tsuwm has outdone himself today.... what a magnificent word!!
of course, M-W couldn't make heads or tails of it (they inexplicably wanted it to be "echocardiographic"), so i googled it and came up with the most amazing word list (so amazing, in fact, that i wasted my entire morning on it and have precious little time left to AWADize before i must be on my merry way to the mall). it's a aptly self-described "list o' nifty words", complete with definitions.
here's the link, but make sure you have some time on your hands (unless, of course, you are tsuwm, in which case it'll read like a primer):
What a great list! I love "a verbis ad verbera" (from words to blows).
"Abscotchalater" is equally cool. It sounds like it could describe one who has absconded with a bottle of scotch, but in fact means "one in hiding from the police." It is also a funny sounding word, perhaps because of the several hard consonants. It's like something that might come out of the mouth of one of those hard-nosed but very well-spoken British criminals in a Guy Ritchie film.
Thanks for the link; I've bookmarked it for further enjoyment.
Reminds me of a word one might use to describe our new administration in Washington: kakistocracy - government by the worst people. [deeply sorry to have possibly started another political debate but had to say it emoticon]
an interesting aside to the eponymous Mrs. Byrne -- her full name is Josefa Heifetz Byrne, the daughter of violinist Jascha Heifetz. according to her book's dustjacket blurb, she "allowed her hobby of collecting odd words to sidetrack her career as a concert pianist and composer." imagine that....
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