that is believed to be more polite or refined. For example, washroom for lavatory.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by the lexicographer H.W. Fowler (1858-1933). From genteel, from French gentil (noble), from gens (clan). Earliest documented use: 1926.
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GENT-PEEL-ISM - distraction by a male stripper
GEN-ZEEL-ISM - an oversimplification referring to people born between 1997 and 2012, when they get overenthusiastic
DENT-EELISM - promoting the teeth of long, sinuous, ray-finned fish
GOOGOLPLEX
PRONUNCIATION: (GOO-guhl-pleks)
MEANING: noun: The number 1 followed by a googol number of zeros.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Milton Sirotta (1911-1981), nine-year-old nephew of the mathematician Edward Kasner. From googol + -plex as in duplex. Earliest documented use: 1937.
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GOOGOLPLEA - to beg so persistently and tiresomely it feels like forever
GOGOLPLEX - the extraordinately-involved plot of the latest work by the author of Taras Bulba
GOO-GOLF LEX - PGA regulation prohibiting the application of any foreign substance to a golf ball that is in play
ELOCUTIONARY
PRONUNCIATION: (el-uh-KYOO-shuhn-uhr-ee)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to public speaking, especially in clear, expressive, and often emphatic manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin eloqui (to speak out), from ex- (out) + loqui (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1846.
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ELOCAUTIONARY - being careful choosing one's words
E.L.O. CUT IN ARY - Electric Light Orchestra plans to have its next release in Pakistan!
LOCUTIONARY - done by Captain Picard while he was part of the Borg Collective
COMMENSURABILITY
PRONUNCIATION: (kuh-men-suh/shuh-ruh-BIH-lih-tee)
MEANING: noun:
1. The quality of being in proportion or suitable in relation to something else.
2. The quality of being measurable by a common standard; comparability.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin com- (together) + mensurare (to measure). Earliest documented use: 1570.
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COMPENSURABILITY - eligibility for insurance if you can't work any more
COMMENSUR-AGILITY - the measure of your gymnastics proficiency
COMMEN SURF ABILITY - You can join us and ride the waves! It's easy, and lots of people are doing it!
VITUPERATORY
PRONUNCIATION: (vy-TOO/TYOO-pruh-tor-ee)
MEANING: adjective: Criticizing bitterly, scathing, abusive.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin vituperare (to blame), from vitium (fault) + parare (to make or prepare). Earliest documented use: 1586
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VITUP-ORATORY - inflammatory rhetoric
VIT. OPERA TORY - a British Conservative who believes Puccini musical works will improve your health
VI. SUPERATORY - The sixth item on the agenda will be a discussion by the building manager
EQUIVOCACY
PRONUNCIATION: (i-KWIV-uh-kuh-see)
MEANING: noun: The quality of being deliberately ambiguous or vague.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin aequi-/equi- (equal) + vocare (to call), from vox (voice). Earliest documented use: 1646.
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EQUINOCACY - the bi-annual festival marking the advent of summer and of winter
EQUUVOCACY - Mr Ed, of course, of course
ETUI-VOCACY - advocating for the rights of sewing kits
PERFUNCTIONARY
PRONUNCIATION: (puhr-FUNK-shuh-ner-ee)
MEANING: adjective: Done without any interest, care, or effort.
ETYMOLOGY: Alteration of perfunctory, from Latin perfunctorius (careless), from perfungi (to get through with), from per- (through) + fungi (to perform). Note that fungus has a different origin, likely from Greek spongos (sponge). Earliest documented use: 1838.
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APER FUNCTIONARY - a person who does the routine jobs for a professional mimic
SERF UNCTIONARY - what Uriah Heep would have been back in the Middle Ages
PERJUNCTIONARY - overly connected
POLYANDRY
PRONUNCIATION: (POL-ee-an-dree)
MEANING: noun: The practice of having multiple husbands or male mates at the same time.
ETYMOLOGY:From Greek poly- (many) + -andry (male). Earliest documented use: 1680.
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POLY-ANGRY - when you don't give your parrot a cracker
PONY AN' DRY - what I get when I don't take my horselet out in the rain
'POLY AND RYE - a shot and a board game
HYPERNYM
PRONUNCIATION: (HY-puhr-nim)
MEANING: noun: A broad term that encompasses specific words within a category. For example, color is a hypernym of red, blue, green, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hyper- (over, above) + -onym (name). Earliest documented use: 1971. The counterpart is hyponym.
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HYPER-NOM - a chatboard alias with ADHD
HOPERNYM - euphemism for "Pollyanna"
HYPER-NIM - a two-person game where players alternate removing one or more tokens from a multi-dimensional array of piles. Whoever takes the last token is the loser.
ARTHROPLASTY
PRONUNCIATION: (AR-thruh-plas-tee)
MEANING: noun: The surgical repair or replacement of a joint.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek arthro- (joint) + -plasty (formation, repair, molding). Earliest documented use: 1890.
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EARTHROPLASTY - plate tectonics
ARTHROBLAST - an embryonic cell precursor that differentiates into a new joint
A.C.T.H.-ROPLASTY - genetic manipulation that alters the folding of Adreno-Cortico-Tropic Hormone, and thus its shape
NEOPHILE
PRONUNCIATION: (NEE-uh-fyl)
MEANING: noun: One who loves new or novel things.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek neo- (new) + -phile (lover). The opposite is neophobe.
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GEOPHILE - lover of our home planet; or, a tree-hugger, if that's your persuasion.
ONE-O-PHILE - one who appreciates very close, low-scoring games
NEONPHILE - lover of brightly-colored lights
HEIROPHANT
PRONUNCIATION: (HY-uhr-uh-fant, HY-ruh-)
MEANING: noun:
1. An interpreter of sacred mysteries or esoteric knowledge.
2. One who explains or provides commentary on complex or obscure topics.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hiero- (sacred, priestly) + -phant (one who shows). Earliest documented use: 1676.
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HEIR TO pH: ANT - the Formicidae had a prehistoric progenitor who first produced formic acid in the species
THEIR "O'PHANT" - they had an ancestor, Patrick Phant, who founded the clan
HEIROPLANT - the Priests' potions were of vegetable origin
EXHORT
PRONUNCIATION: (ig-ZORT)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To urge, persuade, advise, etc. earnestly.
noun: The act or an instance of earnest urging, advising, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ex- (out) + hortari (to urge). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gher- (to like or want), which also gave us yearn, charisma, greedy, and hortatory. Earliest documented use: 1475.
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SEXHORT - attempt to seduce
EXSHORT - a dwarf after receiving Growth Hormone. Sometimes, anyway
EPHORT - What you get an "E" for in Spelling class. Nice try, but...no.
EXTORT
PRONUNCIATION: (ik-STORT)
MEANING: verb tr.: To obtain something by psychological pressure, intimidation, force, threat, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin extorquere (to wrench out), from ex- (out) + torquere (to twist). Earliest documented use: 1529.
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EXTART - reformed prostitute
EXTORY - disgruntled British Conservatory
EXCORT - like Exchequer, Queens Bench, and Common Pleas, since the Judicature Act of 1873
NEMOROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (NEM-uh-ruhs)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to a forest; wooded.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin nemus (grove). Earliest documented use: 1623.
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FEMOROUS - like a long legbone
NEMO ROUSE - wake up Jules Verne's submarine captain
ONE-MOR-OUS - ...and Baby makes three
MEMOROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (MEM-uhr-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Likely to be remembered; notable.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin + memoria (memory). Earliest documented use: 1530.
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MENOROUS - suitable for holding candles
MEMO: ROUST - Note: Get 'em outa here!
MAMOROUS - formally in love with a woman
ANDROGYNIC
PRONUNCIATION: (an-druh-JIN-ik)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Exhibiting traits associated with male as well as female identities.
2. Having a gender presentation that blends or transcends traditional binary categories.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek andro- (man) + -gune (woman). Earliest documented use: 1834.
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H AND R O'GYNIC - an Irish women's firm that assists in filling out tax returns
ANS: ROGYNIC - Ques: What means "Of or pretaining to a hair-growing medicine?"
ANDROGY: NICE - statement of a clear preference for things male
ANDROGENIC
PRONUNCIATION: (an-druh-JEN-ik)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to the development of male characteristics.
2. Having origin in the male sex.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek andro- (man) + -genic (producing). Earliest documented use: 1919.
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AND OROGENIC - coming out of the mouth, as well
ANDROPENIC - having a shortage of eligible males
ANDEOGENIC - creating a mountain range in South America
IDEOPHONE
PRONUNCIATION: (ID-ee-uh-fon)
MEANING: noun: A vivid, evocative word that depicts sensory experiences.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek ideo- (idea) + -phone (sound). Earliest documented use: 1881.
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VIDEOPHONE - an advanced Dick Tracy gadget, upgrading his wrist radio. (Not such a far-fetched idea these days, he Facetimed)
ILEOPHONE - a borborygmus arising in the third portion of the small intestine
DEOPHONE - direct line to Heaven
IDIOPHONE
PRONUNCIATION: (ID-ee-uh-fon)
MEANING: noun: Any musical instrument that produces sound through its own vibration without requiring any strings, membranes, etc. For example, the gong or the bell.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek idio- (one’s own) + -phone (sound). Earliest documented use: 1940.
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MIDI-O-PHONE - a Nice phone in the south of France
ICI-O-PHONE - There's one here, too!
I-DO PHONE - instrument whose purpose is to complete wedding ceremonies
THANATOPSIS
PRONUNCIATION: (than-uh-TOP-sis)
MEANING: noun: A reflection upon death.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek thanatos (death) + -opsis (appearance, view).
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THAT A TOP SIS - my favorite female sibling - and she's the best!
THE NATO PSIS - North Atlantic Treaty Organization is recruiting ESP adepts
THANATOPSIST - Lord High Executioner
THANATOSIS
PRONUNCIATION: (than-uh-TOH-suhs)
MEANING: noun: The act of pretending to be dead, often as a defensive tactic against predators or enemies.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek thanatos (death). Earliest documented use: 1860.
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CHANATOSIS - acting like an old movie detective named Charlie, who solved crimes with the help of a white suit, a Chinese accent, and a Number One Son (Never send to know for whom the bell Tollers...)
HANATOSIS - emulating a crackerjack space pilot who does a lot of Solo flying while Jeding around the Galaxy. Although sometimes he's accompanied by a Wookie. It was a long time ago, and the Galaxy was far, far away.
ETHANATOSIS - playing the role of a Vermont patriot, or maybe (from the sublime to the ridiculous) a furniture salesman (or maybe, even, drunkenness)
THANATUSSIS - fatal coughing fit
THANETOSIS - localized disease found in the far south-eastern corner of England
THANE O'TROSSACHS - medieval Scottish nobleman
DAMOCLEAN
PRONUNCIATION: (dam-uh-KLEE-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Involving imminent danger.
ETYMOLOGY: After Damocles of Greek legend. Earliest documented use: 1888.
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DAME CLEAN - husband of that bald guy in the bottle
DAMN CLEAN - how the kitchen is when they get done with it!
DAM-OCEAN - what the Dutch are trying to do, with variable success
PENELOPEAN
PRONUNCIATION: (puh-nel-uh-PEE-uhn)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Involving repetitive or cyclical efforts, often with little apparent progress.
2. Characterized by steadfast loyalty and resilience despite prolonged adversity.
ETYMOLOGY: After Penelope, the wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: 1627. Some other words coined after her are penelope and penelopize. Also see sisyphean.
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PENELOPAEAN - a solemn song or chant of fidelity, cleverness, tenacity, and triumph, inspired by the story of Odysseus' wife
OPENELOPEAN - mail in an unsealed packet, with no pretense of privacy
PENTELOPEAN - having run away to marry five times
MELPOMENISH
PRONUNCIATION: (mel-POM-uh-nish)
MEANING: adjective: Tragic; related to tragedy.
ETYMOLOGY: After Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: 1801.
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ME POMENISH - I was born and raised in Pomen.
MEL POMEN ICH - (it's in Germany.) My first name is Melvin.
HELP-OMEN-ISH - a sort of sign of assistance in the future
ALICIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-LISH-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Surreal, whimsical, or illogical.
ETYMOLOGY: After Alice, the heroine of Lewis Carroll’s books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). Earliest documented use: 1898. See also: words coined by Lewis Carroll.
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GALICIAN - pertaining to the northwest corner of Spain, between Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean.
(Not "from France," which you might guess; that would have 2 Ls)
AÖLICIAN - garlicky, and on the oily side
APICIAN - animal doctor who specializes in primates
ATLANTEAN
PRONUNCIATION: (at-lan-TEE-uhn)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Extremely strong, often alluding to mythical or superhuman capabilities.
2. Related to the legendary island of Atlantis said to have sunk into the Atlantic Ocean.
ETYMOLOGY: After Atlas, a Titan in Greek mythology. After the defeat of the Titans, he was condemned by Zeus to support the heavens. Earliest documented use: 1667.
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AT-LAST-EAN - terminating a long period of waiting
A TANTE-AN - like my mother's French sister, who has a plume on my Uncle's chest of drawers
ATLAN TEAL - a species of duck found mainly in the mountains of northwest Africa, between the Sahara Desert and the southwestern Mediterranean Sea
PARTURITION
PRONUNCIATION: (par-chuh/too-RISH-uhn)
MEANING: noun: The act of giving birth.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin parturire (to be in labor). Earliest documented use: 1646
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MARTURITION - what the name should have been all along, since it's a she who does it
PARTURATION - the portion you dole out sparingly
PASTURITION - subjecting to 140 degrees (F) to reduce the rate of spoilage
AVARICE
PRONUNCIATION: (AV-uh-ris)
MEANING: noun: An extreme desire for wealth or material gain.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin avaritia (greed), from avarus (greedy), from avere (to crave). Earliest documented use: 1386.
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OVARICE - how I like my whiskey
ALAR ICE - what caused many airplane delays last winter
'AVARIDE? - response to a roadside upright thumb, in Britain
PANACEA
PRONUNCIATION: (pan-uh-SEE-uh)
MEANING: noun: A remedy for all difficulties or diseases; a universal cure.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin panacea, from Greek panakeia, from panakes (all-healing), from pan (all) + akos (cure). In Greek mythology, Panacea was the goddess of universal remedy. Earliest documented use: 1548.
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PAN-ACERA - bread so stale that in Mexico City they would walk on it
PAN ACE - bread and butter to a Madrid cardsharp, in the form of a high card up his sleeve
PAN AREA - a region where the subsoil forms a hard layer limiting penetration by plant roots
SCEPTER or SCEPTRE
PRONUNCIATION: (SEP-tuhr)
MEANING: noun: A wand held by a sovereign as an emblem of authority and power.
verb tr.: To invest with authority and power.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French sceptre, from Latin sceptrum, from Greek skeptron (staff), from skeptesthai (to prop oneself). Earliest documented use: 1340.
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SCENTER - perfume detector; sometimes, an aroma dispenser
'S COPTER - Whazzat sound I hear coming from the helipad?
SIC ETRE - thus to be in Paris
VERITY
PRONUNCIATION: (VER-i-tee)
MEANING: noun:
1. The quality of being true.
2. Something that is true: a universally accepted truth.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin veritas (truth), from verus (true). Earliest documented use: 1422.
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VERSITY - rhymingness
OVERITY - the truthiness of an Irishman's story
VEXITY - the index of refraction of a magnifying lens; 2) the degree of irritation produced by such distortion
EXUBERANT
PRONUNCIATION: (ig-ZOO-buh-ruhnt)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Overflowing with energy, enthusiasm, and joy.
2. Plentiful; productive; growing abundantly.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin exuberare (to be abundant), from ex- (out) + uberare (to be fruitful), from uber (fertile). Earliest documented use: 1504.
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EXTUBERANT - delighted to have had the endotracheal tube removed
ENUBERANT - overflowing with happiness, but not showing it; Appolonian, rather than Dionysian
EXUBERANT - a person who, having had a bad experience with an Uber trip, declines to use that ride service again. Ever. Anything else in preference.
SENESCENT
PRONUNCIATION: (si-NES-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Growing old; aging.
2. Deteriorating or decaying with the passage of time.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin senescere (to grow old), from senex (old). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sen- (old), which is also the ancestor of senior, senate, senile, Spanish señor, sir, sire, and surly (which is an alteration of sirly, as in sir-ly). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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SENESCANT - Why, you've hardly aged at all since I saw you !
SENASCENT - the lament of Sisyphus - this pushing a rock uphill over and over is getting old already...
SENSE:SCENT - usually considered the fifth of the five ways we get information about the outside world
AVUNCULAR
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-VUNG-kyuh-luhr)
MEANING: adjective: Kind, friendly, and helpful, like an uncle, especially in a benevolent or indulgent way.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin avunculus (maternal uncle), diminutive of avus (grandfather). Ultimately from the Indo-European root awo- (an adult male relative), which is also the source of atavism, uncle, and ayah. Earliest documented use: 1831.
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RAVUNCULAR - pertaining to the teacher's parent's brother. (either parent will do)
AVINCULAR - without any periwinkles
AVONCULAR - like a miniature of a beauty product that was formerly sold door-to-door
SYCOPHANTIC
PRONUNCIATION: (sik/sy-kuh-FAN-tik)
MEANING: adjective: Excessively flattering or fawning, especially in an attempt to win favor or gain advantage.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sycophanta (informer, slanderer), from Greek sykophantes (informer, slanderer), from sykon (fig) + phainein (to show). Earliest documented use: 1698.
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SYSCOPHANTIC - prividing food and catering services to pachyderms
SYCOPHRANTIC - the crazies are getting desperate
MYCOPHANTIC - the yeast organism that causes Babar's athlete's foot
INDEFATIGABLE
PRONUNCIATION: (in-di-FAT-i-guh-buhl)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Incapable of being tired out.
2. Persistently energetic or tireless, even in the face of challenges.
ETYMOLOGY: From Obsolete French indéfatigable, from Latin indefatigabilis, from in- (not) + de- (away, completely) + fatigare (to wear out). Earliest documented use: 1586.
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IN DEFEAT, I, GABLE... - the first few words of movie star Clark's concession speech
FIND "FATIGABLE" - Look in the dictionary bewteen "fascinating" and "faucet;" and don't be surprised if you find yourself getting tired.
IN DE FAT I GARBLE - if you give me too much lard I get mixed up
EARWITNESS
PRONUNCIATION: (EER-wit-nis)
MEANING: noun: One who testifies or can testify to something heard.
ETYMOLOGY: From ear, from Old English eara + witness, from Old English witnes. Earliest documented use: 1539.
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BEARWITNESS - The person who testified for the Plaintiff when the little girl was on trial for all the bad things she did in the Three Bears' house.
HEARWITNESS - what a Trial Court does
EARFITNESS - healthy hearing
EARWIGNESS - being like a Pincher Bug
DIACHRONIC
PRONUNCIATION: (dy-uh-KRON-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to changes occurring over time.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek dia- (across) + khronos (time). Earliest documented use: 1857.
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DICHRONIC - two-timing
DIAL "CHRONIC" - my phone number is 247-6642
DITCH, RON? ICK - No, Co-Pilot, the thought of abandoning the plane is repugnant
CONSANGUINITY
PRONUNCIATION: (kon-sang-GWIN-i-tee)
MEANING: noun:
1. A relationship by blood or by a common ancestor.
2. A close connection or kinship.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin consanguineus, from con- (with) + sanguis (blood). Earliest documented use: 1380.
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ICON-SANGUINITY - bloody idol-worship
CON-SANG-UNITY - the Alcatraz Chorus preached cooperation
CON-PANGUINITY - very negative for a flightless black-and-white seabird who stands upright on short legs
PLEBIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (pluh-BEE-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Belonging to or relating to the common people.
2. Relating to or characteristic of lower social classes.
3. Common; vulgar.
noun: 1. A commoner.
2. A member of the lower social class.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin plebeius (of the common people), from plebs (common people). Earliest documented use: 1533.
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PLEBIANI - the latest Italian tenor sensation
PRE-BIAN - before there was carbon-based life
PLEA-BIAN - constantly begging
ALLOPATRIC
PRONUNCIATION: (al-uh-PAT/PAYT-rik)
MEANING: adjective: Existing or occurring in geographically distinct areas.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek allo- (other) + patra (homeland), from pater (father). Earliest documented use: 1942.
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'ALLO, PATRICK - a Frenchman greets an Irishman
ALTO-PATRIC - my father had an unusually high voice
ALLOPATHIC - referring to traditional Western medicine (that one's real; YCLIU)
DISCHRONIC - timeless
DIACONIC - conic section, e.g. ellipse, parabola
DIANOMIC - Double, double toil and trouble
DIAGONIC - (pronounced dia-GON-ic) - 'woke' term for diagonal (students complained that 'diagonal' sounds too much like 'agony')
DIIRONIC - doubly ironic, e.g. 'a thin lot of good' instead of 'a fat lot of good'
BEACON
PRONUNCIATION: (BEE-kuhn)
MEANING: noun: 1. Something that provides a guiding or warning signal, such as a lighthouse.
2. Someone or something that illuminates, inspires, or guides.
verb tr.: 1. To serve as a beacon.
2. To furnish with a beacon, such as outfitting a ship to mark shoals.
verb intr.: To emit a signal like a beacon.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English beacen (sign, signal). The word beckon is a cousin. Earliest documented use: before 1150.
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BEECON - annual meeting of the Society of Apiarists
BETACON - not quite at the top of the heap in the penitentiary
BE AN ON - represent a social obligation to a Samurai or other honorable person
PSYCHORANTIC - extreme style of oratory
SYCOPATHIC - addicted to figs
CYCLOPHANTIC - making the sign of a circle between the thumb and a finger, e.g. to signify zero
SECURITY BLANKET
PRONUNCIATION: (si-KYOOR-i-tee blang-kit)
MEANING: noun:
1. A small blanket held by a child for comfort and reassurance.
2. Something that provides a feeling of safety, comfort, or emotional stability.
3. Protective measures designed to prevent the unauthorized dissemination of sensitive information.
ETYMOLOGY: From security, from Latin securus (free from care), from se- (without) + cura (care), and blanket, from French blanc (white), referring to undyed wool + -et (diminutive suffix). Earliest documented use: 1944. The term was popularized by Charles Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts, where the character Linus famously clings to his security blanket.
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SECURITY BLINKET - opening and closing the eyes quickly so the contact lenses don't fall out
SCURITY BLANKET - an orange quilt for the prevention of Vitamin C deficiency
SECURITY BLACKET - obscuring a document with an opaque magic marker to render it unreadable
INCANDESCENT
PRONUNCIATION: (in-kuhn-DES-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Emitting light when heated.
2. Extremely bright.
3. Displaying intense emotion, such as anger, affection, or zeal.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin incandescere (to become hot, glow), from in- (intensive prefix) + candere (to shine or glow), from candidus (white). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kand- (to shine) which also gave us candle, incense, candid, candida, candent, and candidate (in reference to white togas worn by Romans seeking office). Earliest documented use: 1794.
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TIN CAN DESCENT - kicking the tomato soup container down the stairs
ZINC ANDES CENT - a unusual old metal coin discovered recently in the mountains of Chile
"I CAN" DESCENT - downfall caused by unwarranted optimism
NUCLEAR OPTION
PRONUNCIATION: (NOO/NYOO-klee-uhr op-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. The option to use nuclear weapons in a conflict.
2. The most drastic or extreme measure among a range of available options.
3. In the US Senate, a change to the rules that allows a simple majority vote to overcome a filibuster instead of the usual supermajority requirement.
ETYMOLOGY: From nuclear, from nucleus (kernel), from Latin nucula (little nut), from nux (nut) + Latin optare (to choose). Earliest documented use: 1962.
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NaCl EAR OPTION - to try to clear the wax out of your ears with saline, not peroxide
NUN CLEAR OPTION - the choice to have your Parochial School teacher wipe all the data from your computer
NU LEARN OPTION - to decide to study Greek instead of Latin
LILY-HANDED
PRONUNCIATION: (LIL-ee-han-did)
MEANING: adjective
1. Having delicate, pale hands, unaccustomed to manual labor.
2. Dandy; foppish; overly refined.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English lilie, from Latin lilium, from Greek leirion. Earliest documented use: 1847.
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LILY-WANDED - how the Faerie Queene can perform Magick
LILY HANDEL - the composer's wife; her influence is the reason some of his music is so flowery
OILY-HANDED - most mechanics after giving your car its 7,500-mile servicing
AROHA
PRONUNCIATION: (UH-ruh-ha, uh-RO-ha)
MEANING: noun: Love, compassion, empathy, warmth of feeling.
ETYMOLOGY: From Māori aroha. The Hawaiian word aloha is a linguistic cousin. Earliest documented use: 1846.
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TARO-HA! - that recipe with the Indonesian vegetable root is laughable
AGROHA - have fun on your tour of the pineapple farm
ARTHA - Mr Fiedlah, whose name for many years was synonymous with the Bahston Pops
TAPU
PRONUNCIATION: (TAH-poo)
MEANING: noun: A restriction or prohibition; taboo.
adjective: Sacred, restricted, or forbidden.
ETYMOLOGY: From Māori. The English word taboo is borrowed from Tongan tapu, part of the broader Polynesian concept of sacred restriction. Earliest documented use: 1822.
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YAPU - French baby-talk for "All Gone !" and said with the samesing-song intonation as in English "Aw-Gone": elision of "Il n'y a plus!"
TOPU - "formless;" from Genesis I.2, often associated with "v'BOPU" = "empty" ("...and the Earth was without form, and void...")
TUPU - a platter made of modest amounts of assorted appetizers; intended to be shared by two people dining
KORERO
PRONUNCIATION: (KOR-uh-roh, kuh-REE-roh)
MEANING: noun: A meeting, discussion, conversation, or storytelling session.
verb intr.: To speak, talk, or discuss.
ETYMOLOGY: From Māori. Earliest documented use: 1834.
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SKORERO - matador 1, bull 0
KOREARO - large marsupial in the Pyongyang zoo
KORRO - The famed masked vigilante, featured in a story set in late 18th/early 19th century California, filled with swashbuckling action, romance, and suspense, only...our hero is dyslexic and can't tell a Z from a K, with sometimes hilarious results...Subject of a TV series in the late 1950s
NOA
PRONUNCIATION: NOH-uh
MEANING: adjective: Free from taboo, restrictions, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Māori, Hawaiian, and Tahitian. The opposite of tapu. Earliest documented use: 1854.
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NOA - the name of the fella in the Bible who built the Ark (Cockney pronunciation; it drops the "H")
NO I? - "Are you aware of the reason for that?"
NOFA - a piece of parlor furniture for nymphomaniacs (think Ado Annie in Oklahoma)
MANA
PRONUNCIATION: (MAH-nuh)
MEANING: noun: Power, energy, force, or prestige.
ETYMOLOGY: From Māori. Earliest documented use: 1843.
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M. ANU - How the founder of this site is respectfully but semi-formally addressed when he gives a talk in Paris
m-DNA - a recently-discovered genetic material that carries information from one chromosome to another
MINA - a Bostonian youth under 18 years of age
HIGHT
PRONUNCIATION: (hyt)
MEANING: adjective: Named or called.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English hatan (to call). Earliest documented use: c. 450.
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pH I.G. HT. - the acidity of the elevation of the Inspector General above sea level
HIGH-O - how the Lone Ranger tells his horse Silver to gallop away
HIGH-R - a quantity which, when squared, will equal the volume of a circle
DESISTANCE
PRONUNCIATION: (di-SIS/ZIS-tuhns)
MEANING: noun: The act of ceasing a behavior, particularly one considered harmful or unwanted.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French desister (to withdraw), from Latin desistere (to leave off), from de- (off) + sistere (to stop, stand still). Earliest documented use: 1632.
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DEDISTANCE - to remove a prior standing away from, politically or psychlogically
DESI'S DANCE - how Lucille Ball's husband honored his Muse, Terpsichore
D.E.S. INSTANCE - di-ethyl-stilbesterol babies are an example of the reason we need post-marketing FDA oversight
COLANDER or CULLENDER
PRONUNCIATION: (KUH/KAH-luhn-duhr)
MEANING: noun: A utensil with perforations, used for straining or draining foods.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin. Probably from Latin colare (to strain). Earliest documented use: 1450.
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CUL-ENDER - anus (same word in French as in English)
COLA AND ER - too much soda'll land you in the Emergency Room
SCULL-ENDER - an unexpected rock close to the surface of the regatta course
PROSCRIPTION
PRONUNCIATION: (pro-SKRIP-shuhn)
MEANING: noun: A prohibition or the act of prohibiting, particularly one imposed by law.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin proscribere (to publish in writing, to name someone as outlawed), from pro- (front) + scribere (write). Earliest documented use: 1387.
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PROS CRYPTION - big shots trading Bitcoin
PYROSCRIPTION - therapeutic arson
PRO SCRIPT ICON - renowned choreographer of wrestling matches
BENISON
PRONUNCIATION: (BEN-uh-zuhn/suhn)
MEANING: noun: A blessing; a benediction.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French beneison, from Latin benedicere (to bless), from bene (well) + dicere (to say). Earliest documented use: 1300.
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BEN'S SON - Adam or Hoss or Little Joe Cartwright
BERI SON - a new strain of thiamine deficiency disease, only half as deadly as the original
BAN IS ON - they just started enforcing the taboo
AUTOGAMY
PRONUNCIATION: (o-TOG-uh-mee)
MEANING: noun: Self-fertilization, for example, of a flower by its own pollen.
ETYMOLOGY: From German Autogamie, coined in 1876 by Austrian botanist Anton Kerner von Marilaun (1831-1898). Earliest documented use: 1877
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AUTOGAME - Road Race, an early videogame from Sega (1976)
AOÛTOGAMY - when a French child has a May birthday (fertilization thus having occurred in August)
ALTOGAMY - impregnating a woman with a low-pitched voice
COCKY
PRONUNCIATION: (KOK-ee)
MEANING: adjective: Brashly confident.
ETYMOLOGY: From cock, from Old English cocc (rooster). Earliest documented use: 1549.
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CACKY - the cloth (and the color) of a standard Army uniform
CROCKY - infested with large carnivorous aquatic lizards
CDC, KY - the address of the Frankfort office of the federal Communicable Diseases Center, in Kentucky
NUDIFIDIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (noo-dee-FID-ee-uhn)
MEANING: noun: One who believes that faith alone is sufficient for salvation.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin nudus (bare) + fides (faith). Earliest documented use: 1616.
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NIDIFIDIAN - fauna that live in nests
NOD IF INDIAN - incline your head up and down if you come from the Asian subcontinent
BUD, I FIND IAN ! - Costello tells Abbott he's located their Scottish pal
TITMAN
PRONUNCIATION: (TIT-muhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. The smallest or weakest in a group, such as the runt of a litter.
2. A person of short stature, physically or metaphorically.
ETYMOLOGY: From tit (any of various small birds), short for titmouse + man. Earliest documented use: 1807.
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TINTMAN - an amateur cosmetician
TIPMAN - the pool hall employee in charge of the cues
TILTMAN - a habitual cheater at Pinball machines
PUSSIVANT
PRONUNCIATION: (POOS-uh-vant)
MEANING: verb intr.: To meddle, fuss, to move around busily.
ETYMOLOGY: Apparently a variant of pursuivant (follower), from French poursuivant (pursuer). Earliest documented use: 1882.
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PUSS SAVANT - the Marquis of Carabas, a wise cat (even if not in boots)
PUSS: I CAN'T - when you try to housebreak a feline and it won't cooperate
PURSIVANT - a junior Officer at Arms who can't spell
MIMETIC
PRONUNCIATION: (mi/muh/my-MET-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Copying the behavior, appearance, or characteristics of others.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek mimetikos (imitation), from mimesis, from mimeisthai (to imitate). Earliest documented use: 1632.
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MIMETRIC - a musician who speaks of Pounds and Fluid Ounces rather than Meters or Liters
MAMETIC- my unconventional Auntie has an odd twitch here and there
MIWETIC - in need of a dry diaper
GOBBLEDEGOOK
PRONUNCIATION: (GOB-uhl-dee-gook)
MEANING: noun: Speech or writing marked by jargon, circumlocution, or unintelligible terms.
ETYMOLOGY: Probably from gobble, representing a turkey’s gobble. Earliest documented use: 1944.
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GOBBLE DE ROOK - I jump on your sacrifice of a castle, said the chess master
COBBLE DE COOK - get the chef some shoes
GOBBLE DE GOOP - As Ralph Kramden said to Ed Norton, "What's that slop yer eating?"
COLUMANDER – informal term for the commander of a column
CULLODENER – a Scot who is still bitter about the crushing of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745
POLANDER – Polish nationalist seeking independence
BERSERK
PRONUNCIATION: (ber-SURK/ZURK)
MEANING: adjective: Frenzied or deranged, especially in a violent manner.
noun: One who has become frenzied or deranged.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old Norse berserkr (bear-shirt), from ber (bear), feminine of björn (bear) + serkr (shirt). Earliest documented use: 1814.
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BEESERK - how bees behave when their hive is threatened
BESSER: K - the twelfth meaning of the German word for "better"
BETS 'ER 'K - it's legal to wager
KINDLER
PRONUNCIATION: (KIN-duh-luhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. A person or thing that starts a fire.
2. A person or thing that inspires, incites, or arouses.
ETYMOLOGY: Probably from Old Norse kynda (to ignite). Earliest documented use: 1439.
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KINDLER - someone who reads digital books on a commercially supplied device
KANDLER - a person who searches for spoiled eggs by shining a light through them
KINUDLER - a roue
FAIRY-TALE
PRONUNCIATION: (FER-ee-tayl)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Referring to a situation where improbable events lead to a happy ending.
2. Relating to a story with fantastical, untrue, or idealized elements.
ETYMOLOGY: From fairy, from Latin fata (the Fates), plural of fatum (fate) + tale, from Old English talu (story). Earliest documented use: 1904.
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AIRY-TALE - gossamer prose
FAIR-TALE - Charlotte's Web, i.e. (You say it's not? Just ask Templeton!)
FAIRY-TABLE - another name for mushroom
FAIRY HAIL – rare meteorological phenomenon in intense cold
BEARY TALE – the story of Goldilocks
BEERY TRAIL – pub crawl
RESURRECT
PRONUNCIATION: (rez-uh-REKT)
MEANING: verb tr.: 1. To raise from the dead.
2. To restore to use, practice, view, etc.
verb intr.: To rise from the dead.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from resurrection, from Anglo-French resurrectiun, from Latin resurgere (to rise again), from re- (again) + surgere (to rise). Earliest documented use: 1772.
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RECURRECT - to make the same amendments time after time
RESURJECT - to throw on top of something else...again
PRESURRECT - apply force before an expected event
PENETRALIUM
PRONUNCIATION: (peh-nuh-TRAY-lee-uhm)
MEANING: noun: The innermost, secret, or hidden parts of something.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from penetralia (plural of penetrale), based on the mistaken assumption that its singular form was penetralium. From penetrare (to penetrate), from penitus (interior) + intrare (to enter).
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BENETRALIUM - the definitive biography of poet Steven Vincent Benet
PENETRANIUM - an icepick wound to the skull
PELE-TRALIUM - fanciful way to refer to the soccer paparazzi from 1956 to 1974 (especially Brazil)
BRINDLE
PRONUNCIATION: (BRIN-duhl)
MEANING: noun: 1. Gray or tawny with streaks or spots of a darker color.
2. An animal, especially a dog, cat, or cow, with a brindle coat.
adj.: Of the color brindle.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from brindled, an alteration of brinded (streaked or spotted), from Old Norse. Earliest documented use: 1676.
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B. RIDDLE - He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's younger sister Barbara
BRIDLE - a girl getting married at the age of four
BRINDALE - a broad valley that's been inundated by salt water
JURISPRUDE
PRONUNCIATION: (JOOR-uhs-prood)
MEANING: noun: One who flaunts legal knowledge or is excessively preoccupied with the nuances of law.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from jurisprudence (influenced by prude), from Latin jus (law, right) + prudentia (knowledge).
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AURISPRUDE - one who can be influenced by ambient sounds
JURISPRUNE - a wizened old lawyer, stuck in his ways
JUDI'S PRUDE - Dame Dench is getting quite Victorian in her old age
MAGNILOQUENT
PRONUNCIATION: (mag-NIL-uh-kwuhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Characterized by lofty, grandiose, or pompous speech or writing.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from magniloquence, from Latin magnus (large) + loqui (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1640.
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MAGNILOQUEENT - delivered by our gifted orator of a monarch
MAGNITOQUENT - ...wearing a large hat
MAGNILOQUINT - full of five-syllable words
CORSET
PRONUNCIATION: (KOR-sit/suht)
MEANING: noun: A close-fitting undergarment, worn historically by women to shape the body and make the waistline smaller.
verb tr.: To confine, control, or regulate strictly.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French corset, diminutive of cors (body), from Latin corpus (body). Earliest documented use: 1299.
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CARSET - identical vehicles, one for each day of the week
CORKSET - assorted bottle stoppers
CORBET - Tom, the Space Cadet if the 1950s
TIGHT-LACED
PRONUNCIATION: (TYT-laysd)
MEANING: adjective: Excessively proper, strict, or old-fashioned.
ETYMOLOGY: Alluding to a tightly laced bodice, popular in the past. Earliest documented use: 1741.
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TIGHT-LACKED - loose and rattling
EIGHT-LACED - having multiple redundancies of fasteners
TIGHT-PLACED - next to no wiggle-room
BODICE-RIPPER
PRONUNCIATION: (BOD-is rip-uhr)
MEANING: noun: A type of historical romance, such as a novel or film, featuring passionate and often explicit romantic encounters and forced seduction.
ETYMOLOGY: From bodice (fitted upper part of a woman’s dress), a respelling of bodies, plural of body + ripper, from rip, from Middle English ripper (to pull out sutures). Earliest documented use: 1979.
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BODICE-ZIPPER - a closure that makes getting out of a tight corset much easier
BODICE-RIPPLER - a maneuver that increases the showiness of the upper body, used by strip-teasers to call attention to their bosom without showing any more
BODICE-TIPPER - customer who stuffs a $20-dollar-bill in a lap-dancer's bra
STARCHY
PRONUNCIATION: (STAR-chee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to, containing, or stiffened with starch.
2. Stiff and formal.
ETYMOLOGY: From the use of starch in stiffening cotton and linen in laundering. Earliest documented use: 1633.
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SITARCHY - government by stringed musical instruments playing ragas
ST. ARCHY - how you address a canonized cockroach (according to Mehitabel)
STAR CRY - what a movie idol does, after not winning the Oscar as expected
VELVET GLOVE
PRONUNCIATION: (VEL-vet gluhv)
MEANING: noun: An outward appearance of gentleness concealing an underlying firmness or resolve.
ETYMOLOGY: From velvet, from Old French veluotte, from velu (velvety), from Latin villus (tuft) + glove, from Old English glof. Earliest documented use: 1850.
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VELVET GROVE - an orchard of velvet trees
ELVET GLOVE - hand covering worn by the King on formal occasions (i.e. he wasn't playing the guitar)
VELVET LOVE - the fondness of teens and pre-teens for a horse-loving 12-year-old, based on a story by Enid Bagnold and a 1940s movie with Mickey Rooney and a young Elizabeth Taylor
DISJECT
PRONUNCIATION: (dis-JEKT)
MEANING: verb tr.: To scatter or disperse.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin disjicere (to scatter), from dis- (apart) + -jicere, from jacere (to throw). Earliest documented use: 1581.
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MISJECT - to commit a throwing error
DISK-E.C.T. - shock therapy for a computer hard drive that's become psychotic and does crazy things
DIS JEST - a joke by Rodney Dangerfield, who complained he never got any respect
EQUATIVE
PRONUNCIATION: (EK-wuh-tiv)
MEANING: adjective: Expressing identity or a degree of comparison.
noun: A case in some languages indicating equivalence or similarity between two things.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin aequare (to make equal). Earliest documented use: 1913.
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PEQUATIVE - like a whaling ship
EQUOTIVE - taking someone's words out of context
EQUUTIVE - horsey
EQUALIVE - falsely sweet; saccharine (as it were)
ZYGOMORPHIC
PRONUNCIATION: (zy-guh-MOR-fik)
MEANING: adjective: Having a single plane of symmetry: divisible into two mirror-image halves along only one axis.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek zygo- (yoke) + -morphic (shaped). Earliest documented use: 1875. The term contrasts with actinomorphic structures (from actino- meaning ray), which have radial symmetry.
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ZYMOMORPHIC - budding, yeast-shaped
ZYGOMORPHIA - a sleep-like state induced by a product of fermentation (a drubnken stupor, for example)
ZYGOTOMORPHIC - shaped like a fertilized egg
EXCUBANT
PRONUNCIATION: (EKS-kyoo-buhnt)
MEANING: adjective: On guard.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin excubare (to lie on guard), from ex- (out) + cubare (to lie down), which also gave us cube, cubicle, concubine, and incubate. Earliest documented use: 1831.
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EXCUBART - pictures drawn by former boy scouts
EXCURRANT - a former berry
EXCUMBANT - the ousted ruler
FORSWUNK
PRONUNCIATION: (for-SWUNK)
MEANING: adjective: Exhausted.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle English forswinken (to overwork), from forswink (to exhaust), from for- + swink (to labor). Earliest documented use: 1250.
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FORSWUNG - cry of warning for the foursome ahead of you before your practice
swing, in case you should come in contact with the ball for real
FORSKUNK - what to be alert for on the course, in case you forgot your nose-plugs
HORS-WUNK - euphemism for what you have to muck out of the stables
SKUNKWORKS
PRONUNCIATION: (SKUNGK-wurks)
MEANING: noun: A small, loosely structured corporate research and development unit or subsidiary formed to foster innovation.
ETYMOLOGY: From Skonk Works, a fictional facility in Al Capp’s comic strip Li’l Abner that processed dead skunks, old shoes, kerosene, and other odd ingredients. Earliest documented use: 1960.
NOTES: The term gained real-world application in 1960 when Lockheed Martin used it to describe a secretive unit tasked with developing advanced fighter planes. The facility, located near a plastic factory with an acrid odor, inspired an engineer to nickname it Skonk Works, later adapted to Skunkworks. The term now symbolizes agile, creative problem-solving in corporate or engineering environments.
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SUNKWORKS - what they did when they threw to motor overboard
SKU INKWORKS - the labelling factory that imprints the Stock Keeping Unit number on an item in the store, which we call a "bar code"
SKUNKWONKS - specialists in the care and feeding of Mephitis mephitica
SAD SACK
PRONUNCIATION: (SAD sak)
MEANING: noun: A well-meaning but hopelessly inept person.
ETYMOLOGY: Named for the bumbling US Army private in George Baker’s (1915-1975) comic strip of the same name. See also: schlemiel.
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SAD PACK - Green Bay lost the big game again
SAiD SACK - the word came back from HR - "Fire 'em!"
WAD SACK - a bag to carry all your $20 bills in
MAD SACK - if you're the quarterback...don't make the opposing linemen angry!
EMBIGGEN
PRONUNCIATION: (em-BIG-uhn)
MEANING: verb tr.: To make larger.
ETYMOLOGY: From em- (to cause to be in) + big (large) + -en (verbal suffix), formed on the pattern of enliven. Earliest documented use: 1884.
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EMBAGGEN - answer to "What are you doing behind the checkout counter?"
EMBRIGGEN - (German; obsolete) to confine to the ship's lockup
AMBIGGEN - "to start," usually used as the present participle "ambiggening"
LOWER SLOBBOVIA
PRONUNCIATION: (LOH-uhr sloh-BOH-vee-uh)
MEANING: noun: A place regarded as isolated, underdeveloped, or unimportant.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Al Capp in the comic strip Li’l Abner as the name of a fictional, perpetually snowbound, impoverished, and comically backward country. Earliest documented use: 1946.
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FLOWER SLOBBOVIA - the Slobbovia River
LOWERS LOBO-VIA - the false teeth for my mandible arrived by wolf-mail
BOWER SLOBBOVIA - the official courtship site for Slobbovians
CROMULENT
PRONUNCIATION: (KROM-yuh-luhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Valid; acceptable; satisfactory.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by the television writer David X. Cohen in the animated television series The Simpsons. Earliest documented use: 1996.
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FROMULENT - you are the source of what I borrowed
CROWULENT - describing the rarely-heard wavering call of a black bird
BROMULENT - calming to an unsettled stomach (and, it leaves a pink moustache)
ELSEWHEN
PRONUNCIATION: (ELS-wen)
MEANING: adverb: At another time.
ETYMOLOGY: A combination of else, from Old English elles + when, from Old English hwenne. Earliest documented use: 1418.
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MEL SEW HEN - my cousin Melvin is fixing a torn stuffed chicken
ELSE WHET - You'll just have to put up with that dull knife, unless...
ELSIE? WHEN? - arranging an assignation at the dairy farm
TOWARDLY
PRONUNCIATION: (TO-uhrd-lee, TORD-lee)
MEANING: adverb: 1. In a compliant or docile manner.
2. In a pleasant manner.
adjective: 1. Compliant.
2. Pleasant.
3. Favorable.
ETYMOLOGY: From toward, from to + -ward (directional suffix). Earliest documented use: 1513.
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TO HARDLY - a split infinitive in the making (obsolete, unfortunately)
TOEWARDLY - in the direction of the feet
TO WARILY - excessively cautious
SPASSING
PRONUNCIATION: (PAS-ing, PAH-sing)
MEANING: adverb: To a surpassing degree.
adjective: Transitory or cursory.
noun: The act, process, or instance of transition, movement, or transference from one state, place, time, or condition to another.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French passer, from Latin passare (to pass), from passus (step, pace). Earliest documented use: 1340.
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PASTSING - ruminating on might-have-beens
PASHING - imaginative play pretending to be a middle-eastern potentate
P.A. SING - the doctors' assistants put on a musical show
SEEMLY
PRONUNCIATION: (SEEM-lee)
MEANING: adverb: 1. In a pleasing manner.
2. Suitably.
adjective: 1. Pleasing; handsome.
2. Appropriate; fitting.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old Norse sœmiligr (seemly), from sœmr (fitting). Earliest documented use: 1225. Seemly should not be confused with seemingly, which means “apparently”.
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SEAMLY - overly-complicated in its fabrication, with more places than needed where materials are joined
STEMLY - with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics
SHE EM'LY - oh, just another girl who thinks she can write poems
THITHER
PRONUNCIATION: (THITH-uhr)
MEANING: adverb: To or towards that place.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English thider. Earliest documented use: before 1150.
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TITHER - an agent, who takes 10% off the top
THINTHER - a dietary supplement, to help lose weight
PHITHER - what you could knock a surprised Irishman over with
AUTOMANIA
PRONUNCIATION: (aw-toh-MAY-nee-uh)
MEANING: noun:
1. An obsession with oneself; egomania.
2. An obsession with automobiles or fast driving.
ETYMOLOgy: From Greek auto- (self), also short for automobile + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented: for 1: 1835, for 2: 1902.
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AUTONANIA - a robotic au pair
ATOMANIA - hysterical belief in the Red Menace, now undergoing a resurgence
ABUTOMANIA - pathological need to have next-door neighbors
AIRHEAD
PRONUNCIATION: (AIR-hed)
MEANING: noun:
1. An area in a hostile territory, secured for bringing in supplies and personnel by air.
2. A silly or unintelligent person.
3. A horizontal channel created to provide ventilation in a mine.
ETYMOLOGY: For 1: From air + beachhead. Earliest documented use: 1943. Also see bridgehead.
For 2: From the metaphorical notion that a person’s head contains only air. Earliest documented use: 1971.
For 3: From air + head (source of a channel). Earliest documented use: 1817.
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AIRHERD - a flock of domesticated eagles
AIR HEAD - the bathroom in a jetliner
FAIR HEAD - a Middle Ages blonde, for whom Knights of Old went on Quests (both meanings of for)
MONOPHAGY
PRONUNCIATION: (muh-NAH-fuh-jee)
MEANING: noun: 1. The eating of only one kind of food.
2. The act of eating alone.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek mono- (one) + -phagy (eating). Earliest documented use: 1625.
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NONOPHAGY - suffering from very many dietary restrictions
C'MONOPHAGY - refusal to sit down to a meal unless coaxed
SONOPHAGY - obtaining an ultrasound image of the body by having the patient eat the transducer
SECULAR
PRONUNCIATION: (SEK-yuh-luhr)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Relating to worldly rather than religious matters.
2. Occurring once in an age or century.
3. Enduring over an extended period.
noun: 1. A member of clergy not bound by monastic vows.
2. A layperson.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French seculer, from Latin saeculum (generation, age). Earliest documented use: 1290.
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SPECULAR - observational
SECULAW - a legal code unrelated to any religion
S.E.C. USAR - commission charged with regulating investments in the US Army Reserve
WONKY
PRONUNCIATION: (WONG-kee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Unreliable; unsteady; not working properly.
2. Concerned with minute details in a field; nerdy.
ETYMOLOGY: For 1: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from dialectal wanky, alteration of wankle, from Old English wancol (unsteady).Earliest documented use: 1919.
For 2: Of uncertain origin, perhaps related to the first term or the term wanky. Earliest documented use: 1978.
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ZONKY - narcoleptic
"WON" KEY - a "you-lose" shortcut for text messages
WON'TY - two years old and generally negative; synonym of SHAN'TY
NEFANDOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (nuh-FAN-duhs)
MEANING: adjective: So wicked as to defy description: abominable, appalling.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin nefandus (wicked), from ne- (not) + fandus (to be spoken), gerundive (verbal adjective) of fari (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1649.
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NEF AND US - you and me and the son of my sister
ONE-FAN-DOUS - having only one follower
N.E. FAN DOUSE - Tom Brady is leaving the Patriots
MINACIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (mi-NAY-shuhs)
MEANING: adjective: Threatening or menacing.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin minari (to threaten), from minae (threats). Ultimately from the Indo-European root men- (project), which is also the source of menace, mountain, eminent, promenade, demean, amenable, and mouth. Earliest documented use: 1660. A synonym is minatory.
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MINXACIOUS - cunning, impudent, provocative, and verging on mean
AMINACIOUS - containing nitrogen
MINDACIOUS - thoughtful; paying attention; sometimes, objecting
PERFIDIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (puhr-FID-ee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Treacherous; deceitful.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin perfidus (treacherous), from per- (beyond) + fidus (faith). Earliest documented use: 1538.
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PERFILIOUS - perpetrated by one's children
PERF-ODIOUS - describing a theatrical production that is utterly repugnant (or an execrable performance by the player(s) in such a production) [or perhaps both]
PERFID-I.O.U.s - promissory notes given with no intention of redeeming them
PRICKMEDAINTY
PRONUNCIATION: (prik-mee-DAYN-tee)
MEANING: noun: One overly concerned with their personal appearance: dandy.
adjective: Overly concerned about one’s appearance.
ETYMOLOGY: A combination of prick (to pierce) + me + dainty (delicate), from Old French daintie (pleasure), from Latin dignus (worthy). Earliest documented use: 1529.
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TRICK ME DAINTY - it doesn't hurt as much that way
PRICK MED, AIN'T Y'? - A step backwards! That's how they used to give vaccinations!
CUMBERWORLD
PRONUNCIATION: (KUHM-buhr-wurld)
MEANING: noun: A useless person.
ETYMOLOGY: A cumberworld is one who encumbers the world, literally speaking. From cumber (hinder), from Anglo-French acumbrer (hinder), from combre (dam, barrage) + world. Earliest documented use: 1374. Another way to describe a cumberworld might be a waste of oxygen.
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UMBERWORLD - what you get when you do it up brown
QCUMBERWORLD - populated by salt-free pickles
LUMBERWORLD - stone, glass, brick and metal have not been recognized as construction materials
PSYCHROLUTE
PRONUNCIATION: (SY-kroh-loot)
MEANING: noun: One who likes to bathe in cold water, especially outdoors in natural bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and oceans.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin psychrolutes (bather in cold water), from Ancient Greek psychrolouteín (to bathe in cold water), from psychro- (cold) + louein (to bathe). Earliest documented use: 1872.
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PSYCHROLITE - a colorful mineral imagined to be of meteoric origin
p-SYNCHROLUTE - a soft rhythmical melody that repeats incessantly
POSYCHROLUTE - a liquid plant food that promotes brilliantly-colored flowers
EMPLEOMANIA
PRONUNCIATION: (em-plee-uh/oh-MAY-nee-uh)
MEANING: noun: Mania for holding public office.
ETYMOLOGY: From Spanish empleomanía, from empleo (employment) + -manía (mania). Earliest documented use: 1841.
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HEMPLEOMANIA - irrational preoccupation with the use of marijuana
TEMPLEOMANIA - a fanatical interest in the history and eventual reconstruction of Solomon's twice-destroyed Temple, in Jerusalem
TEMP LEO-MANIA - an unhealthy but self-limited fascination with the question of whether Leo was the first, or the second, or the third King of Armenia eleven hundred (or so) years ago
RUPESTRIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (roo-PES-tree-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to, composed of, or carved on rocks.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin rupes (rock). Earliest documented use: 1800.
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RUDESTRIAN - a sidewalk-user who deliberately steps off the curb just as the light turns red
RUPERTRIAN - a devotee of Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films
RUMPESTRIAN - a New York City tourist gaping at the skyscrapers while trying to cross the street, who therefore trips and falls on his backside (see also RUBESTRIAN)
ABULIA
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-BOO/BYOO-lee-uh)
MEANING: noun: An inability to make decisions.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek aboulia, from a- (not) + boule (will). Earliest documented use: 1848.
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FABULIA - the habit of telling stories with morals
ABUSIA - Surface Transit strike in the city
AMULIA - why the Erie Canal shut down: without Sal, and thus without propulsive power
SIDERODROMOPHOBIA
PRONUNCIATION: (sid-uh-ruh-droh-muh-FOH-bee-uh)
MEANING: noun: The fear of trains.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek sidero- (iron) + dromos (running) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1879.
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¡SI! AERODROMOPHOBIA - That's right! Fear of airports !
SIDEROPROMOPHOBIA - fear of lobbyists for the iron-and-steel industry
SIDERODROMO-POO-BIA - "Passengers should please refrain from flushing toilets while the train is standing in the station..."
OMBROPHOBE
PRONUNCIATION: (AHM-bruh-fohb)
MEANING: noun:
1. One who hates or fears rain.
2. A plant that cannot tolerate rainy conditions.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek ombro- (rain) + -phobe (one who fears or hates). Earliest documented use: 1897.
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OMBRO-PHOEBE - a small bird (an eastern flycatcher) that avoids rain
OM-BRIO-PHOBE - one who eschews al liveliness in sindu or Vedic chanting
OMBRO-PROBE - a device for studying the interior of stormclouds
SARCOPHAGUS
PRONUNCIATION: (sar-KOF-uh-guhs)
MEANING: noun: A stone coffin, often inscribed or decorated.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek sarco- (flesh) + -phagous (feeding on). The limestone used in their construction was believed to decompose flesh rapidly, giving rise to the name. Earliest documented use: 1601.
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STAR-COPHAGUS - when A-list Hollywood personalities eat, this is the tube their food goes through to get to the stomach
S.A.R. COP HAUS - quarters for policeman who guard the Sons of the American Revolution
ARCOPHAGUS - if PacMan ate curves rather than dots
CANOPHILIST
PRONUNCIATION: (kuh-NOF-uh-list)
MEANING: noun: A person who loves dogs.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin cano- (dog) + -philist (lover). Earliest documented use: 1879.
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CAN-O'-CHILIST - woiuld prefer to open a can than to make it himself
"I CAN"-OPHILIST - having an unyielding belief in one's capabilities
CANOE-PHILIST - outdoors-lover in a dugout
MELOMANIA
PRONUNCIATION: (mel-uh-MAY-nee-uh)
MEANING: noun: An inordinate enthusiasm for music.
ETYMOLOGY: From French melo- (music), from Ancient Greek melos (song) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented use: 1842.
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MALOMANIA - embracing Evil
MYELOMANIA - the ultimate subspecialty of Hematology
ELOMANIA - superfanatic over the Electric Light Orchestra
ARCHAEOLATRY
PRONUNCIATION: (ar-kee-AH-luh-tree)
MEANING: noun: Excessive reverence for the past: an earlier time, old customs, antiquity, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek archaeo- (ancient) + -latry (worship). Earliest documented use: 1853.
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ARCHIEOLATRY - and pretty fond of Jughead and Betty and Veronica, too
ARC-HATE-OLATRY - can't stand anything curved, and I'm proud of it !
ARCH-AREOLA - (there is no "try")
INSUFFLATE
PRONUNCIATION: (IN-suh-flayt, in-SUHF-layt)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To blow or breathe into.
2. To treat by blowing air, gas, vapor, or powder into a body cavity.
3. To bless by breathing or blowing on baptismal water or a person.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin insufflare (to blow upon), from in- (into) + sufflare (to inflate), from suf- (sub-) + flare (to blow). Earliest documented use: 1670.
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INSNUFFLATE - one of the earlier forms of tobacco use (through the nose*)
INSUFOLATE - a combination treatment for diabetes and prevention of spina bifida
INSHUFFLATE - a fancy dance move, though not yet popular among teens and young adults
*(The region of the back of the hand at the base of the thumb, defined by two tendons made prominent by extending the thumb upward, is called the "anatomical snuffbox". YCLIU.)
SPANGHEW
PRONUNCIATION: (SPANG-hyoo)
MEANING: verb tr.: To throw violently into the air.
ETYMOLOGY: From Scots spang (to spring, leap, or throw) + hew, of obscure origin. Earliest documented use: 1781.
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SANG-HEW - usually followed by "You're welcome!"
SPAN GHEE - clarified butter, spread on a bridge to make it smooth
SPANGLEW - what you use to affix all those sparkly things to your dress
PEREGRINATE
PRONUNCIATION: (PER-uh-gruh-nayt)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To travel, especially to wander from place to place.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin peregrinari (to travel abroad), from peregrinus (foreigner), from per- (through) + ager (land). Earliest documented use: 1593.
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PRE-GRIN, ATE - first eat, then you'll smile
PÈRE OGRINATE - the father of all monsters
PELE GRIN, ATE - soccer star enjoyed a good meal
QUETCH
PRONUNCIATION: (kwech)
MEANING: verb intr.:
1. To twitch or stir.
2. To break the silence by uttering a sound.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English cweccan (to shake or stir). Earliest documented use: 1150.
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QVETCH - (dial.) to complain petulantly
QUIETCH - the librarian's admonition, antomym of QUETCH
¿QUE TECH? - Which I.T. person is coming to the Havana office?
NIDIFY
PRONUNCIATION: (NID-uh-fy)
MEANING: verb intr.: To build a nest.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin nidificare (to build a nest), from nidus (nest) + facere (to make or do). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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BIDIFY - to make a conditional offering, as in "If my partner opens, I'm likely to BIDIFY have 6 or more high card points."
MIDIFY - to regress toward the mean
NODIFY - to make drowsy
ONOLATRY
PRONUNCIATION: (oh-NOL/NAHL-uh-tree)
MEANING: noun:
1. Worship of the donkey or ass.
2. Devotion to foolishness.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek ono- (ass) + -latry (worship). Earliest documented use: 1903.
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OTOLATRY - an eary fetish
ONE-L-ATRY - devotion to the first year of Law School
OH-NO-LATRY - stricken with dismay at every turn
ENOLA-TRY - the Gay B-29 gets only one attempt
NO-NO-LATRY - everything not specifically permitted is forbidden
GRIZZLE
PRONUNCIATION: (GRIZ-uhl)
MEANING: verb tr.: To make gray.
verb intr.: 1. To turn gray.
2. To fuss; to gripe or grumble.
noun: 1. An animal with gray or grizzled fur.
2. Gray hair.
adjective: 1. Having gray hair.
2. Gray.
ETYMOLOGY: For the color-related senses: from Old French grisel, diminutive of gris (gray).
For the grumble sense: origin unknown.
Earliest documented use: 1390.
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FRIZZLE - uneven, standing on its end (said of narrow slender things like hair or grass)
GRINZLE - a mythical monster reported in the folklore of Middle-Ages Britain
GORIZZLE - a renegade Great Ape, native to the deepest African jungle
POLYPHONY
PRONUNCIATION: (puh-LIF-uh-nee)
MEANING: noun:
1. The combination of independent melodic lines sounded together. For example, a fugue.
2. The representation of different sounds by a letter or symbol. For example, the letter c which can represent /s/ or /k/.
3. A multiplicity of distinct voices or perspectives.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek poly- (many) + -phony (sound). Earliest documented use: 1790.
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POLY-PRONY - tendency to lie in many different positions on one's abdomen
MOLYPHONY - a counterfeit molybdenum steel alloy
POLYP-HONEY - a medieval remedy for the treatment of pre-cancerous colon lesions
BIBBLE
PRONUNCIATION: (BIB-l)
MEANING: verb tr.: 1. To eat or drink noisily.
verb intr.: 2. To drink habitually or to excess.
3. To produce bubbles or a bubbling sound.
noun: 4. Nonsense; something worthless or deceptive.
ETYMOLOGY: Senses 1-2: From bib (to drink) + -le (a frequentative ending). Probably from Latin bibere (to drink).
Senses 3-4: A variant of bubble, of expressive origin.
Earliest documented use: 1529.
See also: misophonia.
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BIBILE - diminutive name for Israeli former prime Minister
BI-BILE - describing a liver that synthesizes two distinct secretions
BIRBLE - what a Jabberwock does as it whiffes through the tulgey wood
JACTATION
PRONUNCIATION: (jak-TAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. Boasting.
2. Involuntary bodily movements, such as tossing or twitching.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin jactation (tossing, boasting), from jactare (to throw, boast), frequentative of jacere (to throw). Earliest documented use: 1576. Also spelled as jactitation.
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JAVATION - adding coffee flavoring
JA-STATION - a place where all the Germans agree with you automatically
X-ACTATION - carving with a very small, very sharp knife
STELA
PRONUNCIATION: m. (STEE-luh)
MEANING: noun: An upright stone or pillar inscribed or sculpted, often serving as a monument. Also known as a stele.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek stele (pillar). Ultimately from the Indo-European root stel- (to put or stand), which is also the source of stallion, stilt, install, gestalt, stout, and pedestal, and epistolary. Earliest documented use: 1776.
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STELLA !!! - starlike in Boston (even before Tennessee Williams!)
ST RE, LA - the second note and the sixth note of the scale have been canonized
U.S. TELA - diminutive name of a large American telecommunications, cable, and internet company
MOITY
PRONUNCIATION: (MOI-tee)
MEANING: adjective: Containing moits -- foreign particles in wool, such as straw or bark.
ETYMOLOGY: From moit (a small impurity in wool), a variant of mote (speck), from Old English. Earliest documented use: 1844. Moity is sometimes used as a variant spelling of moiety (a half or portion).
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AMO-ITY - a declaration of love
MO-IFY - to make the lawn evenly shorter
MOOTY - describing a cow who won't stay quiet, or an argument that needn't be heard at all
CRUNK
PRONUNCIATION: (kruhnk)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Intoxicated.
2. Crazy.
3. Excited.
4. Wonderful.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin. Possibly a nonstandard past tense of crank, a variation of drunk, or a blend of crazy + drunk. Earliest documented use: 1972.
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GRUNK - Patriots former tight end, Number 87, after a few too many
CARUNK - not the grandaddy of automobiles, but at least its father's brother
CRUNA - what they called Perry Como or Bing Crosby when they came to Boston
MOATY – well-defended
MORONITY – a measure of stupidity (the reciprocal of IQ)
HOITY-MOIETY – what you get when you omit the 'toity'
CRWTH
PRONUNCIATION: (krooth)
MEANING: noun: An ancient stringed instrument that’s typically associated with Welsh music. Also called a crowd.
ETYMOLOGY: From Welsh. Earliest documented use: 1837.
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GRWTH - gttng bggr nd bggr
CRWETH - provide sailors for a ship in the Middle Ages
CROTH - how you get from one thide of the road to the other
CWTCH
PRONUNCIATION: (kuch [u as in push or bush])
MEANING: noun: 1. A hiding place, such as a cupboard or a cubbyhole.
2. A hug or a cuddle.
verb tr.: To hug or cuddle.
verb intr.: 1. To crouch down.
2. To hide.
ETYMOLOGY: From Welsh cwtsh (hug, cuddle, recess, hiding place). Earliest documented use: 1890.
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C-WATCH - standing guard for the night shift
COWTCH - what you occupy to watch TV
CWTCH - "CWTCH she love, CWTCH she woo, CWTCHY CWTCHY CWTCHY CW,
Has anybody seen my girl"?
(from "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue")
TRIMMER
PRONUNCIATION: (TRIM-uhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. One who adjusts beliefs, opinions, and actions to suit personal interest.
2. A person or a tool that clips, shortens, neatens, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From trim, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old English trymman/trymian (to arrange, strengthen, etc.). Earliest documented use: 1513.
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BRIMMER - a native of Birmingham, to another native
TRIMER - the mega-continent consisting of North, Central, and South America
TRIOMER - a plastic made of chains of three linked small subunits (cf. dimer)
BILGE
PRONUNCIATION: (bilj)
MEANING: noun: 1. The bottom (inner or outer) part of a ship or a boat.
2. Water, oil, and waste that collect in the lowest part of a ship or a boat.
3. Nonsense; rubbish.
4. The bulging part of a barrel or a cask.
verb: 1. To bulge or swell.
tr., intr. 2. To break a hole. 3. To spring a leak.
ETYMOLOGY: Probably a variant of bulge, from Old French boulge, from Latin bulga (bag). Earliest documented use: 1522.
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BILOGE - having two tiers of boxes between the theater floor and the balcony
BILBE - a bible for the dyslexic
ABILGE - full to the brim with sewerage
NAUSEATE
PRONUNCIATION: (NAW-zee/zhee/see/shee-ayt)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.
1. To experience or induce nausea (stomach distress with an urge to vomit).
2. To feel or evoke disgust.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin nauseare (to be seasick), from Greek nausea, from naus (ship). Earliest documented use: 1625.
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NAUSEANTE - it's sickening what they charge to let you into the poker game
N.A.U. SEATED - the North American Union took its place on the committee
HAUSMATE - with whom you share a Berlin home
KEEL
PRONUNCIATION: (keel)
MEANING: noun: 1. The beam along the length of the base of a ship or boat on which the frame is built.
2. A fin-like structure on the bottom of a hull, improving stability.
verb tr., intr.: To capsize, collapse, or fall.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old Norse kjölr. Earliest documented use 1532. See also keelhaul.
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KEEL - the eleventh and twelfth letters of the Roman alphabet
KEG-EL - Superman's father's drinking buddy in University, on Krypton
KETEL - got into trouble for inappropriately calling the pot black
BY AND LARGE
PRONUNCIATION: (by uhn LARJ)
MEANING: adverb: In general; on the whole.
ETYMOLOGY: From the world of sailing, describing a ship that could sail well in almost all wind conditions. Earliest documented use: 1669.
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BRYAN D'LARGE - an Irish lord from the Dark Ages whose appellation derived from his stature - tall, wide, and thick
BOY AND LARGE - caption for a snapshot of Marmaduke, the Great Dane, and his young owner
BY AND LARGO - a stately dance, music by Georg Fredrick Handel
ECLAT or ÉCLAT
PRONUNCIATION: (ay-KLAH)
MEANING: noun:
1. Enthusiastic approval or praise.
2. A strikingly brilliant display or effect.
3. Notable success.
ETYMOLOGY: From French éclat (splinter, brilliance), from éclater (to burst out), which also gave us slat and eclair. Earliest documented use: 1676.
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EFLAT - same as DSharp, of course
ACLUT - the trolley that goes to the American Civil Liberties Union headquarters
EGLAT - a measurement - for example, Latitude
From French éclat (splinter, brilliance), from éclater (to burst out), which also gave us slat and eclair.
derived from
éclater? I thought it came from
éclairer, to light up (not necessarily as a flash or sparkle).
BOSKY
PRONUNCIATION: (BAH-skee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Densely wooded; covered in trees and shrubs.
2. Pertaining to forests or wooded areas.
ETYMOLOGY: From bosk (bush), from Latin bosca. Earliest documented use: 1616.
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BOSKO - a powdered chocolate milk drink
BOSKEY - a single keystroke that will bring up on your computer screen a spreadsheet, so if the Boss unexpectedly drops in you can quickly make it look like you've been doing some serious work (instead of surfing the net, as usual)
BOOSKY - term of disapproval expressed by unhappy sports fans at the Krakow Stadium
FUBSY
PRONUNCIATION: (FUHB-zee)
MEANING: adjective: Short and stout; stocky.
ETYMOLOGY: From fubs (chubby person), of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1780.
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BUBSY - Famiiy name of two sets of twins (Nan and Bert; Freddy and Flossie) in an eponymous series of books for eight-to-ten year olds,
FUBIY - irreverent military acronym, à la FUBAR: unravels to "Fouled Up By Ignorant Yahoos"
F.U. BUSY. - Amscray. I have more important things to do.
GLEED
PRONUNCIATION: (gleed)
MEANING: noun: A glowing coal.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English gled. Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghel- (to shine), which also gave us yellow, gold, glimmer, gloaming, gloze, glimpse, and glass. Earliest documented use: before 1150.
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FLEED - incorrect past tense of flee, often used instead of FLEW
GLEND - nickname of the Good Witch of the South
GLEYED - spoiled, the way some of the the best-laid plans o' mice and men gang aft
SAPID
PRONUNCIATION: (SAP-id)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Having a pleasant taste or flavor.
2. Pleasant; engaging; stimulating.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sapidus (tasty), from sapere (to taste). Earliest documented use: 1634.
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STAPID - like the innermost bone of the middle ear
USA PID - pelvic inflammatory disease in the United States
SAPIN - a fastener used in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere to affix a hat to a woman's hair
FARCE
PRONUNCIATION: (fars)
MEANING: noun: 1. A light play, film, or literary work involving absurd, exaggerated, or improbable situations.
2. Humor of this type.
3. An absurd or ridiculous situation; mockery.
4. A mix of finely chopped ingredients used as stuffing.
verb tr.: 1. To pad a speech or written work with jokes or witty remarks.
2. To stuff or fill with culinary mixture.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French farce (stuffing, interlude), from Latin farsa, feminine of Latin farsus, from farcire (to stuff). Earliest documented use: 1390.
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FEARCE - having great strength and vigor
FARCEE - the official language of western Eeran
FARTE - flatulence, in the 1500s
JAMMY
PRONUNCIATION: (JAM-ee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Covered with, made with, or like jam; sticky or sweet in texture or appearance.
2. Easy, pleasant, desirable, or profitable, often referring to a situation or opportunity.
3. Lucky, implying an unearned or undeserved advantage.
ETYMOLOGY: From jam (fruit preserve made by boiling fruits with sugar), metaphorically extended to denote something desirable or fortunate. Earliest documented use: 1853.
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JAMBY - like a doorsill
JA, EMMY - Indeed, you did get an award for excellence in a TV production
YAMMY - a bit too reminiscent of sweet potato
TRIPE
PRONUNCIATION: (tryp)
MEANING: noun
1. The lining from the stomach of a ruminant animal, especially cattle and sheep, used as food.
2. Worthless or rubbish (often used to describe written or spoken material).
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French tripe/trippe (entrails). The metaphorical sense emerged from tripe’s historical reputation as inexpensive, less desirable food. Earliest documented use: 1300.
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TRI-PED - once had three feet (past tense of TRIPOD)
TRAIPE - singular of TRAIPSE; one step in a long trek
TRIOE - three female musicians playing together
BARMY
PRONUNCIATION: (BAR-mee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Full of froth.
2. Exciting or excited.
3. Crazy; foolish; eccentric.
ETYMOLOGY: For 1 & 2: From barm (froth on malt liquors), from Old English beorma.
For 3: An alteration of balmy.
Earliest documented use: 1535.
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BERMY - covered with rows of piled-up dirt or snow
BARE MY... - what my swimsuit is designed to do
BAMMY - archrival of Auburn
TAFFY
PRONUNCIATION: (TAF-ee)
MEANING: noun:
1. A soft, chewy candy made by boiling sugar, butter, and other ingredients, then repeatedly pulling the mixture to incorporate air, resulting in a light, fluffy texture.
2. Insincere flattery.
ETYMOLOGY: An earlier form of the word toffee, ultimately of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1817.
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STAFFY - having too many people on the payroll
TAN-FY - nickname of the old Woolworth's 5-and-10-cent stores
TAFTY - tending to approve of the policies of the 27th POTUS (1909-1913)
WHATNESS
PRONUNCIATION: (WAT-nis)
MEANING: noun: That which constitutes the fundamental nature of a thing: the essence or inherent quality.
ETYMOLOGY: From what, from Old English hwæt (what). Earliest documented use: 1611. See also, quiddity.
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WHAMNESS - the knockout potential of a boxer's plunch
CHATNESS - an artificial assessment of intelligence
WHATNESS - capacity for playing second base (with a tip o' the hat to Abbott and Costello)
WHITNESS – minuteness of a part in relation to the whole
WHATLESS – null, void, incoherent
THATNESS – the quality of an out-of-body experience (illeity)
FLESHMENT
PRONUNCIATION: (FLESH-muhnt)
MEANING: noun: Excitement resulting from a first success at something.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English flǣsc (flesh). Earliest documented use: 1616.
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FLASHMENT - the seal around the chimney so the roof doesn't leak at the joint
FLEISHMENT - the clandestine substitution of margarine for butter in a recipe
FLESHMEN - obligate carnivores
PEJORISM
PRONUNCIATION: (PEJ-uh-riz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: The belief that the world is becoming worse.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin peior (worse). Earliest documented use: 1879. One holding such a belief is a pejorist.
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MEJORISM - the chief official of Mexico City is a confirmed optimist, and believes that things will inevitably get better
PERORISM - a habit of saving the most telling arguments to the end of your presentation
"P.E.-OR"-ISM - an approach to High School gym class that lets the student substitute an equivalent activity
UNIQUITY
PRONUNCIATION: (yoo-NIK-wuh-tee)
MEANING: noun: The quality of being the only one of its kind.
ETYMOLOGY: From French unique, from Latin unus (one). Earliest documented use: 1789.
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UNEQUITY - when you have to pay someone to buy your house from you
UNQUITY - not likely to give up and stop trying
UNITUITY - the essence of one-ness, like the set consisting of the Null-set
WHERENESS
PRONUNCIATION: (HWAIR-nis)
MEANING: noun: The condition or essence of being situated or existing in a specific place or location.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English hwǣr. Earliest documented use: 1674.
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WHERELESS - not a citizen of any country
WERENESS - having a past life
WHEZENESS - asthma
CHALK LINE
PRONUNCIATION: (CHAWK lyn)
MEANING: noun:
1. A standard of proper behavior.
2. A line made with chalk or a similar substance.
ETYMOLOGY: From chalk, from Old English cealc, from Latin calx (lime) + line, from Old French ligne (line), from Latin linum (flax). Earliest documented use: 1450.
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CHALK PINE - a kind of fir tree with very pale wood
CHALKALINE - a writing implement that neutralizes the acid in cheap paper
CHALK LANE - a row of boxes, in a big-city sidewalk, devoted to people drawing graffiti and pictures
RATCHET
PRONUNCIATION: (RACH-it)
MEANING: noun: 1. A mechanism consisting of a toothed wheel or bar engaged by a pawl to allow controlled movement in one direction only.
2. An incremental change, typically in one direction and irreversible.
verb tr., intr.: To move or to cause to move in small increments, especially progressively or irreversibly.
ETYMOLOGY:
From French rochet (ratchet). Earliest documented use: 1650.
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PRATCHET - author Terry doesn't have his 4-o'clock snack
BRAT, CHET? - the Hardy Boys offer their friend a treat at the local deli
RANCHET - a diminutive tourist attraction out West, with just a hut and a shed and a couple of ponies
PARISH PUMPPRONUNCIATION: (par-ish PUHMP)
MEANING: noun: A water pump shared by people within a small area.
adjective: Of local, often trivial, interest or importance.
ETYMOLOGY: From parish (a small area, especially one that has its own church) + pump, of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1840.
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PARISH PUMP - the Celtics center's characteristic preliminary motion with the ball toward the basket before taking his shot
PARISH PIMP - companion of Tom Lehrer's
Old Dope PeddlerPARISH PLUMP - the local priest is chubby
WINDMILL
PRONUNCIATION: (WIND-mil)
MEANING: noun: 1. A machine powered by wind.
2. An imagined enemy, opponent, or threat.
verb tr., intr.: To move or to cause to move like a windmill.
ETYMOLOGY: From wind, from Old English wind + mill, from Old English mylen, from Latin mola (grindstone, mill), from molere (to grind). Earliest documented use: 1230.]
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WANDMILL - facility for making shoddy magic tools in large numbers
WINDMALL - a place sailors wish existed so they could purchase a way to deal with the doldrums
WINDMILE - how they measure the distance between here and Oz
SWISS ARMY KNIFE
PRONUNCIATION: (swis AHR-mee nyf)
MEANING: noun:
1. A pocketknife, with multiple blades and other tools such as scissors, saw, corkscrew, can opener, etc.
2. A person or object with many diverse skills or functions.
ETYMOLOGY: From its use by Swiss Army officers. Originally produced by Karl Elsener in Switzerland in 1891. Earliest documented use: 1935.
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SWISS? OR MY KNIFE - Would you like cheese on your ham sandwich? Or a sharp utensil to cut it into smaller pieces?
SWEISS ARMY KNIFE - a competing alternative produced by Dietrich Sweiss in 1916
SWIT'S ARMY KNIFE - used by the nurse in Mobile Army Surgical Hospital 4077 for many purposes when equipment was in short supply
ALSATIA
PRONUNCIATION: (al-SAY-shuh)
MEANING: noun
1. A sanctuary.
2. A lawless place.
ETYMOLOGY:
After Alsatia, an area north of River Thames in London, once out of the reach of law. Earliest documented use: 1676.
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A.L.S. ASIA - a variant of Lou Gherig's Disease occurring mostly in the Orient
AL'S ARIA - that would be Swanee, in Rhapsody in Blue, the biopic of George Gershwin from 1945
ALSO TÍA - Is there a synonym for "tita" ("aunt" in some Spanish-speaking countries)?
CARTHAGINIAN PEACE
PRONUNCIATION: (kar-thuh-JIN-ee-uhn pees)
MEANING: noun: Peace or settlement in which very harsh terms are imposed on the defeated side.
ETYMOLOGY: After Carthage, an ancient city-state, in present-day Tunisia. Earliest documented use: 1940.
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CARTHAGINIAN PEACH - a fuzzy fruit once grown on a Mediterranean island
CARTHAGINIAN PENCE - a now-obsolete currency
CART HANG IN IAN PLACE - two-wheeled hauler suspended from the ceiling of John's barn
CATHAY
PRONUNCIATION: (ka-THAY)
MEANING: noun:
1. A remote and exotic land, steeped in mystery, richness, and bliss.
2. A literary name for China.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin Cataya/Cathaya, from Turkish Khitai, from Khitan Khitai (the Khitan people who ruled northern China). Earliest documented use: 1744. See also Shangri-la.
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CATH DAY - when you're scheduled to have your coronary arteries evaluated
CASH? AY! - I left my iPhone in the hotel - do you take bills and coins here in Scotland?
CATHADY? - cowboy Hopalong's (who rode a big white horth named Topper) latht name
SIBERIANIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (sy-BEE-ree-uh-nyz)
MEANING: verb tr.: To send to a remote location as a form of punishment.
ETYMOLOGY: After Siberia, Russia, the place where those who had fallen out of favor were sent. Earliest documented use: 1864.
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SABERIANIZE - to modify a dueling sword by curving the blade and adding an arched guard to cover the back of the hand
SIBERIANITE - a specimen of iron ore found at the site of the great Russian meteor explosion of 30 June 1908
SOBERIANIZE - to instill an aversion to all forms of alcohol
BOTANY BAY
PRONUNCIATION:
(BOT-uh-nee BAY)
MEANING:
noun: A place of exile, punishment, or hard labor.
ETYMOLOGY:
After Botany Bay, south of Sydney, Australia. Earliest documented use: 1789.
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BOT - AN eBAY - a small program which will wait until one second before an auction ends, then make a bid $1 higher than the hitherto most recent one
BOTANY PAY - need to know before I decide whether to major in it or not
BET ANY BAY - guide for playing the ponies
NITHING
PRONUNCIATION: (NY-thing, second syllable as in clothing)
MEANING: noun: 1. A coward.
2. An outlaw.
3. A miser.
adjective: 1. Cowardly.
2. Treacherous.
3. Miserly.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English nithing, from Old Norse nidhingr, from nidh (scorn). Earliest documented use: before 1150. See also, niddering.
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N.Y. THING - The Times Square special
NIT-HINGE - the joint at the base of a louse egg, so it can be lifted away from the hair shaft without dislodgment
N.I.T.-ING - consigning to a lesser basketball tournament if you're not quite good enough to be selected for the March Madness pool
IBERIANIZE - to add tildes randomly to letters in an English text
SIDEREALIZE - "I'm gonna make you a star!"
SIBELIANIZE - to re-orchestrate music to make it sound colder
CARTHAGINIAN PISTE - path taken by Hannibal's foot-soldiers for quickly descending the Alps; (figuratively) something rapid but hazardous
CARTHAGINIAN BEAST - elephant
CARTER'S GENUINE PEACE - Camp David agreement and subsequent treaty
CAROLINGIAN PHASE - France in the 7th-10th centuries
CARTAGENA, PLEASE - request by English-speaking rail traveller in Spain
BARBERMONGER
PRONUNCIATION: (BAR-buhr-mong-uhr)
MEANING: noun: One excessively concerned about appearance; a fop, a dandy.
ETYMOLOGY: From barber, from Old French barbour, from Latin barba (beard) + monger, from Old English mangere (merchant), from Latin mango, (dealer), Earliest documented use: 1608.
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BARBELMONGER - makes weights for body-builders
BERBERMONGER - someone concerned about Thiamin (Vitamin B-1) deficiency
BARBER LONGER - one who pines for an artisan who removes facial hair
VARLET
PRONUNCIATION: (VAR-luht/lit)
MEANING: noun
1. An unprincipled or dishonest person.
2. An attendant, servant, or a knight’s page.
ETYMOLOGY: A variant of valet, from Latin vassus (servant, vassal). Earliest documented use: 1470.
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VIRLET - the Latin equivalent of "homunculus"
VATLET - a small tun for brewing small batches of craft beer
TARLET - what an outhouse is called in rural South Carolina
APPLEJOHN
PRONUNCIATION: (AP-uhl-jon)
MEANING: noun: One with a shriveled body and/or mind.
ETYMOLOGY: After apple-john, a kind of apple that was said to keep for two years and then reached a shriveled state. It was apparently named after St. John’s Day (Jun 24) around the time it ripened. Earliest documented use: 1572.
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AMPLEJOHN - the other nickname for Robin Hood's right-hand man and second-in-command, who was not "Little" at all
APPLEJOIN - the place in the trunk at which apple trees are grafted
APPLY JOHN - a special pay toilet to which you must have previously asked for and been granted permission to enter
TRIFLERPRONUNCIATION: (TRY-fuh-luhr)
MEANING: noun: One not to be believed or taken seriously.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French trufleor (liar, cheat). Earliest documented use: 1382.
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TRIFLER - pastry chef, preparer of a creamy white desseert (dozens of recipes, I'm sure!)
RIFLER - a sneak thief
TRIFLIER - aviator in a
three-winged airplane
CATHRAY - proposed model name of early TV set
CASHAY - to hide something, especially cash (from French cacher)
KATTY KAY - BBC broadcaster and journalist
PODSNAP
PRONUNCIATION: (POD-snap)
MEANING: noun: A smug, self-satisfied person.
ETYMOLOGY: After John Podsnap, a character in Charles Dickens’ novel Our Mutual Friend (1865). Earliest documented use: 1865.
NOTES: Podsnap is a pompous, jingoistic character, proudly immune to nuance. As Dickens describes him, “Mr Podsnap was well-to-do, and stood very high in Mr Podsnap’s opinion. ... Mr Podsnap’s world was not a very large world, morally; no, nor even geographically: seeing that although his business was sustained upon commerce with other countries, he considered other countries, with that important reservation, a mistake.”
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POD SNAG - the okra has clogged the garbage disposal
POP SNAP - an early version of the slogan for Rice Krispies cereal
HOD SNAP - what happpens when you try to carry too many bricks at once
TURVEYDROP
PRONUNCIATION: (TUHR-vee-drop)
MEANING: noun: One who poses as a model of deportment: the way in which one conducts oneself.
ETYMOLOGY: After Mr. Turveydrop, a character overly concerned with deportment, in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House (1852). Earliest documented use: 1876. The adjectival form is Turveydropian.
NOTES: "Mr. Turveydrop...[i]n short...was deportment without depth, a walking, talking showroom dummy for etiquette."
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SURVEYDROP - what a President may see after a tumultuous first hundred days in office
TURKEYDROP - a Thanksgiving catastrophe if Chef is too harassed
TURVEY DROOP - what hapens if you dont water your Turvey plant enough
STIGGINS
PRONUNCIATION: (STI-ginz)
MEANING: noun: A pious impostor.
ETYMOLOGY: After Reverend Stiggins in Charles Dickens’ novel The Pickwick Papers (serialized 1833-36). Earliest documented use: 1916.
NOTES: Reverend Stiggins is a hypocritical deputy shepherd of a Temperance Association. His red nose betrays his true feelings about temperance.
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ST. 'IGGINS - George Bernard Shaw's noted elocution professor has been canonized
STAG GINS - a clear drink, distilled and redistilled fermented juniper berries, made for by and for men only
STOGGINS - 'ung by the fireplace on Gristmas Eve by males who hope to get a gift from Santa. If they were bad they receive a wadded-up plant leaf; if they were good, though, they get an old cigar.
PECKSNIFF
PRONUNCIATION: (PEK-snif)
MEANING: noun: A hypocritical person who pretends to have high moral principles.
ETYMOLOGY: After Seth Pecksniff, a character in Charles Dickens’s novel Martin Chuzzlewit (serialized 1843-1844). Earliest documented use: 1844. The adjectival form is pecksniffian.
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PECKSNUFF - what a chicken does when he's addicted to nicotine
PECK STUFF - how woodpeckers drive you crazy
PECK-STIFF - what makes a rooster cock-of-the-walk
ARTFUL DODGER
PRONUNCIATION: (art-ful DOJ-uhr)
MEANING: noun: A nimble, cunning thief or a pickpocket.
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PARTFUL DODGER - Jackie Robinson has finished only half of his dinner so far
ARTFUL LODGER - when Jimmy Durante couldn't pay the rent to Mrs Calabash (wherever she is)
TARTFUL DODGER - the Knave of Hearts, who so far has managed to avoid being captured
WINDLASS
PRONUNCIATION: (WIHND-luhs)
MEANING: noun: A device for lifting or hauling, using a rope or cable wound around a cylinder.
verb tr.: To extract, lift, or bring forth with deliberate, steady effort.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old Norse vindass, from vinda (to wind) + ass (pole). Earliest documented use: 1294.
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WINE PASS - free admission to the Oenophiles' Club
WAND LASS - Hermione, or Fleur, or Molly, or Minerva, or even Narcissa, among many others; take your pick
MIND, LASS - Behave yourself, young lady!
MONOPOLYLOGUE
PRONUNCIATION: (mon-uh-POL-i-log)
MEANING: noun: A performance in which one person plays multiple characters, typically all of them.
ETYMOLOGY: From mono- (one) + poly- (many) + -logue (talk). Earliest documented use: 1819.
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MONOPOLLYLOGUE - oration by a unusually verbose parrot
MONO-POLYWOGUE - a single isolated tadpole
MOO-POLYLOGUE - the whole herd is chattering today
LUSTRATION
PRONUNCIATION: (luhs-TRAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. An act of purification by means of rituals.
2. The purging of those associated with crimes committed under an earlier regime.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin lustrare (to make bright). Earliest documented use: 1614
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BLUSTRATION - the sense of impotence when your windbagging gets you nowhere
LUSTRACTION - being diverted from your goals by a pretty face
LiSTRATION - don't look now but you're about to run out of food
UNICITY
PRONUNCIATION: (yoo-NIS-uh-tee)
MEANING: noun: The quality of being the only one of its kind: uniqueness or oneness.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin unicus (one, unique). Earliest documented use: 1691. A synonym is uniquity.
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URNICITY - world's largest purveyors of containers for cremation remains
UNICITY - a very tenuously supported research paper with only one reference
UNICI-TV - United Nations International Coöperative Informational TeleVision. Don't we wish!
PIEPOWDER
PRONUNCIATION: (PY-pow-duhr)
MEANING: noun: A traveler, especially a traveling merchant.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French pie (foot) + poudre (powder, dust). Earliest documented use: 1436.
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PINE-POWDER - mixed with Elmers Glue, forms a paste suitable for filling holes and dents in wood furniture
PI (E-POWER) - a mathematical expression (pi to the e, or 3.14159...-to-the 2.718281828... , equal to approximately 22.4591) of no particular theoretical use yet
PILE-POWDER - the granular dirt that accumulates under a rug
ELUCIDATORY
PRONUNCIATION: (i-LOO/LYOO-si-duh-tuh-ree)
MEANING: adjective: Serving to clarify or explain.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin elucidare (to make clear), from lucid (bright, clear), from lucere (to shine), from lux (light). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leuk- (light), which also gave us lunar, lunatic, light, lightning, lucid, illuminate, illustrate, lustration, Lucifer, translucent, lux, and lynx. Earliest documented use: 1774.
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ELUCIDASTORY - C'mon, Aesop. just give us one more!
EL-CID -ATORY - pertaining to Spanish heroics
ELUCIDATONY - If this doesn't get us an award, nothing will!
QUESTIONARY
PRONUNCIATION: (KWES-chuh-ner-ee)
MEANING: noun: 1. A list of questions: a questionnaire.
2. One who asks questions.
adjective: 1. Inquisitive.
2. Having or relating to questions.
ETYMOLOGY: From question, from Middle French question, from Latin quaerere (to ask). Earliest documented use: 1541.
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QWERTIONARY - pertaining to the keyboard
QUESTIONNAIRY - full of boxes to check and lines to write
QUEENTIONARY - the British monarchy for the last several decades, until the redcent passing of Elizabeth
CYLINDRACEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (sil-in-DRAY-shuhs)
MEANING: adjective: Resembling a cylinder.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin cylindrus, from Greek kylindros, from kylindein (to roll). Earliest documented use: 1676.
NOTES: Something cylindraceous rolls into your life like a can of soup: efficient, symmetrical, and always ready to store something. The word shows up in botany too, describing tube-shaped structures like flower stalks or plant stems. So if someone says you have a cylindraceous head, they might mean you’re well-rounded, at least vertically.
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CYCLINDRACEOUS - just going around in circles
CALINDRACEOUS - focused on days and dates and weeks and months, usually
CYCLONDRACEOUS - prone to bad weather
AUTOCEPHALITY
PRONUNCIATION: (ah-to-suh-FAL-i-tee)
MEANING: noun: Self-rule.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek auto- (self) + -cephal (head).
NOTES: Autocephality is a fancy word for self-governance. It’s especially used in the context of Eastern Orthodox Churches that independently govern their spiritual affairs without a higher ecclesiastical authority. Think of it as running their own spiritual show. No higher-ups pulling the incense strings.
Not to be confused with autocephalopods. Those would be self-governing squids.
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AUTOCEPHALITY - smart, self-driving cars
AUTOCEPHALICY - the conclusion that cars can safely drive themselves (at present, anyway)
AUTOCEPHLITY - preplanned mutations to non-penicillin antibiotics so they can modify themselves without further human intervention, in order stay effective against microorganisms as they evolve
QUODLIBETARY
PRONUNCIATION: (kwod-LIB-uh-ter-ee)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to a discussion or debate involving subtle or hypothetical points.
noun: 1. One who takes part in such a discussion.
2. One who does whatever pleases them.
3. A subtle or hypothetical point.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin quodlibetum (whatever pleases), from Latin quod (what) + libet (it pleases). Earliest documented use: 1604.
NOTES: In medieval universities, a quodlibetary question was one posed at will -- anything the audience pleased -- and answered by a scholar in public debate. These discussions could range from profound to playful, often spotlighting a debater’s wit and agility.
The word also lives on in music: a quodlibet is a medley of familiar tunes humorously combined. Think of it as a musical potluck -- whatever pleases.
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QUOD-LIBERTARY - Borrow any book you like! Why not start with this one on proper spelling?!
QUAD-LIBETARY - the modern attitude in many dormitories
QUID-LIBETARY - unlimited budget at Oxford or Cambridge
RENUNCIATORY
PRONUNCIATION: (ri-NUHN-see-uh-tor-ee)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to giving up, renouncing, or rejecting.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin renuntiare (renounce or report). Earliest documented use: 1667.
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PRENUNCIATORY - not sure whether to reject or not (but considering it)
RERUNCIATORY - broadcasting only old episodes
RE: NUN CIA STORY - Exclusive ! Read All About It !! The Spy in the Convent !!!
WINSOME
PRONUNCIATION: (WIN-suhm)
MEANING: adjective: Pleasing or charming, especially in a childlike or innocent manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English wynsum, from wynn (joy) + -sum (-some). Earliest documented use: 450.
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WINS HOME - the quiz show prize is a brand new house!
W-INCOME - the salary of the star pitcher
SIN'S ON ME - Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa
SUSURRANT
PRONUNCIATION: (soo/suh-SUHR-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective : Whispering or rustling.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin susurrare (to whisper or hum), of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1791. The verb form is susurrate and the noun is susurrus.
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SU SUB-RANT - the imprecations you utter under your breath when you crew a U-boat
SUSURRANK - the honorary Commission awarded by the Army to the John Philip S., the March King
SUTURRANT - a material used to sew up wounds
RUDERAL
PRONUNCIATION: (ROO-duhr-uhl)
MEANING: adjective: Growing in waste places, disturbed land, or poor soil.
noun: A plant that thrives in such conditions.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin rudus (rubble). Earliest documented use: 1835.
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RYDER AL - Alan rents so many trucks from the company that they gave him a nickname
CRUD-ERAL - from the Garbage Age
RUDDERAL - toward the steering device
BEREFT
PRONUNCIATION: (bi-REFT)
MEANING: adjective: Deprived of or lacking.
ETYMOLOGY: past participle of bereave (to deprive), from Old English bereafian (to rob someone of something). Earliest documented use: 1531.
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BARE FT - without shoes or socks
UBER EFT - an immature newt in an on-call "Rent-a-Ride"
BE LEFT - what will happen to you at the airport if you're not right on time
SANGUINEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (sang-GWIN-ee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to blood.
2. Of the color of blood.
3. Involving bloodshed.
4. Confident or optimistic.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sanguis (blood), which also gave us sanguine, sanguinary, sanguinolency, pur sang, consanguineous, consanguinity, and sang-froid. Earliest documented use: 1520.
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SAN QUINEOUS - like a high-security prison in California
SANGUINEOLUS - like a tiny dollop of blood
SAN GUINNEOUS - like the well-known sainted Book of World Records
BLOODY-MINDED
PRONUNCIATION: (BLUHD-ee-MYN-did)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Disposed to violence and bloodshed.
2. Stubborn; obstructive. (chiefly used in British English)
ETYMOLOGY: From blood, from Old English blod + mind, from Old English gemynd (memory, thought). Earliest documented use: 1545
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BLONDY-MINDED - daydreaming of Dagwood Bumstead's wife
BLOOPY-MINDED - planning to surprise the infielders by bunting
BLOODY-MINED - the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia ("blood and bone is the price of coal")
ANEMIA
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-NEE-mee-uh)
MEANING: noun:
1. A medical condition characterized by a deficiency of red blood cells or hemoglobin resulting in weakness, tiredness, shortness of breath, and paleness.
2. A lack of vitality, strength, or vividness.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek anaimia, from an- (without) + haima (blood). Earliest documented use: 1807. The adjective is anemic, but the word anemious is entirely different.
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AGE-MIA - I don't know how old I am
ONE. MIA. - How many women did Frank Sinatra marry in 1966?
ANTE MIA - Yes, I'm in, deal the cards!
RED-BLOODED
PRONUNCIATION: (RED-BLUHD-id)
MEANING: adjective: Strong; energetic; high-spirited; vigorous; virile.
ETYMOLOGY: Implying full of healthy blood, not lacking in red blood cells or hemoglobin. Earliest documented use: 1794. The opposite is anemic.
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RED-BLOOMED - describing a species of tulip colored bright red which unfortunately is attractive to rabbits, who nip off the blooms just the morning they open
RED-BLONDED - with blond hair that has been dyed with henna
ZED-BLOODED - possessing the Z-antigen on the red cells
HEMORRHAGE
PRONUNCIATION: (HEM-uhr-ij, HEM-rij)
MEANING: noun: 1. A severe or uncontrollable loss of blood.
2. A rapid and significant loss of assets.
verb intr.: To bleed copiously.
verb tr.: To lose assets rapidly and in large amounts.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin haemorrhagia, from Greek haimorrhagia, from haima (blood) + rhegnunai (to burst). Earliest documented use: 1671.
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HEMORPHAGE - a virus-like organism that makes you bleed
HEMPORRHAGE - a torrential market for marijuana
CHEMORRHAGE - anti-tumor medication to be given intravenously
AARON'S ROD
PRONUNCIATION: (air-uhnz ROD)
MEANING: noun:
1. A powerful force that overcomes others around it.
2. Any of various plants with tall, flowering stems, like goldenrod or mullein.
3. An architectural molding featuring a snake motif, sometimes with vines and leaves.
ETYMOLOGY: After Aaron, a prophet in the Old Testament. Earliest documented use: 1631.
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AARON'S ROAD - metaphorical image describing one doomed to be always outshined by his flashier prother
AARON'S ROD - the bat used by baseball star Henry [Hank] Aaron
AKRON'S ROD - a stabilizing device used in the manufacture of racing tires
CHEF'S KISS
PRONUNCIATION: (chefs KIS)
MEANING: noun:
1. A gesture made by kissing one’s fingertip(s) and thumb and spreading them outward.
2. Something or someone considered excellent or perfect.
ETYMOLOGY: Alluding to a stereotypical Italian chef’s gesture upon tasting a flawless dish. Earliest documented use: 1975
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CHEF'S DISS - a food critic sneering at inferior culinary output
CHER'S KISS - once a salute to Sonny Bono
CLEF'S KISS - a accidental in the score in precisely the right place
RAT'S NEST
PRONUNCIATION: (RATS nest)
MEANING: noun: A confused mess.
ETYMOLOGY: From the messiness typically found in a rat’s living quarters. Earliest documented use: 1850. A synonym is mare’s nest.
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RAT'S EST - The bum was sentenced to undergo Erhardt's Seminar Training to cure him of his sociopathic tendencies. Lotsa Luck.
RAT'S NEXT - OK, that takes care of the mosquitoes, what scourge shall we deal with now?
HAT'S NEST - the excelsior that the best couturiers pack their chapeaux in
DEVIL'S TATTOO
PRONUNCIATION: (dev-uhlz ta-TOO)
MEANING: noun: A rhythmic tapping of fingers, knuckles, or feet.
ETYMOLOGY: From devil, from Old English deofol, from Latin and Greek diabolus (accuser or slanderer), + tattoo (a series of hits, as on a drum), from Dutch taptoe (shut the tap). Earliest documented use: 1755.
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DEVI'S TATTOO - an image of the goddess Devi transferred to the skin of a devotee
DEVIL'S TATTOOT - what the band plays as you cross the River Styx
DEVIL'S TOT, TOO - it's not only God's chillin who got shoes
ADAM'S ALE
PRONUNCIATION: (ad-uhmz AYL)
MEANING: noun: Water.
ETYMOLOGY: Alluding to the biblical Adam for whom the only drink available was water. Earliest documented use: 1643.
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ADAM'S ALT - the first Evil Twin
ADAM'S ACE - you'd have thought it impossible, but there it was - an ace up his sleeve to cheat at Poker
ADAM'S TALE - Bible, Torah, Quran, whatever - you name it
RAMBOPRONUNCIATION: (RAM-bo)
MEANING: noun: A violently aggressive person, especially one who disregards rules or authority.
ETYMOLOGY: After John Rambo, Vietnam veteran protagonist of the 1982 film First Blood, based on David Morrell’s 1972 novel of the same name. Earliest documented use: 1985.
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RAMBOX - a more civilized way than charging head-to-head of figuring who is head of the herd
RUMBO - a rhythmic dance originating in Latin America; can only be performed properly when drunk
RAMBO - a French poet
(1854-91) known for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism
KEYSTONE COP
PRONUNCIATION: (KEE-stohn kop)
MEANING: noun: An incompetent bungling person, especially a police officer.
ETYMOLOGY: After Keystone Cops/Kops, a series of comedy films starting with the 1912 silent film Hoffmeyer’s Legacy. The films were produced by the Keystone Studios. Earliest documented use: 1917.
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KEYSTOVE COP - a policeman who guards the kitchen to prevent its use for making unauthorized lunches
KEYSTONE CUP - award for the winner of the Pennsylvania Prize
KEYTONE COP - the martinet who watches for signs of Diabetic keto-acidosis, especially fruity breath
BIG CHILL
PRONUNCIATION: (big CHIL)
MEANING: noun:
1. An extremely cold spell.
2. A prolonged period of global cooling or glaciation.
3. A state of emotional letdown, disillusionment, or waning enthusiasm.
4. A metaphor for death or the end of life.
ETYMOLOGY: From big, perhaps of Scandinavian origin + chill, from Old English cele (coolness). Sense 3 was influenced by the 1983 film The Big Chill in which former college idealists reunite and confront their disappointments. Earliest
documented use: 1911.
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BIG CHILI - a prize-winning pepper
BRIG CHILL - the ship's prison, being well below-decks, is quite cold
BING CHILL - cherries are best when served at 41-44 degrees F
BUNNY BOILER
PRONUNCIATION: (BUH-nee boy-luhr)
MEANING: noun: A person who is dangerously obsessive and vengeful, especially when spurned.
ETYMOLOGY: After a character in the 1987 film Fatal Attraction who boils a pet rabbit belonging to the family of a married man who has an affair with her but then spurns her. Earliest documented use: 1990.
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BUNNY, FOILER - Bugs' role vis-à-vis Elmer Fudd
RUNNY BOILER - a gadget meant to cook soft-boiled eggs the rest of the way
BUNN, BOILER - when you use your extravagantly-expensive coffee-maker to heat water for tea (or, worse yet, soup)
CENTRAL CASTING
PRONUNCIATION: (sen-truhl KAS-ting)
MEANING: adjective: Stereotypical.
noun: A company or department that provides actors for minor or background roles, often based on stereotypical appearances.
ETYMOLOGY: After Central Casting, a company founded in 1925 to cast actors for minor roles in film and television. Earliest documented use: 1941.
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VENTRAL CASTING - filling a mold through an orifice in its back
CENTRAL COSTING - a way of minimizing through scale the expenditures that will be needed for a particular project
CENTRAL COASTING - a sardonic way of describing the futility of making an island paradise, since the coast is by definition the periphery
NERO
PRONUNCIATION: (NEE-ro)
MEANING: noun: A cruel, depraved, or tyrannical ruler.
ETYMOLOGY: After Nero (CE 37-68), Roman emperor (54-68), whose name became synonymous with tyranny. Earliest documented use: 1542.
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NARO - strait
NORO - a virus causing GI distress (upper and lower), commonly in children
NERO - (2) a popular pianist whose career has lately petered out
HEROD
PRONUNCIATION: (HER-uhd)
MEANING: noun: A cruel and wicked tyrant.
ETYMOLOGY: After Herod the Great (74/73 BCE - 4 BCE), King of Judea under Roman authority. Earliest documented use: 1405.
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HERID - what they ask a woman for at every health-facility encounter
THEROD - if you have a spare one your child will be spoiled...or something like that
HER ODD - cryptic puzzle definition for the Personnel Department (these days called "HR" instead)
TANTALUS
PRONUNCIATION: (TAN-tuh-luhs)
MEANING: noun:
1. Something temptingly close, yet out of reach.
2. A stand or case for liquor decanters, designed to display them while preventing access.
ETYMOLOGY: After Tantalus, a king of Lydia in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: 1888.
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TAN TALUS - my anklebone has been out in the sun far too long
TANTA LUS - that's my Aunt Lucy from Djakarta
TANTAPUS - a sea creature with 10 arms instead of the standard 8
HELIOGABALUS
PRONUNCIATION: (hee-lee-uh/oh-GAB-uh-luhs)
MEANING: noun: A wildly extravagant, foolish, and self-indulgent person.
ETYMOLOGY: After the Roman emperor Heliogabalus/Elagabalus (CE 204-222) who ruled 218-222 CE. Earliest documented use: 1589.
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HELICO-GAB-ALOUS - pertaining to screwed-up idle chatter
HELIO-GABA US - a United States company that makes Gamma-Amino-Butyric-Acid for treatment of sunburn
HELLOGABALUS - a telephone greeting, and then nothing more to talk about
OZYMANDIAS
PRONUNCIATION: (oz-uh-MAN-dee-uhs)
MEANING: noun:
1. A megalomaniac tyrant, especially one whose arrogance is undone by time.
2. A symbol of the impermanence of power and pride.
ETYMOLOGY: After Ozymandias, the first part of the throne name of Ramesses II of Egypt (1279-1213 BCE). Earliest documented use: 1878.
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OZ-MAN DÍAS - how a Hispanic/Australian spends his time
COZY MAN DIAS - a snuggly vacation
OZ MAN DAIS - what the wizard stands at
EDDY
PRONUNCIATION: (ED-ee)
MEANING: noun: 1. A current moving contrary to the main current, especially in a circular motion, in a fluid such as air or water.
2. trend, fashion, or opinion that runs counter to the prevailing one.
verb tr., intr.: To move or cause to move in a circular, countercurrent motion.
ETYMOLOGY: Probably from Old Norse itha (eddy, whirlpool). Earliest documented use: noun: 1525, verb: 1730.
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EDSY - an e-commerce site for crafts-sellers, as named by a half-drunk and therefore slurring vendor
EDGY - a plush toy namd after the former chief of the FBI
AEDDY - diminutive name for a pet mosquito, despite its potential to transmit dengue and chikcungunya
BRANDISH
PRONUNCIATION: (BRAN-dish)
MEANING: verb tr.: To hold or wave something (especially a weapon), in a threatening or triumphant manner.
noun: The act of waving or displaying something in an ostentatious or boastful manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From Anglo-French brandir (to flourish or wave), from brant/brand (sword). Earliest documented use: verb: 1350, noun: 1601.
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BRANDISM - why people prefer Apple
SLANDISH - falsely defamatory, in print
BRANFISH - a piscatorial laxative
TRUCKLE
PRONUNCIATION: (TRUHK-uhl)
MEANING: verb intr.: To act in a servile manner.
verb tr.: To move or roll on small wheels.
noun: 1. A low bed that slides under another bed. Also known as a truckle bed or a trundle bed.
2. A small wheel.
3. A small barrel-shaped cheese.
ETYMOLOGY: From Anglo-French trocle (roller, pulley), from Latin trochlea (pulley), from Greek trochilea (pulley). Earliest documented use: noun: 1417, verb: 1625.
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TRACKLE - a racetrack 1/8-mile around, the more common length being a quarter-mile
TRUNKLE - pertaining to the torso
TRUCKALE - commoners' cheap beverage that arrives at your pub in a tank truck rather than a bottle or even a keg
SHELLACK or SHELLAC
PRONUNCIATION: (shuh-LAK)
MEANING: noun:
A resin secreted by the lac insect and purified for use in varnishes, paints, inks, sealing waxes, phonograph records, etc.
A phonograph record, especially a 78 rpm.
A severe defeat or beating.
verb tr.:
To coat or treat with shellac.
To thrash soundly.
To defeat decisively, especially in a contest or game.
ETYMOLOGY: From shell + lac, translation of French laque en écailles (lac in thin plates), from Latin lac, from Arabic lac, from Persian lac, from Prakrit lakkha, from Sanskrit laksha (lac, a red dye). Lac is a resin secreted by the lac insect. Earliest documented use: noun: 1713, verb: 1876.
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SHELL DC - an enlightened Shell Oil Co offers recharging ports for electric vehicles at its fuel stations
SHE'LL ACT - what will happen when she realizes she can't sing or dance
SHELL ACE - a handy thing to have during the Merpeople's Poker Championship
HONE
PRONUNCIATION: (hohn)
MEANING: noun:
A fine-grained stone or tool for sharpening blades.
A precision tool with a rotating abrasive tip, used to enlarge or smooth a hole.
verb tr.:
To sharpen on a hone.
To enlarge or smooth a hole using a honing tool.
To refine or perfect a skill through long practice.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English han (stone). Earliest documented use: noun: before 1150, verb: 1400.
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pH ONE - a highly acid solution
HIONE - a Hawaiian ketone (compare HIYONE, a Silver ketone)
HP-ONE - the first prototype hand-held calculator from Hewlett-Packard
VULN
PRONUNCIATION: (vuhln)
MEANING: noun: Vulnerability: susceptibility to attack, injury, or temptation.
verb tr.: To wound.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin vulnerare (to wound), from vulnus (wound). Earliest documented use: verb: 1583, noun: unknown.
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VILN - a city in Lithuania
V-ULNA - an uncommon deformity of the funnybone, in the lower arm
AVULN - home of King Arthur and the Nuts of the Round Table
OIK
PRONUNCIATION: (oik)
MEANING: noun: A person perceived as uncouth, unpleasant, and of lower social standing.
ETYMOLOGY: Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1917. Also see chav and yob.
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WOIK - Brooklynese for "Services performed to earn money"
ONIK - a singular semi-precious stone, black with white stripes, traditionally the birthstone for July
OK,IK - shorthand for "We're both doin' all right"
KERF
PRONUNCIATION: (kuhrf)
MEANING: noun:nn1. A cut, notch, slit, etc. made by a cutting tool.
2. The width of such a cut.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English cyrf (a cutting). Earliest documented use: before 1150.
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PERF - short for perforations, where Toilet Paper tears. Or doesn't.
SKERF - a head covering worn by the orthographically challenged
SERF - where a seashore-dwelling feudal peasant plays in the waves
LEAL
PRONUNCIATION: (leel)
MEANING: adjective: Loyal; honest; true.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French leel, from Latin legalis (legal), from lex (law). Earliest documented use: 1300.
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ALEAL - alternate forms of the same gene leading to different external manifestations of a trait
LEIAL - like the Princess of Alderaan (Surprise! Not of Naboo!)
LEIAL - 2) like a floral necklace
ERST
PRONUNCIATION: (uhrst)
MEANING: adverb: Formerly: in the past.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English ǣrest (first), superlative of ǣr (early). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ayer- (day, morning), which also gave us early and ere. Earliest documented use: before 1150. The word is more commonly found in the adjective form erstwhile.
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ERAST - rubbed out
ERSAT - one fake (several would be "ersatz")
'EREST - what G-d do on the seventh day
MALISON
PRONUNCIATI0N (MAL-uh-zuhn/suhn)
MEANING: noun: A curse.
ETYMOLOGY: From Anglo-French maleiçun (curse), from Latin maledictio (curse), from maledicere (to curse), from mal- (bad) + dicere (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1300.
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MALISON - offspring from one's friend-with-benefits
MALISOU - a counterfeit coin from medieval France (which wasn't worth very much even if genuine)
MACISON - the location of an Apple computer, as in “The Macison the desk”
POGONOTOMY
PRONUNCIATION: (po-guh-NAH-tuh-mee)
MEANING: noun: The cutting of a beard; shaving.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek pogon (beard) + -tomy (cutting). Earliest documented use: 1896.
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VOGONOTOMY – how to take all the interest out of the “Hitchhiker's Guide”
POGO? NO, TOMMY! – answer to your kid's question, “Did the opossum in Walt Kelly's old comic strip smoke see-gars?”
POGONOTOME – another name for “razor,” which cuts beard hairs into very thin layers
AGNOIOLOGY
PRONUNCIATION: (ag-noi-OL-uh-jee)
MEANING: noun: The study of ignorance or the investigation of the unknowable.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek a- (not) + gnosis (knowledge). Earliest documented use: 1854.
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AGNOSIOLOGY - The study of neurologic deficits pertaining to the loss of ability to interpret sensory input. (An example would be not recognizing a banana by sight, while the capacity to do so by feel or scent or taste is preserved.)
ANNOIOLOGY - knowing all the right buttons to push
AgNIO: LOGY - How should you expect to feel after taking Silver Nitro-Iodo-Oxide?
ITEROPAROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (IT-uh-ro-PAR-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Reproducing multiple times in one’s lifetime.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin iterum (again) + -parous (producing). Earliest documented use: 1954.
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ITEROPARLOUS - saying the same thing over and over and over again
INTEROPAROUS - describing the time between productions at La Scala or the Met
AITEROPAROUS - hatching on an island (some turtles reproduce this way)
MELANISM
PRONUNCIATION: (MEL-uh-niz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: An inherited overproduction of melanin leading to unusually dark coloration.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek melano- (black). Earliest documented use: 1842.
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MEANISM - 2) espousing "the 'middle' is the sum of all the amounts, divided by the number of samples" - i.e. enhancing the effect of extreme outliers
MEANISM - 3) having an exaggerated tendency to explain everything
MELONISM - worship of Cantaoupe and Honeydew and Casaba; an offshoot of the cult of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
FULVOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (FUHL-vuhs)
MEANING: adjective: Tawny; brownish-yellow or orange.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin fulvus, from flavus (yellow). Earliest documented use: 1664.
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FULOVOUS - egocentric
FOUL, VOUS! - the French referee just gave him a red card
FUELVOUS - soaked in kerosene
FESTUCINE
PRONUNCIATION: (FES-tyuh-syn/seen)
MEANING: adjective: Of a pale yellow or straw-like color.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin festuca (stalk, straw). Earliest documented use: 1646.
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FEST-AU-CINÉ - when they take movies at the party
FeS-LUCINE - a nutritional supplement containing insoluble iron sufide and an amino acid
FESTUCIDE - the elimination of all festu
