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NOTORIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (no-TOR-ee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Known widely and unfavorably.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin notorius (well-known), from notus (known). Earliest documented use: 1495.
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OTORIOUS - ear-filling; noisy
MOTORIOUS - Detroit-based
NOMORIOUS - foreswearing gambling (or at least losing)
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VIDETTE
PRONUNCIATION: (vuh-DET, vi-)
MEANING: noun:
1. A leading stage or film star.
2. A mounted sentry or a scouting boat posted in an advanced position to observe the movements of an enemy.
ETYMOLOGY: From French vedette (star, as in a film star; speedboat), from Italian vedetta (influenced by vedere: to see), from veletta. Ultimately from the Indo-European root weg- (to be strong or lively), which also gave us vigor, velocity, vegetable, vegete, and velitation. Earliest documented use: sense 1: 1963, sense 2: 1690.
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VIDESTE - Caesar's "Look to the East!"
VIXETTE - a small female fox cub
VIDEO TE - take a moving-picture selfie
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ACERATE
PRONUNCIATION: (AS-uh-rayt)
MEANING: adjective: Needlelike.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin acerosus (full of chaff), erroneously interpreted as derived from acus (needle) or acer (sharp), ultimately from the Indo-European root ak- (sharp), which is also the source of acrid, vinegar, acid, acute, edge, hammer, heaven, eager, oxygen, mediocre, acerbate, acidic, acidulous, acuity, and paragon. Earliest documented use: 1833.
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APERATE - to create an opening or window in
NACERATE - encase in order to streamline
ACERITE - a native of Acer
ACE RAT - Frank Sinatra
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Racerate- Racer X's teammate
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EGREGIOUS
PRONUNCIATION:
(i-GREE-juhs, -jee-uhs)
MEANING:
adjective: Remarkable in a bad way; flagrant.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin egregius (outstanding), from ex- (out of) + greg-, stem of grex (flock). Earlier something egregious was one that stood out because it was remarkably good. Over the centuries the word took a 180-degree turn and today it refers to something grossly offensive. Earliest documented use: 1550.
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EGRET IOUs - I beat those birds fair and square, and they didn't have enough cash to pay up...
PEGREGIOUS - really committed to playing Cribbage
EGG-REGIOUS - got a bit carried away with that omelet, didn't you?
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FAIENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (fay-AHNS, fy-)
MEANING: noun: Glazed earthenware, especially decorated tin-glazed pottery.
ETYMOLOGY: From French faïence (earthenware), from Faïence, the French name for Faenza, a city in northern Italy known for its glazed earthenware industry. Earliest documented use: 1714.
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FAIERCE - how an Irishman describes lions and tigers and other animals with fangs and sharp claws
SAIENCE - a session with a Medium who lets you communicate with the spirits of the Departed
FADIENCE - how long the bright colors of fireworks will persist (the opposite of "radiance")
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Ofaience- Southern scorn and vexation
Faiencèé - capricious imagination
Last edited by may2point0; 11/28/2017 4:18 AM.
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LACONIC
PRONUNCIATION: (luh-KON-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Sparing with words: concise or terse.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin Laconicus, from Greek Lakonikos, from Lakon, Laconian, a resident of Laconia, an ancient country in southern Greece (capital: Sparta). From the reputation of the Laconians for terseness. Earliest documented use: 1601.
NOTES: Two other toponyms are coined after the names of towns in Laconia: helot and spartan, which is coined after Sparta, the capital of Laconia.
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LACONIC = like a city in New Hampshire (or Washington,, or Tennessee, or Indiana, or...)
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L.A.CON, INC - organizes conventions in Los Angeles
ACONIC - a volcano that has blown its top
LACORNIC - typical of the humor delivered by an LACOMIC (you think it's easy getting a laugh out of a bunch of rich and jaded Hollywood stars?)
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NEWGATE
PRONUNCIATION: (NOO/NYOO-gayt)
MEANING: verb tr.: To imprison.
noun: A prison or a prison-like place or situation.
ETYMOLOGY: After Newgate, an infamous prison in London, in use since the 13th century, rebuilt many times, and torn down in 1902. The prison is so-named because originally it was located on the site of Newgate (a gate in the Roman London Wall). Earliest documented use: 1592.
NOTES: Some notable guests of the Newgate prison and their serious crimes:
-- William Penn, the founder of the state of Pennsylvania, for criticism of religion. While in prison, given paper to write a retraction, he instead wrote his treatise No Cross, No Crown
-- Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe for his satirical pamphlet about religion The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters
-- John Walter, the founder of The Times for libel on the Duke of York
The prison also had people come in for minor crimes, such as murder. For example, Ben Jonson, playwright and poet, got in for killing a man in a duel, but was released after reciting a Bible verse.
Newgate was a private prison, so inmates had to pay for everything: room, board, getting shackled and getting unshackled, and so on. Often, they were double-billed, but that may have been due to computer errors. Software was not as reliable in the 13th century.
Because running prisons for profit is such a humane thing to do, we have private prisons, even in the 21st century. Check out this report of an undercover investigation of a private prison.
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NETGATE - a router
NEWGAME - Sony-ese for "Start"
NEWBATE - what you put on the hook after you catch a fish
KEWGATE - how Londoners enter the Gardens
KNEWGATE - entrance for successful Jeopardy contestants
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TIMBUKTU
PRONUNCIATION: (tim-buk-TOO)
MEANING: noun: A remote place.
ETYMOLOGY: After a town in central Mali in West Africa. Earliest documented use: 1863.
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AIMBUKTU - figure out at whose desk the ultimate responsibility lies
TIMPUKTU - he's the gp-to guy on our hockey team
TIM-BUKETU - list of what Tim-san dreams of accomplishing before he dies
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CAMPANILE
PRONUNCIATION: (kam-puh-NEE-lee, -neel)
MEANING noun: A bell tower, especially one detached from a main building such as a church.
ETYMOLOGY: From Italian campana (bell), from Latin campana (bell). From the Campania region in Italy, known for the bronze that was used to cast bells. Earliest documented use: 1640.
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CAMPANILLE - Brooklyn Dodgers' catcher Roy's grandfathers name before he left Italy
CAMPARI, LE - French version of an Italian liqueur
CAMP NILE - base from which deLesseps built the Suez Canal
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Capanile- pidgin for Captain and Tennille
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BIBLIOMANIA
PRONUNCIATION: (bib-lee-o-MAY-nee-uh, -MAYN-yuh)
MEANING: noun: An extreme fondness for books.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek biblio- (book) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented use: 1734.
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FIBLIOMANIA - pathological lying
BIBLI, OMANI - a native of the city of Bibli in the Sultanate of Oman
BI-BLOOMANIA - a compulsion to cultivate two-flowered plants
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Bibliommania- peaceful dedication to citing references in various formats.
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CHATOYANT
PRONUNCIATION: (shuh-TOI-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Having a changeable luster like that of a cat’s eye at night.
noun: A chatoyant gemstone, such as a cat’s eye.
ETYMOLOGY: From French, present participle of chatoyer (to shine like a cat’s eye), from chat (cat). Earliest documented use: 1816.
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CHAMOYANT - like a soft cloth
CHATOYART - typical of paintings seen in castles along the Loire River in France
CHATOYANG - fancy name for a tomcat (compare CHATOYIN)
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GASTRONOME
PRONUNCIATION: (GAS-truh-nohm)
MEANING: noun: A connoisseur of good food.
ETYMOLOGY: From French gastronome, back-formation from gastronomie, from Greek gastronomia, from gastro- (stomach) + nomos (law). from Earliest documented use: 1823.
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OASTRONOME - oven expert
GASTRODOME - where the World Championship Chefs' Cook-off is held
GASTRONOPE - I've had bariatric surgery
GHASTRONOME - connoisseur of horror movies
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QUAGGY
PRONUNCIATION: (KWAG-ee)
MEANING
adjective: Marshy; flabby; spongy.
ETYMOLOGY: From quag (marsh), of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1596.
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SQUAGGY - one of two male lead characters on Laverne and Shirley, now that it's off the air and past-tense
QUAGGLY - like a school of tadpoles swimming in shallow water
QUANGY - the sound of a reverberating bell, as descwibed by Elmer Fudd
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ROBUSTIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (ro-BUHS-chuhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Strong and sturdy.
2. Boisterous.
3. Coarse or crude.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin robur (oak, strength). Ultimately from the Indo-European root reudh- (red), which also gave us red, rouge, ruby, ruddy, rubella, robust, rambunctious, corroborate, roborant, and russet. Earliest documented use: 1548.
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RIO-BUS-TIOUS - mass transport accompanying 30 other Argentine city-dwellers
PROBUSTIOUS - in favor of fashions that emphasize the female bodice
ROMBUSTIOUS - describing an aggressive four-equal-sided parallelogram
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Nobustious- sculpture from waist down
Sobustious- sculpture from chest up
Crobustious- blackbird take these broken wings and fly
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CONTRETEMPS
PRONUNCIATION: (KON-truh-tan, kawn-truh-TAN), plural contretemps (-tanz)
the last syllable is nasal
MEANING: noun:
1. An unforeseen and unfortunate occurrence.
2. A disagreement or dispute.
ETYMOLOGY: Originally contretemps was a fencing term meaning a pass or thrust made at a wrong moment. From French contre- (against) + (time). Earliest documented use: 1684.
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CONTRITE MPS - Truly sorry, Colonel, but we have to arrest you
WON'T RE: TEMPS - I refuse to hire short-term workers
CONTRE TEMPO - against playing the music that fast
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HILT
PRONUNCIATION: (hilt)
MEANING: noun:
1. Used in the expression “to the hilt”: to the maximum extent; fully.
2. A handle, especially of a sword or dagger.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English hilt/hilte. Earliest documented use: around 1000.
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KILT - what you probably did to somebody if you stabbed your sword in all the way to the hilt
HIET - when you try to lose weight but it goes up instead
HILIT - Christmas tree whose only shining ornament is the star on top
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FEINT
PRONUNCIATION: (faynt)
MEANING: noun: A deceptive move, especially in fencing or boxing.
verb tr., intr.: To make a deceptive movement.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French feinte, past participle of feindre (to feign), from Latin fingere (to shape). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dheigh- (to build or form), which also gave us fiction, effigy, paradise, dough, dairy, and lady (literally, a loaf kneader). Earliest documented use: around 1330.
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FEIND - a dyslexic demon
Fe ISNT - iron does not exist
FEZINT - a game bird, sometimes hunted and served under glass
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ENSIFORM
PRONUNCIATION: (EN-suh-form)
MEANING: adjective: Shaped like a sword or a sword blade.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ensis (sword) + -form (shape). Earliest documented use: 1541.
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FENSIFORM - pickety
ENSIFARM - greenhouse devoted solely the raising gladiolus plants
ENSIFORUM - swordsmanship convention
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SWASHBUCKLER
PRONUNCIATION: (SWASH-buhk-luhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. A reckless, daring, swaggering adventurer.
2. A book, play, etc. dealing with such a character.
ETYMOLOGY: From swashbuckler (one who makes a noise by striking a sword on a shield), from swh (of imitative origin) + buckler (a small round shield), from boucle (a boss on a shield), from Latin buccula, diminutive of bucca (cheek). Earliest documented use: 1560.
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U.S. WASHBUCKLER - a garbage scow that sank after ignominiously running aground near Jersey City and has't been heard from (or looked for) since
SLASHBUCKLER - uses as his concealed weapon a belt with a sharpened fastener
SWACHBUCKLER (or SCHWACHBUCKLER) - from German schwach (weak): someone who keeps his pants fastened loosely
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ERGOPHOBIA
PRONUNCIATION: (uhr-guh-FO-bee-uh)
MEANING: noun: An abnormal fear of or aversion to work.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek ergon (work) + phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1905.
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ERGOPHOBIA - fear of making a decision; fear of commitment
EGOPHOBIA - fear of self *
MERGOPHOBIA - fear of being acquired by a competitor
EGGOPHOBIA - fear of toasted waffles
*
Wherever I go
I go too
And spoil everything
-- Samuel Hoffenstein, Proem, 1923
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Pergophobia- fear of laminate flooring
Argophobia- fear of slang
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BREVILOQUENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (bri-VIL-uh-kwens)
MEANING: noun: Speaking briefly and concisely.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin breviloquentia, from brevis (short) + loquentia (speaking), from loqui (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1656.
NOTES: So many choices when it comes to speaking. You might prefer short-windedness and be breviloquent or you can be talkative (loquacious). You can talk in your sleep (somniloquy, which is a special kind of soliloquy). You can even speak through your tummy, literally speaking (ventriloquism).
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BRAVILOQUENCE - speaking great praise
OREVILOQUENCE - ignoring Wilbur when discussing the Wright brothers' invention of the airplane
MR EVIL O'QUENCE - that unpleasant Irish guy from County Quence
BREXILOQUENCE - Sorry, I decline to get involved in a political discussion
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EXELEUTHEROSTOMIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (eks-uh-looth-uh-ROS-tuh-myz)
MEANING: verb intr.: To speak out freely.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined from Greek elements ex- (out) + eleutheros (free) + stoma (mouth). Earliest documented use: 1854.
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EXCELEUTHEROSTOMIZE - truth in spreadsheets
EXPELEUTHEROSTOMIZE - to remove free and uncensored speech from a culture
EX-E-LUTHER-OSTOMIZE - poke a hole in the Ninety-Five Theses
EXELEATHEROTOMIZE - cut out the animal-skins trade (I know, that's two changes)
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CORPOCRACY
PRONUNCIATION: (kor-POK-ruh-see)
MEANING: noun: A society in which corporations control the government.
ETYMOLOGY: From corporate, from Latin corpus (body) + -cracy (rule). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwrep- (body, form), which is also the source of corps, corpus, corpse, corporation, corpulent, corset, corsage, leprechaun, and corpus delicti. Earliest documented use: 1935.
NOTES: Earlier the word was applied to corporate bureaucracy. Over time the word has changed its meaning and now it refers to a system in which corporations control the government.
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CORGOCRACY - government by dog
CARPOCRACY - 1. government by fish; 2. government by Detroit
CORPOCRAZY - obsessed by body image
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OBDORMITION
PRONUNCIATION: (ob-dor-MISH-uhn)
MEANING: noun: Numbness in a limb, usually caused by pressure on a nerve. Also known as falling asleep.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin obdormire (to fall asleep), from dormire (to sleep). Earliest documented use: 1634.
NOTES: There is a word even for what comes after obdormition: paresthesia. (also known as pins and needles).
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OCD, OR M.I.T. ION? - anal personality, or charged particle at the Institute?
OB DORM - IT'S ON! - the funding came through for bedrooms for on-call obstetricians !
ODORMITION - (if you choose to accept it): get the smells out of your socks
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QUARTZIFEROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (kwort-SIF-uhr-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Containing or bearing quartz.
ETYMOLOGY: from German Quartz + Latin -ferous (bearing), from ferre (to bear). Earliest documented use: 1831.
NOTES: Quartz crystals come in various forms: amethyst, agate, onyx, etc., that may or may not be worth a bitcoin, but in a game of Scrabble, the word quartz is worth its weight: it yields 24 points, and that’s before any double or triple squares.
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QUARTZIFERROUS - semiprecious stones that are magnetic because of their iron content
QUARTZIFEROLUS - a small Quartzifer
AQUARTZIFEROUS - a geological stratum containing both geodes and water; alternativey, containing no quartz at all
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HYPERCATHEXIS
PRONUNCIATION: (hy-puhr-kuh-THEK-sis)
MEANING: noun: Excessive concentration of mental energy on something.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hyper- (over, above) + cathexis, from Greek kathexis (holding), from katekhein (to hold fast), from kata- (intensive prefix) + ekhein (to hold). Ultimately from the Indo-European root segh- (to hold), which is also the source of words such as hectic, scheme, scholar, cathect, and asseverate. Earliest documented use: 1923.
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HYPER-CAT EX IS - I used to be married to the Catwoman
HYPEROATHEXIS - swearing all the time (Tourette's Syndrome)
HYPERCASHEXIS - too much money for yer own damn good
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BAVARDAGE
PRONUNCIATION: (bah-vuhr-DAZH)
MEANING: noun: Chattering; gossip.
ETYMOLOGY: From French bavarder (to chatter), from bavard (talkative), from bave (saliva, drivel). Earliest documented use: 1835.
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HAVARDAGE - 381 years and counting, in Boston
BAVARIAGE - the culture of Munich and other parts of Southeastern Germany
BABARDAGE - Shakespeare's works were actually written by an elephant
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ACINIFORM
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-SIN-uh-form)
MEANING: adjective: Shaped like a cluster of grapes.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin acinus (grape, berry, seed). Earliest documented use: 1798.
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ACNIFORM - papulopustular, nodular, or cystic skin lesions resembling acne
ACINIFORUM - oenologists' convention
ACING FORM - what you fill out to prove you got an A
AC IN A FORM - three-phase current
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Acainiform- one that looks nice and not too expensive
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CRACKJAW
PRONUNCIATION: (KRAK-jaw)
MEANING: adjective: Hard to pronounce.
noun: A word or phrase that’s hard to pronounce.
ETYMOLOGY: From crack, from Old English cracian (to resound) + jaw, from Old French joue (cheek). Earliest documented use: 1827.
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CRACKLAW - how the legal profession deals with the cocaine problem
CLACKJAW - the sound made by poorly-fitting dentures
CRACKAW - a city in Poland
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VOLUNTOURISM
PRONUNCIATION: (vah-luhn-TOOR-i-zuhm)
MEANING: noun: Tourism in which travelers do volunteer work.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of volunteer + tourism. Earliest documented use: 1991.
NOTES: Many years ago, fresh out of college, I was traveling for a job interview and started chatting with an old man sitting next to me on the train. Somehow the discussion went to volunteer work and when I claimed that sometimes I do selfless work, he said, “Well, son, everything I do is for myself.” Years later, I realized the truth of his words.
While voluntourism may be well-intentioned, it may not always be the best way to help. See here and here, for example. Consider volunteering with specialized organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, Translators without Borders, Engineers Without Borders, etc. or donating to them.
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VOLU-TOURISM - traveling in very large groups to get reduced rates
VIOLUNTOURISM - ...stirring up trouble everywhere they go
EVOLUNTOURISM - visiting the Galapagos to see the development of species
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,067 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,067 Likes: 2 |
HOKUM
PRONUNCIATION: (HO-kuhm)
MEANING: noun:
1. Nonsense.
2. Trite material introduced to evoke an emotional response from an audience.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of hocus-pocus + bunkum. Earliest documented use: 1917.
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HOOKUM - how some rugs are made
HONKUM - how you get through a flock of geese blocking the road
NOKUM - what Godot did
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,067 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,067 Likes: 2 |
PRONUNCIATION: (skwuhrl)
MEANING: noun: A flourish or curve, especially in handwriting.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps a blend of squiggle + twirl or whirl. Earliest documented use: 1843.
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SQUIRL - an arboreal rodent native to the Ozarks, known for gathering acorns against the coming winter
SKUIRL - the sound of a bagpipes with a wa-wa mute
SQUIRAL - Kighthood's corporate ladder
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