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CHARIENTISM
PRONUNCIATION: (KAR-ee-uhn-tiz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: An insult disguised as a jest or a compliment.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin charientismus, from Greek kharientismos (gracefulness of style). Earliest documented use: 1589.
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CHARIETISM - the practice of deciding all disputes by horse-race
CHORIENTISM - being beset by annoying repetitive Eastern tasks
CHARMENTISM - predicting the future by squeezing the tissues
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ORACY
PRONUNCIATION: (OHR-uh-see)
MEANING: noun: The ability to express oneself in speech.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined as a blend of oral + literacy. Earliest documented use: 1965.
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ORACYT - a mouth cell
NORACY - censorship of lewdness; Bowdlerism
OROCY - the Gold Standard
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HAECCEITY or HECCEITY
PRONUNCIATION: (hek/hik-SEE-uh-tee)
MEANING: noun: The quality that makes something or someone what they are.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin haecceitas (thisness), from Latin haec, feminine of hic (this). Earliest documented use: 1635. Also see quiddity.
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HECCEITY - the quality that makes something or someone a Cockney
HAEC DEITY - this God
HA! ECCE TY - Look! It's Mr Cobb. Everybody laugh!
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BALTER
PRONUNCIATION: (BAHL-tuhr)
MEANING: verb intr.: To dance clumsily or walk unsteadily.
verb tr., intr.: To clot, clog, or tangle.
ETYMOLOGY: For 1. Probably from Old Norse. Earliest documented use: 1400.
For 2: Probably a frequentative of the verb ball. Earliest documented use: 1601.
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LB-ALTER - Kg multiplied by two-and-a-little-bit-over
BAALTER - an idol-worshipper
BALITER - a 1,000-cc. drink to celebrate attaining one's college degree
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CADUCOUS
PRONUNCIATION: kuh-DOO/DYOO-kuhs)
MEANING: adjective: Tending to fall easily or before the usual time.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin caducus (falling), from cadere (to fall). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kad- (to fall), which is also the source of cadence, cascade, casualty, cadaver, chance, chute, accident, occident, decay, deciduous, recidivism, perchance, escheat, and casuistry. Earliest documented use: 1684.
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CADUCEUS - symbol of the medical profession, actually a roundworm (typically Dracunculus medinensis) gradually wound around a stick to draw the nematode out of the wound intact (see also Guinea worm disease)
CAUCOUS - like a bunch of noisy, aggravating, corvids, hence the collective term "a murder of crows"
MADUCOUS - Father Ducous' wife
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MARTERAL
PRONUNCIATION: (muh-TUHR-tuhr-uhl)
MEANING: adjective: Characteristic of, or in the manner of, an aunt.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin matertera (maternal aunt), from mater- (mother). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mater (mother), which also gave us mother, material, matter, matrix, and matrimony. Earliest documented use: 1823.
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MARTERIAL - the war effort is a bloodletting
GARTERAL - making snappy remarks about stockings
MARTERAY - a comedienne in the 1940s and 1950s, and beyond; the Big Mouth's career spanned seven decades and almost all the the media of the times
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ATTRITE
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-TRYT)
MEANING: adjective: Regretting one’s wrongdoing only because of the fear of punishment.
verb tr., intr.: also attrit (uh-TRIT)
1. To wear down, erode, or weaken through sustained attacks, friction, etc.
2. To reduce the size of a workforce by not replacing those who leave.
3. To drop out from a course of study, job, training, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin attritus (worn down), past participle of atterere (to rub against), from at- (to/toward) + terere (to rub). Earliest documented use: 1475. A counterpart of the adjectival form of this word is contrite, describing someone who is genuinely repentant.
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ATT NITE - obsolete rate structure for phone calls made after 11PM
S.A.T. TRITE - inane questions on a standardized College Entrance exam
'ATSRITE ! - You are correct !
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AUTONYM
PRONUNCIATION: (O-tuh-nim)
MEANING: noun:
1. A person’s own name, as distinguished from a pseudonym.
2. A work published under the real name of the author.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek auto- (self) + -onym (name). Earliest documented use: 1854.
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ABUTONYM - the name of the owner of the adjacent property
AUTONOM - Ford, Toyota, Dodge, Renault, Oldsmobile, and such like
AUNTONYM - my mother's sister has always been disagreeably contrary
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EXOTERIC
PRONUNCIATION: (ek-so-TER-ik)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Not limited to an inner circle of select people.
2. Suitable for the general public.
3. Relating to the outside; external.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin exotericus, from Greek exoterikos (external), from exotero, comparative form of exo (outside). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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EXTERIC - superfluous on the outside
HEXOTERIC - intended for exactly six people
EX-OSTERIC - formerly like an old blender
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SPEAR SIDE
PRONUNCIATION: (SPEER syd)
MEANING: noun:
1. The male line of descent.
2. The male part of a family, group, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English spere-healfe. Earliest documented use: 1861.
NOTES: Why the term “spear side” to refer to the male line of descent? It’s not known if there are any Freudian allusions. Apparently, the term arose because in olden times men performed the spear business, i.e., fighting. A variation of the term, sword side, is also used. The female counterpart is distaff side or spindle side. The term for the side of a family that spins tales is the Shake spear side.
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SPEAR WIDE - aim too far to the right (or left)
SPEAR AIDE - what might happen (see above)
SHEAR SIDE - the open surface when layers are violently wrenched apart
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FAROUCHE
PRONUNCIATION: (fuh-ROOSH)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Wild; fierce.
2. Shy; unsociable.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French faroche, from forasche, from Latin forasticus (living outside), from foras (outdoors). Earliest documented use: 1765.
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FAR BOUCHE - after you shoot off your mouth
EAROUCHE - otitis media
FEAROUCHE - algophobia
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DINKY
PRONUNCIATION: (DING-kee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. (In the US) Small; insignificant; undesirable.
2. (In the UK) Attractively tiny; cute.
ETYMOLOGY: From Scots dink (neat, trim). Earliest documented use: 1788.
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OINKY - piggish
D.I. IN KY - anathema for new recruits at Fort Knox
DUNKY - the yummiest kind of doughnut
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SHIFTY
PRONUNCIATION: (SHIF-tee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Evasive; untrustworthy.
2. Changing directions frequently.
3. Resourceful: able to accomplish what needs done.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English sciftan (to arrange or divide). Earliest documented use: 1570.
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SHAFTY - nickname for Bobby who went to sea, silver buckles at his knee
SHOFTY - a donor, generous and well-meaning and easily touched, but drunk
SHRIFTY - inclined to hear confession, assign a penance, and then absolve
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ENDSVILLE
PRONUNCIATION: (ENDZ-vil)
MEANING: noun: 1. Something that is most excellent or the ultimate.
2. Something that is most undesirable; the end.
adj.: 1. Most excellent.
2. Most undesirable.
ETYMOLOGY: From end + French ville (city). Earliest documented use: 1954.
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ENOSVILLE - Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
MENDSVILLE - Taylorville, county seat of Alexander County, NC.
ENTSVILLE - where in Middle Earth the tree-people live
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PRESENTLY
PRONUNCIATION: (PREZ-uhnt-lee)
MEANING: adverb:
1. In a short while: soon.
2. At the present time: now.
ETYMOLOGY: From English present, from Old French, from Latin praesent- (stem of praesens), from present participle of praeesse (to be present before others), from prae- (pre-) + esse (to be). Earliest documented use: 1385.
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PRE-SENTRY - attending Guard School
YPRES-ENTLY - pertaining to the tree-like creatures who used to inhabit a French town (unfortunately wiped out during World War II)
PREDENTLY - the teeth haven't erupted yet
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PILTDOWNER
PRONUNCIATION: (PILT-dau-nuhr)
MEANING: noun: Someone who is crude, uncouth, or unintelligent.
ETYMOLOGY: After Piltdown, a village in Sussex, England, where a fossil skull, called the Piltdown Man, supposedly from an early human, was found. Earliest documented use: 1941. Also see neanderthal.
NOTES: In 1912, the lawyer and amateur archeologist Charles Dawson claimed to have found a fossil skull, supposedly belonging to an early human, in Piltdown, England. It was later proven to be fraud. Dawson made a career out of forgeries. Before the Piltdown Man he had presented a toad entombed in flint, a Chinese vase, a horseshoe, among dozens of other archeological finds, all fraudulent...
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SPILT-DOWNER - you busted open my pillow and the feathers went all over the place
PILL DOWNER - a drug user who hasn't moved on to injectables yet
PITT DOWNER - That's be UNC (Nov 11, 2021), among others
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DEVONSHIRE
PRONUNCIATION: (DEV-uhn-shur)
MEANING: verb tr.: To clear land by burning turf, stubble, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Devonshire, a county in SW England. It’s not clear how the place came to be associated with the clearing of land. Earliest documented use: 1607.
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DEVONSHORE - the portion of the English Channel running roughly from Plymouth to Weymouth
DEVON SHIRT - Didn't you know there's a substantial haberdashery industry in SW England?
DEMON'S HIRE - Satan is now paying the idle hands to do his mischief
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KERSEY
PRONUNCIATION: (KUHR-zee)
MEANING: adjective: Plain; simple.
ETYMOLOGY: After Kersey, a village in Suffolk, England. Earliest documented use: 1390.
NOTES: The word is believed to be coined after the village Kersey in England where a kind of coarse cloth was apparently first made. The word kersey today is applied to the coarse ribbed cloth and clothing made from it. An opposite of this word could be fustian, also coined after a cloth, and this word also is, perhaps, coined after a place name.
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KERSEY - second best high-butterfat-milk producing cows (right after Jersey)
KERLEY - Massachusetts politician in the early 20th Century, best known as Mayor of Boston for four terms
KERSET - a women's garment for controlling the figure, widely used in Brooklyn (no longer popular)
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HALIFAX
PRONUNCIATION: (HAL-uh-faks)
MEANING: noun: Hell.
ETYMOLOGY: After Halifax, a town in West Yorkshire, England. Earliest documented use: 1630.
NOTES: Halifax, a town in England, today may be known for toffee, but at one time it had a reputation for harsh punishment. Even petty crime meant being sent to the gibbet (an early form of guillotine). The poet John Taylor wrote a poem “Beggar’s Litany” (1622) that includes the line: “From Hell, Hull, and Halifax, Good Lord, deliver us!”
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HALL FAX - the facsimile machine is shared by everyone on the corridor
HALI FOX - vulpine who lives in a stand of ilex bushes
HALF-AX - a short-handled lightweight chopping tool
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ALDERMASTON
PRONUNCIATION: (AL-duhr-mas-tuhn)
MEANING: noun: Relating to a protest, disapproval, dissent, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: After Aldermaston, a village in Berkshire, England. Earliest documented use: 1958.
NOTES: Aldermaston is the home of Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) where the UK designs and builds its nuclear weapons. Since 1958, there have been many London-to-Aldermaston marches in protest of nuclear armament.
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AL (DR) MASTON - Alan Maston got a doctorate but doesn't use it
ALTER MASTON - ...but it's changed him somehow
ALLER MASTON - ...and all his German relatives too
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POLYHISTOR
PRONUNCIATION: (pol-ee-HIS-tuhr)
MEANING: noun: A person of great or wide learning. Also polyhistorian.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin polyhistor, from Greek polyistor (very learned), from poly- (much, many) + histor (learned). Ultimately from the Indo-European root weid- (to see), which is also the source of words such as guide, wise, vision, advice, idea, story and history. Earliest documented use: 1588. A perfect synonym of this word is polymath.
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POLYHISTORY - evolution of the African Parrot
POLYP HIS TOR - put mushrooms on the hilltop
POLY "HI" STAR - the famed actor has a penchant for greeting EVERYBODY !
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BOMBINATE
PRONUNCIATION: (BOM-buh-nayt)
MEANING: verb intr.: To buzz or hum.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin bombinare, from bombilare (to hum, buzz), from Latin bombus (humming), from Greek bombos (booming, humming). Earliest documented use: 1880. A perfect synonym is bombilate.
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BAMBINATE - the infant had lunch
'BOMINATE - do things truly worthy of disapproval and dislike
BORBINATE - to lace with strong-tasting Kentucky moonshine
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ECHOISM
PRONUNCIATION: (EK-oh-iz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: The formation of words by imitating sounds; also a word created in this manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin echo, from Greek ekho, from ekhe (sound). Earliest documented use: 1880. Another word for echoism is onomatopoeia. Here are some words coined by this process.
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TECHOISM - relying on electronic gadgetry
ECHOIAM - I AM I AM I AM ME TOO
ECOISM - The environment comes first!
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CYNOPHILIST
PRONUNCIATION: (sy-NOH-fi-list)
MEANING: noun: One who loves dogs.
ETYMOLOGY: From From Greek kyon (dog) + -philia (love). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog), which also gave us canine, chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, corgi, cynic, cynegetic, cynophobia, cynosure, and canaille. Earliest documented use: 1890. A perfect synonym of today’s word is philocynic.
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CYGNOPHILIST - lover of swans
CYANOPHILIST - I just adore blue
GYNOPHILIST - antonym of "misogynist"
ICY-NOPHILIST - this malaria-spreading mosquito can live in polar climates
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TIMBROLOGY
PRONUNCIATION: (tim-BROL-uh-jee)
MEANING: noun: The collecting or study of postage stamps and related matter.
ETYMOLOGY: From French timbre (stamp) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1867. Timbrology and timbrophily are two synonyms of what’s commonly known as philately.
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TIMBRELOGY - the study of small hand drums; also, musical tone which lacks energy
TIMBEROLOGY - woodcraft
TIM-BIOLOGY - Mr Leary's pharmacologically-distorted view of life
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DAEDAL
PRONUNCIATION: (DEE-duhl)
MEANING:MM adjective: Ingenious; skillful; intricate; artistic.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin daedalus (skillful), from Greek daidalos. Earliest documented use: 1590. A related word is logodaedaly.
NOTES: In Greek mythology, Daedalus was an architect and craftsman who built the labyrinth for King Minos of Crete. When the king imprisoned him so the knowledge of the labyrinth wouldn’t spread, Daedalus made wings for himself and his son Icarus.
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DANDAL - what you do to a baby on your knee
DAMEDAL - a mild imprecation, these days...
DEEDAL - a kind of dumpling, preferred by my son John when repeated
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INVOLUTE
PRONUNCIATION: (adjective/noun: IN-vuh-loot; verb: in-vuh-LOOT)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Intricate; complex.
2. Curled inward.
noun: A curve traced by a point on a string while winding or unwinding it around another curve.
verb intr.: 1. To curl up.
2. To return to a former condition or to a normal state.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin involutus, past participle of involvere (to roll up), from in- (into) + volvere (to roll). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wel- (to turn or roll), which also gave us waltz, revolve, valley, walk, vault, volume, wallet, helix, devolve, voluble, welter, and willowy. Earliest documented use: 1661.
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IN VOLUME - how large quantities are made
INFO-LUTE - the Town Crier was a minstrel
IN V.O. FLUTE - in a champagne glass filled with Seagram's
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XYLOPHILOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (zy-LOF-uh-luhs)
MEANING: adjective: Growing on or living in wood.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek xylo- (wood) + -philous (liking). Earliest documented use: 1862.
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XYLO-PHI LOTUS - a water plant in the form of a wooden Greek letter
XYLOPHI-LOUD - a hammered musical instrument played at high volume
OXY-LO-pH ILO, US - we are an oxygenated, acidic, dock-workers' labor union
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SERAPHIC
PRONUNCIATION: (suh-RAF-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Like an angel: serene, beautiful, pure, blissful, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin seraphim, from Greek seraphim, from Hebrew seraphim, from saraph (to burn). Earliest documented use: 1632.
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SERA CHIC - will be all the rage in fashionable Madrid
TERAPHIC - 10^12 PHICs
SERA-pH, INC - a company that makes acidity-controlled injectable antibodies
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LENTIC
PRONUNCIATION: (LEN-tik)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to or living in still water.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin lentus (slow, calm), which also gave us relent, lentamente (slowly, used in music direction), and lentitude (slowness). Earliest documented use: 1935. The form lenitic is also used. The word for “relating to or living in moving water” is lotic.
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LENTICE - what you suck on for the forty days before Easter, to ease the yen for what you've forsworn for the duration
LINTIC - like belly-button fuzz
LANTIC - flavored with urine, as beer sometimes is (YCLIU!)
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APPLE KNOCKER
PRONUNCIATION: (AP-uhl nok-uhr)
MEANING: noun: 1. An ignorant or unsophisticated person.
2. A baseball player, especially a batter.
3. A fruit picker, farmer, or seller.
ETYMOLOGY: 1. From the stereotypical view of those working in the field as boorish or naive.
2. From the jocular reference to a baseball as an apple.
3. From the image of someone picking apples by knocking them down with a stick.
Earliest documented use: 1902.
NOTES: In the term apple knocker, a baseball has been compared to an apple. In the past, those balls were even made in red color. And a ballpark is also called an apple orchard probably because that’s where the game was often played. So it figures that a batter is an apple knocker. Baseball players will continue knocking the apple with a bat, but fruit picking is going high-tech. Here in Washington state, we grow apples and many other fruits and a robotics arm race is going on to develop automated fruit pickers. In the future, we may need to amend the definition of the term apple knocker. Instead, an apple knocker may be someone working with drones and robots.
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APPLY KNOCKER - this is the way to announce yourself if you want the position
A POLE KNOCKER - Przybylsky here, let me in!
APPLE KNACKER - person who disposes of dead horses
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BANANA OIL
PRONUNCIATION: (buh-NAN-uh oyl)
MEANING: noun:
1. Nonsense.
2. Insincere talk or flattery.
ETYMOLOGY: It’s not known why the banana oil earned this sense, although “to go bananas” means to be crazy or wildly enthusiastic. Perhaps the sense arose because the liquid known as banana oil does not involve bananas at all. Instead, it’s a mixture of amyl acetate and cellulose that has a banana-like odor and is used as food flavoring and a solvent. Earliest documented use: 1927.
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BANANA TOIL - what Harry Belafonte was singing about in 1956
MAÑANA OIL - makes it easier to put things off until tomorrow
BAN A NAIL - permit the use only of wooden pegs
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
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RAZZ
PRONUNCIATION: (raz)
MEANING: noun: A sound, similar to breaking wind, made by pushing the tongue between the lips and blowing air through the mouth.
verb intr.: To make such a sound.
verb tr.: To tease or heckle.
ETYMOLOGY: From the shortening and alteration of raspberry, from the rhyming slang raspberry tart ⇨ fart. Earliest documented use: 1917.
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BAZZ - uttered by sheep who have lost their way
RA ZZ - sound produced by a sleeping Resident Assistant
GRAZZ - shorthand for "Thanks!" in Italy
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2 |
SOUR GRAPES
PRONUNCIATION: (SOU-uhr graypz)
MEANING: noun: Finding fault with or expressing disdain for something one cannot have.
ETYMOLOGY: From the Aesop’s fable The Fox and the Grapes, in which a hungry fox tries to reach grapes hanging on a high vine and when unsuccessful, declares that the grapes are probably sour. Earliest documented use: 1760.
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POUR GRAPES - another euphemism for "wine"
SOU GRAPES - used to be used to make a very cheap French wine
SOUR GRIPES - the Song of the Disgruntled
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2 |
PEACHY
PRONUNCIATION: (PEE-chee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Resembling a peach.
2. Excellent; highly desirable.
ETYMOLOGY: From peach, from Latin persicum malum (Persian apple). Earliest documented use: 1599.
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BEACHY - sunny, warm, and sandy
PET ACHY - I knew I shouldn't have taken my new dog for a three-mile run
PERCHY - my parrot loves to sit
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2 |
SKEWGEE
PRONUNCIATION: (SKYOO-jee)
MEANING: adjective: Askew; mixed-up; confused.
ETYMOLOGY: From skew, from Old Northern French eskiuwer, Old French eschiver (to escape or avoid) + agee/ajee (awry). Earliest documented use: 1890.
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SLEWGEE - the force that pulls you outward as you corner too fast
'S'KEWPEE - it's a carnival doll prize
SKEW GRE - the Graduate Record Exams are biased
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2 |
BANJAX
PRONUNCIATION: (BAN-jaks)
MEANING: verb tr.: To destroy, damage, defeat, injure, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: Irish slang, of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1939.
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BAR-JAX - a drinking game involving picking up small objects and then catching a ball before it bounces a second time
BAN TAX - to prohibit government-imposed surcharges
BINJ AX - with which you abruptly cut short a drinking spree
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2 |
SURQUIDRY or SURQUEDRY
PRONUNCIATION: (SUHR-kwid-ree)
MEANING: noun: Overbearing pride.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French surcuiderie, from Latin supercogitare, from super- (over, above) + cogitare (to think), from agitare (to agitate), from agere (to drive). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ag- (to drive, draw), which also gave us act, agent, agitate, litigate, synagogue, ambassador, incogitant, actuate, ambage, and exigency. Earliest documented use: 1250.
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SURQUITRY - the electrical wiring and electronics of a device
SUR-SQUIDRY - everything higher than a cephalopod on the phylogenetic tree
AURQUIDRY - all plants of the family Orchidaceae
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2 |
ZOOPHOBIA
PRONUNCIATION: (zo-uh-FOH-bee-uh)
MEANING: noun:
1. An unusual fear of animals.
2. A dislike of keeping animals in captivity.
ETYMOLOGY: from Greek zoo- (animal) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1888. Some related words are zoonosis (a disease transmitted from animals to humans) and zoophyte (an animal resembling a plant).
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AZOOPHOBIA - fear of nitrogen
BOOPHOBIA - terror at being startled
ZOOPHONIA - animal noises (see "Gerald McBoing-Boing")
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 11,064 Likes: 2 |
MUNDIFICATIVE
PRONUNCIATION: (muhn-DIF-i-ki-tiv)
MEANING: adjective: Having the power to cleanse.
noun: A cleansing medicine or preparation.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle French mondificatif, from Latin mundificare (to cleanse), from mundus (clean). Earliest documented use: 1440.
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MUNIFICATIVE - rendering generous (such as happened to Scrooge or to the Lorax)
MUNDIFICTIVE - writing stories about Mondays
MUNDIFRICATIVE - Fs and Vs and THs, as pronounced woldwide
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