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AMBIVERTPRONUNCIATION: (AM-bi-vuhrt)
MEANING: noun: One having the characteristics of both an extrovert and an introvert.
NOTES: An ambivert is one who can be an extrovert or an introvert depending on the situation. For example, with family or close friends one can be open and outgoing while being reserved in the presence of strangers. Also, an ambivert can refer to someone who falls somewhere between the two extremes and shows some tendencies of each.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ambi- (both) + -vert (as in introvert/extrovert), from vertere (to turn). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wer- (to turn or bend), which also gave us wring, weird, writhe, worth, revert, universe, animadvert, divers, quaquaversal, obverse, obvert, and verso. Earliest documented use: 1923.
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AMEBIVERT - when a one-celled organism turns itself inside out
AMBILERT - broadcast widely over the Internet alerting the public to a missing child
AMBIVORT - a whirlpool that can't make up its mind whether it's spinning clockwise or counter-clockwise
HAPLESS
PRONUNCIATION: (HAP-lis)
MEANING: adjective: Unfortunate.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old Norse happ (good luck) + less, from Old English laes (without). Earliest documented use: 1400.
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HA-LESS - a bad comedian. See also subgroups HAH-LESS - a bad Boston comedian; HAR-LESS - a bad Ozark comedian; HAW-LESS - a bad Texas comedian
HARPLESS - why the choir of angels doesn't sound as full any more
HASPLESS - my diary can''t be locked
CHAPLESS - for women only
SUPERBIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (su-PUHR-bee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Proud; insolent.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin superbiosus (proud or insolent), from superbia (pride), from superbus (superb, proud). Earliest documented use: 1509.
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SUPER-BIOS - the life stories of Kal-El, Mary Batson, Bruce Banner, Hal Jordan, Peter Parker, Diana Prince, and many others
SUP HERBIOUS - season your dinner with sage, rosemary, thyme, et.al.
SOUP ERBIOUS - potage made with rare earth
SUPERB IOUs - the highest quality promissory notes
HOARY
PRONUNCIATION: (HOHR-ee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Gray or white, as from age.
2. Ancient.
3. Trite.
ETYMOLOGY: From hoar (frost), from Old English har. Earliest documented use: 1530.
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OARY - multi-sculled
HONARY - the athlete being appludded
HOVARY - a Cockney hegg-prodcucing organ
PRECOCIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (pri-KOH-shuhs)
MEANING: adjective: Exhibiting advanced development at an early age.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin praecox (premature, early ripening), from praecoquere (to ripen early), from prae- (pre) + coquere (to cook or ripen). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pekw- (to cook or ripen), which is also the source of cook, cuisine, kitchen, kiln, biscuit, apricot (an early-ripening peach, literally speaking), pumpkin, and Hindi pakka (ripened, cooked). Earliest documented use: 1650.
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PROCOCIOUS - preferring meat cooked rare (not done, even yet!)
PYRECOCIOUS - preferring meat well-done
PRECONIOUS - ice cream before it leaves the scoop
HANDFAST
PRONUNCIATION: (HAND-fast)
MEANING: noun: A contract or agreement, especially about a betrothal or marriage.
verb tr.: To engage to be married or to bind in wedlock.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English handfæsten (to pledge or betroth), from hand + fæstan (to fasten). Earliest documented use: 1275.
USAGE: “The couple’s decision to be handfasted under the full moon is particularly blessed and by our lights very romantic.”
Dear Abby: I Agree with You; The Washington Post; Oct 13, 2002.
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BANDFAST - the music was presto
HANDCAST - thrown on a wheel by a live potter
BINDFAST - to tie down
HARDFAST - inflexible, like some rules
REPUGNANT
PRONUNCIATION: (ri-PUHG-nuhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Distasteful; offensive; objectionable.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French répugnant (disgusting), from Latin repugnant (contrary, opposed), from repugnare, from re- (again) + pugnare (to fight), from pugnus (fist). Ultimately from the Indo-European root peuk- (to prick), which is also the source of point, puncture, pungent, punctual, poignant, pounce, poniard, impugn, pugilist, and pugnacious. Earliest documented use: 1425.
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R.I.PUGNANT - epitaph for Benny Paret
REDUGNANT - disinterred
REPUGNAT - pesky little critters, aren't they
BACKHANDED
PRONUNCIATION: (BAK-han-did)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Indirect or ambiguous, having double meaning; sarcastic or malicious.
2. Performed with the back of the hand facing forward.
ETYMOLOGY: The metaphorical sense of the term derives from the image of a hand facing backward being indirect or hiding something. Earliest documented use: 1800. The word forehanded is not an opposite of this word.
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JACKHANDED - halfway to being able to open the pot
BOCKHANDED - holding a large stein of beer
BACHANDED - Tempus Fugit - write faster!
IRONFISTED
PRONUNCIATION: (EYE-uhrn-fis-tid)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Ruthless; tyrannical.
2. Stingy; tight-fisted.
ETYMOLOGY:
For sense 1, from the allusion to someone wielding a crushing fist.
For sense 2, from the allusion to a hard-to-open fist clutching money.
Earliest documented use: 1852.
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I WON!-FISTED - aggressive celebration of victory, pumping a clenched hand skyward
IRON-FOISTED - the victim thought it was gold
IRON-FITTED - just got made-to-measure golf clubs for the short game
DEAD HAND
PRONUNCIATION: (DED hand)
MEANING: noun:
1. The stifling influence of something, especially of the past on the present.
2. The perpetual ownership of property by institutions, such as churches.
ETYMOLOGY: A literal translation of the term mortmain. Earliest documented use: 1615.
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DREAD HAND - 2-3-4-5-7. You lose. Period.
DEAR HAND - Four Aces. That's much better. Until it loses to a straight-flush; then it was very dear, indeed...
DEAD BAND - for which we are forever Grateful
GAZUMP
PRONUNCIATION: (guh-ZUHMP)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To raise the price after accepting an offer from a buyer.
2. To offer a higher price to a seller on something that’s already being sold to another.
3. To preempt something, especially by questionable means.
4. To swindle.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from Yiddish gezumph (to overcharge). Earliest documented use: 1928.
NOTES: Gazumping often happens in house sales. You have found your dream house, everything looks great, price negotiations are finished, inspection is done, you are ready to sign the contract, and then the seller receives a higher bid and gazumps: raises the price on you. It’s mostly seen in the UK. The term is often used in an extended sense: to trump something by the use of dubious methods. There’s a counterpart to today’s word. Meet it on Friday
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GAZUP - what it does before it comes down, as it must
HAZUMP - decides whether things are dangerous or not
GAGUMP - baseball referee's been ordered not to say anything to anybody...
AL DESKO
PRONUNCIATION: (al DES-ko)
MEANING: adverb: At one’s desk.
ETYMOLOGY: Patterned after alfresco, from desk, from Latin desca (desk), from discus (disk), from Greek diskos (disk). Earliest documented use: 1981.
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AIL DESKO - repetitive strain injury caused by sitting still at work all day
AL DISKO - ¿Where are we dancing tonight, Mamacita?
ALDO'S KO - the former Prime Minister of Italy was famous for using this tactic when he played Go
GRINAGOG
PRONUNCIATION: (GRIN-uh-gog)
MEANING: noun: One who is always grinning.
ETYMOLOGY: From grin, from Old English grennian (to show the teeth in pain or anger) + apparently -agogue (bringer). Earliest documented use: 1565.
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GRINGO G. - a recently-arrived visitor to Latin America, whose identity shall remain disguised
GRIN, MAGOG - the Apocalypse is at hand!
AGRI-NAGOG - a farm near the pond in Acton/Littleton, Massachusetts
POT-VALOR
PRONUNCIATION: (POT-val-uhr)
MEANING: noun: Boldness or courage induced by the consumption of alcohol.
NOTES: Also known as liquid courage or Dutch courage.
ETYMOLOGY: From pot, alluding to a drinking pot + valor (boldness), from Latin valor (worth), from valere (to be well, be of worth). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wal- (to be strong), which also gave us valiant, avail, valor, value, wieldy, countervail, valence, valetudinarian, and valorize. Earliest documented use: 1623.
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POT-VATOR - device for taking the weed up or down a floor, but in any case out of view
POT-VAPOR - all that remains of the marijuana after using the above device
POST-VALOR - ...nor Covid-19 shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds
GAZUNDER
PRONUNCIATION: (guh-ZUHN-duhr)
MEANING: verb tr.: To reduce the amount of an offer after it has been accepted by the seller.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of gazump + under. Earliest documented use: 1988.
NOTES: To gazump is to raise the price after accepting an offer from a buyer, but buyers are not always angels. Sometimes a buyer reduces the offer, just before signing the contract. These typically happen in the housing market. A real-estate company even offers a helpful article on How To Gazunder Successfully. While legal, the practice is clearly unethical. It’s fitting then, that the word gazunder has another slang meaning, though it’s unrelated to today’s word. It also refers to a chamber pot, from the condensed spelling of “goes under” referring to where a chamber pot is placed.
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GAZE-UNDER - to search for a chamber-pot
GA-ZOUNDER - one who is given to SUDDEN LOUD EXCLAMATIONS !
G'LAUNDER - to run through the g'washing machine
GAWUNDER - drown
TRANSECT
PRONUNCIATION: (tran-SEKT)
MEANING: verb tr.: To cut across.
noun: 1. A narrow section through a natural feature.
2. A path along which measurements or observations are made.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin trans- (across) + secare (to cut). Earliest documented use: for verb 1634, for noun 1905.
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TRANSECTS - arthropods who change their gender
TRAINSECT - we worship railroad locomotive and cars and tracks
TRANSPECT - to look across
SURFEIT
PRONUNCIATION: (SUHR-fit)
MEANING: noun: 1. Excess.
2. Overindulgence in eating or drinking.
3. Satiety or disgust caused by overindulgence.
verb tr.: To do or supply anything to excess.
verb intr.: 1. To overindulge.
2. To suffer from overindulgence.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French surfait (excess), from past participle of surfaire (to overdo), from sur- (over, above) + faire (to do), from Latin facere (to do). Earliest documented use: for noun 1387, for verb 1400.
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SMURFEIT - the little blue girl
SQUR-FEIT - how my apartment is measured
SUR-FIT - same size for everybody! (see also SURE-FEIT)
RECONNOITER or RECONNOITRE
PRONUNCIATION: (ree-kuh-NOI-tuhr, rek-uh-)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To explore or scout an area for gathering information.
noun: An act of reconnoitering.
ETYMOLOGY: From obsolete French reconnoître, from Latin recognoscere, from re- (again) + gnoscere (to know). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gno- (to know), which is also the source of know, recognize, acquaint, ignore, diagnosis, notice, normal, agnostic, incognito, connoisseur, cognize, anagnorisis (the moment of recognition or discovery), and prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces). Earliest documented use: for verb 1705, for noun 1781.
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DECONNOITER - suppress information about an area
RE: CONN OBITER - about the writer of death notices in Hartford and vicinity
RECON OUTRÉ - investigate the bizarre
TRAJECT
PRONUNCIATION: (truh-JEKT)
MEANING: verb tr.: To transport or transmit.
noun: Transport, transmission, or passage.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin traicere (to throw across), from trans- (across) + jacere (to throw). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ye- (to throw), which also gave us jet, eject, project, reject, object, subject, adjective, joist, jactitation, subjacent, and jaculate. Earliest documented use: for noun: 1552, for verb 1624.
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TRA-JEST - the chorus of a jocular song
PRAJECT - the speaker could be heard, but his enunciation wasn't very good
TERAJECT - to throw in billions
INTERPOSE
PRONUNCIATION: (in-tuhr-POHZ)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: 1. To place in between.
2. To intrude or to interrupt.
noun: 1. The act of, or an instance of, putting something in between.
2. An interference or interruption.
ETYMOLOGY: From French interposer, from Latin interponere, from inter (between) + ponere (to put). Ultimately from the Indo-European root apo- (off or away), which is also the source of pose, apposite, after, off, awkward, post, puny, apposite, and apropos. Earliest documented use: for verb: 1599, for noun: 1610.
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INTEL POSE - capsule summary of that new thriller The Pretend Spy
INTER POISE - just the right amount of savoir-faire
ENTER POSE - to begin the impersonation
HETEROCHROMATIC
PRONUNCIATION: (het-uhr-oh-kroh-MAT-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Having many different colors.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hetero- (different) + chrom- (color). Earliest documented use: 1895.
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HETAEROCHROMATIC - the color of an elegant Greek courtesan
HEPTEROCHROMATIC - seven-colored, like a rainbow
HE TERACHROMATIC - he's a chameleon, with a trillion colors
HOMOPHENE
PRONUNCIATION: (HOM-uh-feen)
MEANING: noun: A word or phrase that, when spoken, appears to be the same as a different word or phrase on a person’s lips, for example my and pie.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek homo- (same) + phainein (to show). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bha- (to shine), which is also the source of beacon, banner, phantom, photo, phosphorus, phenomenon, fantasy, epiphany, sycophant, and apophenia. Earliest documented use: 1883.
NOTES: Here are some more examples of words/phrases that appear the same to someone lip reading:
mark, park, and bark
“elephant juice” and “I love you”
bargain and market
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HEMOPHENE - benzene-based compounds, found in trace amounts in the blood
HO! MORPHENE! - look at that stash I just found!
HOLOPHENE - one who has terrible things happen to him in a drunken stupor (according to the Book of Judith)
HETEROCLITE
PRONUNCIATION: (HET-uhr-uh-klyt)
MEANING: noun: 1. A person who is unconventional; a maverick.
2. A word that is irregularly formed.
adjective: 1. Deviating from the ordinary rule; eccentric.
2. (In grammar) Irregularly inflected.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin heteroclitus, from Greek heteroklitos, from hetero- (different) + klinein (to lean, inflect). Ultimately from the Indo-European root klei- (to lean), which also gave us decline, incline, recline, lean, client, climax, and ladder. Earliest documented use: 1580.
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HETEROCLIME - Like New England weather - if you don't like it, just wait 15 minutes
HETHEROCLITE - a kind of iron ore found in Scotland mixed in among wildflowers
HETEROCULITE - having a different prescription to correct the vision in each eye
HOMOLOGATE
PRONUNCIATION: (huh-MOL-uh-gayt, ho-)
MEANING: verb tr.: To approve officially, especially a car, engine, etc., for sale in a particular market or for its use in racing.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin homologare (to agree), from Greek homologein (to agree or allow). Earliest documented use: 1644.
NOTES: Some auto racing competitions require participating vehicles to be available for sale to the general public, and not be custom made for racing. In other words, the vehicle must be a production model, not a prototype. The process of homologation verifies this. The initials GTO listed after some auto names (Ferrari, Pontiac, etc.) stand for “Gran Turismo Omologato”, Italian for “Grand Touring, Homologated”.
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NOMOLOGATE - to make suitable for baseballer Garciaparra
HOMOLOCATE - to find a missing person by using the GPS chip in his smartphone
HOMOLEGATE - lawyer for all mankind
HETEROGRAPHY
PRONUNCIATION: (het-uh-ROG-ruh-fee)
MEANING: noun:
1. A spelling different from the one in current use.
2. Use of the same letter(s) to convey different sounds, for example, gh in rough and ghost.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hetero- (different) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented use: 1783.
NOTES: The idea of heterography is a recent phenomenon, relatively speaking. Earlier, when English was mainly a spoken language, it was a free-for-all, spelling-wise. Any spelling was fine as long as you could make yourself understood. Each writer spelled words in their own way, trying to spell them phonetically. Shakespeare spelled his own name in various ways (Shaxspear, Shakespear, and so on) ...
With the advent of printing in the 15th century, spelling began to become standardized. By the 19th century, most words had a single “official” spelling, as a consensus, not by the diktat of a committee.
Today if you write “definately” and someone points out that you’ve misspelled the word, just tell them you’re a practitioner of heterography.
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HESTEROGRAPHY - a handwritten manuscript of The Scarlet Letter
....."handwritten manuscript" - now there's a redundant phrase for you!
HEXEROGRAPHY - 1. pictures of witches; 2. man's dry reproduction process
HERTEROGRAPHY - the collected writings of Eisenhower's Secretary of State
BOKEH
PRONUNCIATION: (BOH-kay/kuh)
MEANING: noun: The blurred effect in a photograph, typically as a soft out-of-focus background, that results in a pleasing effect and helps to draw attention to the subject of the photograph.
ETYMOLOGY: From Japanese boke (blur, haze) or boke-aji (blur quality). Earliest documented use: 1997.
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BOKEN - with "HO!," a greeting uttered upon arrival at a city in New Jersey
BOKETH - past tense of the old third-person-singular form of the verb meaning "to ride on a two-wheeled vehicle"
BOKEN - how a two-year-old just learning to speak describes something that doesn't work right any more
SENSEI
PRONUNCIATION: (SEN-say, sen-SAY)
MEANING: noun: A teacher, mentor, or a master in a field.
ETYMOLOGY: From Japanese sensei (teacher, master), from sen (earlier) + sei (birth), meaning a teacher was born earlier and knows more and has more experience. Earliest documented use: 1874.
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SEN-SEN - the Curiously Strong Mint of the 1950s (give or take 15 years)
SENSEKI - a dramatic move in Go that had better not be made
SENASE I - the first enzyme that catalyzes activity in the Upper House of Congress
SAYONARA
PRONUNCIATION: (sy-uh-NAHR-uh)
MEANING: interjection: Goodbye.
ETYMOLOGY: From Japanese sayonara (goodbye), short for sayo naraba (if it is to be that way), from sayo (thus) + naraba (if it be), ultimately from Chinese. Earliest documented use: 1863.
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MAYONARA - adj, describing an Italian dish prepared with mayonnaise and a brine marinade
SAYONARMA - Okay, I'm Norma, now what?
SAY ON A RAG - critic's review of the first performance of The Entertainer
RAYON ARA - a synthetic cloth constellation
ORIGAMI
PRONUNCIATION: (or-i-GAH-mee)
MEANING: noun:
1. The art of folding paper into various shapes.
2. An object made by folding paper.
ETYMOLOGY: From Japanese origami, from ori (fold) + kami (paper). Earliest documented use: 1948.
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OBIGAMI - an Irishman with two wives
ORINAMI - the mouth of a tidal wave
PRIG, AM I? - You accuse me of being prudish?
SEPPUKU
PRONUNCIATION: (se-POO-koo, SE-puh-koo)
MEANING: noun:
1. Ritual suicide by disembowelment.
2. Ruining one’s own interests.
ETYMOLOGY: From Japanese setsu fuku, from setsu (to cut) + fuku (abdomen), ultimately from Chinese. Earliest documented use: 1871.
NOTES: ...also known as harakiri
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SEE-PUKU - what the Tokyo hockey goalie has to do well...
SEP-PUPU - platter of small amounts of several different foods, to order at an Asian restaurant
SEMP-UKU - gallant action by the Imperial Marines
YARRA-BANKER
PRONUNCIATION: (YAHR-uh-bangk-uhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. A vagrant or a loafer.
2. A soapbox orator or agitator.
ETYMOLOGY: After the Yarra river in Victoria, Australia. Its bank was once a popular hangout for vagrants, soapbox orators, and the like. Earliest documented use: late 19th century.
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YARRA-BANNER - see many of them, along the riverside tourist esplanade in Victoria, Australia
FARRA-BANKER - the Six Million Dollar Woman's second career was in finance
Y'AGRA-BANKER - its headquarters is right next to the Taj Mahal (and it specializes in farm loans)
KLONDIKE
PRONUNCIATION: (KLAN-dyk)
MEANING: noun: A rich source of something valuable.
ETYMOLOGY: After the Klondike region in the Yukon Territory, Canada, named after the Klondike River. It was the site of a gold rush from 1896 to 1899. Earliest documented use: 1897.
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BLONDIKE - when Eisenhower lightened his hair dramatically
KOLONDIKE - the physical cause of constipation
KLM ON DIKE - Royal Dutch Airways aircraft made an emergency landing on a sea-wall
RUBICON
PRONUNCIATION: (ROO-bi-kon)
MEANING: noun: A point of no return, one where an action taken commits a person irrevocably.
ETYMOLOGY: Contrary to popular belief, Caesar salad is not named after Julius Caesar. But today’s term does have a connection to him. In 49 BCE, Caesar crossed the Rubicon, a small river that formed the boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy. As he crossed the river into Italy, he exclaimed “Iacta alea est” (The die is cast), knowing well that his action signified a declaration of war with Rome. Today when an action marks a situation where there is no going back, we say the Rubicon has been crossed. Earliest documented use: 1613.
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RUBIC WON - Who got the prize for the best toy of the early 1980s?
REBICON - annual gathering of Civil War renacters, partial to the South
RUBI-CORN - maize of a particularly intense deep red
MEANDER
PRONUNCIATION: (mee-AN-duhr)
MEANING: verb intr.: 1. To follow a winding course.
2. To move aimlessly.
3. To speak or write without a focus.
noun: 1. A curve or bend in a path, stream, etc.
2. A winding path.
3. A circuitous journey; a ramble.
ETYMOLOGY: After Maeander (modern name: Büyük Menderes), a river in Turkey, known for its winding course. Earliest documented use: 1576.
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MEAN TER - Cockney behaving with ill will
MEANTER - teacher, role model, and guide
MEADER - Vaughan the Comedian (and JFK satirist)
MD ANDER - father of a well-known cancer hospital and research center in Texas
NIAGARA
PRONUNCIATION: (ny-AG-ruh, ny-AG-uhr-uh)
MEANING: noun: An outpouring; a deluge.
ETYMOLOGY: After the Niagara river which forms the Niagara Falls, a group of three massive waterfalls, between the US and Canada. Earliest documented use: 1800.
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"NI!" AGORA - Greek marketplace full of Knights from Monty Python
NiAg BRA - lingerie worn by Metallica on tour
NAG ARA - pester the Notre Dame football coach
LITHOPHONE
PRONUNCIATION: (LITH-uh-fon)
MEANING: noun: Any of various musical instruments in which sound is produced by striking pieces of stone.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek litho- (stone) + -phone (sound). Earliest documented use: 1889.
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LITHOPRONE - given to forming kidney and gall-bladder stones
LITHOPHONY - rocks made of papier-maché but painted
LITHOPHANE - a thin layer of wrapping material that you can't unfold or tear open or even see through, for wrapping packs of guaranteed-safe cigarettes
LITHOSHONE - very highly polished marble
AISCHROLATREIA
PRONUNCIATION: (eye-skroh-luh-TREE-uh)
MEANING: noun: Excessive devotion to filth or obscenity.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek aischro- (shameful or ugly) + -latreia (worship). Earliest documented use: 1912.
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AISCHROLATRIA - having ugly upper-chambers of the heart
AISCROLATREIA - worshipping the parchment and ink of the ancient Holy Writ rather than the meaning of its contents
AISCHROLATRESIA - the island fishery did not develop properly
HENOTHEISM
PRONUNCIATION: (HEN-uh-thee-iz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: Belief in or worship of one god without denying the possibility of others.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek heno- (one) + -theism (belief in god). Earliest documented use: 1860.
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HEROTHEISM - worship of a protagonist
XENOTHEISM - worship of an alien god
ME-NOT-HE-ISM - I'm all right, Jack
SHE-NOT-HE-ISM - I always knew God didn't have a long white beard
HYPONYM
PRONUNCIATION: (HY-puh-nim)
MEANING: noun: A more specific term in a general class. For example, “purple” is a hyponym of “color”.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hypo- (under) + -nym (name). Earliest documented use: 1963.
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TYPONYM - TU1/2ONYM
HYPO-GYM - the locker rooms are downstairs, right below us
BY PONY, M - reply to "How do you plan to escape from those desperadoes afterward, Bond?"
GERATOLOGY
PRONUNCIATION: (jer-uh-TOL-uh-jee))
MEANING: noun:
1. The study of aging and related decline.
2. The study of a species approaching extinction.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek gerat- (old age) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1884.
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GER-OTOLOGY - the study of ear disorders in the elderly
GERMATOLOGY - the study of skin infections
VERATOLOGY - the study of Truthiness
GEARATOLOGY - the study of mechanical interactions
GYRATOLOGY - the study of spinning
GOLDEN CALF
PRONUNCIATION: (GOL-den KAHF)
MEANING: noun: Someone or something unworthy that is excessively esteemed.
ETYMOLOGY: In the biblical story Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying stone tablets with the Ten Commandments only to find Israelites worshiping a calf made of gold. Earliest documented use: 1575.
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GOODEN CALF - what the NY Mets pitching star got his power from
GOLDEN CALIF - 1. tale of the 615th Arabian NIght ((Westerners may recognize the story of King Midas) 2. the Gate where the Bridge is
GOLDEN RALF - King Midas just barfed
SILVER SPOON
PRONUNCIATION: (SIL-vuhr spoon)
MEANING: noun: Inherited wealth.
ETYMOLOGY: The phrase is often used in the construction “to be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth” meaning one’s born in privilege and wealth. The association of silver with riches is obvious, so why not a gold spoon? Nobody knows, though it may have something to do with silver’s biocidal properties. Earliest documented use: 1719.
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SILVER SPOOL - where to get the thread to weave among the gold
SALVER SPOON - what haute societé takes sugar and cream from
SOLVER SPOON - cruciverbalist's trophy
TINHORN
PRONUNCIATION: (TIN-horn)
MEANING: noun: Someone who pretends to have money, skill, influence, etc.
adjective: Inferior or insignificant, while pretending to be otherwise.
ETYMOLOGY: The word has its origin in gambling, from the use of a cone-shaped container used to shake the dice. A tinhorn gambler was someone who pretended to be a big player, but actually played for small stakes. Earliest documented use: 1885.
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EINHORN - German word for "unicorn"
TINSHORN - deprived of all can-making material
TENHORN - a LARGE orchestral brass section
VINHORN - a cornucopia full of French wine
BRASS TACKS
PRONUNCIATION: (bras taks)
MEANING: noun: Practical details; essentials; realities.
ETYMOLOGY: The term is typically used in the phrase “to get down to brass tacks”. There are many conjectures about the origins of the term, but it’s not confirmed why we say brass tacks, instead of, say iron tacks, or for that matter iron nails. Earliest documented use: 1863.
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BRA STACKS - the stock room in Victoria's Secret
BASS TACKS - how the fish swims upstream
BRASS TANKS - used in stills in place of copper to make a higher-class moonshine
IRONCLAD
PRONUNCIATION: (EYE-uhrn-klad)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Covered with iron.
2. Inflexible, unbreakable, or indisputable.
ETYMOLOGY: From iron, from Old English iren + clad (clothed), from Old English clathod. Earliest documented use: 1752.
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IRON CLAY - not very good soil, but great ore
IRONIC LAD - Marvel's latest Superhero; always has something wry to say
IRON CHAD - how to make a ballot look unused
ONYMOUS
PRONUNCIATION:(AHN-uh-muhs)
MEANING: adjective: Bearing the author’s name; named.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from Latin anonymus, from Greek anonymus, from an- (not) + onyma (name). Earliest documented use: 1775. Anonymous is from 1601.
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ONYXOUS - like a black semi-precious jewel
ONYMPUS - one letter away from the home of the Greek Gods
NYMOUS - uninvited denizen of many Manhattan apartments
SWASHBUCKLE
PRONUNCIATION: (SWASH-buhkl)
MEANING: verb intr.: To swagger, bluster, behave recklessly, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from swashbuckler (one who makes a noise by striking a sword on a shield), from swash (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: 1897. Swashbuckler is from 1560.
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SWISHBUCKLE - a special buckle designed to make intimidating sounds when the belt is whirled around the head, to be used as a weapon
SW ASHBUCKLE - the southwest quadrant of Ashbuckle, West Virginia, where wooden belt accessories are manufactured
SWASH BOUCKLÉ - woven wrist-watch bands
ZIG
PRONUNCIATION: (zig)
MEANING: noun: A sharp turn or angle in a zigzag course.
verb intr.: To make a sharp turn.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from zigzag, from French zigzag, from ziczac, from German Zickzack (zigzag), perhaps a reduplication of Zacke (peak, tooth, or nail). Earliest documented use: 1969. Zigzag is from 1712.
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ZING - twit-speak for "snoozing"
ZYG - a fertilized egg
ZIGH - taking a long, deep breath and then letting it out, while asleep
(It went from Baltimore to Washington, DC, in 1844, though it sounds like it started in Boston)
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RORT
PRONUNCIATION: (rort)
MEANING: noun:
1. A fraudulent scheme or practice.
2. A wild party.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from rorty (boisterous, lively, jolly), of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1926. Rorty is from 1868.
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ROIT - a correct Cockney, yes?
AORT - a very short main artery leaving the Left Ventricle
RORO - what you do gently to your boat when you go down the stream
COUTH
PRONUNCIATION: (kooth)
MEANING: adjective: Cultured; refined; sophisticated.
noun: Refinement; sophistication.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from uncouth, from Old English uncuth (unknown), from un- (not) + cuth (known), past participle of cunnan (to know, to be able). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gno- (to know), which also gave us know, recognize, acquaint, ignore, diagnosis, notice, normal, anagnorisis, prosopagnosia, agnosia , cognize, gnomon, kenning, and unco. Earliest documented use: 1896. Uncouth is from 1732.
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CORUTH - what sings Hallelujah! in Handel's Methiah
HOUTH - where the Lispers live
COUTY - a poorly-defined, intermediate-sized political region, somewhere between a city and a county
REDSHIRT
PRONUNCIATION: (RED-shuhrt)
MEANING: noun: A college athlete who practices with the team, but does not take part in official games.
verb tr., intr.: 1. To extend eligibility by a year by making an athlete practice, but not participate, official games.
2. To delay enrolling a child by a year to avoid their being one of the youngest in the class.
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"REEDS" HIRT - nickname of the trumpet player's brother; he played clarinet and sax
REDSHIFT - astronomers' tool for determining galactic speeds and distances
REDSHIRE - where Diggory Venn, Thomas Hardy's reddleman, lived
SMARTY-PANTS
PRONUNCIATION: (SMAR-tee-pants)
MEANING: noun: Someone who presents as being obnoxiously clever.
ETYMOLOGY: From smart, from Old English smeart + pants, short for pantaloons, plural of pantaloon. St. Pantaleone/Pantalone was a popular saint in Venice. As a result, it was also a common name among the Venetians. As a result, a comic character in the Italian commedia dell’arte was named Pantalone. The leggings this character wore became known as pantalone (plural pantaloni). And that became pantaloons in English. Earliest documented use: 1932.
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SMARTY-PANT - covering for one leg, worn by a half-wit
SMARTY-RANTS - even Albert Einstein lost his cool sometimes
SMARTY-PINTS - ale promoted as improving one's intelligence
SANSCULOTTE
PRONUNCIATION: (sanz-kyoo-LOT)
MEANING: noun: A radical or revolutionary.
ETYMOLOGY: From French, literally, without knee breeches. In the French Revolution, this was the aristocrats’ term of contempt for the ill-clad volunteers of the Revolutionary army who rejected knee breeches as a symbol of the upper class and adopted pantaloons. As often happens with such epithets, the revolutionaries themselves adopted it as a term of pride. Earliest documented use: 1790.
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SAM'S CULOTTE - Murray's Pants Store, only owned by Sam
ANS: CULOTTE - reply to Qu: What are those things women wear that look like a skirt but are divided into pantlegs at the bottom?
SAN SCULPTTE - stone statuette of a saint
DESCAMISADO
PRONUNCIATION: (des-ka-mee-SAH-doh)
MEANING: noun: A very poor person.
ETYMOLOGY: From Spanish descamisado (shirtless), from des- (dis-, un-) + camisa (shirt). Earliest documented use: 1821.
NOTES: Over the years, the term has been applied to various people, such as a revolutionary in the Spanish Revolution of 1820-23 and a supporter of Argentinian President Juan Perón.
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DECCA MISADO - a shellac recording of a Catholic Mass
ODES CAMISADO - poems to be read in your shirtsleeves
PESCA MISADO - a traditional Japanese soup made from fish in a dashi stock with softened miso paste mixed in
BLOODY SHIRTPRONUNCIATION: (BLUHD-ee shuhrt)
MEANING: noun: A symbol used to incite people to partisan outrage or animosity.
ETYMOLOGY: The term is typically used as “to wave the bloody shirt” and alludes to the literal or metaphorical symbol of a supposed injury that needs to be avenged. Earliest documented use: 1586.
NOTES: In modern times, masks are apparently the new bloody shirt.
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BLOODY SHIFT - night work at the slaughterhouse, when the dirty deed is done
"BLOODY" HIRT - the trumpet player's brother (the sax player) who likes to spout pirate lingo
BROODY SHIRT - the outfit worn by Edward Lear's
Old Man with a Beard
SCANSORIAL
PRONUNCIATION: (skan-SOHR-ee-uhl)
MEANING: adjective: Related to climbing.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin scandere (to climb). Ultimately from the Indo-European root skand- (to leap or climb), which also gave us ascend, descend, condescend, transcend, echelon, scale, and scandent. Earliest documented use: 1804.
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SCANTORIAL - it's hard to find a good singer for services these days
SCANSOCIAL - I keep an eye on facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all of those
SCANSTORIAL - cash registers in Saudi Arabia
SCANS TRIAL - suing the MRI for damages
STRIDOR
PRONUNCIATION: (STRY-duhr)
MEANING: noun: A harsh, grating or creaking sound.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin stridere (to make a harsh sound). Earliest documented use: 1632.
NOTES: The word is often used for the harsh vibrating sound produced when breathing with an airway obstruction.
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STRIDOL - somebody made a graven image of Saint R.
S'TRIGOR - It's Roy Rogers' horse!
ASTRID OR - the Swedish starlet with the golden hair
DISQUISITION
PRONUNCIATION: (dis-kwuh-ZISH-uhn)
MEANING: noun: A formal discussion on a subject: discourse or dissertation.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin disquirere (to investigate), from dis- (intensive prefix) + quaerere (to seek or ask). Earliest documented use: 1605.
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DISQUE "IS IT I" ON - playing the Berlitz "English Made Easy" record discussing the case of the direct object after the verb être
DIS QUISTION - what I want yez ta answer
DICQUISITION - obtaining two of them
SANGUINARY
PRONUNCIATION: (SANG-gwuh-ner-ee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to blood.
2. Blood-red.
3. Involving bloodshed.
4. Bloodthirsty.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sanguis (blood). Earliest documented use: 1540.
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PANGUINARY - preserve for egg-laying Antarctic animals that are very graceful under water; come in Adelie, Emperor, Rock-hopper, and a few other varieties
SANS GUINARY - my old violin is missing and I'm bereft
SAN QUINARY - pertaining to a California prison
CONCUPISCENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (kon-KYOO-pih-suhns)
MEANING: noun: Strong desire; lust.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin concupiscere (to desire ardently), from con- (intensive prefix) + cupere (to desire). Earliest documented use: 1340.
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CONCULPISCENCE - sharing the blame
CONCU-PISCENE - there's something fishy about this harem
CONCUPISCIENCE - prize-winning manipulation of the facts and distortion of the logical process
GOLDILOCKS
PRONUNCIATION: (GOL-dee-lahks)
MEANING: adjective: Just right; a happy medium; optimal; not at either extreme.
ETYMOLOGY: After Goldilocks, a golden-haired girl in the fairy tale “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. In the story, she visits a bear house and chooses Baby Bear’s chair, bed, and porridge because they are just right. Papa Bear’s porridge is too hot, Mama Bear’s too cold, for example. Earliest documented use: 1949. The story was first published in 1837. The earliest documented use in the literal sense of the word is from 400 years earlier.
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GOLDILOOKS - King Midas' glance
GOLF i LOCKS - Lesson 1: secure your equipment between rounds
GOLDILOCHS - the Scottish lakes glow in light of the summer-evening sun
CINDERELLA
PRONUNCIATION: (sin-duh-REL-luh)
MEANING: noun:
1. One who deserves success or recognition, but instead suffers from neglect or obscurity.
2. One who achieves sudden triumph or recognition, especially after a long period of neglect or obscurity.
ETYMOLOGY: After Cinderella, the fairy-tale character who is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters. With a little help from a fairy godmother, she attends a royal ball thrown by a prince. Ultimately, she marries the prince and lives happily ever after. What’s behind the name Cinderella? It’s a pseudo-translation of the French name of the girl, Cendrillon, from cendre (cinder), perhaps an allusion to her day-to-day existence, tending to the fireplace and hearth, and as a result she has cinders all over her. It may also be a hint to the hidden spark in her otherwise dismal life. Earliest documented use: 1840.
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CINQERELLA - one of a set of quintuplets
CINDERELBA- when Napoleon escaped from exile he left the island in flames
CHINDERELLA - many years laterour charming Princess has put on a lot of weight
UGLY DUCKLING
PRONUNCIATION: (UHG-lee DUHK-ling)
MEANING: noun: One that seems unattractive or unpromising at first but has great potential and later turns out to be quite attractive or successful.
ETYMOLOGY: From the protagonist of the story “The Ugly Duckling” by Hans Christian Andersen, in which a young bird believes himself to be a duck and is unhappy because he doesn’t look like a duck, only to later learn that (spoiler alert) he is a beautiful swan. Earliest documented use: 1877.
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UGLI DUCKLING - a Jamaican variant of canard à l'orange
TUGLY DUCKLING - an immature duck who won't let go of a particularly tasty crumb
UGLY DUNKLING - a falling-apart doughnut (dipped in coffee too long)
SLEEPING BEAUTY
PRONUNCIATION: (SLEE-ping BYOO-tee)
MEANING: noun: Someone or something that lies dormant for a long time.
ETYMOLOGY: After the princess of a fairy tale who is cursed by a wicked fairy. The princess pricks her finger on a spindle and sleeps for 100 years until awakened by the kiss of a prince. Earliest documented use: 1729.
NOTES: In finance, a sleeping beauty is an asset, for example, a startup, that is an attractive target for takeover, but that has not yet been approached by someone. Also see Rip Van Winkle
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SLEEPING BEATTY - Shh! Warren is napping
STEEPING BEAUTY - making tea from rose hips
BLEEPING BEAUTY - methinks the Lady needs to have her mouth washed out with soap
PRINCE CHARMING
PRONUNCIATION: (prins CHAR-ming)
MEANING: noun: A suitor who fulfills the expectations of his beloved.
ETYMOLOGY: After Prince Charming, the fairy-tale hero of many stories, such as, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Earliest documented use: 1850.
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PRINCE CHARRING - The Artist Formerly Known As [Squiggle] certainly likes his meat well done
PRINNE CHARMING - Hester deserves her Scarlet Letter
PRINCE CHARTING - when Harry flies in his helicopter he needs to know where he's going
CORROBORATE
PRONUNCIATION: (kuh-ROB-uh-rayt)
MEANING: verb tr.: To confirm or support a claim, theory, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin corroborare (to strengthen), from com/cor- (together) + roborare (to make strong), from robur (oak, strength). Ultimately from the Indo-European root reudh- (red), which also gave us red, rouge, ruby, ruddy, rubella, robust, rambunctious, roborant, and russet. Earliest documented use: 1530.
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ZORRO BORATE - while protecting the poor against injustice he also developed and marketed a treatment for yeast and other groin infecitions
CORRO BERATE - to scold the voice parts for being out of tune
CORE ROBO-RATE - basic fee for 100,000 unwanted telephone calls
PALMARY
PRONUNCIATION: (PAL-muh-ree)
MEANING: adjective: Of supreme importance; outstanding; praiseworthy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin palmarius (deserving or carrying the palm), from palma (palm). The branches of the palm tree were carried as symbols of victory in ancient times. The name of the palm tree derives from the resemblance of the shape of its frond to the palm of a hand. Earliest documented use: 1646. Two related words are palmy and palmer.
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PALMDRY - some folks' hands get sweaty when they're anxious, but not theirs
PALMART - friends for hire or sale
PAYMARY - what to do when paying Peter or Paul doesn't work
PALMARRY - to marry your best friend (VT and VI)
WILLOWY
PRONUNCIATION: (WIL-oh-ee)
MEANING: adjective
1. Of or related to a willow tree. For example, bordered, shaded, or covered by willows.
2. Gracefully tall, slender, and lithe.
ETYMOLOGY: Gracefully drooping branches of a willow have, for more than two centuries, inspired people to evoke the tree when describing a woman. The word willow is from Old English welig, ultimately from the Indo-European root wel- (to turn or roll), which also gave us waltz, revolve, valley, walk, vault, volume, wallet, helix, voluble, welter, and devolve. Earliest documented use: 1766.
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HILLOWY - Mrs Rodham Clinton, to her next-door-neighbor's toddler
WILCO, WY - the military accedes to the request to pull the troops out of Cheyenne
WILLO. WHY? - Is that a mapl tree?
BIRCH
PRONUNCIATION: (buhrch)
MEANING: noun: 1. Any of various hardy trees or shrubs of the genus Betula.
2. A birch twig or a bundle of them.
verb tr.: 1. To beat with (or as if with) a birch.
2. To admonish or to punish.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English berc/beorc. Earliest documented use: 700.
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bi-RUCH - (-U- as in "put;" guttural -ch) - a loose pronunciation of "blessed" in both Hebrew and Arabic
PIRCH - where a bird sits; also, a kind of fish
BIORCH - 1. a Swedish tennis player, 2. trying to find and make a vaccine
FIG
PRONUNCIATION: (fig)
MEANING: noun: 1. A tree or shrub of the genus Ficus or its fruit.
2. Something of little value.
3. A gesture of contempt.
verb tr.: To dress up.
noun: Dress or array.
ETYMOLOGY: For noun 1-3: From Old French fige, from Provencal figa, from Latin fica (fig, ficus). Earliest documented use: 1225. Also see fig leaf.
For the rest: Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1839.
NOTES: It’s not clear why the fig has suffered such an undervaluation, historically speaking. The OED lists the first citation in this sense from “The Court of Love” (1450): “A Figge for all her chastite!” The word is also used for the obscene gesture of a fist with the thumb sticking out between two fingers. Another word given to us by the lowly fig is sycophant.
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FING - a euphemistic expression meant to convey an obscene adjective, is also variously spelled "effing" or "f---ing"
FIRG - presumptuousy familiar name for Sarah, Duchess of York (born Sarah Margaret Ferguson), ex-wife of Prince Andrew
FIG - a representation of some reviled person or object, often subjected to burning
IRON-HEARTED
PRONUNCIATION: (EYE-uhrn-har-tid)
MEANING: adjective: Cruel; unfeeling.
ETYMOLOGY: From iron, from Old English iren + heart, from Old English heorte. Earliest documented use: 1570.
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IRON-HEATED - when you should strike
L.RON-HEARTED - believing in Dianetics
IRONY-HEARTED - pretending to believe in Dianetics, knowing its origin
PUGNACIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (puhg-NAY-shuhs)
MEANING: adjective: Having a quarrelsome nature; belligerent.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin pugnare (to fight), from pugnus (fist). Ultimately from the Indo-European root peuk- (to prick) which is also the source of point, puncture, pungent, punctual, poignant, pounce, poniard, oppugn, repugn, impugn, pugilist, and repugnant. Earliest documented use: 1642.
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PUGRACIOUS - being courteous to small dog with squished-in faces
PUNNACIOUS - addicted to wordplay
BUG NACIÒ US - the insect was born in the United States
ITHYPHALLIC
PRONUNCIATION: (ith-uh-FAL-ik)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Lewd or salacious.
2. Having an erect phallus.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ithyphallicus, from Greek ithyphallikos, from ithyphallos, from ithys (straight) + phallos (phallus). Earliest documented use: 1795.
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ITCHYPHALLIC - horny
THY PHALLIC - how his subjects address Pan Priapus
IT HYPE ALL I.C. - integrated circuits are to be encouraged
CHICKEN-LIVERED
PRONUNCIATION: (CHIK-en-LIV-uhrd)
MEANING: adjective: Cowardly; easily frightened.
ETYMOLOGY: The word chicken has traditionally been used to describe a coward. Also, earlier people believed that the liver was the seat of courage. But chicken-livered or chicken-hearted, it’s all the same. Earliest documented use: 1616.
NOTES: The English language hasn’t been very kind to the domestic fowl. Some similar terms are chicken hawk and Chicken Little. Also see lily-livered and white-livered.
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CHICKEN-LIVERIED - 1. dressed chicken, suitable for serving on formal occasions
2. dressed chicken, suitable for serving on formal occasions
THICKEN-LIVERED - hepatic cirrhosis
CHICKEN-LOVERED - the betrothed of Miles Standish (just ask John Alden)
HYSTERICPRONUNCIATION: (his-TER-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Exhibiting an uncontrolled or overly emotional state, volatility, attention-seeking behavior, etc.
noun: An overly emotional or unstable person.
ETYMOLOGY: Via Latin from Greek hystera (uterus), from the former belief that disturbances in the uterus resulted in such behavior. Earliest documented use: 1652.
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SHYSTERIC - like a less-than-principled lawyer
WHY STERIC? - Is there a reason for the three-dimensional configuration?
HYSTERICA - Alice's description of the US (see
Edward Hope, Alice in the Delighted States: "...the continents are Aphasia, Paprika, North Hysterica, South Hysterica, Stirrup, and Nostalgia. Or something like that.")
JIM CROW
PRONUNCIATION: (jim kroh)
MEANING: noun: The systematic practice of discriminating against Black people.
ETYMOLOGY: From Jim Crow, the name of a Black character in a 19th-century minstrel show. Earliest documented use: 1832.
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JAM CROW - Knotts Berry Farm advertising
TIM CROW - Wee Cratchit says, "God Bless us, every one!"
JIM CROWN - orthographically-challenged champion body-builder's title
SIMON LEGREE
PRONUNCIATION: (SY-muhn li-GREE)
MEANING: noun: A harsh taskmaster.
ETYMOLOGY: After Simon Legree, a brutal slaveholder in the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896). Simon Legree has Uncle Tom, an enslaved man, whipped to death for refusing to divulge the whereabouts of two enslaved women who had escaped to freedom. Earliest documented use: 1857.
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SIMON DEGREE - an MBA in Shopping Mall management
SIMON LE TREE - a simple French arbre
I'M ON LE GREEN - pretty good golf shot, non?
UNCLE TOM
PRONUNCIATION: (UHNG-kuhl tom)
MEANING: noun: A person regarded as betraying their cultural allegiance by being subservient to another.
ETYMOLOGY: After Uncle Tom, an enslaved man in the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-96). Earliest documented use: 1852.
NOTES: The term is considered disparaging and offensive, especially when applied to a Black person seen as being subservient to White people. In the book, Uncle Tom is a heroic figure. For example, he disobeys the orders to beat other enslaved people. In minstrel shows he was depicted as a passive figure and that image has taken root in the language.
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UNCLEFT OM - the mantra is uniform and in one piece
NUNC LE TOM - Here we are in Ancient Rome, and Brady takes the field...
UNCLE ATOM - J Robert Oppenheimer was considered by many to be the "Father of the Atomic Bomb." What does that make his younger brother Frank?
TOPSY
PRONUNCIATION: (TOP-see)
MEANING: noun: Something growing without intention or direction.
ETYMOLOGY: After Topsy, a young enslaved girl, in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Earliest documented use: 1885.
NOTES: Topsy, a young girl, is purchased by the slaveholder Augustine and she becomes friends with his daughter Eva. When Eva asks Topsy who made her, she replies, “Nobody, as I knows on. I s’pect I growed. Don’t think nobody never made me.” The cute reply became popular in the English language to refer to an unplanned or an enormous growth.
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STOPSY - alternative name for the urban game "Red Light"
TOPS'L - just below the Crows' Nest
TOPHY - full of gouty lumps on fingers, hands, toes, and feet, and in the skin
AUNT TOM
PRONUNCIATION: (ant tom)
MEANING: noun: A woman considered to be a traitor to a cause.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined as a feminine version of Uncle Tom. Earliest documented use: 1956.
NOTES: There’s no such character as Aunt Tom in the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Uncle Tom’s wife is actually named Chloe. The term Aunt Jemima is also used sometimes as a synonym for Aunt Tom. The term could be derogatory and offensive, applied to a Black woman who is seen as servile to White people.
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TAUNT TOM - what non-NE fans liked to do when he was a Patriot
QUANTTOM - a weird mechanics about to descend upon the Tampa football team
GAUNT TOM what he looks like after he develops anorexia
ZOÖNOSIS
PRONUNCIATION: (zo-AHN-uh-sis, zo-uh-NOH-sis)
MEANING: noun: Any disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek zoo- (animal) + nosos (disease). Earliest documented use: 1873.
NOTES: It’s too late now. The COVID-19 has already jumped from animals to humans. Let’s not make it jump from humans to humans. So, let’s wear a mask when in a public place.
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OZONOSIS - what you get from too much tri-molecular oxygen
ZOOMOSIS - what you get from participating in too many streamed on-line meetings
ZONOSIS - I'm sick of this defense !
FOMITES
PRONUNCIATION: (FOM-uh-teez, FOH-myts)
MEANING: noun: Any inanimate object, such as a book, money, carpet, etc., that can transmit germs from one person to another.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin fomites, plural of fomes (touchwood, tinder), from fovere (to warm). Earliest documented use: 1803.
NOTES: The word fomites is a plural of fomes, but the s at the end of the word led people to assume it’s a plural and make a singular: fomite (FOH-myt). Some would say that it’s an error, but then there are many more words formed like this: cherry, from the singular cherise, pea from the singular pease, for example. The word is often used as a singular nowadays, similar to other technically plural words such as agenda or errata.
All this should be the least of our worries right now. Don’t be a walking fomites. Wear your mask when away from home.
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FORMITES - things that are shaped like ants
UFO MITES - parasites that infest visiting spaceships
FO-LITES - what the enemy uses to see, when it's dark
ASYMPTOMATIC
PRONUNCIATION: (ay-simp-tuh-MAT-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Not showing any symptoms of disease.
ETYMOLOGY: From a- (not) + Latin symptoma (symptom), from Greek symptoma (occurrence), from sym- (together) + piptein (to fall). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pet- (to rush or fly), which also gave us appetite, feather, petition, compete, perpetual, propitious, appetence, lepidopterology, peripeteia, pinnate, petulant, and pteridology. Earliest documented use: 1932.
NOTES: If you’re asymptomatic you don’t show any symptoms, but it’s still possible you are infected and can transmit the infection to others. That’s why it’s important to wear a mask.
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ASYMPTOMATIN - genetic material that confers freedom from disease symptoms (we wish)
ASYMPTOMAGIC - what it looks like when you have the trait above
ASYMMTOMATIC - having symptoms on only one side of your body
TYPHOID MARY
PRONUNCIATION: (TY-foid MAIR-ee)
MEANING: noun: A person from whom a disease or something undesirable spreads.
ETYMOLOGY: After Mary Mallon (1869-1938), a cook in New York, who was a healthy carrier (contagious but showing no symptoms: asymptomatic) of typhoid. She died of pneumonia. Earliest documented use: 1909.
NOTES: One Typhoid Mary is enough in the history of humankind. Don’t let yourself be the new Typhoid Mary. Wear your mask when out and about.
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TYPHOID WARY - worried about getting a Salmonella disease
TYCHOID MARY - another late 16th century Danish astronomer, daughter of Mr Brahe
TOPHOID MARY - unfortunate woman afflicted with crippling gout
VACCINATE
PRONUNCIATION: (VAK-si-nayt)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.:
1. To administer a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease.
2. To immunize against something.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin vacca (cow), because in the beginning the cowpox virus was used against smallpox. Earliest documented use: 1803.
NOTES: Don’t vacillate when it’s time to vaccinate. But until a COVID-19 vaccine appears, the next best thing is to wear a mask. Some are resistant to the idea, so we see billboards with encouraging messages: “Real Heros Wear Masks”
No, wearing a mask does not make you a hero. Neither is having to wear a mask some sort of tyranny any more than having to wear a seat belt is. But if you need a medal, we can nominate you for a Presidential Medal of Freedom. They are going cheap these days.
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VACCINNATE - born with smallpox immunity
VA: CC IN A TEE - veterans can get their shot even if casually dressed
VACCINA-TEL - offers disease prevention and Web access together
CLITICIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (KLIT-uh-syz)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To attach or become attached.
ETYMOLOGY: From clitic (an unstressed word that occurs in combination with another word), from enclitic/proclitic, from klinein (to lean), from klitos (slope). Ultimately from the Indo-European root klei- (to lean), which also gave us decline, incline, recline, lean, client, climax, ladder, heteroclite, and patrocliny. Earliest documented use: 1970s.
NOTES: In linguistics, to cliticize is to attach a clitic to another word. What’s a clitic? An unstressed linguistic element that can’t exist on its own and is dependent on its neighbor. An example in the previous sentence is ’t in can’t”.
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CLINICIZE - translate from research to patient care
GLITICIZE - add a single medication treat diabetes, kidney trouble, and heart failure (see SGLT2 inhibitor)
CLIO-TICIZE - reduce to the stature of a small goldfish, so it fits in a Walt Disney cartoon movie
ORDONNANCE
PRONUNCIATION: (OR-dn-uhns, or-duh-NAHNS)
MEANING: noun: The systematic arrangement of parts in art, literature, architecture, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From French, from alteration of Old French ordenance (order), from Latin ordinantia, from ordinare (to put in order), from ordo (order). Earliest documented use: 1660.
NOTES: The same Old French ordenance has also given us two more cousins of today’s word. So the whole lineup is:
ordnance: military supplies
ordinance: an order, decree, law, etc.
ordonnance: a systematic arrangement
I say we go back to communicating in grunts.
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OR DON NANCY - then again, maybe it's the Italian nobleman with the unusual name
ORLONNANCE - conversion to a synthetic fabric
ORDO NUANCE - the ordering is very subtle
SETTLOR
PRONUNCIATION: (SET-luhr/lohr)
MEANING: noun: One who makes a settlement of property.
ETYMOLOGY: From alteration of settler, from settle, from Old English setlan (to seat or place). Earliest documented use: 1818.
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SENT L.O.R. - I've just dispatched the Letter of Recommendation
SEAT L'OR - King Midas' Golden Chair
S.E.T.I.-LOR - the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence has its own mythology
EXORCISE
PRONUNCIATION: EK-sor/suhr-syz)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To drive out something or someone undesirable, such as an evil spirit, malign influence, troubling feeling, etc.
2. To free a person or place of an evil spirit.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French exorciser, from Latin exorcizare, from Greek exorkizein (to swear a person), from ex- (out) + horkizein (to make one swear), from horkos (oath). Earliest documented use: 1546.
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EXHORCISE - to issue a command
EXO-CISE - to peel away the outer covering
EXPORCISE - to decree that bacon no longer comes from a pig
EQUIPOLLENT
PRONUNCIATION: (ee-kwuh-PAH-luhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Equal in power, force[align:center][/align], effect, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French equipolent, from Latin aequipollent (of equal value), from aequus (equal) + pollens (able), present participle of pollere (to be strong). Earliest documented use: 1420.
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EQUIPOLLEN - allergic to two irritants exactly the same amount
EQUIPULLENT - tugging just as strongly but in opposite directions
AQUIPOLLENT - determining whether people say they prefer Evian or Poland Springs water or some other brand entirely
WHEEL HORSE
PRONUNCIATION: (HWEEL hors)
MEANING: noun:
1. Someone responsible and diligent, especially one who bears the biggest share of burden in a group.
2. A horse harnessed closest to the front wheel(s) of a carriage.
ETYMOLOGY: From wheel, from Old English hweol + horse, from Old English hors. Earliest documented use: 1708.
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WHEEL HOARSE - the CEO has a sore throat and a raspy voice
WHEEL HORDE - a mob of Hell's Angels on their bikes
WHEEL GORSE - a variety of tumbleweed
CABALLINE
PRONUNCIATION: (KAB-uh-lyn/leen)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Giving inspiration.
2. Relating to horses.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin caballus (horse). Earliest documented use: 1430.
NOTES: In Greek mythology, Hippocrene was a spring on Mt. Helicon that was created by a stroke of Pegasus’s hoof. If we can have a word coined after Greek hippos (horse), why not coin one after Latin caballus (horse), as well.
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CABALLINT - what's in the conspirators' belly button
COBALLINE - blue-colored
Ca BALLITE - a spherical crystal of calcium salt
HORSE'S MOUTH
PRONUNCIATION: (HOR-ses/siz mouth)
MEANING: noun: The original or authentic source of some information.
ETYMOLOGY: The term has its origin in horse racing. If you wanted tips on how a horse was doing on a particular day, what better way than to hear it directly from the horse’s mouth? Earliest documented use: 1896.
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HORSE'S MONTH - May, when the Kentucky Derby is run (except this year)
HORSE SMOOTH - flawlessly even, like a well-trained thoroughbred's gait
GORSE'S MOUTH - what a thorny invasive bush eats with
CHIVALROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (SHIV-uhl-ruhs)
MEANING: adjective: Having qualities of chivalry, such as courtesy, honor, bravery, gallantry, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French chevalerie, from chevalier (knight), from Latin caballus (horse). Earliest documented use: 1374.
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CHI VALOROUS - the 22nd Greek letter has done heroic and yet ethical deeds
CHIVAL ROUT - the horsemen were defeated handily
CHIVAS-ROUS - like good Scotch whiskey
COCK-HORSE
PRONUNCIATION: (KAHK-hors)
MEANING: adverb: Mounted with a leg on each side.
noun: A hobby horse.
ETYMOLOGY: From cock (rooster) + horse, perhaps from the strutting of a rooster. Earliest documented use: 1566.
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CORK-HORSE - a child's floating swim-toy in the form of a horse that can be ridden in the water
COCK-HOUSE - medieval jargon for a brothel
CLOCK-HORSE - a model that goes around on a turntable when the clock strikes the hour
BALLARDIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (ba-LAHR-dee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to a dystopian world, especially one characterized by social and environmental degradation, assisted by technology.
ETYMOLOGY. After the novelist and short story writer J.G. Ballard (1930-2009), whose works depict such post-apocalyptic scenarios.
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BALLYARDIAN - reminiscent of the Baltimore Orioles' baseball stadium
BALLADIAN - one who specialises in singing the songs collected by Francis James Child, published as The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
BALLARD I AM - Hugo Ballard, protagonist of an unwritten story by Herman Melville, introduces himself
GRISELDA
PRONUNCIATION: (gri-ZEL-duh)
MEANING: noun: A meek and patient woman.
ETYMOLOGY: After Griselda, a woman in various medieval tales, who suffers without ever complaining as her husband puts her through various tests. The name Griselda is from Germanic roots meaning “gray battle-maid”. Talk about misnaming your character (see below)! Earliest documented use: 14th century.
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GRISELLA - what they called Cinderella after she turned grey
URISELDA - the first-born of the author's two children
GURISEL? DA! - Is that the Russian company that makes batteries?
HOMERIC
PRONUNCIATION: (ho-MER-ik)
MEANING: adjective
1. Relating to Homer, his works, or his time.
2. Epic; large-scale; heroic.
ETYMOLOGY:\. After Homer (c. 750 BCE), who is presumed to have composed the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. Earliest documented use: 1594.
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HOME BIC - the ball-point pen I use in my kitchen
HOMER? ICK - I just can't stand The Simpsons
"WHOM," ERIC - young Severeid is admonished by his teacher for a grammatical error
JUNO
PRONUNCIATION: (JOO-noh)
MEANING: noun: A woman of stately bearing and beauty.
ETYMOLOGY: After Juno, a goddess in Roman mythology. The name is from Latin Iuno, from iuvenis (young). Ultimately from the Indo-European root. yeu- (vital force), which also gave us youth, juvenile, rejuvenate, junior, and June. Earliest documented use: 1606. The adjectival form is junoesque.
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JUG? NO! - I don't like moonshine
JUNIO - after hours at the Mayo Clinic, the next doctor spoke Spanish
JA-NO - bizarre fortune-telling device
PAVLOVIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (pav-LO-vee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to a conditioned or predictable response; automatic; involuntary.
ETYMOLOGY: After the physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), known for his work in classical conditioning. Earliest documented use: 1922.
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PAYLOVIAN - related to the World's Oldest Profession
PAULOVIAN - who received the loot after Petrovian was robbed
PA-BLOVIAN - about those aimless (and pointless) tales my father told
TOXOPHILIC
PRONUNCIATION: (tok-SAH-fuh-lee)
MEANING: noun: The practice of, love of, or addiction to, archery.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek toxon (bow) + -phily (love), based on toxophilite, coined by Roger Ascham (1515-1568). Earliest documented use: 1887.
NOTES: Roger Ascham was the tutor for teen Lizzie, future Queen Elizabeth I. His book Toxophilus was the first book on archery in English. It was a treatise on archery, but it was also an argument for writing in the vernacular: in English. You could say he shot two birds with one arrow.
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TOCOPHILIC - Don't you just love being in labor
BOXOPHILIC - Little kids, who seem to like the boxes better than the presents that come in them. Cats, too.
TAXOPHILIC - one who likes to put classify things into proper categories
(and you thought it was going to be about enjoying paying money to the government. Hah!)
SUPERCARGO
PRONUNCIATION: (soo-puhr-KAHR-goh)
MEANING: noun:
1. An officer on a merchant ship who is in charge of the cargo.
2. A superintendent or an agent.
ETYMOLOGY: By alteration of supracargo, from Spanish sobrecargo, from sobre (over), from Latin super (super) + cargo. Earliest documented use: 1667.
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SUPER-ARGO - 1. the spaceship that brought Kal-El from Krypton to Earth; 2. Jason's ship after being modified and re-outfitted
SUPER-C-ARCO - vigorously bowed on the lowest string on a cello
SUPERBARGO - to flood a port with goods so as to clog it (the shipping equivalent of a Denial-of-Service computer attack)
VOTIVE
PRONUNCIATION: (VOH-tiv)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to a vow, wish, desire, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin votum (vow), from vovere (to vow), which also gave us vow, vote, and devote. Earliest documented use: 1582.
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VORTIVE - twisting and turning
VODIVE - plunge into the water seeking Canadian whiskey
VOTICE - an official pronouncement announcing the importance of casting your ballot
VERBIGERATE
PRONUNCIATION: (vuhr-BIJ-uh-rayt)
MEANING: verb intr.: To obsessively repeat meaningless words and phrases.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin verbigerare (to talk, chat), from verbum (word) + gerere (to carry on). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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VERBIGERA TEA - a soothing brew made from the bark of verbigera trees
VERBIAGE RATE - number of meaningless words/phrases per minute
VERB ICE-RATE - refrigeration fee (new word, gaining popularity since Global Warming became an issue.)
RECREANT
PRONUNCIATION: (REK-ree-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Unfaithful to a cause, duty, person, belief, etc.
2. Cowardly.
noun: 1. A disloyal person.
2. A coward.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French recreant, present participle of recroire (to yield, to surrender allegiance), from Latin recredere (to yield or pledge), from re- + credere (to believe). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kerd- (heart), which also gave us cardiac, cordial, courage, record, concord, discord, credit, credo, and accord. Earliest documented use: 1330.
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RECREDANT - someone whose credentials were just validated again
RECUREANT - the disease is gone once more
PRECREANT - before even being thought of
FANCY-PANTS
PRONUNCIATION: (FAN-see-pants)
MEANING: noun: Someone attractive, silly, or pretentious.
adjective: Snobbish; pretentious; newfangled; overly complicated.
ETYMOLOGY: From fancy, a contraction of fantasy, from Old French fantasie, from Latin phantasia, from Greek phantasia (imagination, appearance), from phantazein (to make visible) + pants, short for pantaloons, plural of pantaloon. St. Pantaleone/Pantalone was a popular saint in Venice. As a result, it was also a common name among the Venetians. As a result, a comic character in the Italian commedia dell’arte was named Pantalone. The leggings this character wore became known as pantalone (plural pantaloni). And that became pantaloons in English. Earliest documented use: 1870. A related word is smarty-pants.
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FANCY-PANES - stained-glass window
FANCY-PAINTS - fine art
FANNY-PANTS - very tight shorts
SHIRTSLEEVE
PRONUNCIATION: (SHUHRT-sleev)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to pleasant warm weather.
2. Informal; direct.
3. Hardworking; having a can-do attitude.
ETYMOLOGY: From the idea of rolling up the sleeves of one’s shirt in warm weather, in an informal setting, or in preparation to get down to work. Could also be from the idea of simply wearing a shirt, without a formal coat. From shirt, from Old English scyrte + sleeve, from Old English sliefe. Earliest documented use: 1567.
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SHIFTSLEEVE - the arm covering attached to a dress that falls straight down from the shoulders
SHIRT-SALE EVE - the night before the haberdashery reduced its prices
SHIRE SLEEVE - a specific cut of clothing worn in Bilbo Baggins' homeland
TROUSER ROLE
PRONUNCIATION: (TROU-zuhr rohl)
MEANING: noun: In opera, drama, film, etc.:
1. A role in which a female character pretends to be a male.
2. A male part played by a female actor.
Also known as a breeches role or a pants role.
ETYMOLOGY: From the traditional view of trousers as male clothing. From an alteration of earlier trouse, from Scottish Gaelic triubhas, influenced by drawers. Earliest documented use: 1955.
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TROUSER POLE - a rod stuck into the wall to hang your pants on after removal
TARO USER ROLE - a part in a play involving a Hawaiian chef
TROUSER ROPE - last resort when your belt breaks
BROWNSHIRT
PRONUNCIATION: (BRAUN-shuhrt)
MEANING: noun: A member of police or military trained for carrying out a sudden assault, especially one marked by brutality and violence.
ETYMOLOGY: After Nazi storm troopers, from the color of their shirts. Earliest documented use: 1932.
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BRAWN SHIRT - with cutoff sleeves to show off your bod
GROWN SHIRT - made completely from organic cotton
BROWNSHIRE - severe drought in Hobbit country
SEAT-OF-THE-PANTS
PRONUNCIATION: (see-tuhv-thuh-PANTS)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Using experience, instinct, or guesswork as opposed to methodical planning.
2. Done without instruments.
ETYMOLOGY: The term has its origin in aviation. Before modern instruments, a pilot flew a plane based on how it felt. For example, in fog or clouds, in the absence of instrumentation one could tell whether the plane was climbing or diving by how heavy one feels in the seat. Seat of the pants is the area where one sits, i.e. the buttocks. Earliest documented use: 1929.
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SEAT-OFF-THE-PANTS - what you do with your Doctor Dentins to use the toilet
SEAN-OF-THE-PANTS - saga of a plucky Irish tailor; also known as "Seven-with-One-Blow"
SEAT-OF-THE-RANTS - long-since-forgotten childhood trauma that is the source of explosive outbursts of anger in later life
PACTOLIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (pak-TOH-lee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Golden; lavish.
ETYMOLOGY: After Pactolus (now called Sart Çayı), a river in ancient Lydia (in modern Turkey), known for its golden sands. Earliest documented use: 1586.
NOTES: According to the legend, King Midas bathed in the river Pactolus to get rid of his golden touch, really a golden curse. Midas’s story has given us such terms as Midas touch and Midas-eared. It was this golden sand that supposedly made Croesus rich.
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PECTOLIAN - pertaining to sternal alcohol
PACTOLICAN - a pelican with an overstuffed pouch
CACTOLIAN - derived from cactus oil
JEDBURGH JUSTICE
PRONUNCIATION: (JED-buh-ruh juhs-tis)
MEANING: noun: Punishment before trial.
ETYMOLOGY: After Jedburgh, a town in Scotland, where in the 17th century people were summarily executed. The town lies on the Jed Water river. Earliest documented use: 1698.
NOTES: Jedburgh justice, also known as Jedwood justice or Jeddart justice, is, in essence: Hang now, ask questions later. The term is coined after Jedburgh, a town near Edinburgh, where under the orders of King James VI and I, people were executed without trial. See also: lynch.
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JEDI BURGH JUSTICE - performs marriages and such in Yoda's home town
JED B: URGE JUSTICE - Attention, Sheriff B: [Black Life du jour]Matters!
JEDBURGH, JUSTINE - Durrell's anti-heroine after marrying a rich magnate
DERWENTER
PRONUNCIATION: (DUHR-wuhnt-uhr)
MEANING: noun: An ex-convict.
ETYMOLOGY: After Derwent, a river in Tasmania. There used to be a convict settlement on its banks. Earliest documented use: 1853.
PRONUNCIATION: (DUHR-wuhnt-uhr)
MEANING: noun: An ex-convict.
ETYMOLOGY: After Derwent, a river in Tasmania. There used to be a convict settlement on its banks. Earliest documented use: 1853.
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DER RENTER - the Berliner who takes an apartment
DER WENTER - the one who departed without notice (or payment)
DE-RENTER - the landlord who wants to convert the property to condominiums
PALOUSER
PRONUNCIATION: (puh-LOO-zuhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. Strong, dangerous winds.
2. An improvised lantern.
3. A country bumpkin.
ETYMOLOGY: After the Palouse region in northern Idaho and eastern Washington, named after the Palouse river. Earliest documented use: 1903.
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PA, LOUDER! - Speak up, Dad, I can't hear you
PALE USER - drug addicts often don't get much sun
PAL OUSTER - they just deposed my buddy
PALO USHER - shows Stanford football patrons to their seats
SCAMANDER
PRONUNCIATION: (skuh-MAN-duhr)
MEANING: verb intr.: To take a winding course.
ETYMOLOGY: After Scamander (modern name: Karamenderes), a river in Turkey. The river was named after a river god in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: 1864. Also see meander.
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S. CA. MEANDER - southern California doesn't come to an end, it just wanders about near the Mexico border
SHAMAN, DER - the German word for "indigenous magical practitioner" is masculine
SCAM ENDER - a combined FBI/FCC/telecommunication-industry megaproject project
UNICORN
PRONUNCIATION: (YOO-nih-korn)
MEANING: noun:
1. A mythical horse-like creature with a horn on the forehead.
2. Something or someone rare or unusual: highly desirable but hard or impossible to find.
3. A startup valued at one billion dollars or more.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin unicornis, from uni- (single) + cornu (horn), ultimately from the Indo-European root ker- (horn, head), which also gave us cornucopia, carrot, cranium, cornea, cervix, and cancer. Earliest documented use: 1225.
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UNICON - there's never been a scam like this before
U NICE, RN - Glad to have met you, Nurse
UNiCoRb - a semi-crystalline mixture of Uranium, Nickel, Cobalt, and Rubidium used to make superconducting magnets
BUNYIP
PRONUNCIATION: (BUHN-yip)
MEANING: noun: An impostor.
adjective: Counterfeit; phony.
ETYMOLOGY: After bunyip, a large mythical creature of Australian Aboriginal legend, who lives in swamps, riverbeds, etc. The word is from Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia language of the Aboriginal people in Victoria. Earliest documented use: 1848.
NOTES: The most popular usage of the word is in the term “bunyip aristocracy” to refer to people pretending to be socially superior. It was first used by the journalist and politician Daniel Deniehy satirizing an attempt to establish a hereditary peerage in Australia. The label “bunyip aristocracy” stuck and the proposal was dropped
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BUNYIN - either a folklore logger or a painful big toe, take your pick
B. UNZIP - second line in the directions for putting on your new pants
CUNY IP - City University of New York has implemented its own Internet protocol
GREMLIN
PRONUNCIATION: (GREM-lin)
MEANING: noun: A source of trouble, especially problems of technical nature.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin. Perhaps from an alteration of the word goblin or from Irish gruaimin (a gloomy person). Earliest documented use: 1929.
NOTES: Originally, the word gremlin was Royal Air Force slang for a low-level employee. From there it evolved to refer to a mythical creature responsible for problems in aircraft. The word was popularized by the novelist Roald Dahl, a former fighter pilot with the RAF, when he published his children’s book The Gremlins in 1943. It’s not certain how the term was coined.
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GRIM LIN - that guy who wrote Hamilton looks concerned
G: REM-LINE - the seventh trace on the EEG; reflects dream activity
GREMLING - a young grem
SNARK
PRONUNCIATION: (snahrk)
MEANING: noun: 1. A mysterious, imaginary animal.
2. Something or someone hard to track down.
3. A snide remark.
verb intr.: To make a snide remark.
ETYMOLOGY: For noun 1, 2: Coined by Lewis Carroll in the poem The Hunting of the Snark in 1876. Earliest documented use (outside the poem): 1879.
For noun 3, verb: Of imitative origin, formerly used in the sense to snore or snort. Earliest documented use: 1866.
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U.S.N. ARK - a US navy vessel for sheltering couples
SIN-ARK - an trigonometry inverse function
SNARY - trappily frightful
BIGFOOT
PRONUNCIATION: (BIG-foot)
MEANING: noun: A prominent person in a commanding position, especially a journalist.
verb tr.: To dominate or to take control of a situation from someone.
verb intr.: To behave in an authoritative, domineering manner.
ETYMOLOGY: Bigfoot is a nickname for a Sasquatch, a large, ape-like mythical creature who lives in a remote wilderness, especially the Pacific Northwest region of the US and the adjacent part of Canada. Earliest documented use: 1833.
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GIGFOOT - one billion feet, or just over one light-second (1.06 light-seconds, to be precise)
BIGFONT - what you use for newspaper headlines
BIGFOOL - who tells you to press on when you're Waist Deep in the Big Muddy
ENDONYM
PRONUNCIATION: (EN-duh-nym)
MEANING: noun: A name used internally to refer to a place, people, language, etc.
For example, Germany’s endonym is Deutschland, because that’s what Germans call their country.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek endo- (inside, within) + -onym (word, name). Some related words endogenous and endogamy
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END ONLY, M? - Just play the final two bars of the music, James
END ON YMA - the list of sopranos with a 4-plus-octave range
ENDONAM - 30 April 1975, upon the capture of Saigon by the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong
BASILECT
PRONUNCIATION: (BAY-zuh/suh-lekt, BAZ/BAS-uh-lekt)
MEANING: noun: The least prestigious variety of a language.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin basis + dialectus (dialect). Earliest documented use: 1965.
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BA SELECT - What colleges did you say you're applying to?
BASIC ECT - common or garden variety shock therapy
BASIL SECT - herb worshippers
METONOMY
PRONUNCIATION: (muh-TAHN-uh-mee)
MEANING: n nnoun: A figure of speech in which someone or something is referred to by the name of something associated.
For example, the use of the word crown to refer to monarchy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin metonymia, from Greek metonymia (change of name), from meta- (after, beyond) + onama (name). Ultimately from the Indo-European root no-men- (name) which also gave us name, anonymous, noun, synonym, eponym, renown, nominate, misnomer, moniker, and ignominy. Earliest documented use: 1553.
NOTES: When a part is used to refer to the whole, it is synecdoche. For example, the use of the word eyeballs to refer to viewers or website visitors. In metaphor, the substitution is based on analogy, in metonym on association.
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ME TOO, AMY - I agree with you, Senator Klobuchar
MET ON MY _______ - How did you guys say you know each other?
METRONOMY - the art of naming cities
HOMEOTELEUTON
(ho-mee-o-TEL-yuh-ton)
MEANING:
noun: A repetition of the same or similar endings in a sequence of words.
ETYMOLOGY:
From homeo- (similar) from Greek homoio + -teleutos, from teleute (end). Earliest documented use: 1592.
NOTES:
The word also refers to a form of scribal error where a copyist’s eye skips to a word with the same ending one or more lines below where they were.
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HO: MEOW ELEUTION - Look - they're washing all the sound out of the cat!
HOMEOTELEFUTON - if your TV is upsetting, you can roll over and sleep on it
ROMEO TELEUTO - young Montague gives instructions
HOMEO-PELEUTON - the main pack of bicycle racers hasn't changed
HETEROPHEMY
PRONUNCIATION: (HET-uh-ruh-fee-mee)
MEANING: noun: The use of a word different from the one intended.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hetero- (different) + pheme (speaking). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bha- (to speak), which also gave us fable, fairy, fate, fame, blame, confess, and infant (literally, one unable to speak), apophasis (allusion to something by denying it will be said), confabulate, and ineffable. Earliest documented use: 1875.
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HETEROPHEME - speaking in tongues
PETER O'PHEMY - the Master of Castle Phemy (compare HESTERO'PHEMY, the Mistress of Castle Phemy)
HETEROPHEME - how I know that what I smell is the blood of an Hinglishman (along with HETEROPHIME, HETEROPHOME,and HETEROPHUMM)
BIDENT
PRONUNCIATION: (BY-duhnt)
MEANING: noun: A two-pronged instrument, weapon, implement, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin bidens (two-pronged), from bi- (two) + dens (tooth). Earliest documented use: 1675.
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BIDENT - two-toothed, like Oliver J Dragon
BADENT - Tolkien's renegade tree-monster
AIDENT - coronavirus relief program for dentists
BIDENOT - Don't stay here!
TRUMPERY
PRONUNCIATION: (TRUHM-puh-ree)
MEANING: noun:
1. Something showy but worthless.
2. Nonsense or rubbish.
3. Deceit; fraud; trickery.
ETYMOLOGY: from French tromper (to deceive). Earliest documented use: 1481.
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THUMPERY - beating one's chest
TRAMPERY - vintage behavior
TRUS-PERY - prostate surgery guided by Trans-Rectal UltraSound
PENSIVE
PRONUNCIATION: (PEN-siv)
MEANING: adjective: Sadly thoughtful; wistful.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French pensif (pensive), from penser (to think), from Latin pensare (ponder), frequentative of pendere (to weigh). Ultimately from the Indo-European root (s)pen- (to draw, to spin), which also gave us pendulum, spider, pound, pansy, pendant, ponder, appendix, penthouse, depend, spontaneous, vilipend, pendulous, ponderous, filipendulous, equipoise, perpend, and prepend. Earliest documented use: 1393.
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PENDIVE - where in the sty to go slumming
PENSIRE - the Alpha Hog
PENSAVE - why one might use email instead of writing
DEVI
PRONUNCIATION: (DAY-vee)
MEANING: noun: A goddess.
ETYMOLOGY: From Sanskrit devi (goddess). Earliest documented use: 1799.
NOTES: Devi is her middle name. Really. Kamala means lotus; also the name of a goddess.
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ODE VI - the sixth in a series of laudatory poems
O DEVI - also, the introductory apostrophe of same
DEVIM - to sap one's energy
JOE
PRONUNCIATION: (joh)
MEANING: noun:
1. A fellow; guy.
2. Coffee.
ETYMOLOGY: For 1: Short for Joseph, from Hebrew Yoseph, from yasaf (to add or increase). Earliest documented use: 1846.
For 2: Origin unknown, perhaps an alteration of java. Earliest documented use: 1941.
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JOEX - a female baby kangaroo (compare JOEY)
JOEI - Happiness, to a French-speaking dyslexic
JONE - the fourth beis in a game of beisbol. if you hit the ball fair and over the fence it's a jonron
COQUELICOT
PRONUNCIATION: (KAHK/KOHK-lee-koh)
MEANING: adjective: Of orangish-red or reddish-orange color.
noun: Such a color.
ETYMOLOGY: From French coquelicot (red poppy), from its resemblance to the crest of a rooster, from coq (rooster). Earliest documented use: 1795. Also see, coxcomb.
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COQUELICOST - How much do you want for that scallop shell?
CO-QUELLCOT - it took both of us together to subdue that tent sleeper
COQUELI-CAT - like a calico, but less so
CAPACIOUS
PRONUNCIATION:
(kuh-PAY-shuhs)
MEANING:
adjective: Having a lot of space; roomy.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin capax, from capere (to take). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kap- (to grasp), which also gave us captive, capsule, capable, capture, cable, chassis, occupy, and deceive. Earliest documented use: 1614.
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CARPACIOUS - something fishy
CA PAC IOUs - promissory notes from the California Political Action committee
ÇA PA. TOUS - that's just about all of Pennsylvania
DOUBLE-TALK
PRONUNCIATION: (DUH-buhl-tahk)
MEANING: noun: 1. Speech that’s a mix of actual words and gibberish.
2. Evasive or ambiguous language meant to deceive or confuse.
verb tr., intr.: To engage in double-talk or to try to persuade with it.
ETYMOLOGY: From double, from Old French duble/doble (double), from Latin duplus (twofold), from duo (two) + talk, from Middle English talkien, from tale. Earliest documented use: 1938. Also see doublethink.
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DOUBLET-TALK - discussion of vest styles
DOABLE-TALK - says what he'll do, can do what he said
DOUBLE-TACK - attach with two rows of fasteners
VAPOROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (VAY-puh-ruhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to vapor.
2. Producing vapors; volatile.
3. Vague; hazy; obscure; insubstantial; transitory; unreliable; fanciful.
4. Translucent.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin vapor (steam). Earliest documented use: 1527.
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VAPORONS - newly recognized sub-atomic particle, the fundamental particle of Ether
APOROUS - impenetrable
V.A. POR US - after discharge Latins support the Veterans Administration, as it helps both the country and themselves
LUTEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (LOO-tee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Of an orange-yellow or greenish-yellow color.
2. Muddy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin luteus (yellow), from lutum (yellowweed, mud). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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LUTE-FOUS - crazy over plucked French stringed instruments
GLUTEOUS - buttery
LUK-E-OUS - "Aren't we fortunate?!"
CUSHY
PRONUNCIATION: (KOO-shee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Easy; not burdensome.
2. Soft; comfortable.
ETYMOLOGY: From Hindi/Urdu khushi (pleasure, happiness), from Persian khushi. The second sense probably influenced by the word cushion. Earliest documented use: 1887.
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CRUSHY - using an inappropriately strong handshake
CUSSY - afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome, blurting out offensive words uncontrollably
C.U., SAY - name an organization purporting to be for consumers' protection ["Consumers' Union"]
POGONIP
PRONUNCIATION: (POG-uh-nip)
MEANING: noun: A dense winter fog having ice particles.
ETYMOLOGY: From Shoshone paγinappih (cloud). Earliest documented use: 1860.
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PROGONIP - in favor of encouraging toothless puppies to bite
PIGONAP - 3.14159... says it's going to lie down and rest now
VOGON I.P. - the intergalactic highway-builders want to copyright their ideas
PISHOGUE
PRONUNCIATION: (pi-SHOHG)
MEANING: noun: Sorcery; witchcraft; spell.
ETYMOLOGY: From Irish piseog (witchcraft). Earliest documented use: 1829.
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PASHOGUE - a town in Suffolk County (South Shore of Long Island, NY), a couple of miles west of Brookhaven
PISH AGUE - dysuria
PIS-HAGUE - those old Dutch cities are going from bad to worse
ZARF
PRONUNCIATION: (zarf)
MEANING: noun: A sleeve or holder designed to hold a hot cup.
ETYMOLOGY: From Arabic zarf (container, sheath). Earliest documented use: 1836.
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AARF - the sound made by retired dogs
OARF - coamposer of Carmina Burana
ZARO - sweet syrup with no calories
PICARO
PRONUNCIATION: (PEE-kuh-roh)
MEANING: noun: A rogue; an adventurer.
ETYMOLOGY: From Spanish picaro (rogue). Earliest documented use: 1622. Also see picaresque and picaroon.
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PICRO- - prefix meaning one trillionth ( 10 ^ -12 )
PI, CLARO - What does a Spanish mathematician call the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter?
PICA PRO - someone with ingests bizarre substances, like ice or lead paint chips or dirt, for a living
ANEMIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-NEE-mi-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Growing in windy conditions.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek anemos (wind). Earliest documented use: 1879.
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ANEMIONS - microscopic particles that suppress your red blood cell count
MNEM-IOUS - to help you remember your debts
ÂNE MIAOUS - catlike noises made by a French donkey
ACEDIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-SEE-dee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Characterized by apathy, boredom, or sloth.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin acedia, from Greek akedia, from a- (not) + kedos (care). Earliest documented use: 1609. Also see acedia.
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ACTEDIOUS - behave tiresomely
ABEDIOUS - sleep excessively
ACETIOUS - sharp, vinegary
ADVENTITIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (ad-ven-TI-shuhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Arising from an external source.
2. Happening by chance.
3. Appearing in an unusual place.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin adventicius (coming from outside, foreign), from advenire (to arrive), from ad- (toward) + venire (to come). Earliest documented use: 1603. Also spelled as adventious.
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ADDVENTITIOUS - installing additional windows
ADVENDITIOUS - for the purpose of selling more promotional messages
ADENTITIOUS - toothless
CAESIOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (SEE-zee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Bluish or grayish green.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin caesius, probably from caelum (sky). Earliest documented use: 1835.
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CAESEOUS - cheesy
CADS IOUS - promissory notes, generally not repaid
CANESIOUS - a college in Buffalo NY, source of Jesuit sugar
ANNELIDOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-NEL-uh-duhs)
MEANING: adjective: Of or relating to worms.
ETYMOLOGY: From French anneler (to ring), from Latin anellus, diminutive of anus (ring). Earliest documented use: 1835.
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PANNE-LIDOUS - like a bread-cover
ANNELI-NOUS - We're the Parisian branch of the Anneli family...
ANNELID FOUS - ...and we're crazy over earthworms!
GAMBIT
PRONUNCIATION: (GAM-bit)
MEANING: noun:
1. An opening in which a minor piece is sacrificed to obtain a strategic advantage.
2. A maneuver used to secure an advantage.
3. A remark used to open or redirect a conversation.
ETYMOLOGY: From Spanish gambito, from Italian gambetto (the act of tripping someone), from gamba (leg). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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GUMBIT - the masticatory equivalent of "Man Bites Dog"
GAMEBIT - money purchased and used within an App
GAMBIN - where you keep chess and checkers, Clue, Sorry, Monopoly, Settlers of Catan, Magic: the Gathering, and such, when you're not playing
PROPUGNACULUM
PRONUNCIATION: (praw-puhg-NAK-yuh-luhm)
MEANING: noun: A fortress; defense; protection.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin propugnaculum (bulwark), from propugnare (to fight in defense of something), from pro- (toward) + pugnare (to fight), from pugnus (fist). Ultimately from the Indo-European root peuk- (to prick), which is also the source of point, puncture, pungent, punctual, poignant, pounce, poniard, oppugn, repugn, impugn, pugnacious, pugilist, and repugnant. Earliest documented use: 1773.
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PRE-PUGNACULUM - little skirmish leading up to the actual conflict
PROPUGNOCULUM - in favor of the beady little eye of a small short-nosed dog
PROPUGNACUUM - a suction cleaning device that's angry all the time
FLATFOOTED
PRONUNCIATION: (flat-FOOT-id)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Clumsy; unimaginative; uninspired.
2. Forthright.
3. Unprepared.
4. Uncompromising.
5. Having the arch of the foot flattened so the entire sole touches the ground.
ETYMOLOGY: From flat, from Old Norse flatr + foot, from Old English fot. Earliest documented use: 1601. (A flatfoot is not necessarily flatfooted.
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FATFOOTED - bloated and edematous from the ankle down
FEATFOOTED - world's-record-holder in the 100-meter dash
FLATFOOLED - convinced he was in the wrong apartment
CONSANGUINEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (kon-sang-GWIN-ee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Related by blood; having a common ancestor.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin consanguineus, from con- (with) + sanguineus (bloody), from sanguis (blood). Earliest documented use: 1616.
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CON SANGUINE BUS - brings prisoners back from their Anger Management sessions
CONAN GUINEOUS - Night-show host O'Brien acted like Obiwan Kenobi (or the British Colonel at the River Kwai)
CONS AN' QUINEOUS - fake COVID-19 cure is actually good for malaria
HAM-HANDED
PRONUNCIATION: (HAM-han-did)
MEANING: adjective: Clumsy; tactless; lacking social grace.
ETYMOLOGY: From ham + hand. It’s the same ham (one who overacts), apparently from the minstrel song, “The Hamfat Man”. Earliest documented use: 1918.
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WHAM-HANDED - a very hard-punching boxer
HAT-HANDED - begging
HAM-WANDED - a showy but incompetent magician
EUPHORIA
PRONUNCIATION: (yoo-FOHR-ree-uh)
MEANING: noun: A feeling or state of elation or well-being.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek eu- (well) + pherein (to bear). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bher- (to carry, to bear children) that gave birth to words such as basket, suffer, fertile, burden, bring, bear, offer, prefer, birth, adiaphorism, delate, opprobrious, sufferance, and paraphernalia. Earliest documented use: 1684.
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EUPHORBIA - Spurge, or bastard spurge, a genus of plants of many species, mostly shrubby, herbaceous succulents, yielding an acrid, milky juice. Most of them have powerful emetic and cathartic products. [Honest. YCLIU!]
EDUPHORIA - delight in acquiring knowledge
GUPHORIA (pr. "guf-FAW-ree-uh") - laughing loudly and uncontrollably
QUATERNION
PRONUNCIATION: (kwuh/kwah-TUHR-nee-uhn)
MEANING: noun: A set of four persons, things, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin quattuor (four). Earliest documented use: 1384.
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QUAKER'N'ION - breakfast cereal made of charged oatmeal particles
'QUATER NICON - a fine camera made at very low latitudes
AQUATERNION - a waterfowl whose best friend is T-Berton
URTICACEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (uhr-tih-KAY-shuhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to a nettle.
2. Stinging.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin urtica (nettle), from urere (to burn). Earliest documented use: 1836.
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URBICACEOUS - citified
URTICAREOUS - makes your cavities itch
UTICA CEO: US - We've just been put in charge of that city in upstate NY
AUTOTELIA
PRONUNCIATION: (ah-toh-TEH-lik)
MEANING: adjective: Having a purpose, motivation, or meaning in itself; not driven by external factors.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek auto- (self) + telos (end). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwel- (to revolve), which also gave us colony, cult, culture, cycle, cyclone, chakra, collar, telic, entelechy, talisman, col, and accolade. Earliest documented use: 1864.
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AUTOTELLIC - car with built-in reporting to the police whenever you exceed the speed limit
Au HOTELIC - very posh lodgings, with all gold fixtures
AUTHOTELIC - the final chapter in a long story, such as Homer's Iliad or Odyssey
VINACEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (vy/vi/vuh-NAY-shuhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to wine.
2. Of the color of red wine: reddish.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin vinum (wine). Earliest documented use: 1688.
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PINACEOUS - bromeliad, like a pineapple
WINACEOUS - overfond of having a pair of Aces in the hole
BINACEOUS - synonym for BINARY
YEANLING
PRONUNCIATION: (YEEN-ling)
MEANING: noun: The young of an animal, especially of a sheep or a goat.
adjective: New-born; infant.
ETYMOLOGY: From yean (to give birth to a young), from Old English geeanian, from eanian (to bear young) + -ling (small, young, inferior). Earliest documented use: 1644.
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YEARNLING - the first faint glimmering of a desire
YE, MANLING - I'm talkin' ta you, punk
YEAN LINGO - spoken in the land of Ye
URSIFORM
PRONUNCIATION: (UHR-suh-form)
MEANING: adjective: Having the form or appearance of a bear.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ursus (bear). Ultimately from the Indo-European root rtko- (bear), which also gave us arctic (literally, of the bear), the name Ursula (diminutive of Latin ursa: bear), and arctophile (one who is very fond of teddy bears). Earliest documented use: 1791.
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CURSIFORM - 1. oathsome; 2. scriptlike
ARSIFORM - British: ass-shaped
URSIFARM - where bears are grown
URSIDORM - the final room that Goldilocks entered
LEPTODACTYLOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (lep-tuh-DAK-tuh-luhs)
MEANING: adjective: Having slender fingers or toes.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek lepto- (thin) + -dactyl (toed, fingered). Earliest documented use: 1855.
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KLEPTODACTYLOUS - finger-stealing (not welcome at KFC)
LEPTO-d-ACETYL OPS - skinny-fingered vinegary penguin
ZAFTIG
PRONUNCIATION: (ZAF-tik, -tig)
MEANING: adjective: Full-figured; pleasingly plump; buxom.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish zaftik (juicy), from German saftig (juicy), from Saft (juice). Earliest documented use: 1921.
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ZAFTING - alternative form meaning "betraying"
WAFTIG - blowing in the gentle breeze with your nose stuffed
ZAPTIG - Calvin shoots Hobbes with a Taser
NOCTILUCENT
PRONUNCIATION: (nok-tuh-LOO-suhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Shining at night.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin nocti- (night) + lucent (shining). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leuk- (light), which also gave us lunar, lunatic, light, lightning, lucid, illuminate, illustrate, translucent, lux, lynx, pellucid, lutestring, lustrate, lucubrate, limn, and lea. Earliest documented use: 1691.
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NOCTILUSCENT - the night is deepening
NOCTILU CANT - Prime Minister Noctilu of Roumania regrets he is unable
NON-TILUCENT - my bathroom walls do not glow
BRAZEN
PRONUNCIATION: (BRAY-zuhn)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Shamelessly bold.
2. Made of or relating to brass.
verb tr.: To face an embarrassing or difficult situation in a shamelessly bold manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English braes (brass). Earliest documented use: 1000.
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BLAZEN - how the outlaws galloped into town with their gunza
BRATEN - the wurst possible Viennese sausage
BRAKE N - - how to slow down the fourteenth car of the train
AURICOMOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (au-RI-kuh-muhs)
MEANING:. adjective: Relating to golden hair.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin auricomus, from aurum (gold) + coma (hair). Earliest documented use: 1864.
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AURICOROUS - golden-throated voices singing together
AGRICOMOUS - your typical Roman farmer's rodent
AFRICOMOUS - Sherlock Holmes' Giant Rat of Sahara
PHILARGYRY
PRONUNCIATION: (fil-ARJ-uh-ree)
MEANING: noun: The love of money; greed.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek phil- (love) + argyros (silver). Ultimately from the Indo-European root arg- (to shine; white) that is also the source of argue (from Latin arguere, to make clear), argillaceous (clayey), and French argent (money). The word also appears in the chemical symbol for silver (Ag) and in the name of the country Argentina (where flows Rio de la Plata, Spanish for “river of silver”). Earliest documented use: 1529.
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PHIL-ARMY RY. - train taking fans from Philadelphia to West Point
PHILARGYRO - pile the makings into our submarine sandwich at that stand next to the Liberty Bell
CHILARGYRY - ...keep the sandwiches in the refrigerator till we get there
TINPOT
PRONUNCIATION: (TIN-pot)
MEANING: adjective: Unimportant; of little worth.
ETYMOLOGY: Alluding to a tin pot, in quality or sound, broadly from a reference to tin as a base metal compared to precious metals. Earliest documented use: 1838.
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INPOT - your status after calling a bet
LIN-POT - composer Manuel Miranda's beer-belly
TIN PLOT - one kind of mining survey
LEAD BALLOON
PRONUNCIATION: (led buh-LOON)
MEANING: noun: A complete failure.
ETYMOLOGY: From lead (a heavy metal), from Old English lead + balloon, from Italian dialectal ballone (large ball), augmentative of balla (ball). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhel- (to blow or swell), which also gave us ball, boll, bole, bulk, bowl, boulevard, boulder, ballot, folly, and fool. Earliest documented use: 1924.
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PLEAD BALLOON - dialog from Judge Parker comic strip
LEAD GAL LOON - the matriarch of the loon flock
LEAN BALLOON - a zeppelin
IRREFUTABLE
PRONUNCIATION: (ir-ih-FYOO-tuh-buhl, ih-REF-yuh-tuh-buhl)
MEANING: adjective: Impossible to deny or disprove; indisputable.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin in- (not) + refutare (to rebut). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhau- (to strike), which also gave us refute, beat, button, halibut, buttress, confute, prebuttal, and surrebuttal. Earliest documented use: 1620.
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MR REFUTABLE - never made a statement that couldn't be disproved
IRREFUL, ABLE - angry but competent
IRREPUTABLE - nobody anywhere knows anything about him !
AMNESIA
PRONUNCIATION: (am-NEE-zhuh)
MEANING: noun: Loss of memory or a gap in one’s memory.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin amnesia, from Greek amnesia (forgetfulness), from a- (not) + mimneskesthai (to remember). Ultimately from the Indo-European root men- (to think), which also gave us mind, mental, mention, automatic, mania, money, praying mantis, monument, music, amnesty, mantra, remonstrate, monish, and mantic. Earliest documented use: 1786.
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NAMNESIA - inability to learn the lessons of history
DAMNESIA - complaint of a football player after multiple ACL injuries
AMNOSIA - "I poke around other people's business more than you do"
PSYCHOGENIC
PRONUNCIATION: (sy-kuh-JEN-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Originating in the mind (having a psychological rather than a physiological cause).
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek psycho- (mind) + -genic (producing). Earliest documented use: 1897.
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PSYCHO GENIE - Aladdin's companion, such as voiced by Robin Williams
PAY C.H.O.- GENIC - This new DNA will let you breed corn with a higher carbohydrate content, but it'll cost you
P.S. YECHOGENIC! - Oh, and another thing: that's disgusting !
POLYDIPSIAPRONUNCIATION: (paw-lee-DIP-see-uh)
MEANING: noun: Excessive or abnormal thirst.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek poly- (much, many) + dipsa (thirst). Earliest documented use: 1661.
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POLYPIPSIA - misreading your card as a ten when it's really an eight
POLYDIP ASIA - an Indonesian
RijstafelPOLY DISSIA - that parrot just cussed you out !
PROPENSITY
PRONUNCIATION: (pruh-PEN-suh-tee)
MEANING: noun: An inclination to behave in a particular way
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin pro- (toward) + pendere (to weigh). Ultimately from the Indo-European root (s)pen- (to draw, to spin), which also gave us pendulum, spider, pound, pansy, pendant, ponder, appendix, penthouse, depend, spontaneous, vilipend, pendulous, filipendulous, equipoise, perpend, pensive, and floccipend. Earliest documented use: 1550.
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PR OPEN SITE - where publicists and agents are welcome
PROP ENMITY - I can fly any jet plane made, but I just don't get along with the other kind...
PRODENSITY - I like the massive ones
MISOCAINEA
PRONUNCIATION: (mis-oh-KY-nee-uh, mi-soh-)
MEANING: noun: A hatred of new ideas.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek miso- (hate) + -cainea (new). Earliest documented use: 1938.
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MISO-CAINE - Japanese soup that numbs the back of your throat
MISS O'CAINEA - that Irish lass whose father had a boat named after him
ISO-CAINEA - the class of compounds with the same atomic composition as cocaine, but different in molecular structure
POLYGYNY
PRONUNCIATION: (puh-LIH-juh-nee)
MEANING: noun: The practice of having two or more female partners.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek poly- (many) + -gyny (woman). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gwen- (woman), quean, banshee, zenana, gynecology, and gynophobia (the fear of women). Earliest documented use: 1780.
NOTES: A counterpart of this term is polyandry, the practice of having two or more male partners. The generic term is polygamy, having two or more partners.
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POLYGON Y - twenty-fifth in a series of closed figures comprised of straight lines chained end-to-end, never crossing and with the last completing the chain by attaching to the free end of the first
POLOGYNY - the all-women's polo team
POLGY, NY - a Catskills community with mostly Polish residents
DEONTOLOGY
PRONUNCIATION: (dee-ahn-TAH-luh-jee)
MEANING: noun: The theory or study of duty and obligation, with a focus on the right action as determined by a set of rules, irrespective of the consequences of the action.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek deont- (obligation) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1829.
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DENTOLOGY - knowleldge of teeth
DON'T-OLOGY - the art of proscribing
ODEONTOLOGY - the study of grand roofed performance venues
DEO-NATOLOGY - lore pertaining to the birth of the gods
SILVICOLOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (sil-VIK-uh-luhs)
MEANING: adjective: Living or growing in woods.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin silvi- (wood) + -colous (inhabiting). Earliest documented use: 1906.
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SILVICOLOURS - what the Lone Ranger's horse looks like on the BBC
SILICOLOUS - afflicted with ludicrous bowel habits
SILICOLOUS - having predominantly the characteristics of element #14
BOUNDER
PRONUNCIATION: (BAUN-duhr)
MEANING: noun: An ill-bred, vulgar man.
ETYMOLOGY: From bound (to leap or jump), from French bondir (to bounce), from Latin bombitare (to hum), from Latin bombus (humming), from Greek bombos (booming, humming). Earliest documented use: 1842.
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BOXUNDER - what is beneath the gazinta, with the gazonta uppermost. See also GO-UNDER
BOULDER - more stonily impudent
B.U. UNDER - site of much of the action in Neal Stephenson's The Big U
TOPLOFTYPRONUNCIATION: (TOP-lof-tee)
MEANING: adjective: Haughty; pretentious.
ETYMOLOGY: From top + loft (upper floor, attic), from Old English loft (air, sky), from Old Norse loft (air, sky, upper room). Earliest documented use: 1859.
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STOPLOFTY - an anti-snobbery movement
TOOL OF TY - A Louisville Slugger bat, 34.5 inches long, weighing 40 to 44 oz. (see
here)
TOP OF TEY -
The Daughter of Time, or perhaps
Brat Farrar, by mystery writer Josephine Tey. It's hard to give one the edge over the other.
WORRYWART
WUH-ree-wahrt)
MEANING: noun: One who worries excessively and unnecessarily.
ETYMOLOGY: From worry, from Old English wyrgan (to strangle) + wart, from Old English wearte. The word wart was apparently chosen for alliteration. Earliest documented use: 1956.
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WORRYWARP - the twisted viewpoint you get from worrying too much
WORRYTART - pastry you eat when you're stressed
LORRYWART - fanciful name for the ding you got in a London parking lot on your new truck
AIRLING
PRONUNCIATION: (AIR-ling)
MEANING: noun: A carefree, thoughtless person.
ETYMOLOGY: A combination of air, from Latin aer (air) + -ling (small, young, inferior). Earliest documented use: 1611.
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AIRLING'S - flight leaving from Dublin
HAIRLING - Carnogie for men
AIRFLING - tossing my baby son straight up and then catching him again
APPROBATION
PRONUNCIATION: (ap-roh-BAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun: Approval, praise, commendation, or official sanction.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin approbation, from ad- (toward) + probatus, from probare (to test the goodness of). Earliest documented use: 1393.
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APT. PROBATION - when you try living in a flat for a month to see how you like it, before you sign the lease
AP-PRONATION - turning the news agency onto its belly
A.B. PROBATION - they announce your degree but don't actually award it to you until you've proved you deserve it
PROMONTORY
PRONUNCIATION: (PROM-uhn-tor-ee, -tree)
MEANING: noun:
1. A point of high land projecting into a body of water.
2. A projecting part of the body, for example, of a bone.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin promontorium, alteration of promunturium, influenced by mons (mountain). Ultimately from the Indo-European root men- (project), which is also the source of menace, mountain, eminent, promenade, demean, amenable, mouth, and minatory. Earliest documented use: 1548.
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PROMONITORY - in favor of watchers
PROTON TORY - a subatomic British politician
PROMO-STORY - an infomercial
EXIGENCY
PRONUNCIATION: (EK-si-jen-see, eg-ZIJ-uhn-see)
MEANING: noun: An urgent need or requirement.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin exigere (to demand, to drive out), from ex- + agere (to drive). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ag- (to drive, draw), which also gave us act, agent, agitate, litigate, synagogue, ambassador, exiguous, incogitant, intransigent, cogent, axiomatic, ambagious, ambage, agonistes, and actuate. Earliest documented use: 1588.
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EX-AGENCY - used to work for the CIA
EXILENCY - 1. title of great respect; 2. expulsion
EIGENCY - property of a vector which, when operated by a non-zero square matrix, gives a scalar multiple of itself
CONSTRUE
PRONUNCIATION: (kuhn-STROO)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To interpret, understand, analyze, or explain.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin construere (to construct), from con- (with) + struere (to pile up or arrange). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ster- (to spread), which also gave us structure, industry, destroy, street, stratagem, stratum, stratocracy, and Russian perestroika. Earliest documented use: 1362.
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CORNS TRUE - when your feet tell you it's going to rain, and it does
CONSTRUM - the prisoner invented a new guitar-picking style
COMSTRUE - what happens to your dream when you wish upon a star
DISINTERESTED
PRONUNCIATION: (dis-IN-truh-stuhd, dis-IN-tuh-res-tid)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Free of bias or self-interest; impartial.
2. Indifferent or not interested.
3. No longer interested.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin dis- (apart, away) + interesse (to be in between), from inter- (between) + esse (to be). Earliest documented use: 1631.
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DISH - INTERESTED? - look at the figure on that girl!
DIS I'N'T 'ERS, TED - Teddy, it doesn't belong to that woman
DIS IN: THERE'S TED ! - Headline: "Senator Kennedy found!"
VARDY
PRONUNCIATION: (VAHR-dee)
MEANING: noun: Judgment or opinion.
ETYMOLOGY: A dialect variant of verdit, from verdict, from Anglo-Norman ver (true) + dit (statement, speech), from dicere (to say). Ultimately from the Indo-European root deik- (to show, to pronounce solemnly), which also gave us judge, verdict, vendetta, revenge, indicate, dictate, paradigm, interdict, fatidic, diktat, retrodiction, and interdigitate. Earliest documented use: 1738.
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PARDY - what you do when you break it
VERDY - a green opera composer
BARDY - Shakespearean
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[Anu added:
...this shortening (or respelling of a word based on its pronunciation) happens more often than you might think. Chances are you already use such words without a second thought. Examples: ornery (from ordinary), raiment (from arrayment), and donut (from doughnut).
An extreme example of this process of linguistic evolution is the transition of eleëmosynary to the present-day alms.]
JUBEROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (JOOB-uhr-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Doubtful; undecided; hesitating.
ETYMOLOGY: An alteration of dubious. Earliest documented use: 1871.
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J-JUBEROUS - resembling a small jelly candy
JABEROUS - like a manxome creature with biting jaws and snatching claws and flaming eyes, that burbles as it whiffles through the woods
UBEROUS - for hire to drive you somewhere
SCROOCH
PRONUNCIATION: (skrooch)
MEANING: verb intr.: To crouch or huddle.
verb tr.: To squeeze.
ETYMOLOGY: A dialect variant scrouge (to squeeze or crowd), perhaps influenced by crouch. Earliest documented use: 1844.
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SHROOCH - when the catch-of-the-day was Haddock, instead of Cod (cf. scrod/shrod)
SACRO-OCH - said by a Scotsman with a pain shooting down his leg
SCROOGH - he who said "Bah, 'umbug"
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[not "scrunch" ?]
VARDY
PRONUNCIATION: (VAHR-dee)
– a leading British soccer player (plays for Leicester City).
VARDY
PRONUNCIATION: (VAHR-dee)
– a leading British soccer player (plays for Leicester City).
Interesting. One might expect Anu to be aware of the football world. Is there also a Jouber or a Scrooch or a Meech who plays?
MEECH
PRONUNCIATION: (meech)
MEANING: verb intr.:
1. To move in a furtive manner.
2. To loiter.
3. To whine.
ETYMOLOGY: A variant of mitch (to steal, hide, shirk), from Old French muchier (to hide). Earliest documented use: 1624.
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CME - ECH - never was fond of compulsory Continuing Medical Education
MERCH - Newspeak for "sales goods"
MEECE - several gadgets I use for I/O on my old computers
SNOOT
PRONUNCIATION: (snoot)
MEANING: noun: 1. A snob. 2. A nose or snout.
verb tr.: To treat with disdain.
ETYMOLOGY: A variant of snout, of German/Dutch origin. Earliest documented use: 1861.
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SMOOT - a unit of length, measuring about 67 inches. Used in particular to measure the length of the MIT Bridge (Cambridge, MA), which is about 364.4 Smoots long (plus-or-minus one ear)
SUNOOT - the weather on a bright day in Glasgow
SNOWT - there's been a blizzard!
DIVERSIVOLENT
PRONUNCIATION: (dy-vuhr-SIV-uh-luhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Desiring strife.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin diversus (diverse), from divertere (to turn aside), from di- (away, apart) + vertere (to turn) and volens, present participle of velle (to wish). Earliest documented use: 1612.
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DIVERSIVALENT - describing an element with many different possible valencies, e.g. carbon or silicon
DIVERS "I VOLE...NOT!" - assorted protestations in response to the question "Are you a man or a rodent?"
DIVER'S TiVo LENT - Greg Louganis doesn't have his TV streamer right now, but he expects it to be returned shortly
SMATCHET
PRONUNCIATION: (SMACH-uht)
MEANING: noun: An insignificant contemptible person.
ETYMOLOGY: Of Scottish origin. Earliest documented use: 1582.
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MATCHET - what you do to call a bet at the poker table
SMATSHET - what you will probably do if you see an ugly bug on the table in front of you
SMART CHET - what David Brinkley called his fellow newscaster, after a particularly penetrating insight
MENSCH
PRONUNCIATION: (mench, mensh)
plural menschen (MEN-chuhn, MEN-shuhn) or mensches
MEANING: noun: A decent, upright, honorable person.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish mentsh (man, human being), from Middle High German mensch, from Old High German mennisco. Earliest documented use: 1911.
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AMENSCH - response to a prayer, mumbled by a drunken congregant
MENSAH - a social group of very high-IQ Southerners
MEN'S "ICH" - a treatise about the German male ego
UNFLAPPABLE
PRONUNCIATION: (uhn-FLAP-uh-buhl)
MEANING: adjective: Staying calm even in difficult circumstances.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle English flap (to beat or shake), probably of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1958.
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UN-LAPPABLE - impossible to outrace by more than one full length around the course
UNIFLAPPABLE - when you can shake the wrinkles out, but only once
UNFAPPABLE - Major Hoople when he can't be disconcerted or taken aback
CIRCUMSPECT
PRONUNCIATION: (SUHR-kuhm-spekt)
MEANING: adjective: Careful to consider all circumstances and potential consequences; prudent.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin circumspicere (to look around; to take heed), from circum (around) + specere (to look). Earliest documented use: 1422.
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CIRCUMSPENT - all-around just plain broke
CIRCUS PECT - can't wait to get to out see the Big Top and the wild animals (especially the trained chickens)
SIR CUMSPECT - an occasional visitor the the Round Table, never without his eyeglasses
CYNEGETIC
PRONUNCIATION: (sy-nuh-JET-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to the chase or hunting.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek kunagos (hunter), from kuon (dog) + igetis (leader). Earliest documented use: 1716.
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CYNEGESIC - feeling like a dog
CINEGETIC - always looking for a good movie
ICYNEGETIC - promoting melting
CATERWAUL
PRONUNCIATION: (KAT-uhr-wol)
MEANING: verb intr.: 1. To make a shrill sound as if of a cat in heat or of cats quarreling.
2. To quarrel noisily.
noun: 1. The cry of a cat in heat.
2. A shrill sound, such as a shriek or a loud cry.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle English caterwawlen, from cater (tomcat or cat) + wawlen (to howl). Earliest documented use: 1386.
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CATERWALL - when the side of the house is covered with gypsy moth larvae
CATE, RAUL - Señor Cate's full name
CATER WAFL - what you'll get if you're careless about arranging for brunch
DOGGED
PRONUNCIATION: (DAW-gid, DOG-id)
MEANING: adjective: Stubbornly determined or persistent.
ETYMOLOGY: If you have ever faced a dog digging in his heels, you know what dogged is. The word dog is from Old English docga. Also see recalcitrant. Earliest documented use: 1300.
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DOGGE - an olde Irish setter (see aso DOG RED)
NOGGED - tipsy after too much New Years' cheer
DONGED - the next step after your car is dinged
CANICULAR
PRONUNCIATION: (kuh-NIK-yuh-luhr)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to the dog days.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin canicularis (relating to the dog star, Sirius), from canicula (small dog, Sirius), from canis (dog). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog), which is also the source of canine, chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, corgi, cynic, cynosure, cynegetic, canaille, and cynophobia. Earliest documented use: 1398.
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CANINULAR - like small eyeteeth
CARICULAR - of the schedule of what's to be learned in Spelling class (obviously much needed)
CLANICULAR - like a small totem
FAT CAT
PRONUNCIATION: (FAT cat)
MEANING: noun: A rich, privileged person, especially one who influences elections by making contributions to political campaigns.
ETYMOLOGY: The term was originally used in the 1920s to describe rich political backers in the US elections. Earliest documented use: 1925.
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FAT RAT - Templeton after a week at the fairground
FAT CAPT - Major Hoople before his promotion
FATMAT - 1. where Garfield sleeps; 2. place for Sumo wrestling matches
FAUSTIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (FOU-stee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Surrendering one’s integrity for something, such as power, money, fame, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: After the legend of Faust who sold his soul to the devil. Earliest documented use: 1876.
NOTES: The legend of Faust is based upon a real person, Johann Georg Faust (c. 1480-1540), a magician, astrologer, and alchemist. The story has been tackled countless times, from Christopher Marlow in his play Doctor Faustus and Goethe in his play Faust to The Simpsons episode “Bart Sells His Soul”.
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FAUSCIAN - expert in his field of viral diseases, and implacably devoted to the Scientific Method
FAULTIAN - blame John of Scotland
FRAUSTIAN - wife of Herr Stian
TURVEYDROPIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (tuhr-vee-DROH-pee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Overly concerned with one’s appearance, demeanor, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: After Mr. Turveydrop, a character overly concerned with deportment, in Charles Dickens’s Bleak House, 1852. Earliest documented use: 1876.
NOTES: Mr. Turveydrop is a dance studio owner. He’s a conceited humbug, consumed with his deportment. As Dickens describes him:
He was a fat old gentleman with a false complexion, false teeth, false whiskers, and a wig. He had a fur collar.
Turveydrop laments: England -- alas, my country! -- has degenerated very much, and is degenerating every day. She has not many gentlemen left.
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SURVEYDROPIAN - like a poll that deliberately leaves out important variables
TURVEYEDROPIAN - like the treatment for keratoconjunctivitis sicca marketed by the TURV company
CURVEYDROPIAN - falling when released, but somehow not straight down
GALLIONIC
PRONUNCIATION: (gal-ee-AHN-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Indifferent or uncaring.
ETYMOLOGY: After Gallio, a Roman senator, who refused to take action in a dispute. Earliest documented use: 1920.
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ALLIONIC - none of it polar
GALLEONIC - shipshape and majestic
GALL-IRONIC - combining sarcasm with chutzpah
DUNCE
PRONUNCIATION: (duhns)
MEANING: noun: A person regarded as dim-witted or foolish.
ETYMOLOGY: After theologian John Duns Scotus (c. 1265/66-1308). Earliest documented use: 1530.
NOTES: John Duns Scotus was a Catholic priest and Franciscan friar (literally, brother, from French frère: brother) in the 13th century. In his time he was known as a sophisticated thinker and philosopher and given the name “the Subtle Doctor”. Protestantism came along in 1517. As these things go, they now considered his followers, known as Dunses or Dunsmen, as hair-splitting and resistant to new learning. The word was later respelled as dunce, and took on the meaning as someone incapable of learning. The word also gave rise to a dunce cap, the conical hat, formerly used to punish schoolchildren.
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DUNCEE - Scottish city, just up a grade from Dundee
DUNYE - what I'll do if ye owe me money and ye don't pay
MUNCE - city in Indana
We have a high school here: Scotus central.
VANDALIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (VAN-duh-lyz)
MEANING: verb tr.: To willfully damage another’s property.
ETYMOLOGY: After Vandals, a Germanic tribe who overran Gaul, Spain, and northern Africa, and in 455 CE sacked Rome. Earliest documented use: 1800.
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VAN-DYALIZE - to treat for severe kidney disease in a mobile vehicle
VINDALIZE - to marinate (usually meat) in spices, vinegar and garlic
VANDA-LIKE - harpsichord music played in the manner of Frau Landovska
GLOSSOPHOBIA
PRONUNCIATION: (glas-uh-FOH-bee-uh)
MEANING: noun: The fear of public speaking.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek glosso- (tongue, language) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1964.
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GLISSOPHOBIA - fear of sliding
GLOSSOPHORIA - delight in gleaming
FLOSSOPHOBIA - fear of being scolded for not following the dental hygienist's instructions
AGATHOKAKOLOGICAL
PRONUNCIATION: (ag-uh-thuh-kak-uh-LAHJ-uh-kuhl)
MEANING: adjective: Made up of both good and evil.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek agathos (good) + kakos (bad). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kakka-/kaka- (to defecate), which also gave us poppycock, kakistocracy, cacophony, cacology, and cacography. Earliest documented use: 1834.
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AGNATHOKAKOLOGICAL - congenitally lacking a jaw, and yet bad-mouthing everything
AGATH-OAKOLOGICAL - Growing Acorns for Fun and Profit
AGATHO-KOKO-LOGICAL - full of corroborative detail, intended to give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative
PENSUM
PRONUNCIATION: (PEN-suhm)
MEANING: noun: A task given, especially as a punishment.
ETYMOLOGY: In the beginning, a pensum was the amount of wool to be spun. Eventually, the word became generic and came to refer to a piece of work or task. Later, it morphed into another specialized form: a task given as a school punishment. The word is from pendere (to hang, weigh), ultimately from the Indo-European root (s)pen- (to draw, to stretch, to spin), which also gave us pendulum, spider, pound, pansy, pendant, ponder, appendix, penthouse, depend, spontaneous, vilipend, filipendulous, perpend, equipoise, pendulous, and pensive. Earliest documented use: 1667.
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PERSUM - how you pay an accountant on piecework
OPENSUM - a sub-total
WENSUM - and you lose some
PERLAGE
PRONUNCIATION: (PUHR-lizh/lazh)
MEANING: noun: The assemblage of bubbles, in a glass of champagne, for example.
ETYMOLOGY: From French perlage, from perle (pearl). Earliest documented use: 1983.
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PER PAGE - how you pay a typist
PERIL AGE - a time filled with danger
PER LAGER - how the pub charges
SIALOQUENT
PRONUNCIATION: (sy-AHL-uh-kwuhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Spraying saliva when speaking.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek sialon (spit, saliva) + Latin loqui (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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DIALOQUENT - holding both sides of a conversation with yourself
SIALOQUEST - seeking saliva. As Randy Claggett said, "Mouth! Be Moist!" (see SPACE, by James MIchener)
SÍ! AMO QUENT! - "Yes, I love Quentin," said the Señorita
MERCHANT PRINCE
PRONUNCIATION: (muhr-chunt PRINS)
MEANING: noun: A merchant or businessman with sufficient wealth to wield political power.
ETYMOLOGY: Alluding to someone who has acquired great wealth and behaves like a prince. From merchant, from Latin mercari (to trade), from merx (goods) and prince, from primus (prime) + capere (to seize). Earliest documented use: 1760.
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MERCHANT PRANCE - store-owner does capers after closing wonderful deal
MERE CHANT PRINCE - Gregory is the King; his son hasn't nearly the resonance
ME CHANT "PRINCE !" - 'cuz that's how he was formerly known
JOURNEYMAN
PRONUNCIATION: (JUHR-nee-muhn)
MEANING: noun: A worker, athlete, performer, etc. who is competent and reliable, but undistinguished.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French jornee (a day’s work or travel), from Latin diurnum (day), from dies (day). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dyeu- (to shine), which also gave us adjourn, diary, diet, circadian, journal, journey, quotidian, sojourn, diva, divine, Jupiter, Jove, July, Zeus, jovial, deify, and Sanskrit deva (god). Earliest documented use: 1463.
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TOURNEYMAN - a skilled player who participates only in high-level competition
JOURNEY PAN - thumbs-down review of a tour
JOURNEYMOAN - declaration of seasickness while on a cruise
GOLD-DIGGER
OLD-di-guhr)
MEANING: noun: One who forms a romantic relationship with a rich person for money.
ETYMOLOGY: From the metaphorical use of the term for someone who digs for gold. Earliest documented use: 1826 in a literal sense, 1911 in a figurative sense.
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GOLD-DAGGER - King Midas' preferred weapon (of necessity)
GOLD-JIGGER - extremely classy and expensive whiskey
GOLF-DIGGER - a duffer who strews divots left and right
ROUGHHOUSE
PRONUNCIATION: (RUF-haus)
MEANING: verb tr.: To handle roughly, but in a playful manner.
verb intr.: To engage in boisterous play.
noun: Boisterous play.
ETYMOLOGY: Originally, a rough house was the place where a brawl occurred. Over time, the term softened into a synonym for horseplay and became a verb as well. Earliest documented use: 1882.
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TROUGHHOUSE - the enclosure that protects the common water and feed supply
ROUGH TO USE - not easy to employ
POUGH HOUSE - the first building erected in Poughkeepsie, New York
BODY BLOW
PRONUNCIATION: (BOD-ee bloh)
MEANING: noun: A severe setback or disappointment.
ETYMOLOGY: The term is from boxing, referring to a blow to the torso which can be incapacitating due to its proximity to internal organs. Earliest documented use: 1789.
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BODY BLOG - Charles Atlas' publicity channel, 75 years later
CODY BLOW - another name for Hurricane Buffalo Bill
BO DYE/BLOW - Ms Derek's standing order at the hairdresser's
QUEENBOROUGH MAYOR
PRONUNCIATION: (KWEEN-buh-roh may-uhr)
MEANING: noun: A position involving pomp and show, but no real power or authority.
ETYMOLOGY: After Simon the tanner who becomes the mayor of Queenborough in Thomas Middleton’s 1620 play Hengist, King of Kent, or The Mayor of Quinborough. Queenborough is a small town in Kent, UK. Earliest documented use: 1668.
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QUEUE'N'BOROUGH MAYOR - informal chief of that funny pub
QUEEN BE ROUGH MAYOR - Freddy Mercury is a harsh governor
QUEENBOROUGH PAYOR - trying to pay the toll on the 59th Street bridge
BORSTAL
PRONUNCIATION: (BOHR-stuhl)
MEANING: noun: A reformatory for young offenders.
ETYMOLOGY: After Borstal, a village in Kent, UK, where such an institution was first set up. Earliest documented use: 1907.
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FORSTAL - 1. to anticipate, so as to preclude; 2. a US aircraft carrier
BARSTAL - where cowboys' horses gather for a drink
BURST AL - why aluminum pipes never made any headway with plumbers
POPLARISM
PRONUNCIATION: (POP-luh-riz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: The policy of giving generous compensation, benefits, unemployment relief, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: After Poplar, a district in London, where in 1921 the mayor, George Lansbury, and the council decided to use the tax money to provide relief to the poor instead of sending it to London. The mayor and councilors were imprisoned for contempt of court and the incident is known as the Poplar Rates Rebellion. Rate is the British term for property tax. Earliest documented use: 1922.
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POLARISM - the doctrine that the Earth is flat, with its center at the North Pole
P.O. PLANISM - a conspiracy spread only by mouth, to avoid leaving a paper trail
POPLEARISM - clearing your Eustachian tubes while in your private jet
SHREWSBURY CLOCK
PRONUNCIATION: (SHROZ/SHROOZ-bree/ber-ee/buh-ree klok)
MEANING: noun: Something precise or exact.
ETYMOLOGY: After Shrewsbury, a town in west UK. Earliest documented use: 1598.
NOTES: In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1 John Falstaff claims that he and Hotspur “fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock” in the Battle of Shrewsbury. The term Shrewsbury clock here refers to a public clock as most people didn’t have clocks at the time. The idiom by a Shrewsbury clock has come to imply exactly or precisely, sometimes with a hint of exaggeration or irony.
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SHREWSBURY CLICK - welcoming the sunrise with an unusual single brief high-frequency cricket-like chirr, characteristic of a clock found in west UK.
SHREWSBURY COCK - a unique weathervane atop the clock tower in Shrewsbury, known for the atypical noise it makes at dawn welcoming the sunrise with an unusual single etc. (see SHREWSBURY CLICK above)
SHREWSBURN CLOCK - device for timing the roasting of unwelcome small voracious burrowing rodents
SCARBOROUGH WARNING
PRONUNCIATION: (SKAR-buh-ruh war-ning)
MEANING: noun: A very short notice or no notice.
ETYMOLOGY: After Scarborough, a town on the northeast coast of the UK. It’s unclear how Scarborough became associated with this idea though one conjecture is about robbers being given summary punishment. Earliest documented use: 1546.
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SCARBOROUGH EARNING - the profits from selling parsley, sage and rosemary
What's that you say? What about... I'm sorry, but it's late, and we've run out of...
SEAR BOROUGH WARNING - Don't play with those matches, kids, you'll burn down half the city!
SCARBOROUGH WARMING - As I was saying...
SCARBO ROUGE WARNING - Watch out for old Scarbo, with the red beard; he's.a mean one
Peter, Paul, and Mary really put the place on the map, didn't they! :-)
LILLIPUT
PRONUNCIATION: (LI-li-puht/poot)
MEANING: adjective: Tiny.
noun: Someone or something very small.
ETYMOLOGY: After Lilliput, an island nation in Jonathan Swift’s satirical novel Gulliver’s Travels (1726). Earliest documented use: 1867.
NOTES: In his travels, Gulliver lands in Lilliput where people are only six inches tall. He may appear to be a giant to them, but it’s all relative. Soon he’d visit a land where he himself appears as a lilliput to them. The word is also used in the form: lilliputian.
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LILLIPUP - a young Lillus; extremely cute, and they make great pets
MILLIPUT - a bad golf stroke on the green; it sends the ball only 1/1000th of the way to the cup
LILLIPOT - what you cook your Liliaceae in
LAPUTAN
PRONUNCIATION: (luh-PYOOT-n)
MEANING: adjective: Absurdly fanciful or impractical.
ETYMOLOGY: After Laputa, a floating island in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726). Earliest documented use: 1866.
NOTES: In the book, a resident of the floating island is called a Laputian; however, in the English language we use the word Laputan. Laputians/Laputans are described as people who are scientists and philosophers, lost in the arts of music, mathematics, technology, and astronomy. Practical matters do not concern them much. “Their houses are very ill built, the walls bevil [sloping], without one right angle in any apartment.”
That said, in that work of fiction, Laputans/Laputians discover two moons of the planet Mars, more than 150 years before the actual discovery by the real-life astronomer Asaph Hall. In Swift’s honor, Mars’s moon Deimos has a crater named Swift and the moon Phobos has geographical features named after places in Gulliver’s Travels: Laputa Regio and Lagado Planitia.
Here’s to Laputans and their “impractical” pursuits!
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LA PUTIN - First Lady of Russia
LARUTAN - runner-up in the Name-That-Patent-Medicine contest. "Provides peristaltic stimulation," said the promoters, naturally.
LAPUTA - (Don't ask me. This is a family website.)
STRULDBRUG
PRONUNCIATION: (STRUHLD-bruhg)
MEANING: noun: Someone very old and decrepit.
ETYMOLOGY: After struldbrugs, the name for people in Gulliver’s Travels who grow old and decrepit, but never die. Earliest documented use: 1773.
NOTES: In Gulliver’s Travels, struldbrugs is the name given to a small group of immortal people who live in the kingdom of Luggnagg. They continue to grow old and at the age of eighty they are regarded as legally dead, though they continue living on a small pension from the state.
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STRULD BUG - all the VW Beetles of that model were made in the factory in Struld
STRUL - DO RUG! - instructions to Strul, my housekeeping robot
STAR ULDBRUG - the most gifted and popular Uldbrug
YAHOO
PRONUNCIATION:
(noun: YAH-hoo, interjection: ya-HOO)
MEANING:
noun: A person who is boorish, loud, disruptive, etc.
interjection: Expressing excitement, delight, or triumph.
ETYMOLOGY:
For noun: After Yahoos, a race of brutish creatures in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Earliest documented use: 1751.
For interjection: Apparently of echoic origin. Earliest documented use: 1976.
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YUHOO - a call to attract someone's attention
YAPOO - French baby-talk meaning "No More!" (short for il n'y a plus)
YAHOOK - what ya throw at yahoop when yalayup isn't working
BROBDINGNAG
PRONUNCIATION: (BROB-ding-nag)
MEANING: noun: Something very large.
adjective: Huge.
ETYMOLOGY: After Brobdingnag, a region where everything is enormous, in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Earliest documented use: 1731.
NOTES: For scale, people in Brobdingnag are about 60 feet tall. In the English language the form Brobdingnagian is also used. According to Gulliver, the place should have been spelled as Brobdingrag. Also, as per the map included in the book, Brobdingnag/Brobdingrag is located off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. Not sure why large mythical creatures are placed in this part of the world. Also see, Bigfoot.
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BROODING NAG - not only moody but also a persistent pest
BROBDING "NAY" - a resounding negative from the village of Brobd
BOBDING NAG - At the Camptown Races, I'll bet my money on her; somebody bet on the bay
AUTOKINESY
PRONUNCIATION: (au-toh-KIN-uh-see)
MEANING: noun: Self-propelled or self-directed motion or energy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek auto- (self) + kinein (to move). Earliest documented use: 1678.
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AUTO KINE-STY - mobile pig housing
AUTOKINESS - be considerate of your vehicle
Au TO KLINE, SY - give the first-place medal to Patsy, Seymour
HYPOGEUSIA
PRONUNCIATION: (hy-puh-GOO/GYOO-zee/zhee-uh, -zhuh)
MEANING: noun: A diminished sense of taste.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hypo- (under) + -geusia (taste). Earliest documented use: 1888.
NOTES: A complete lack of taste is ageusia (feel free to use the word metaphorically). And an extremely keen sense of taste is oxygeusia, from Greek oxy- (keen or sharp). How does the word oxygen fit in here? In 1778, Lavoisier named a newly discovered gas oxygen (literally, sharp giving) because he mistakenly believed that it was part of all acids. He was guillotined, not for the misnaming, but for the charge of adulterating France’s tobacco with water. He was exonerated posthumously
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HYPOGNUSIA - nothing ("There's nothing, son, under the gnu...")
HYPO G.E. USA - an injection needle made by the General Electric Company in the United States
HYPNOGEUSIA - You say your tastebuds fell asleep, eh? Could be a symptom of COVID-19 infection!
SANGUINOLENCY
PRONUNCIATION: (sang-GWIN-uh-len-see)
MEANING: noun: Addiction to bloodshed.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sanguis (blood). Earliest documented use: 1664.
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PANGUINOLENCY - addiction to flightless birds
SANGRINOLENCY - addiction to vocalizing musically, with happiness on your face
SAN QUINOLENCY - patron saint of poufy underthings that fluff up skirts
HYPOCRISY
Meaning: A pretence of virtue.
HYPOCRACY - weak government
HYPOCHRISTY - let's not talk so much about Jesus
COEQUALITY
PRONUNCIATION: (koh-ee-KWAH-li-tee)
MEANING: noun: The state of being equal with one another, as in rank, power, value, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin co- (with) + aequus (level, equal). Earliest documented use: 1583.
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C.O.QUALITY - Just how good is your Commanding Officer, anyway?
COQUALITY - the essence of Roosterness (even without the French wine)
COP QUALITY - a laudable goal for the Blue Lives Matter movement
ENUNCIATORY
PRONUNCIATION: (ee-NUHN-see-uh-toh-ree)
MEANING: adjective: Announcing; declaring; pronouncing.
ETYMOLOGY:From Latin ex- (out) + nuntiare (to announce). Ultimately from the Indo-European root neu- (to shout), which also gave us announce, denounce, pronounce, renounce, and pronunciamento. Earliest documented use: 1693.
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NUNCIATORY - serving as spokesperson or ambassador to a foreign country, as from the Pope
DENUNCIATORY - attempted shaming
ENUNCLATORY - removing my mother's brother from the Family Tree
COVENTRY
PRONUNCIATION: (KUV-uhn-tree)
MEANING: noun: A state of ostracism.
ETYMOLOGY: After Coventry, a city in central England. It’s unclear how Coventry developed this sense. One conjecture is that Royalist prisoners were sent there during the English Civil War. Earliest documented use: 1691. Also see stellenbosch.
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COW ENTRY - Elsie's front door
COME'N'TRY - a carnival midway barker's spiel
COVEN CRY - witches sound the alarm
ROMAN MATRON
PRONUNCIATION: (ROH-muhn may-truhn)
MEANINGnoun: A woman having a dignified bearing.
ETYMOLOGY: From the ideal of a married woman in ancient Rome. From Latin matrona (a married woman), from mater (mother). Earliest documented use: 1596.
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NOMAN MATRON - Penelope (wife of Odysseus, who called himself "Noman" when he struck the blow that blinded the Cyclops)
ROMAN MACRON - makes a Roman vowel long
ROMAN MAîTRON - chief of waiters in the Colosseum
CANTERBURY TALE
PRONUNCIATION: (KAN-tuhr-ber-ee tayl)
MEANING:m. mnoun: A story that is long, tedious, or absurdly implausible.
ETYMOLOGY: After The Canterbury Tales c. 1400 by Geoffrey Chaucer. It’s a collection of 24 stories told in verse by a group of pilgrims as they travel from London to Canterbury. Earliest documented use: 1575.
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CANTERBURY TALC - a soft stone that was avoided in building the cathedral
CANTER BURN TALE - the story behind why the horse pulled up lame after using the wrong gait
CANTOR BURY TALE - the lost twenty-fifth chapter of Chaucer's magnum opus, about the interment of the church's vocalist; later suppressed by ecclesiastical authorities
TROJAN HORSE
PRONUNCIATION: (TRO-juhn hors)
MEANING: noun: Something or someone placed in order to subvert from within.
ETYMOLOGY: In the legendary Trojan War, the Greeks left a large hollow wooden horse at the gates of the city of Troy. The Trojans took it inside. Greek soldiers hidden in the horse came out at night and opened the gates of the city, allowing the Greek army to enter and conquer the Trojans. Earliest documented use: 1574. In computing, a Trojan horse is a program that, while seemingly useful, steals passwords or does other damage to computers.
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TROJAN HOARSE - King Priam has been shouting from the parapets much too much
TROJAN GORSE - a kind of prickly shrub found around Troy in the old days
TROJAN HOUSE - storage place for prophylactics
KENTISH COUSINS
PRONUNCIATION: (KEN-tish kuh-zuhns)
MEANING: noun: Distant relatives.
ETYMOLOGY: After Kent, a county in England. Since most of the county is bounded by the sea and the river Thames, its citizens were not as mobile and intermarriages were common. Earliest documented use: 1796.
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KENTISH COSINS - in another identity Superman was a trigonometry teacher
PENTISH COUSINS - very VERY distant relatives, like fifth cousins
KENNISH COUSINS - others in the Jeopardy champion's family had keen memories for all sorts of trivia
PLOTZ
PRONUNCIATION: (plots)
MEANING: verb intr.: To faint, collapse, explode, or flop down, as from excitement, frustration, surprise, exhaustion, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish platsn (to burst), from German platzen (to burst). Earliest documented use: 1920.
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PILOTZ - people who control sea- and air-craft
POT-Z - a game city kids play on the sidewalk, similar to Hop-Scotch
SLOT Z - where you insert Tab Y
FRUM
PRONUNCIATION: (froom) [short oo, as in book]
MEANING: adjective: Religious; observant of religious laws.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish frum, from Middle High German vrum (pious). Modern German fromm (pious). Earliest documented use: 1889.
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FLUM - a purple stoned fruit, from which is brewed Slivovitz
FFUM - a very loud expletive, uttered when a Giant smells blood...
FRUG - what a dancing tadpole grows up to be
SHONDA
PRONUNCIATION: (SHON/SHAHN-duh)
MEANING: noun:
1. Disgrace or shame.
2. Someone or something that brings shame or disgrace.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish shande (shame, disgrace), from German Schande (disgrace). Earliest documented use: 1961.
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SHONDAY - Ah, the paradox of being inebriated on the Day of Worship
SH, FONDA - Don't make so much noise, Jane!
PHONDA - what Absence makes the heart grow
YICHUS
PRONUNCIATION: (YEEKH-uhs)
MEANING: noun: Prestige, social status, or pedigree.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish yichus/yikhus (pedigree), from Hebrew yihus (pedigree). Earliest documented use: 1890.
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YISHUS! - what my 2-year-old says about the yummy dinner
LICHUS - one singe sweet dessert morsel at the Chinese restaurant
YICHTS - luxury boats in the present tense
SEMIQUAVER
Meaning: Half a quaver; a sixteenth-note.
SESQUIQUAVER - a dotted quaver
SEMIQUOTER - someone who takes things out of context
SEMIQUITTER - I'll try again later
SEMIQUAVER
Meaning: Half a quaver; a sixteenth-note.
SESQUIQUAVER - a dotted quaver
SEMIQUOTER - someone who takes things out of context
SEMIQUITTER - I'll try again later
March 8, 2010? That's going back a ways!
GELT
PRONUNCIATION: (gelt)
MEANING: noun: Money.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish gelt (money) and/or German, Dutch geld (money). The words gild, gilt, yield, and guild are cousins of this word. Earliest documented use: 1529.
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G-BELT - something worn to combat gravitational strain
GALT - Who is he?
GEL-TV - very slow reruns of old cartoons, one frame at a time
COVENTRATE
PRONUNCIATION: (KOV-uhn-trayt)
MEANING: verb tr.: To devastate, such as by heavy bombing.
ETYMOLOGY: After Coventry, a city in central England, that was devastated in German bombing during WWII, Nov 14-15, 1940. The Germans coined the verb coventrieren (to coventrate) after the city to describe any heavy bombing, and the term was adopted in English as well. Earliest documented use: 1940. See also, blitzkrieg.
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COVET RATE - what percent of viewers are jealous
COVEN TRACE - follow the peregrinations of groups of witches
COVE NITRATE - fertilizer (guano) from birds in a sheltered inlet
ROMAN HOLIDAY
PRONUNCIATION: (ROH-muhn HOL-i-day)
MEANING: noun: An entertainment event where pleasure is derived from watching gore and barbarism.
ETYMOLOGY: From the gladiatorial contests held in ancient Rome. Earliest documented use: 1818. Also see, Roman matron.
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ROXAN HOLIDAY - Cyrano takes his love for a day out
AROMA'N'HOLIDAY - vacation with incense
WOMAN HOLIDAY - Mom does whatever she wants and the family does all the planning and cooking and cleaning and child care
CANTER
PRONUNCIATION: (KAN-tuhr)
MEANING: verb tr./intr.: 1. To move at an easy pace.
2. To ride a horse at a canter.
noun: 1. An easy pace.
2. A three-beat gait of a horse.
ETYMOLOGY: After Canterbury, a city in England, the home of Thomas Becket’s shrine, toward which medieval pilgrims supposedly rode at an easy pace. Earliest documented use: 1706. Also see, Canterbury tale.
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CANTEX - 1) a former spouse with a very negative attitude; 2) "Fire the cowboy!"
BANTER - inane jokes
LANTER - one who puts urine in beer
RANTER - one who complains with great length and intensity about urine in his beer
TROJAN
PRONUNCIATION: (TRO-juhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. A person from Troy.
2. One who exhibits great stamina, energy, and hard work.
3. A merry fellow.
4. In computing, a piece of malware that appears harmless, but causes damage.
ETYMOLOGY: After Troy, an ancient city in modern-day Turkey. From the reputation of Trojans in defending their city. The computing sense is from Trojan horse. Earliest documented use: 1330.
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PRO-JAN - In favor of the first month of the year
TYROJAN - Jan is a mere beginner
TOROJAN - older brother of Ferdinand
KENTISH FIRE
PRONUNCIATION: (KEN-tish fyr)
MEANING: noun: Prolonged cheering.
ETYMOLOGY: From the prolonged derisive cheering in opposition to meetings held in Kent, England, during 1828-29 regarding the Catholic Relief Bill which sought to remove discrimination against Catholics. Earliest documented use: 1834.
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KENNISH FIRE - You should see Barbie's boyfriend's eyes when he gets jealous!
KENTISH IRE - sometimes in his secret identity Superman gets really angry
KEN DISH FIRE - Ken likes to cook food flambé
APGAR
PRONUNCIATION: (AP-gar)
MEANING: noun: A method of assessing a newborn’s health. Also known as Apgar score.
ETYMOLOGY: After anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) who devised it. Earliest documented use: 1959.
NOTES: This is a judging world and we get evaluated right from birth (Apgar) to death (how many people came to the funeral). In 1953, Dr. Virginia Apgar devised a quick way to assess the health of a newborn child. She assigned 0, 1, or 2 points for each of the five criteria: heart rate, respiration, muscle tone, skin color, and reflex response. The score is typically calculated at one minute and five minutes after birth.
Ten years after the debut of the Apgar score, Dr. L. Joseph Butterfield introduced an acronym as a mnemonic aid for the term: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration. See backronym.
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A.P. TAR - a journalist in the Navy
ZAP-GAR - an electric fish
A-P GEAR - transfers power and/or rotation in the front-to-back direction
PINKERTON
PRONUNCIATION: (PING-kuhr-tuhn)
MEANING: noun: A detective.
ETYMOLOGY: After Allan Pinkerton (1819-1884), a private detective, who started a detective agency in 1850. Earliest documented use: 1874. Pinkerton may also be the origin of the term fink.
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PINSKER TON - a rather nebulous measure of weight first described in southern Belarus, near the Ukranian border.
PINKEARTON - sound as heard by folks with colorful aural organs
PIN KARTON - where the seamstress or tailor keeps the sharp-pointed temporary fasteners
YARBOROUGH
PRONUNCIATION: (YAHR-bur-oh/uh)
MEANING: noun: In a card game, a weak hand, especially one in which no card is above a nine.
ETYMOLOGY: After Charles Anderson Worsley, 2nd Earl of Yarborough (1809-1897), who is said to have bet 1000 to 1 against the occurrence of such a hand. The actual odds are 1827 to 1. Earliest documented use: 1900.
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YARD BOROUGH - a tiny British political division
YAR, BIRO - UGH - Right, it's one of those tiny ball point pens. Shameful, innit?
YARBOROUGH - Mr NASCAR. Nuff said.
ORWELLISM
PRONUNCIATION: (OR-wuh-liz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: Something misleading, such as a word or phrase used euphemistically or ambiguously for propaganda purposes.
ETYMOLOGY: After George Orwell (1903-1950), whose novel 1984 depicted a futuristic totalitarian state employing misleading language for propaganda and control. Earliest documented use: 1970. Also see newspeak and Orwellian.
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OK, WELLISM - a debating technique of deflecting and changing the subject, sometimes called "but what about?"
OR CELLISM - encouraging a plea bargain by threatening with jail time
OR WELTISM - encouraging a plea bargain by threatening a beating;
compare OR CELLISM, above
OAKLEY
PRONUNCIATION: (OHK-lee)
MEANING: noun: A complimentary ticket or pass. Also known as an Annie Oakley.
ETYMOLOGY: After the sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926) who was renowned for her skill, from association of the punched ticket with one of her bullet-riddled targets. Earliest documented use: c. 1910.
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OAKEY - quirky. [note - Oak (genus Quercus): any of about 450 species of ornamental and timber trees and shrubs constituting the genus Quercus]
ORAKLEY - Delphic
OARLEY - an airport in Paris
VULNERARY
PRONUNCIATION: (VUHL-nuh-rer-ee)
MEANING: noun: Something used for the healing of wounds.
adjective: Useful in healing of wounds.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin vulnus (wound) + -ary (relating to). Earliest documented use: 1599.
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ULNERARY - pertaining to a forearm-bone
VULNECRACY - government by the wounded
FULNERARY - pertaining to our Administrator
SOPORIFIC
PRONUNCIATION: (sop-uh-RIF-ik, suh-puh-)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Inducing sleep.
2. Sleepy or drowsy.
3. Dull or monotonous.
noun: Something that induces sleep.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sopor (a deep sleep). Ultimately from the Indo-European root swep- (to sleep), which also gave us insomnia, hypnosis, soporose, somniloquy (talking while asleep), and somnambulate (to walk in sleep). Earliest documented use: 1690.
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SOUPORIFIC - Campbell's latest offering - have a bowl before bedtime and sleep like a log!
SORORIFIC - inducing female children
ISOPORIFIC - having microscopic openings of uniform shape
MUMMERY
PRONUNCIATION: (MUHM-uh-ree)
MEANING: noun: An absurd, pretentious, or hypocritical performance.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle French momerie (masquerade), from Old French mommer (to mum or to pantomime). Earliest documented use: 1465.
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MUMMERRY - enlivening the place with flowers
MUMMERCY - sparing the plants when the flowers finish blooming
HUMMERY - attempted intimidation by driving a powerful, armored vehicle
INTRANSIGENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (in-TRAN-si-juhns)
MEANING: noun: Unwillingness to compromise, especially from an extreme position.
ETYMOLOGY: Via Spanish/French, from Latin in- (not) + transigere (to settle). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ag- (to drive, draw), which also gave us act, agent, agitate, litigate, synagogue, and ambassador. Earliest documented use: 1882.
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IN-TRANSIT GENCE - men between destinations
SINTRANSIGENCE - refusal to stop violating commandments
INFRANSIGENCE - membres de l'Académie Francaise
DIFFIDENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (DIF-i-duhns)
MEANING: noun: Timidity or shyness.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin diffidere (to mistrust), from dis- (not) + fidere (to trust). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bheidh- (to trust), which also gave us abide, abode, fiancé, affidavit, confide, confident, defiance, fidelity, defy, infidel, and diffident. Earliest documented use: 1425
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DIFFIDANCE - uneasy at the school Prom
DIFF I.D., ONCE - You know, this isn't my original Social Security number
DIFFIDENCE - embarrassed about the appearance of one's teeth
WOODSHED
PRONUNCIATION: (WOOD-shed)
MEANING: noun: 1. A place for storing firewood.
2. A place for administering punishment.
3. A place for intensive practice, especially music practice.
verb tr., intr.: 1. To practice diligently, especially on a musical instrument.
2. To punish or reprimand.
3. To coach a witness before a trial.
ETYMOLOGY: From the practice of using a woodshed for punishing a child, for intensive music practice, etc. From wood, from Old English wudu + shed, a variant of shade, from Old English sceadu. Earliest documented use, noun: 1764, verb: 1893.
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WORDSHED - where you send lazy words, to work on their meanings
WOODSHOD - dressed in sabots
WOOLSHED - store your clothing raw-materials here
BALK or BAULK
PRONUNCIATION: (bawk)
MEANING: noun: 1. A check or hindrance.
2. A defeat or disappointment.
3. A beam or rafter.
4. A ridge; an unplowed strip of land between furrows.
verb intr.: To stop, hesitate, or refuse to proceed.
verb tr.: To thwart or hinder.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English balca (ridge, bank). Earliest documented use, noun: 885, verb: 1393.
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BABK - a yeastcake made with cinnamon and raisins
B.A. HULK - Bruce Banner gets his college degree
BALI K - comes after Bali J and Bali Hai
FESTOON
PRONUNCIATION: (fe-STOON)
MEANING: noun: A decorative chain or string, of flowers, leaves, ribbons, etc., hanging between two points.
verb tr.: To make or hang festoons; to decorate.
ETYMOLOGY: From French feston, from Italian festone, from festa (festival), from Latin festa, plural of festum (festival). Earliest documented use, noun: 1676, verb: 1789.
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FESTOOL - a seat of iron
WESTOON - animated show for kids, with Hopalong Cassidy and the Road Runner
FEMTO-ON - one 10^15th part of the care owed by the Japanese higher-stationed to those under them
BIVOUAC
PRONUNCIATION: (BI-vuh-ak, BIV-wak, BIV-oo-ak)
MEANING: noun: A temporary encampment, in the open air, typically without tents or cover.
verb intr.: To take shelter temporarily for the night.
ETYMOLOGY: From French bivouac, from Swiss German beiwacht (supplementary night watch), from bei- (beside) + Wacht (watch). Earliest documented use, noun: 1706, verb: 1809.
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B. IOU A/C - Item 2 on a my list of unfinished business: I owe you an air conditioner
BIJOU AC - an electric jewel that runs on Alternating Current
BIRO UAC - the official ballpoint pen of the Unamerican Activities Committee
SAVVY
PRONUNCIATION: (SAV-ee)
MEANING: verb: To understand or know.
noun: Know-how, practical knowledge, or shrewdness.
adjective: Shrewd or knowledgeable, especially in practical matters.
ETYMOLOGY: Via pidgin and/or creole language(s), from Portuguese and/or Spanish sabe (do you know?), from Latin sapere (to be wise). Ultimately from the Indo-European sep- (to taste or perceive), which also gave us sage, savant, savor, sapid, sapient, resipiscent, insipid, and sipid. Earliest documented use, verb: 1686, noun: 1785, adjective: 1826.
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LAVVY - smelling like a washroom
SAVY (rhymes with "Navy") - inclined to rescue things
SAVOY - theatrical, especially with light opera
SALVY - unguental
ROSTRUM
PRONUNCIATION: (ROS-truhm, RO-struhm)
MEANING: noun:
1. A platform, stage, dais, etc., for public speaking.
2. A beaklike projection on a warship, used for ramming another ship.
3. A snout, beak, or bill of an animal.
ETYMOLOGY: In ancient Rome, a speaking platform was decorated with the beaks of captured ships. Hence the use of the term for a speaking platform. From Latin rostrum (snout, bill, beak), from rodere (to gnaw). Earliest documented use: 1542.
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FROST RUM - Baccardi on the rocks
RE-STRUM - if Sam (in Rick's Café) played the guitar instead of the piano
ROOT RUM - like Sarsparilla or root beer, only much more potent
CARAPACE
PRONUNCIATION: (KAR-uh-pays)
MEANING: noun:
1. A hard shell on the back of animals such as turtles, crabs, etc.
2. An attitude developed as a protective measure against something.
ETYMOLOGY: From French carapace (shell), from Spanish carapacho (shell). Earliest documented use: 1835.
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CARPACE - how fast am I driving
CAT-APACE - a cheetah
CORA PACE - How are the Red Sox doing this year?
HACKLE
PRONUNCIATION: (HAK-uhl)
MEANING: noun: 1. Hairs or feathers on the neck or back of some animals that stand up when the animal is agitated.
2. Temper; anger.
3. A comb for dressing fiber.
verb tr.: To comb flax, hemp, or other fibers with a hackle.
ETYMOLOGY: Either a variant of heckle, from Middle English hechelen (to comb flax) or from Old English hacele (coat, cloak). Earliest documented use: 900.
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AHA!CKLE - the sound you make when you finally realize why that joke is funny, after all
HACKLET - a child-sized cab
HICKLE - a singultus, barely contained
PINNACLE
PRONUNCIATION: (PIN-uh-kuhl)
MEANING: noun: 1. The highest point.
2. An architectural ornament capping a tower, buttress, etc.
verb tr.: 1. To reach the peak of achievement, development, etc.
2. To form a pinnacle.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French, from Latin pinnaculum, diminutive of pinna (wing, feather). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pet- (to rush or fly), which also gave us feather, petition, compete, perpetual, pterodactyl, helicopter, appetence, asymptomatic, auricle, empennage, impetuous, pencel, peripeteia, petulant, propitious, pinnate, and lepidopterology (study of butterflies and moths). Earliest documented use: 1330.
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PINNOCLE - card game involving bidding and trick-taking, using a deck missing all cards from 2 to 8
PINNACHE - 1. pain in the outer ear; 2. flair, style, elan; 3. a leafy green vegetable reputed to be full of iron (it isn't) and Vitamin K (it is) and much admired by one pipe-smoking Sailor Man with very skinny upper arms
PIÑTACLE - a mystical symbol in the shape of a pineapple (alternatively, in the shape of a fifteenth-century seafaring craft)
HIGHTAIL
PRONUNCIATION: (HY-tayl)
MEANING: verb intr.: To move quickly, especially in retreat or in fleeing.
ETYMOLOGY: From reference to animals such as cows, rabbits, and deer that raise their tails when fleeing. Earliest documented use: 1908. A synonym is skedaddle.
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NIGHT-AIL - obstructive sleep-apnea, for example
HIGHT GAIL - Who was the rich villain in Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead ?
HIGH TAMIL - the Official Language of Serendip
ZEN
PRONUNCIATION: (zen)
MEANING: noun: An activity, approach, state of mind, etc., emphasizing intuition and insights, instead of fixation on goals.
adjective: Calm, peaceful, unruffled.
ETYMOLOGY: After Zen, a school of Mahayana Buddhism. From Japanese zen (meditation), from Chinese chan (meditation), from Pali jhanam (jhanam), from Sanskrit dhyana (meditation). Earliest documented use: 1727. Also see satori.
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ZZ-EN - (German) infinitive verb: to sleep or snore
pZEN - the negative logarithm of serenity
ZIN - Wine not?
BUTTERFINGERED
PRONUNCIATION: (BUHT-uhr fing-guhrd)
MEANING: adjective: Clumsy or careless, especially frequently dropping things.
ETYMOLOGY: From butter, from Old English butere, from Latin butyrum, from Greek boutyron, from bous (cow) + tyros (cheese) + finger, from Old English. Earliest documented use: 1615.
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BUTLERFINGERED - having blackened thumbs (from polishing the family silver so much)
BUTTER FINE RED - 1. churned wine; 2. a purebred crimson goat
BUTTERFIN GERE - a dolphin who's still Looking for Mr Goodbar
CANARY
PRONUNCIATION: (kuh-NAYR-ee)
MEANING: noun:
1. A small finch, native to the Canary Islands, having greenish to yellow color, and known for its melodious song.
2. A bright yellow color.
3. A singer.
4. An informer.
ETYMOLOGY: From French canari (canary), from Spanish canario (canary; of the Canary Islands), from Latin canis (dog). 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, cynosure, canaille, canicular, and cynophobia. Earliest documented use: 1568.
NOTES: The Canary Islands, a group of islands off the coast of Africa, are named after an animal, but it’s not canaries. It’s dogs. The island’s name is, literally, the Island of the Dogs, from Latin Canariae insulae...
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CABNARY - needing a ride when it's raining in the city
CANERY - walking-stick factory
CANART - Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup pictures
PANACHE
PRONUNCIATION: (puh-NASH)
MEANING: noun:
1. A confident, stylish manner; swagger.
2. A tuft of feathers on a headdress, such as a helmet, hat, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From French panache, from Italian pennacchio, from Latin pinnaculum (small wing), diminutive of pinna (wing, feather). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pet- (to rush or fly), which also gave us feather, petition, compete, perpetual, pterodactyl, and helicopter. Earliest documented use: 1584.
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PA NICHE - a corner where Pop fits in perfectly
PIÑA CHE - pineapple served à la Cuban revolutionary
PA. NOCHE - night in Philadelphia's "Little Havana" neighborhood
ALTERITY
PRONUNCIATION: (al-TER-uh-tee)
MEANING: noun: Otherness: the state or quality of being other or different.
ETYMOLOGY: From French altérité, from Latin alteritas (otherness), from alter (other), from Greek heteros (other). Earliest documented use: 1500.
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ALGERITY - a fortuitous occurrence that ultimately leads to the success of an honest, charitable, kind, hard-working young man
ALTERIFY - scare the daylights out of everybody
ASTERITY - when money is so tight you can buy only a few simple fall flowers
UNSHIRTED
PRONUNCIATION: (uhn-SHUHR-tid)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Serious; unmitigated.
2. Plain; undisguised.
ETYMOLOGY: From un- (not) + shirt, from Old English scyrte. Earliest documented use: 1932.
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UNS HURTED - we were in pain in Berlin
UNSHIRRED - I actually prefer my eggs unbaked like this
UNSHORTED - the safe way to use electrical appliances
UNSHIRED - exiled from the land of the Hobbits
ARROW-COLLAR
PRONUNCIATION: (AR-o-kol-uhr)
MEANING: adjective: Conventionally attractive and suave.
ETYMOLOGY: After the detachable Arrow Collars sold by Cluett, Peabody & Co. in the early 1900s. The collars were shown on a supposedly idealized man, known as the Arrow Collar Man, in ads drawn by the illustrator J.C. Leyendecker. Earliest documented use: 1915.
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ARROW-CO. LIAR - advertising agent for the Arrow Shirt Company in the early 1900s
NARROW-COLLAR - dated, out of style
ARROW COLLARD - a leafy green vegetable with lanceolate foliage
BUTTON-DOWN
PRONUNCIATION: (BUHT-uhn-daun)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Conservative, unimaginative, conventional, staid, repressed, etc.
2. Relating to a collar that can be fastened to the garment.
3. Relating to a garment having such a collar or having buttons from the collar to the waist.
ETYMOLOGY: From the association of a button-down shirt with people having such an outlook. Earliest documented use: 1883. The term also appears in the form buttoned-down.
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BUST ON DOWN - what's covered by a strapless gown
BUTT ON DAWN - hit with your head the moment the sun rises
BUT TEN-DOWN - I've solved everything from one-down to nine-down...
SLEEVELESS
PRONUNCIATION: (SLEEV-luhs/lis)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Unprofitable; futile; unreasonable; irrelevant.
2. Without sleeves.
ETYMOLOGY: From sleeve, from Old English sliefe + less, from Old English laes (less). Earliest documented use: 950. Also see shirtsleeve.
NOTES: What does a sleeve have to do with profit? In former times, a lady would give her detachable sleeve (also known as a maunch/manche, from French) to a knight as a symbol of love and he would wear it as he went around in his adventures. A knight without a sleeve was, well, sleeveless. The Encyclopedia Britannica (1880) mentions: “Bayard took a lady’s sleeve and proclaimed it, with a valuable ruby, as a prize to be contended for.”
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SLEEVELETS - tiny openings in the fingers of gloves, to display the fingertips
SLEEVELASS - an itinerant seamstress who rides around repairing worn elbow holes for the Bourgeoisie (true gentry wouldn't stoop to having worn clothing repaired)
SLEEVELES - a nonsense word meaning a mild illness - see A.A.Milne: "Christopher Robin had Weevils and Sleeveles; they bundled him up in his bed..." etc. ;-)
SHIRTTAIL
PRONUNCIATION: (SHUHRT-tayl)
MEANING: noun: 1. The part of a shirt reaching below the waist, especially in the back.
2. A brief item added at the end of a newspaper article.
3. Something small or unimportant.
adjective: 1. Very young or immature.
2. Very small or trivial.
3. Distantly related.
ETYMOLOGY: From shirt, from Old English scyrte (shirt) + tail, from Old English toegl (tail). Earliest documented use: 1659. Also see coattail.
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SHIFT-TAIL - the seventh, eighth, and even ninth and tenth hours of your scheduled work time
SHIRT TAMIL - garment for the upper body and arms, of a distinctive fabric made only in India and Sri Lanka
SHORT-TAIL - to follow and observe someone for just fifteen minutes
HOYLE
PRONUNCIATION: (hoyl)
MEANING: noun:
1. A rule book.
2. Rules.
ETYMOLOGY: After Edmond Hoyle (1672?-1769), British writer on games. Earliest documented use: 1906. The word is typically used in the phrase according to Hoyle, meaning strictly following rules and regulations.
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H. PYLE - 1) Gomer's younger brother; 2)familiar form of name of a bacterium associated with gastric ulcers
TOYLE - one-quarter of a witch's spell, along with two bubbles and some trouble
HO, YALE - Greetings, all you Eli
(alternatively, HOY ALE - what I'm drinking today in Tijuana)
HOUDINI
PRONUNCIATION: (hoo-DEE-nee)
MEANING: noun: An escape artist.
verb intr.: To escape.
ETYMOLOGY: After Harry Houdini (1874-1926), a magician and escape artist. Earliest documented use: 1923.
NOTES: Houdini was born as Ehrich Weiss, but he admired the French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin so changed his name. His nickname Ehri became Harry. Watch a Houdini straitjacket escape in Houston, 1923: (video, 3 min.). How did he do his magic tricks and escapes? Read all about it here. In his later years, Houdini devoted his life to debunking psychics, mediums, and other fraudsters. He worked with the Scientific American magazine to expose them.
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HOUNDINI - dog-shaped pasta
HOUDING - present participle of to houd
FOUDINI - Magician/Portrait featured in the 1950s kids' TV program featurng puppets, 5 PM weekdays in the New York City area, Pinhead and Foudini. His magic word was not "Abracadabra" but "LY-CO-PO-DIUM !" accompanied, unsurprisingly, by a flash of light and a puff of smoke.
TAWDRY
PRONUNCIATION: (TAW-dree)
MEANING: adjective: Cheap, showy, and gaudy.
ETYMOLOGY: Short for tawdry lace, a contraction of St Audrey lace. The story goes that Æthelthryth (c. 636-679 CE), also known as Etheldreda and Audrey, loved fine silk laces in her youth. She died of a throat tumor which she considered a punishment for her fondness of necklaces. She was a queen, but later became a nun, and eventually a saint. Cheap laces sold in St Audrey’s Fair in Ely, England, came to be known as St Audrey lace, and eventually shrank to tawdry lace. Earliest documented use: 1612. Also see, trumpery.
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PAWDRY - what you do for your dog after the rain
TAPDRY - get the good last drop out of the keg
T AWRY - T
MACDONALDIZATION
PRONUNCIATION: (muhk-dah-nuhl-dai/duh-ZAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. Standardization that focuses on efficiency, predictability, control, etc., at the expense of individuality or creativity.
2. The spread of the influence of American culture.
ETYMOLOGY: After McDonald’s, a fast-food chain started by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1940. Earliest documented use: 1975. Also see McJob.
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MACDONALD IZ AT INN - the old farmer has reached the motel
MACDONALD IZ A TOON - Surely you've seen an animated Ronald MacD
MACDONALD IZ A LION - that's why he knows so much about hamburgers
POOH-BAH
PRONUNCIATION:
(POO-bah)
MEANING: noun:
1. A person who holds a high office or has great influence.
2. A pompous, self-important person.
3. A person holding many offices or positions of power.
ETYMOLOGY: After Pooh-Bah, a government official in Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1885 operetta The Mikado. Pooh-Bah holds all the high offices of the state (except Lord High Executioner), including relating to complaints about himself. He is also known as the Lord High Everything Else. Earliest documented use: 1886.
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POOH-BAR - where Winnie goes to have a cup or two of mead
POOCH-BAH - cat-lover's dismissal
POSH-BAH - high-priced Boston drinking club
CHUTZPAH/CHUTZPA
PRONUNCIATION: (KHOOT-spuh, HOOT-)
MEANING: noun: Shameless boldness; brazen nerve; gall.
ETYMOLOGY: From Yiddish khutspe, from Late Hebrew huspa. Earliest documented use: 1853.
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CHUTE, PA - Son, before I dive out of this airplane, did I forget anything?
CHUT SPA - a health resort where as a sideline they grow chutney for distribution and sale
CHUTZ PATH - a wilderness trail blazed by explorer Igor Chutz
QUIXOTRY
PRONUNCIATION: (KWIK-suh-tree)
MEANING: noun: Absurdly chivalrous, idealistic, or impractical ideas or behavior.
ETYMOLOGY: After Don Quixote, hero of the eponymous novel by Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616). Earliest documented use: 1703. Also see quixotic and quixote.
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QUIXOTORY - futile
QUIXOT-RAY - an automated light-energy weapon designed to knock over windmills with a lance
EQUI-XO-TRY - striving for the same number of kisses as hugs
BLOWZY
PRONUNCIATION: (BLOU-zee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Having a coarsely ruddy complexion.
2. Disheveled.
ETYMOLOGY: From English dialect blowze (wench). Earliest documented use: around 1770.
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LOWZY - the worst possible letter grade
BROWZY - just looking around, to see what's here
B'LOW ZY - submerged in the ocean
QUIDCUNX
PRONUNCIATION: (KWIN-kuhnks)
MEANING: noun: An arrangement of five objects with one at each corner and one at the center.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin quincunx (five twelfths), from quinque (five) + uncia (twelfth part). Earliest documented use: 1606.
NOTES: In ancient Rome, a quincunx was a coin equivalent to five twelfths of the coin known as an “as” or “libra”. The coin’s value was sometimes represented by five dots, four in corners and one in the middle. The number five on a die is represented by five dots in a quincunx.
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QUID-CUNX - the twelfth part of one Pound Sterling, i.e. one shilling eightpence
QUIDNUNX - old Roman gossips
QUID C? UNIX? - Don't you think it would have been more efficient to program it in UNIX?
WHIZBANG
PRONUNCIATION: (WHIZ-bang)
MEANING: noun: 1. Someone or something extraordinarily successful.
2. Someone or something flashy, impressive, technologically innovative, etc.
3. A firework that makes whizzing sounds and loud bangs.
adjective: 1. Highly successful or talented.
2. Flashy, impressive, fast-paced, loud, etc.
NOTES: The term has its origin in the onomatopoeic representation of the sound made by a firearm or firework. It was popularized in WWI as high-speed shells were called whizbangs. It was also the name given to a rocket launcher used by the US Army during WWII.
ETYMOLOGY. Of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1881.
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PHIZBANG - how an exploding cigar does in your face
WHIPBANG - the crack of Indiana Jones' favorite weapon
WHIZBANE - a prodigy's downfall
_
FORT KNOX
PRONUNCIATION: (fort KNAHKS)
MEANING: noun:
1. An inordinate amount of wealth.
2. A place extraordinarily secure and thus impossible to break into.
ETYMOLOGY: After Fort Knox, nickname of the United States Bullion Depository, a vault that houses most of the US government’s gold, in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
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FORT K? NO. - Are we going to the gold storage place? Negative.
(syn. FORT K? NOT!; ant. FORT K: NOW!)
FOR TKO X - Was that prize for his ninth knockout? No.
FORT K'NEX - part of the "Cowboys and Indians" set of a children's construction toy
HALLMARK
PRONUNCIATION: (HAHL-mark)
MEANING: noun:
1. A mark of quality, genuineness, or excellence.
2. A distinguishing feature or characteristic.
ETYMOLOGY: After Goldsmiths’ Hall in London, where articles of gold and silver were appraised and stamped. Earliest documented use: 1721.
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HAIL MARK - Caesar turned down the crown three times, and eventually an exasperated Mark Anthony accepted it
HULLMARK - lines panted on the hull of a boat to indicate how deep she's riding in the water
HALLMASK - something you wear in school to protect against airborne disease; formerly, something you wore in school so the teachers and the monitors wouldn't know who you are
MIDAS
PRONUNCIATION: (MY-duhs)
MEANING: noun:
1. One with the ability to easily turn anything profitable.
2. One who is extremely wealthy.
ETYMOLOGY: After the legendary King Midas who was given the power that anything he touched turned into gold. Earliest documented use: 1584. Also see: Midas touch and Midas-eared.
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IDA'S - belonging to Eddie Cantor's wife
MILD AS... - an Ivory Snow challenge - "Complete This Slogan:"
:
MIDIS - skirt style, of a length halfway between Minis and Maxis
GOLDEN PARACHUTE
PRONUNCIATION: (GOL-den par-uh-shoot)
MEANING: noun: An agreement to pay generous compensation to a company executive if dismissed.
ETYMOLOGY: From the idea of a parachute softening the blow of an ejection from a high office and the color golden alluding to the large payment received on dismissal. Earliest documented use: 1981.
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GOODEN PARACHUTE - lets pitcher Dwight land gently
GOLDEN, PA. RANCH: UTE - what Native American tribe runs that Dude Resort/Casino in Golden, Pennsylvania?
GOLDEN PARA SHUTE - the author of For Two Cents Plain declared he would vote for the author of On the Beach
PYRITE
PRONUNCIATION: (PY-ryt)
MEANING: noun:
1. A shiny yellow mineral of iron disulfide. Also known as iron pyrites or fool’s gold.
2. Something that appears valuable but is worthless.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin pyrites (flint), from Greek pyrites lithos (stone of fire, flint), from its shiny surface and its use for starting fire. Earliest documented use: 1475.
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𝑝𝑝 RITE - a very hush-hush solemn formalized procedure
PAY RITE - withholding taxes and other regular deductions
PYX RITE - a procedure whereby coins at the mint are measured against a standard of know weight and fineness
HUMPTY DUMPTY
PRONUNCIATION: (HUHM-tee DUHMP-tee)
MEANING: noun:
1. A short, rotund person.
2. Something or someone broken beyond repair.
ETYMOLOGY: After Humpty Dumpty, a character in a nursery rhyme, who is irreparably broken after a fall. He’s typically shown as an anthropomorphic egg. Earliest documented use: 1785.
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LUMPTY BUMPTY - what coarse oatmeal you serve !
HUMPITY DUMPITY - so sorry your Significant Other kicked you out
HAMPTY DAMPTY - hurricane completely flooded Gatsby's estate
TUFFET
PRONUNCIATION: (TUHF-it)
MEANING: noun:
1. A clump of something.
2. A mound.
3. A low seat, stool, cushion, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: Diminutive of tuft, from French touffe (tuft). Earliest documented use: 1553.
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TUFEET - you stand on your own when you're independent
TURFET - a diminutive piece of sod
RUFFET - what you do when opponents lead a suit you're void in
MOTHER HUBBARD
PRONUNCIATION: (MUHTH-uhr HUHB-uhrd)
MEANING: noun: A loose shapeless dress for a woman.
ETYMOLOGY: After Mother Hubbard, a character in the nursery rhyme “Old Mother Hubbard”. Earliest documented use: 1877.
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OTHER HUBBARD - brother of the sci-fi author who created Dianetics on a bar bet (some say)
MO, THE HUB BARD - Moses was also known as the Shakespeare of Boston
MOTHER, BUBBA R'D - Ma, he just pronounced "railroad" correctly for the first time ever!
SUKEY
PRONUNCIATION: (SOO-kee)
MEANING: noun: A tea-kettle.
ETYMOLOGY: After Suki, a girl in the nursery rhyme “Polly Put the Kettle On”. Earliest documented use: 1803.
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SKEY - a good way to get around on fresh powdered snow
SAKEY - Biden's Press Secretary
OSUKEY - how you get into Ohio State University (if it's locked)
SIMPLE SIMON
PRONUNCIATION: (SIM-puhl SY-muhn)
MEANING: noun: A simpleton.
ETYMOLOGY: After Simple Simon, a foolish boy in a nursery rhyme. Earliest documented use: 1673.
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SIMPLE TIMON - a foolish misanthropic Athenian, according to Shakespeare
WIMPLE SIMON - Simon, an itinerant peddler, travels to convents to sell clothing to the Nuns
SIMPLEST, MON ! - easiest thing for a Caribbean native to say
BOLSHIE or BOLSHY
PRONUNCIATION: (BOL-shee)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Rebellious; uncooperative; combative.
2. Politically radical.
noun: 1. Someone who is rebellious, uncooperative, combative, etc.
2. A politically radical person.
ETYMOLOGY: Abbreviation of Bolshevik (a person with radical views), from Russian Bolshevik, from bolshe (greater), referring to the faction of the Russian Social Democratic party that seized power in the October Revolution of 1917. Ultimately from the Indo-European root bel- (strong), which also gave us debility and Bolshoi Theatre (literally, Great Theater). Earliest documented use: 1918.
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BOLSHINE - clandestinely-made Dutch liqueur
BALSHY - very self-effacing at formal dances
BONSHY - a miniature drunken plant, seen mostly in Japan
LACKADAISICAL
PRONUNCIATION: (lak-uh-DAY-zi-kuhl)
MEANING: adjective: Lacking enthusiasm; indifferent; lazy.
ETYMOLOGY: From lackadaisy, alteration of lack a day, contraction of alack the day (an expression of regret, grief, or disapproval). Earliest documented use: 1768.
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LACKADAISI-MAL - heartsick because you can't tell whether she loves you or she loves you not
BLACKADAISICAL - synonym of "black-eyed Susan"
LACK-A-DAIS IS AL - Al can't speak, 'cause he doesn't have a podium
LARKADAISICAL - affectionate name for Oklahoma! when all the world is still and you wake up in the meadow
BLITZ
PRONUNCIATION: (blits)
MEANING: noun: 1. A swift, sudden military attack, especially aerial bombardment.
2. An intense campaign, for example, an ad blitz.
verb tr.: To attack, destroy, conquer, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: Short for blitzkrieg, from German Blitzkrieg, from Blitz (lightning) + Krieg (war). Earliest documented use: 1939. Also see coventrate.
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BLOTZ - Steve Dallas' favorite beer
BRITZ - 1) inhabitants of London; 2) inhabitants of a seaside resort in Pyrenees France known for its beaches...and its waves
B-LISTZ - second tier, one step below a-listz
ZOUNDS
PRONUNCIATION: (zaundz)
MEANING: interjection: Used to express surprise or indignation.
ETYMOLOGY: Contraction of God’s wounds! Earliest documented use: 1593.
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OZOUNDS - the noise of tri-molecular oxygen being made from bimolecular O2
ZOFUNDS - money to support animal parks
ZOU NODS - the former premier of China sneaks in a nap
EXTRALITY
PRONUNCIATION: (ek-STRAL-i-tee)
MEANING: noun: Exemption from local laws: the privilege of living in a foreign country, but subject only to the home country’s jurisdiction.
ETYMOLOGY: A contraction of extraterritoriality, from Latin extra- (outside) + territorium (land around a town), from terra (land). Earliest documented use: 1925.
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EXTRACITY - a satellite urban community, like Yonkers to New York
EXTRALITH - a stone on the outside, like an everted geode (see also EXTRNALITY)
NEXTRALITY - linear succession
EUTRALITY - a proper but uncommmitted relationship, being neither positive nor negative
MYOLOGY
PRONUNCIATION: (my-AH-luh-jee)
MEANING: noun:
1. The study of muscles.
2. The muscular anatomy of a person or an animal.
ETYMOLOGY: From myo-/my- (muscle), from Greek mys (mouse, muscle). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mus- (mouse, muscle), which also gave us mussel (a respelling of muscle), mustelid (any member of the weasel family), and mysticete (baleen whale), from Greek ho mus to ketos (literally: the mouse, the whale so called). Earliest documented use: c. 1649.
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MYCOLOGY - the study of strong mushrooms
MOOLOGY - the study of money
MYOB-LOGY - the study of privacy
MAYOLOGY - A Compendium the History of Medical Care in Rochester, Minnesota
MOUSE POTATO
PRONUNCIATION: (MAUS puh-tay-to)
MEANING: noun: Someone who lives a sedentary life, spending large amounts of leisure time playing computer games, surfing the net, streaming videos, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: Formed on the pattern of couch potato. Mouse refers to the electronic mouse typically used with a computer. Earliest documented use: 1993.
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NO-USE POTATO - the futile attempt of one who can't cook at all, not even boil a potato
MOOSE POTATO - Bullwinkle after he learned to use a computer
MOUSE POETATO - Mickey Longfellow. And he didn't know it, either
RAT RACE
PRONUNCIATION: (RAT rays)
MEANING: noun: A repetitive competitive activity, such as the modern working life in which one constantly struggles to attain wealth, status, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From rat, from Old English raet (rat) + race, from Old Norse ras (race). Earliest documented use: 1937.
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RAFT RACE - Huck and Jim vie to see who can go down the river faster
RAP TRACE - Authorities are looking into what else the perp has been convicted of
RAT RAGE - why the mad rodent shot the other driver
MOUSY/MOUSEY.
PRONUNCIATION: (MAU-see/zee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Like a mouse in appearance, color, smell, etc.
2. Timid or shy.
3. Quiet or stealthy.
4. Dull or drab.
5. Infested with mice.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English mus (mouse). Earliest documented use: 1812.
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MOURY - If when push comes to shove / you decide you're in love / that's a MOURY
(apologies to Dean Marin)
MOUSLEY - a mix of rolled oats, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, often eaten with milk for breakfast
MOUSEL - a river through northeastern France, Luxembourg, and western Germany; also, a white wine from that region
CLICKTIVISM
PRONUNCIATION: (KLIK-ti-viz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: The use of the Internet to signal support for a cause.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of click, as in a mouse click + activism. Earliest documented use: 2006.
NOTES: Clicktivism can take many forms: signing an online petition, forwarding a message, sharing a posting, or changing the color or banner on one’s website or social media in support of a cause, and so on. Clicktivism is sometimes derided as slacktivism (slack + activism). It’s seen as putting in minimal effort and getting a sense of doing something and feeling good about it, instead of getting deeply involved with a cause. While the criticism can be justified, clicktivism is better than doing nothing and, at least, it raises awareness.
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CLINKTIVISM - law enforcement relying heavily on incarceration
CLACKTIVISM - the other half of the Cartalktivism radio show featuring the Tappet Brothers
CLUCKTIVISM - saying "tut-tut" disapprovingly about everything
DOBBER
PRONUNCIATION: (DOB-uhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. An informer.
2. In cricket, a bowler, especially a slow bowler.
3. A float for a fishing line.
4. A large marble.
ETYMOLOGY: For 1, 2: From dob (to inform, to put down, to throw).
For 3: From Dutch dobber (float, cork).
For 4: From dob, a variant of dab (lump).
Earliest documented use: 1836.
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DOUBER - what to do when you need to get somewhere in NYC and you don't have a car
DOBER - familiar form of an allegedly vicious breed of dog
ADOBBER - someone who erects Pueblo-style homes (or Hopi or Zuni, if you like)
BRUIT
PRONUNCIATION: (broot)
MEANING: noun: 1. Rumor.
2. Report.
3. Noise.
4. An abnormal sound heard in internal organs in the body during auscultation.
verb tr.: 1. To report.
2. To repeat.
3. To spread a rumor.
ETYMOLOGY: From Anglo-Norman bruire (to make a noise), from Latin brugere, a blending of rugire (to roar) + bragire (to bray). Earliest documented use: 1400.
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BERUIT - captail of Lebanon
B. QUIT - second option for dealing with an obnoxious boss
BRUSIT - what you'll do if you squeeze the fruit too hard
BLUIT - gave up a walkoff home run in the ninth and lost the game
CAMEO
PRONUNCIATION: (KAM-ee-oh)
MEANING: noun:
1. A small sculpture carved in relief on a background of another color.
2. A short description, literary sketch, etc., that effectively presents the subject.
3. A very brief appearance by a well-known actor or celebrity in a film, typically in a non-speaking role.
4. A brief appearance or a minor role.
ETYMOLOGY: From Italian cammeo, from Latin cammaeus. Earliest documented use: 1561.
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CAMEOW - the utterance (udderance?) of a bovine kitty
CHAMEO - a soft cloth used for polishing
CAFÉO - French coffee, without the milk
CAMOO - French existentialist novelist, author of [i]The Stronger[/b]
PILLBOX
PRONUNCIATION: (PIL-boks)
MEANING: noun:
1. A small container for pills.
2. A small fortified enclosure, used for firing weapons, observing, etc.
3. A small brimless hat with a flat top and straight sides.
4. Something small or ineffectual.
ETYMOLOGY: From pill, from Latin pilula (little ball), from pila (ball) + box, from Old English, from Latin buxis, from pyxis (boxwood box), from Greek pyxis, from pyxos (box tree). Earliest documented use: 1702.
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GILLBOX - what fish get their oxygen delivered in
POLLBOX - where you deposit your ballot
SPILLBOX - a large concrete casting downstream from a dam to minimize erosion from the water runoff
PLIGHT
PRONUNCIATION: (plyt)
MEANING: noun: 1. An unfortunate situation.
2. A pledge.
3. A fold, wrinkle, braid, etc. Also called plait or pleat.
verb tr.: 1. To become engaged to marry.
2. To promise.
3. To fold, wrinkle, braid, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: For noun/verb 1, 2: From Old English pliht (danger).
For noun/verb 3: From Anglo-Norman plit (fold, wrinkle, condition), from Latin plicare (to fold).
Earliest documented use: 450.
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D-LIGHT - what else they do, for most
PLIGHTY - going from one peril to the next
P-SIGHT - possessed mostly by older men: tracking the strength of your urinary stream
PAPIER-MACHÉ
PRONUNCIATION: (pay-puhr muh-SHAY)
MEANING: noun: A mixture of pulped paper, glue, etc., used in making sculptures, boxes, ornaments, etc.
adjective: 1. Made of papier-mache.
2. Fragile; temporary; false; illusory.
ETYMOLOGY: From French papier-mâché (chewed paper). Earliest documented use: 1753.
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RAPIER-MACHÉ - my sword got mashed between a rock and a hard place
PAPIER-MACH - lightning-fast, at least on paper
POPIER-MACHÉ - in a disagreement between Il Papa and the Bishops' Council, the Pope wins
SOUGH
MEANING: verb intr.: To make a moaning, sighing, whistling, murmuring, or rustling sound.
noun: 1. Such a sound.
2. A rumor.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English swogan (to rustle, whistle, etc.). Earliest documented use: before 1066.
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SCOUGH - 1. belittle, sneer at; 2. to scrape or mar, as shoes
O SO UGH - extremely distasteful
SPOUGH - a pastiche or satire for comedic purposes
WOOLGATHERING
PRONUNCIATION: (WOOL-gath-uh-ring)
MEANING: noun:
1. Daydreaming.
2. Absentmindedness.
ETYMOLOGY: From wool, from Old English wull + gathering, from Old English gaderian. Earliest documented use: 1553.
NOTES: Woolgathering may be aimless wandering of the mind these days, but once it was serious work. It was pulling tufts of wool caught on bushes or fences or left on the ground by sheep. Besides today’s word, the English language has many other ovine-related terms, such as sheep’s eyes and sheeple.
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WOO-LATHERING - soft-soaping your sweetie-pie so she'll agree to marry you
WOOF GATHERING - bunching together the cross-threads in woven cloth, to pinch the fabric
WOOL-BATHE RING - a community activity, akin to a quilting bee, to cleanse the sheep-shearings
SCABBY
PRONUNCIATION: (SKAB-ee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Having scabs.
2. Mean or contemptible.
ETYMOLOGY: From scab, from Old Norse skabb (scab, itch). Earliest documented use: 1526.
NOTES: The word scab started out as a skin disease, evolved into a word for a crust over a wound, and then figuratively, into a moral disease. Eventually, it was applied to a mean person, especially a strike-breaker. Two other terms for such a person are fink and blackleg.
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SCARBY - worker in an itinerant carnival; a carny or roustabout (after Scarborough Fair)
SCA-BABY - a teen-ager preoccupied with Jamaican music
SCA BOY - a young man who's very active in the Society for Creative Anachronisms
FLAGSHIP
PRONUNCIATION: (FLAG-ship)
MEANING: noun:
1. A ship that carries the fleet commander and flies the commander’s flag.
2. The best or the most important of a group of things.
ETYMOLOGY: From flag, of obscure origin + ship, from Old English scip. Earliest documented use: 1672.
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FLAGSHIP - a vessel that carries pennants, banners, gonfalons, and such
FLOGSHIP - a boat propelled by malfeasants shackled to oars (see also FLAYSHIP)
FLATS HIP - shoes without heels are all the rage these days
TAMMANY
PRONUNCIATION: (TAM-uh-nee)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to political corruption.
ETYMOLOGY: After Tammany Hall in New York City, former home of the New York County Democratic Party, which was known for corruption. Earliest documented use: 1872.
NOTES: Tamanend or Tammany was a wise and peaceful Delaware Indian chief who became known as the “patron saint” of America. Many social clubs and societies were named after him. Tammany Hall in New York was one such place that evolved into a political machine notorious for its corruption. It was active from 1789-1967.
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TAMPANY - kettle drums (past tense)
TARMANY - like Br'er Fox's trap for Br'er Rabbit, after he grew up
YAMMANY - a whole lot of sweet potatoes
GRAND GUIGNOL
PRONUNCIATION: (grahn gee-NYOL) [the first syllable is nasal]
MEANING: noun: An event, entertainment, etc., of a sensational or horrific nature.
adjective: Gruesome, grotesque, or horrifying.
ETYMOLOGY: From Le Grand Guignol (literally, The Great Puppet), a theater in Paris that specialized in such entertainment. Earliest documented use: 1905.
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GARAND GUIGNOL - puppet with a semi-automatic rifle
RAND GUIGNOL - a think-tank for French theater
GLAND GUIGNOL - puppet shows with horminal themes
BASTILLE
PRONUNCIATION: (ba-STEEL)
MEANING: noun: A prison.
ETYMOLOGY: After Bastille, a fortress in Paris, that was used to hold prisoners. From Old French bastille (fortress), alteration of bastide, from Old Provençal bastir (to build). Earliest documented use: 1400.
NOTES: Bastille (French pronunciation: bas-TEE-yuh) was built in the 14th century and stormed on Jul 14, 1789, marking the beginning of the revolution. The anniversary (Bastille Day) is celebrated as a national holiday in France.
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BAST ISLE - spot of land in the Nile, populated by cats
BESTELLE - favorite girl friend
BAS-TILLER - the below-deck rod for turning the rudder
HAWTHORNE EFFECT
PRONUNCIATION: (HAW-thorn i-FEKT)
MEANING: noun: An improvement in workers’ performance attributed to the special attention they received when singled out for a study.
ETYMOLOGY: After Hawthorne Works, a factory complex of the Western Electric Company, where this effect was observed. The complex was named after the original name of the town where it was located. Earliest documented use: 1958.
NOTES: In the 1920s, researchers studying a group of workers at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois, observed something peculiar. They found that the productivity increased irrespective of the change in the direction of a variable. For example, the performance improved under brighter lights, but also when the lighting level was reduced. The researchers attributed this phenomenon to the workers’ perception that they were being given some attention. The very realization of being singled out for study motivated them to perform better.
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NAWT-HORNE EFFECT - honking in traffic accomplishes nothing
HAW! TH'ORNE EFFECT - when the French river overflow its banks it's simply laughable
HAST HORNE EFFECT - being able to go "beep-beep" makes a driver more aggressive (but see NAWT-HORNE EFFECT)
QUOTENNIAL
PRONUNCIATION: (kwo-TEN-ee-uhl)
MEANING: adjective: Yearly.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin quot (how many) + annus (year). Earliest documented use: 1878. A related word is quotidian (happening every day; commonplace).
USAGE: “The Dallas Cowboys defense has been a point of contention with fans over the past few years.”
Daniel Ruppert; Dallas Cowboys: Quality vs Quantity, the Quotennial Question; FanSided; Feb 14, 2017.
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DUOTENNIAL - twentyful
QUOTERNIAL - attributed to William R. Hamilton the system of imaginary numbers i, j, k with the properties ij=k, jk=i, ki=j, and i^2 = j^2 = k^2 = -1
QUITENNIAL - my yearly attempt to stop
PHILOCYNIC
PRONUNCIATION: (fil-oh-SIN-ik)
MEANING: noun: A dog lover.
adjective: Fond of dogs.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek philo- (loving) + kyon (dog). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog), which is also the source of canine, chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, corgi, cynosure, and cynic. Earliest documented use: 1830.
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PHILOCYGNIC - noun: a lover of baby swans
PHYLOCYNIC - skeptical about classification systems
PHILO CYNIC - a fictional detective who believed that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than rather than for honorable or unselfish reasons; written by S S van Dyne and popular in the 1920s and 30s.
OBVIATE
PRONUNCIATION: (OB-vee-ayt)
MEANING: verb tr.: To render unnecessary; to remove, avoid, or prevent.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin obviare (to act contrary), from ob- (against) + via (way). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wegh- (to go or to transport), which also gave us pervious, ochlophobia (a fear of crowds), and ochlocracy (mob rule). Earliest documented use: 1567.
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OBVIGATE - a blatant, even conspicuous political scandal
OBI-ANTE - Ben Kenobe threw in a chip to start the next pot
OB VIA TEN - the obstetrician drove through on I-10
MAMAGUY
PRONUNCIATION: (MA-muh-gai)
MEANING: verb tr.: To tease or deceive, especially by flattery.
noun: An instance of this.
ETYMOLOGY: From Spanish mamar gallo (to suckle a rooster).
NOTES: The word has nothing to do with a mama or a guy. It is from Caribbean English, especially from Trinidad. It has its origins in cock-fighting, apparently referring to a rooster who is gently sucking at his opponent instead of pecking him with force.
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GAMAGUY - the male of the third class in Orwell's Brave New World, after the alphas and the betas
MAMAGUM - Bloody Mary occasionally chews something besides betel nuts
MATAGUY - What I did in a bar. He said he's a bullfighter, Escami-something.
DIPLOMATICS
PRONUNCIATION: (dip-luh-MAT-iks)
MEANING: noun: The study of documents, especially historical documents, in an effort to authenticate, date, interpret, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin diploma (a letter of recommendation or an official document), from Greek diploma (a folded paper). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dwo- (two) that also gave us dual, double, doubt, diploma (literally, folded in two), twin, between, redoubtable, dubiety, diplopia, and didymous. Earliest documented use: 1808.
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Variations on a Theme:
DIPLOMAT ICE - must be broken before the negotiations can begin
DUPLOMATICS - statesmanship by liars, who speak with with forked tongue
BIPLOMATICS - wordless statesmanship (ask Marcel Marceau how it's done)
DIPLOMATTICS - meetings are held upstairs in the garret
DIPLOMATINS - and they start first thing in the morning
DOPLOMATICS - the ambassador is an idiot
MISERICORD
PRONUNCIATION: (mi/muh-ZER-i-kord)
MEANING: noun:
1. Compassion, pity, or mercy.
2. Something to provide support to a standing person.
3. A place where rules are relaxed.
4. A dagger used to deliver the death stroke to a seriously wounded person.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French misericorde, from Latin misericordia (pity or mercy), from misereri (to pity) + cor (heart). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kerd- (heart), which also gave us cardiac, cordial, courage, concord, cordate, accord, discord, record, and recreant. Earliest documented use: 1230.
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MISER IS ORD - the administration at O'Hare Airport won't spend a penny on improvements
MISS R.I. - C OR D? - Is it the third or the fourth contestant who lives in Newport?
MISER I CARD - proof that I'm a first-class cheapskate
CONTRAFACTUM
PRONUNCIATION: (KON-truh-fak-tuhm)
MEANING: noun: A composition that makes use of an existing piece of music with different lyrics.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin contrafacere (to counterfeit), from contra- (against) + facere (to make or do). Earliest documented use: 1940.
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CONTRACACTUM - this spiny desert plant has it in for me...
CONTRAFACETUM - the side of a gemstone diametrically opposite to the one under consideration
COINTRAFACTUM - a bootleg orange-flavored after-dinner liqueur
AKRASIA
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-KRAY-zh/zhee-uh)
MEANING: noun: The lack of will or self-control resulting in one acting against one’s better judgment.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek akretes (powerless), from a- (without) + kratos (power, strength). Earliest documented use: 1806. The adjective form is akratic.
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ASK RASIA - Rasia? Who's "Rasia?
A.K.A. "RASIA" - nickname for Rasella
O.K., RASIA - I'm satisfied with your answer
AQUABIB
PRONUNCIATION: (AK-wuh-bib)
MEANING: noun:
1. A water-drinker.
2. A teetotaler.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin aqua (water) + bibere (to drink). Ultimately from the Indo-European root poi- (to drink), which also gave us potion, poison, potable, beverage, bibulous, bibacious, and Sanskrit paatram (pot). Earliest documented use: 1731.
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AQUAVIB - whale or dolphin undersea communications
AQUABIC - a European ballpoint pen that writes under water
AQUA-BNB - tourist lodgings in Atlantis
EIDOLON
PRONUNCIATION: (eye-DOH-luhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. An idealized form.
2. A phantom.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek eidos (form, idea), ultimately from the Indo-European root weid- (to see), which also gave us wise, view, supervise, wit, eidos, and eidetic. Earliest recorded use: 1828.
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IDOL ON - when you worship your car so much you can't bear to get inside it, even to turn off the ignition, so that it just stands there with the motor running
EID COLON - the little-known Arabic Festival of the Large Intestine, sometimes loosely (but erroneously) translated as Evacuation Day
EPIDOLON - located just above the dolon
VERIGREEN
PRONUNCIATION: (VER-i-green)
MEANING: noun: A simple or gullible person.
ETYMOLOGY: From very, from Old French verai (true), from Latin verus (true) + green (immature, naive, etc.). Earliest documented use: 1954.
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VERIGREN - plural of verig
VERYGREEN - bright light of 3800 Ångstrom units wavelength
VEROGREEN - putting surface in a Florida golf course
RAFFISH
PRONUNCIATION: (RAF-ish)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Vulgar or tawdry.
2. Unconventional; carefree; rakish.L
ETYMOLOGY: From raff (rubbish), also the source of riffraff. Earliest documented use: 1795.
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RAWFISH - what sushi is made from
LAFFISH - humorous, sort of
CRAFFISH - small crustacean that crawls on the bottom of a pond
CLAMANT
PRONUNCIATION: (KLAY-mant, KLAM-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Loud.
2. Demanding attention; urgent.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin clamare (to cry out). Earliest documented use: 1639.
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CLAY ANT - a pre-Columbian scarab in the form of a six-legged insect
UCLA, MA, NT - the Bruins in Los Angeles have a New Technology, Mother
CALAMANT - squidlike
DRAGGLETAILED
PRONUNCIATION: (DRAG-uhl-tayld)
MEANING: adjective: Dirty or untidy.
ETYMOLOGY: From draggle (to trail on the ground or in mud, etc.) + tail. Earliest documented use: 1654.
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DRAGGLE-FAILED - cross-dressing event didn't work out very well...
DRANGLE-TAILED - lots of anguish and self-searching at the end of the œuvre
DRAGLET AILED - young Saphira was ill (see Eragon)
FAITOUR
PRONUNCIATION: (FAY-tuhr)
MEANING: noun: A cheat or impostor.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin factor (maker, doer, perpetrator), from facere (to make or to do). Earliest documented use: 1340.
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FATTOUR - visit to the lard factory
FASTOUR - driver's view of the Indianapolis Speedway
FAITHOUR - the 23rd Psalm, condensed to a single word
CONSTITUTIONAL
PRONUNCIATION: (kon-sti-TOO/TYOO-shuh-nuhl)
MEANING: noun: A walk taken for one’s health.
adj.: 1. Relating to the constitution, a set of principles governing a state, organization, etc.
2. Relating to someone’s physical or mental condition.
3. Relating to the fundamental makeup of something or someone; essential.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin con- (together) + statuere (to set up). Earliest documented use: 1682.
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CONSTITUTION ALB - the white garment worn when handling an old precious document
CONSTITUITIONAL - the cost of higher education does not rise
C'MONSTITUTIONAL - Let's go for a walk together!
COMMENSURATE
PRONUNCIATION: (kuh-MEN-suh-ruht)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Proportionate.
2. Having the same measure.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin com- (with) + past participle of mensurare (to measure). Earliest documented use: 1641.
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COMPENSURATE - measure your salary
COM MEN SURE ATE - the radio men had a feast
COMMENSTRATE - oh, say, a 6-7-8-9-10 hand
DIALECTIC
PRONUNCIATION: (dy-uh-LEK-tik)
MEANING: noun: A discussion employed in investigating the truth of a thesis.
adjective: Relating to such a discussion.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek dia- (between) + legein (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1382.
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DIALECTRIC - a constant insulating property
DUALECTIC - voting for two candidates
DIATECTIC - a mixture consisting of two fluids, of uniform composition despite transforming from gas to liquid state or back
CURTAL
PRONUNCIATION: (KUHR-tuhl)
MEANING: noun: 1. A woodwind instrument, an early form of bassoon, also known as a dulcian.
2. An animal with a tail docked off.
3. Anything abridged or cut short.
adj.: 1. Having a docked tail.
2. Abridged or cut short.
ETYMOLOGY: From French court (short), from Latin curtus (shortened). Earliest documented use: 1509.
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CURTAG - a microchip with the owner's contact information
CURBAL - what makes a baseball pitcher hard to hit
CARTAL - proposed name for a British moving company, ultimately rejected in favor of simply Pickfords ("We Carry Everything!")
NIDDERING
PRONUNCIATION: (NID-uhr-ing)
MEANING: noun: A coward or wretch.
ETYMOLOGY: From erroneous reading of Middle English nithing, from Old English nithing, from Old Norse nidhingr, from nidh (scorn). Earliest documented use: 1596.
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NIDDERINE - from the city or culture of Nidder
NADDERING - babbling, prattling, speaking blandly and inanely
NIDGERING - poking or otherwise rousing from a state of inactivity or inattention
BROGUE
PRONUNCIATION: (brohg)
MEANING: noun:
1. A sturdy shoe typically with ornamental perforations and a wing tip.
2. A heavy shoe of untanned leather.
3. A strong accent, especially Irish or Scottish when speaking English.
ETYMOLOGY: From Irish and Scottish Gaelic brog (shoe). The accent sense of the word apparently arose from this kind of shoes worn by the speakers. Earliest documented use: 1587.
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GROGUE - a rum drink for upper-class sailors
BROGLUE - what holds Masons together
DROGUE - a small parachute for initiating the deployment sequence or for high-altitude or fast landings
VAMP
PRONUNCIATION: (for verb: ree-VAMP, for noun: REE-vamp)
MEANING: verb tr.: To renovate, refurnish, revise, etc.
noun: An instance of renovation, refurnishing, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From re- (again) + vamp (the front upper part of a shoe), from Old French avanpié, from avant (fore) + pié (foot), from Latin pes (foot). Earliest documented use: 1803.
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VASP - a Teutonic hornet
NAMP - National Association of Military Police; a retired Viet Nam veteran is its head
SAM P. - noted 17th Century Politician and Diarist, as he was known by his familiars
CLEVER CLOGS
PRONUNCIATION: (KLE-vuhr klogs)
MEANING: noun: Someone perceived to be intelligent or knowledgeable in an annoying way.
ETYMOLOGY: The term boots has been used for a fellow or a person since the early 1600s. From there we got the term clever boots and then clever clogs. Earliest documented use: 1866.
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CLEVER CLODS - dull and uninteresting oafs, but shrewd
CLEAVER CLOGS - looks like the Beav plugged up the toilet again
CLOVER CLOGS - wooden shoes to wear while looking for four-leafed lucky charms
SHOESTRING
PRONUNCIATION: (SHOO-string)
MEANING:
noun: 1. A string used to tie a shoe: shoelace.
2. A small amount.
adj.: Involving little.
ETYMOLOGY: From itinerant vendors’ selling of trinkets, threads, shoestrings, and other low-value items. Earliest documented use: 1616.
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SHOESTRING - catching a ball just above your sneakers, a moment before it hits the ground
SHOO-STRING - a cord to flail around to ward off flies
SHOE-STING - when a bee gets you right on top of your big toe when you're wearing sandals
Here is the version that I intended to submit before I saw your post. You will see that it bears some remarkable resemblances to your version!
SHOESTING – lump of grit lodged in one's footwear
SHOOSTRING – piece of cord that one whirls around to repel insects
SHOOTRING – arrangement in which the firing squad completely surrounds the condemned person
BAUCHLE
PRONUNCIATION: (BAH/BO-kuhl)
MEANING: noun: 1. An old, worn-out shoe.
2. Something useless or worn out.
3. A useless person; a fool.
verb tr.: To subject to disgrace or contempt.
ETYMOLOGY: Of Scottish origin, perhaps from bauch (inferior or substandard). Earliest documented use: 1488.
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BOUCHLÉ - a heavy textile containing nubby, looped yarn, often in two different shades...known for its interesting visual texture and super-soft comfort. [I recall a tongue-twister about blue boots made of it]
BACHLE - in the style of Ol' J.S.
BANUCHLE - a card game played by Gary Larsen's sheep
GRUM
PRONUNCIATION: (gruhm)
MEANING: adjective: Surly, gloomy, or stern.
ETYMOLOGY: Probably a blend of grim + glum. Earliest documented use: 1640.
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G I RUM - Elixir of Terpin Hydrate (80 proof, it is)
BRUM - shortened form of Birmingham (England); compare "eleëmosynary" --> "alms"
GNUM - a Wildebeest on lidocaine
MELD
PRONUNCIATION: (meld)
MEANING: verb tr.
intr.: 1. To blend or merge.
2. To declare or make known. For example, in some card games, to declare or display a card or a combination of cards so as to score points.
noun: 1. A blend or merger.
2. A card or a combination of cards declared or laid down to score points.
ETYMOLOGY: For verb, noun 1: Probably a blend of melt + weld. Earliest documented use: 1919.
For verb, noun 2: From German melden (to announce). Earliest documented use: c. 450.
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ME, LTD - the ultimate Personal Corporation
AM ELD - I've been around for a very long time...
MULD - a good way to drink wine on a cool evening
SPLURGE
PRONUNCIATION: (spluhrj)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To spend lavishly or wastefully.
verb intr.: To make an ostentatious display.
noun: An extravagant or ostentatious display or expenditure.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps a blend of splash + surge, or maybe imitative. Earliest documented use: 1828.
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SPLUGE - when the sled breaks through the ice and goes into the water
'SPLUMGE - What's that behind the peacock?
SPLURGEN - 1. the source of that expensive caviar you ordered for Brunch;
2. spending the money anyway
GREIGE
PRONUNCIATION: (grayzh)
MEANING: noun: 1. A color between gray and beige.
2. A fabric or yarn that has not undergone bleaching, dyeing, or other finishing processes.
adj.: 1. Of a gray-beige color.
2. Unbleached, undyed, or unfinished.
ETYMOLOGY: For noun, adj. 1: A blend of gray + beige. Earliest documented use: 1927.
For noun, adj. 2: From French grège (raw, unfinished) influenced by gray/beige, from Italian greggio, probably from Latin gregius (plain, ordinary). Earliest documented use: 1835.
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GREIG, E - Norwegian composer, known for his [i]Peer Gynt Siute[i] among many other works
GREY G.E. - Genera Electric is extraordinarily drab
GREIDE - your mark in school. (I think you flunked Spelling.)
RUMPTION
PRONUNCIATION: (RUHMP-shuhn)
MEANING: noun: An uproar or commotion.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps a blend of rumpus + ruction. Earliest documented use: 1802.
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RUMUPTION - projectile vomiting after too many Daiquiris
RAMPTION - getting on or off the Information Highway
RUMPTOON - an animated show in which all the characters make asses of themselves
BLACKGUARD
PRONUNCIATION: (BLAG-uhrd/ahrd)
MEANING: noun: 1. A scoundrel.
2. A foul-mouthed person.
verb tr.: To disparage with abusive language.
verb intr.: To speak abusively.
ETYMOLOGY: From a blackguard, a person who did menial work in the kitchen of a noble household. Such a person may be responsible for pots and pans. Hence black + guard. Typically such persons were treated derisively. Earliest documented use: 1535. Another word originating in the kitchen to describe a person is scullion.
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BLOCKGUARD - Security Officer in charge of a whole lot of prisoners
FLACKGUARD - security officer in name only, who got his job under the spoils system
LACKGUARD - unsuspecting and unprotected
CWM
PRONUNCIATION: (koom)
MEANING: noun: A steep bowl-shaped mountain basin, carved by glaciers. Also known as a cirque.
ETYMOLOGY: From Welsh cwm (valley). Earliest documented use: 1853.
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CWT - a unit of weight - a short (US) hundredweight ("centiweight," or cwt) is 100 pounds (45.36 kg); a long (Imperial) cwt is 8 stone (112 lbs)
OWT - a number for counting backwards, just before ENO.
CWO - an officer who didn't get a commission
VICTUAL
PRONUNCIATION: (VIT-l)
MEANING: noun: Food, especially food fit for human consumption.
verb tr.: To provide with food.
verb intr.: To obtain food or to eat.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin victualia (provisions), from victus (nourishment), past participle of vivere (to live). Earliest documented use: 1303.
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VICTRAL - pertaining to phonographic sound reproduction
NICTUAL - blinking
VINTUAL - winemaking
GUNWALE
PRONUNCIATION: (GUHN-l)
MEANING: noun: The upper edge of the side of a ship or a boat.
NOTES: The word is often used in the idiom “to the gunwales” meaning to be full, almost overflowing.
ETYMOLOGY: From gun + wale (a plank along the side of a ship), from its use as a support for guns in earlier times. Earliest documented use: 1466.
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GUNSALE - the NRA's dream come true
GUNSWALE - sloping grass to facilitate drainage from an emplacement
GUNWALK - ready to draw at any moment
SIDHE
PRONUNCIATION: (shee)
MEANING: noun:
1. A fairy.
2. The race of fairies.
3. A mound or hill where fairies are believed to live.
ETYMOLOGY: From Irish sidh (fairy mound). Earliest documented use: 1724. Now you can see where banshee came from. A banshee is the anglicized spelling of bean sidhe (literally, woman of a fairyland).
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SITHE - orthographically-challenged cutting tool for harvesting grassy crops
SIEHE - look in Berlin
SINDHE - peccavīt
GALAHAD
PRONUNCIATION: (GAL-uh-had)
MEANING: noun: One who is known for integrity, courteousness, and nobility.
ETYMOLOGY: After Sir Galahad, the noblest of the Knights of the Round Table, in the British legend of King Arthur. Earliest documented use: 1854.
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GAL AHAB - re-write of Moby Dick with a female Captain
GALA MAD - can't resist a good party
GAL AHEAD - said the teenager, standing on the corner with his buddies, watching
BAEDECKERPRONUNCIATION: (BAY-de-kuhr)
MEANING: noun: A guidebook.
ETYMOLOGY: After the German publisher Karl Baedeker (1801-1859) who founded a company that published travel guidebooks. Earliest documented use: 1863.
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BARE-DECKER - a vessel with nothing visible above water (like many submarines)
BALD ECKER - a hairless German river
BAD ECKER - another name for
Bad Hartzburg in Lower Saxony
ZEPHYR
PRONUNCIATION: (ZEF-uhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. A wind blowing from the west.
2. A gentle breeze.
3. A soft and light garment, fabric, or yarn.
4. Anything having a soft, fine quality.
ETYMOLOGY: After Zephyrus, the god of the west wind in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: before 1150.
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ZE PYR - what got built near Giz
ZEPPYR - a closure universally used, but not exclusively since the invention of Velcro®
ZETHYR - a stringed instrument similar to an Autoharp without the pre-set chords
JANUS-FACED
PRONUNCIATION: (JAY-nuhs-fayst)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Looking in two different directions.
2. Having two contrasting aspects.
3. Hypocritical or deceitful.
ETYMOLOGY: After Janus, the Roman god of doors, gates, and transitions. Earliest documented use: 1682. The month of January is named after Janus.
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IAN US-FACED - a James Bond novel specifically edited for publication in America
JANUS-PACED - two steps forward, two steps back, repeat ad libitum
ANUS-FACED - [censored]
RITZ
PRONUNCIATION: (rits)
MEANING: noun: Luxury, glamor, opulence, etc.
verb tr.: 1. To make a show of luxury or opulence.
2. To behave haughtily toward someone; to snub.
ETYMOLOGY: After César Ritz (1850-1918), a Swiss hotelier. Earliest documented use: 1900.
NOTES: César Ritz was known for his opulent hotels and was called “the hotelier of kings and the king of hoteliers”. The word ritz is often used in the phrase “to put on the ritz” meaning to “make an ostentatious show”.
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RITV - television station sited in Providence, Rhode Island
FRITZ - with on the, malfunctioning
RITEZ - what the orthographically-challenged author sez he duz for a living
FELIX CULPA
PRONUNCIATION: (FAY/FEE-liks KOOL/KUHL-pah)
plural felix culpae (KOOL/KUHL-pae/pee)
MEANING: noun: An error or disaster that has fortunate consequences.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin felix culpa (happy fault). Earliest documented use: 1913. A related word is serendipity.
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FELIX CUPPA - Garfield was not the first cat who admired coffee
HELIX CULPA - the blame goes around and around
FELIX CUB, PA - What should we call the lucky little baby lion, Ma?
GLOSSOLALIA
PRONUNCIATION: (glos-uh-LAY-lee-uh)
MEANING: noun: Unintelligible utterances occurring during religious excitation, schizophrenia, etc. Also known as speaking in tongues.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek glosso- (tongue, language) + -lalia (chatter, babbling), from lalein (to babble). Earliest documented use: 1879. A related term is coprolalia.
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FLOSSOLALIA - the unceasing cry of the dental hygienist
GROSSOLALIA - speaking in hundred-forty-fours
GLOSSOLILIA - luminous flowers
SINISTERITY
PRONUNCIATION: (sin-uh-STER-uh-tee)
MEANING: noun:
1. Left-handedness.
2. Skillfulness in the use of the left hand.
3. Awkwardness or clumsiness.
4. Evilness, unluckiness, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sinister (left, left hand, unlucky). Earliest documented use: 1623. Some related words are ambisinistrous/ambisinister (clumsy with both hands) and dexterous.
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SIN IS VERITY - Evil is Truth
MINISTERITY - the office of Church leadership
SINISTER? I TRY - it isn't easy being scary and evil and threatening...
SYMPATRIC
PRONUNCIATION: (sim-PAT-rik)
MEANING: adjective: Occurring in the same geographical area.
ETYMOLOGY: From sym-, a form of syn- (together) + patra (homeland), from pater (father). Earliest documented use: 1904. The opposite is allopatric.
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SYMMATRIC - Your parents are mirror images of each other!
GYM, PATRIC - Captain Picard needs to buff up a bit
SYMPATH, INC. - Sensitives For Hire
SPUDDLE
PRONUNCIATION: (SPUHD-l)
MEANING: verb intr.: To work feebly.
noun: A feeble action or movement.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of spud (a dagger or digging implement) + puddle. Earliest documented use: 1630.
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SPURDLE - to use your spurs to encourage your horse to jump over a hurdle
SPUDULE - a diminutive potato
SPUNDLE - a small sharp object which in the past was used to prick your finger to enable you to sleep
VORPAL
PRONUNCIATION: (VUHR-puhl)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Sharp.
2. Deadly.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) in his novel Through the Looking-Glass. Earliest documented use: 1871.
NOTES: The word appears in the poem “Jabberwocky” in the novel Through the Looking-Glass.:
He took his vorpal sword in hand,
...
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
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CORPAL - friend of my heart
V'ORÉAL - one-tenth of a French personal care and cosmetics company
V. OPAL - the fifth kind of jewel, after diamond, ruby, emerald, and sapphire
CONSILIENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (kuhn-SIL-ee-yuhns)
MEANING: noun: The linking or agreement of different disciplines when forming a theory or coming to a conclusion.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by the philosopher William Whewell (1794-1866). From Latin con- (with) + salire (to leap). Earliest documented use: 1840. He also coined the words scientist and physicist.
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CONSALIENCE - the relevance of the opposition
CONSOLIENCE - sympathy, understanding, reassurance, and encouragement
PONSILIENCE - the resonance and power of the soprano
PSYCHOBABBLE
PRONUNCIATION: (SY-ko-bab-uhl)
MEANING: noun: Language laden with jargon from psychotherapy or psychiatry, used without concern for accuracy.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by journalist Richard Dean Rosen (b. 1949). From Greek psycho- (mind) + babble (drivel, blather). Earliest documented use: 1975.
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PSYCHOBUBBLE - Ward 8 is COVID-free...and completely isolated from other people
PSYCHRO-BABBLE - to natter on, with but colorful language
PSYCHOBAB BLEU - a kind of cheese made in Southern Africa and in Madagascar, with a broad trunk and many edible parts, it can last for centuries
RHEOLOGY
PRONUNCIATION: (ree-OL-uh-jee)
MEANING: noun: The study of the deformation and flow of matter.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Eugene C. Bingham (1878-1945), professor of chemistry, inspired by an aphorism of the philosopher Simplicius of Cilicia: “Panta rhei” (Everything flows). From Greek rheo- (flow) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1929.
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GHEOLOGY - the study of clarified butter
RHETOLOGY - the study of the effect of the wind on the US Civl War
SHEOLOGY - the Feminine Mystique, explained
LOCAVORE
PRONUNCIATION: (LOH-kuh-vohr)
MEANING: noun: One who eats locally grown food.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Jessica Prentice (b. 1968), chef and author. From local, from Latin locus (place) + -vore (eating), from vorare (to devour). Earliest documented use: 2005.
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VOCAVORE - someone who's always eating his words
LOCOVORE - one who eats only crazy foods
LOCAMORE - a trysting place
LO CAVORT - see: children at play
HANDMAIDEN
PRONUNCIATION: (HAND-may-duhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. Someone or something that is subservient to another.
2. A personal maid.
ETYMOLOGY: From hand + maiden, referring to a young woman who was ready at hand to serve her lady. Earliest documented use: 1350.
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BANDMAIDEN - Drum Majorette
HANS' MAIDEN - the young man with the Silver Skates has a girl friend
HAND MAXI DEN - absolutely the best place to get a manicure
SNOUTFAIR
PRONUNCIATION: (SNOUT-fair)
MEANING: noun: A good-looking person.
adjective: Good-looking.
ETYMOLOGY: From snout (nose, mouth, and jaw) + fair (attractive). Earliest documented use: 1530.
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SNOUTFAIL - can't seem to locate those truffles anywhere
'SNOT FAIR - says the frustrated toddler
SNOUT FAR - the measure of Pinocchio's untruthiness
STICKY-FINGERED
PRONUNCIATION: (STIK-ee fing-guhrd)
MEANING: adjective: Given to stealing.
ETYMOLOGY: From stick (to fasten or attach), from Old English stician (to pierce) + finger, from Old English. Earliest documented use: 1855.
NOTES: Lime is another word for something sticky or slimy. Birdlime is used to catch birds. From lime we got the term lime-fingered, alluding to someone whose fingers easily adhere to stuff belonging to others, in other words, someone prone to stealing. Eventually the terms sticky-handed and sticky-fingered entered the language. Sometimes the metaphors and reality collide, as in these headlines:
Quebec Police Seek Sticky-Fingered Thieves with $30m of Maple Syrup (The Guardian)
Sticky-Fingered Thieves Made Off with $200 in Honey (The Huntsville Times)
Let’s hope someone fingered the thieves.
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STOCKY-FINGERED - having short, fat fingers
STICK-FINGERED - drawn by a four-year-old
STICK-FINE RED - take a good Cabernet and beat it with a stake until it froths.
GOBSMACKED
PRONUNCIATION: (GOB-smakt)
MEANING: adjective: Utterly surprised; flabbergasted.
ETYMOLOGY: From gob (mouth), probably from Irish and/or Scottish Gaelic gob (beak, mouth) + smack (to strike with the palm), probably imitative. Earliest documented use: 1935.
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GOBS-MOCKED - derided by thousands
GODSMACKED - struck by a bolt of lightning
G-E-B SMACKED - absolutely blown away by Douglas Hofstadter's tour-de-force book
HARDFISTED
PRONUNCIATION: (HARD-fis-tid)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Stingy.
2. Tough, aggressive, or ruthless.
3. Having hands made rough by labor: hardhanded.
ETYMOLOGY:
From hard + fisted, from Old English fyst (fist). Earliest documented use: 1612.
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HARD-MISTED - so cold the pea-soup fog is frozen
HARD-FIRSTED - stuck with a task that gets easier with practice
HARD-FISHED - to much of the cod has been caught
CHOSISME
PRONUNCIATION: (sho-ZEEZ-muh)
MEANING: noun: A literary style which focuses on description of objects, not on interpretation, plot, characterization, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From French, from chose (thing), from Latin causa (case, thing). The idea is associated with the writer and filmmaker Alain Robbe-Grillet. Earliest documented use: 1960s.
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ECHOS IS ME - when I repeat myself, I'm redundant, I say the same things over and over again
CHORISME - I live to sing !
CHO-SI SMEE - Captain Hook's First Mate is married to a Korean woman
PILCROW
PRONUNCIATION: (PIL-kroh)
MEANING: noun: A symbol (¶) used to indicate paragraph breaks.
ETYMOLOGY: Apparently an alteration of the word paragraph, with r changing into l and remodeled along the more familiar words pill and crow. Earliest documented use: 1440.
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PILO-ROW - shaving one's head so that all the remaining hairs are in a single line (see "Mohawk haircut")
PILGROW - what happens after you plant a pil in fertile soil
NIL-CROW - what a truly modest person has to eat ever
PAREMIOGRAPHY or PAROEMIOGRAPHY
PRONUNCIATION: (puh-ree-mee-AH-gruh-fee)
MEANING: noun:
1. The writing or collecting of proverbs.
2. A collection of proverbs.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin paroemia (proverb), from Greek paroimia (proverb) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented use: 1818.
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SPAREMIOGRAPHY - images of extra mios
PARE-GIOGRAPHY or - alongside regular giography
PAROLE MIOGRAPHY - Let Miography out of jail !
DITHYRAMB
PRONUNCIATION: (DITH-i-ram/ramb)
MEANING: noun:
1. A piece of writing or speech in an inflated or wildly enthusiastic manner.
2. An impassioned Greek choral song, originally in honor of the god Dionysus or Bacchus.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin dithyrambus, from Greek dithyrambos. Earliest documented use: 1603.
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DITCH YRAMB - get away from Yramb
DITZY RAM B. - sometimes my guru acts exceedingly strange
EDIT: HYRAM B - not "Hyram A"
OBELUS
PRONUNCIATION: (OB-uh-luhs)
MEANING: noun:
1. A sign (- or ÷) used in ancient manuscripts to indicate a spurious or doubtful word or passage.
2. A sign (†) used to indicate reference marks. Also known as obelisk or dagger.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin obelus, from Greek obelos (spit). Earliest documented use: c. 450.
NOTES: In typography, an asterisk is used to indicate a footnote as is an obelus aka obelisk. In Asterix comics, the character Obelix is the best friend of the hero Asterix.
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OBILUS - just send us the charges
OBOELUS - a diminutive double-reeded woodwind
NOBEL US - Well? We're waiting for the prize!
DOVECOTE
PRONUNCIATION: (DUHV-koht or DUHV-kot)
MEANING: noun:
1. A structure with holes for housing domestic pigeons.
2. A settled group, especially one of a quiet, conservative nature.
ETYMOLOGY: From dove, from Old English dufe + cote (shelter, coop), from Old English cote. Earliest documented use: 1425. A synonym is columbarium.
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MOVECOTE - Git yer consarned chickencoop outa here!
DOVE-NOTE - These billets-doux are for the birds.
DOVE NOTE - Having trouble finding that tritone, Signor?
PUTTOCK
PRONUNCIATION: (PUHT-uhk)
MEANING: noun:
1. Any of various birds of prey.
2. A greedy person, especially one who preys on others.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old English putta (hawk). Earliest documented use: 1175.
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PUTROCK - what one does on the gravestone of a respected forebear
PUTT ICK - My golf game stinks today; I can't hole anything
PET TOCK - but be careful you don't get Lome disease
RAVEN MESSENGER
PRONUNCIATION: (RAY-vuhn mes-uhn-juhr)
MEANING: noun: A messenger who does not arrive or return in time.
ETYMOLOGY: In the Bible, Noah sends a raven to go scout the scene, but the bird never returns to the ark. Earliest documented use: 1400. Also known as a corbie messenger.
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CRAVEN MESSENGER - when the courier deserts rather than face danger...
RIVEN MESSENGER - ...and with good reason, perhaps; this one's been drawn and quartered
RAMEN MESSENGER - announces when the noodles are ready
PIGEONHOLE
PRONUNCIATION: (PIJ-uhn-hohl)
MEANING: noun: 1. A hole or recess for a pigeon to nest or rest.
2. One of a series of small compartments for filing papers, etc.
3. A stereotypical category, not reflecting the complexities.
verb tr.: 1. To place in, or as if in, a pigeonhole.
2. To lay aside for future consideration.
3. To stereotype, to put into a preconceived, rigid category.
ETYMOLOGY: From pigeon, from Old French pijon (a young bird), from Latin pipio, from pipere/pipare (to chirp) + Old English hol. Earliest documented use: 1577.
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BIG EON HOLE - a wormhole in space that lasts a very long time
PIGEON HOPE - faith that someday we'll find a passenger pigeon hiding deep in the mountains
PIG-PEON HOLE - where the medieval swineherd raises his stock
WAR HAWK
PRONUNCIATION: (WAR hawk)
MEANING: noun: One who advocates war, military intervention, or other aggressive measures.
ETYMOLOGY: After hawk, a bird of prey + war, from Old English (werre) + hawk, from Old English heafoc. Earliest documented use: 1792.
NOTES: A war hawk (or, simply, hawk) advocates for war, a dove (or, peace dove) for peace. Then there’s the species chicken hawk, which clamors for war only to send others to fight and do the dirty work while staying safely behind. Most war hawks are simply chicken hawks.
The term war hawk was especially applied to members of the 12th US Congress (1811-1813) who advocated for war with Britain. Among other motives for the war was the annexation of Canada. They got their war, now known as the War of 1812. The British burned the White House and the Capitol, among other federal buildings. The war ended in 1815. Some 25,000 died. It was a draw.
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OAR HAWK - an advocate of returning to slave-powered ships
PAR HAWK - Improve your golf score by ten strokes or your money back!
WAR HACK - a lingering cough in those lucky enough to survive a wartime gas attack
BREWSTERED
PRONUNCIATION: (BROOS-tuhrd)
MEANING: adjective: Very rich.
ETYMOLOGY: After Montgomery Brewster, the title character of the 1902 novel Brewster’s Millions by George Barr McCutcheon. Earliest documented use: 2001.
NOTES: In the novel Brewster’s Millions, Montgomery Brewster inherits $1 million when his grandfather dies. An uncle who hated this grandfather promises Brewster $7 million if he could spend that one million from the grandfather within a year. There are certain conditions, of course...
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BREW STEREO - the flavor of this beverage has a special depth
BREWS TIERED - a layered mixture of beers and ales of contrasting colors
BREWSTER, ED - interim president (as of 2021) of Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen, WA
HOOVER
PRONUNCIATION: (HOO-vuhr)
MEANING: noun: A vacuum cleaner.
verb tr.: 1. To clean, especially with a vacuum cleaner.
2. To consume or acquire quickly, eagerly, or in large amounts.
ETYMOLOGY: After the industrialist William Henry Hoover (1849-1932). Earliest documented use: 1934.
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HOPOVER - what you do when you come to a small puddle in the sidewalk
HOOKER - a water-pipe used by a Bostonian to smoke marijuaner
HO! OVERT! - what a voluble detective says upon seeing a flagrant violation
COOKIE MONSTER
PRONUNCIATION: (KU-kee mon-stuhr)
MEANING: noun: Someone or something that is insatiably hungry or greedy.
ETYMOLOGY: After Cookie Monster, a puppet character in the children’s television show Sesame Street. Earliest documented use: 1971.
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COOKIE, MON! (STERN) - stage instructions to a Rasta parrot on how to demand a cracker
LOOKIE MONSTER - how to explain to a child about a Basilisk or Medusa
COOTIE MONSTER - the scourge of pre-adolescent males
MARPLOT
PRONUNCIATION: (MAHR-plot)
MEANING: noun: A meddlesome person who spoils a plan by interference.
ETYMOLOGY: After Marplot, the titular character in the 1709 play The Busy Body by Susannah Centlivre (1669-1723). Marplot means well and tries to help only to get in the way of others and foul things up. Earliest documented use: 1709.
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FARPLOT - by stereotype, the North Forty
OMARPLOT - the Rubáiyát Conspiracy
MERPLOT - factions in the French Navy are up to something
PANGLOSSIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (pan-GLOS-ee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Blindly or unreasonably optimistic.
noun: One who is optimistic regardless of the circumstances.
ETYMOLOGY: After Dr. Pangloss, a philosopher and tutor in Voltaire’s 1759 satire Candide. Pangloss believes that, in spite of what happens -- shipwreck, earthquake, hanging, flogging, and more -- “All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.” The name is coined from Greek panglossia (talkativeness). Earliest documented use: 1831. The word pangloss is used in the same manner.
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MANGLOSSIAN - after gender-reassignment surgery
PAN-GLOSS-MAN - the superhero who shines cooking utensils
ANGLO'S SIAN - "Jane" (from the Welsh)
BREADCRUMB
PRONUNCIATION: (BRED-cruhm)
MEANING: noun:
1. A small fragment of bread.
2. One in a series of markers placed as a navigational aid.
3. One of several hints or clues leading to a person, place, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From bread, from Old English bread + crumb, from Old English cruma. Earliest documented use: 1519.
NOTES: In the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, their parents drop the two siblings off in the forest because they are not able to feed them (if only there had been a strong social safety net). The smart kids drop breadcrumbs along the way so they can trace their steps back and find their way home.
In computing, website design, etc., breadcrumbs help users as a navigation aid and tell them where they are in a program, website, etc.
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BREA CRUMB - a small lump of tar washed up on the Spanish coast
DREADCRUMB -a tiny remaining germ of fear after the acute episode has been resolved
BREAD-C RUMBA - that new Latin dance craze
TOM THUMB
PRONUNCIATION: (tom THUM)
MEANING: noun.
1. A very short person.
2. An insignificant or unimportant person, especially one who lacks the power or ability in spite of high rank.
ETYMOLOGY: After Tom Thumb, the hero of many folktales, who is the size of his father’s thumb. Earliest documented use: 1579. Also see lilliput and lilliputian.
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TOM THOMB - a tiny but fully functional Native American drum
TOE THUMB - vernacular for hallux
TOM RHUMB - nickname for Tom Loxodrome, a gifted navigator of the Sixteenth Century and contemporary of Gerardus Mercator, the mapmaker
DOMDANIEL
PRONUNCIATION: (dom-DAN-yuhl)
MEANING: noun: A place of wickedness.
ETYMOLOGY: From French domdaniel (house of Daniel), apparently from Latin or Greek. Earliest documented use: 1801.
NOTES: It’s not clear who Daniel is in the term Domdaniel. The place Domdaniel was introduced by a French continuation of the Arabian Nights by Dom Chaves and M. Cazotte in the late 18th c. Later, the place has appeared in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, H.P. Lovecraft, and Neil Gaiman, among others.
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DOC DANIEL - what my patients called me before I retired
DOOM,DANIEL - he may have survived the den of the Lion but his days are numbered...
DO MD, ARIEL - urging the Little Mermaid to vacation in Maryland
CHICKEN LICKEN
PRONUNCIATION: (CHIK-en LIK-n)
MEANING: noun: Someone who is a pessimist and alarmist, always warning others of impending calamities.
ETYMOLOGY: After a hen in a children’s tale who, when hit on the head by a falling acorn, believes the sky is falling. Earliest documented use: 1922. The character is also known by other names, such as Chicken Little and Henny Penny.
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CHICKEN LICHEN - what grows on the North side of the neck, half alga, half fungus
CLICKEN LICKEN - chocolate-covered crickets
THICKEN LICKEN - wait for the dough to firm up before you scrape out the bowl
OPEN SESAME
PRONUNCIATION: (oh-puhn SAYS-uh-mee)
MEANING: noun: Something that is an easy and effective way to bring out a desired result, gain access, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From the phrase “Open sesame” that opened the door to the robbers’ cave in the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”. Earliest documented use: 1722.
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OPEN BESAME - French kiss
OPEN-SEA ME - I'm a completely different person on a boat
OPENS E-NAME - I'm researching the meaning of your hashtag
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
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
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!
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
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
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
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 !
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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 !
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
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!
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
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
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
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
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
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
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!)
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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")
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
AGATHISM
PRONUNCIATION: (A-guh-thiz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: The doctrine that, in the end, all things tend toward good.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek agathos (good), which also gave us agathokakological and the name Agatha. Earliest documented use: 1830.
NOTES: An optimist would say that everything is for the best. An agathist, on the other hand, would say that what’s happening right now may be unfortunate or evil, but, ultimately, it will all end well.
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AGATISM - having no handgun
AGOTHISM - without morbidness and darkness
AGATE-ISM - worship of hexagonal crystals of silicon dioxide, in any of a variety of colors
YESTERNIGHT
PRONUNCIATION: (YES-tuhr-nyt)
MEANING: noun: Last night.
adverb: During last night.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English giestran/gierstan (a time one period prior to the present period) + niht (night). Earliest documented use: c. 450. A related word is yestreen (yesterday evening).
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OYESTER NIGHT - ...and if we have enough of them this evening, we might even find a pearl or two
YES, HER NIGHT - everyone agrees, at the debutante's Ball
YE STERN EIGHT - one short of a Puritan jury
QUÆSTUARY or QUESTUARY
PRONUNCIATION: (KWES/KWIS-chuh-ree)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to financial matters.
2. Done only for monetary gain.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin quæstus (gain), from quærere (to seek, gain, or inquire). Earliest documented use: 1581.
NOTES: In Ancient Rome, a quæstor was an official dealing with financial matters. Later it was the term for a prosecutor. In the Roman Catholic Church, a quæstor was the official removing sins in exchange for money (aka granting indulgences). In modern times, in the European Parliament, qæstors are officials elected to oversee financial matters.
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QUERTUARY - a place for broken typewriter keyboards
QUE STUART - Sí, but did you mean James, Charles, Mary, William, or Anne?
EQUESTUARY - where thoroughbred horses are kept; syn. for "stable" only classier
HABITUS
PRONUNCIATION: (HAB-i-tuhs)
MEANING: noun:
1. The physical characteristics of a person, especially as relating to disease.
2. The way someone of a particular social group perceives and responds to the world.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin habit (state, appearance), from habere (to have). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghabh- (to give or to receive), which also gave us give, gift, able, habit, prohibit, due, duty, habile, and adhibit. Earliest documented use: 1886.
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AHABITUS - having a gaunt, one-legged appearance and an obsessive personaity
HABITIS - inflammation of the funnybone
HABT US - weak attempt at the second-person-plural present tense of "to have," by a confused student of German
ESCHATOLOGY
PRONUNCIATION: (es-kuh-TOL-uh-jee)
MEANING: noun: The doctrine or the study of final or ultimate matters, such as, death, judgment, end of the world, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek eschatos (last) + -logy (study). Ultimately from the Indo-European root eghs (out), which also gave us strange, extreme, and external. Earliest documented use: 1844
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ESCHEATOLOGY - practiced by a lawyer specializing the disposition in the unclaimed assets of an intestate decedent
ESCHARTOLOGY - the study and practice of artistic-perspective trickery, named for its principal exponent Mauritz
ISCHATOLOGY - a subspecialty of orthopedics dealing with hip-joint diseases
NEOIST
PRONUNCIATION: (NEE-uh-ist)
MEANING: noun: One who favors or employs new ideas, styles, techniques, etc.
adjective: Favoring new ideas, styles, techniques, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek neo- (new). Earliest documented use: 1916.
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ONE-O-IST - someone who favors victory by the narrowest of margins
NO-IST - 1. one who's consistently negative; 2. a devotee of Japanese drama
N.E. JOIST - a horizontal subflooring support at the northeast part of a building
ROUNDER
PRONUNCIATION: (RAUN-duhr)
MEANING: noun: A drunkard, idler, or self-indulgent person.
ETYMOLOGY: Apparently referring to one who makes rounds of bars or downs many rounds of drinks. From Latin rotundus (round), from rota (wheel). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ret- (to run or to roll), which also gave us rodeo, rotunda, rotate, rotary, roulette, orotund, rondeau, and rotund. Earliest documented use: 1854.
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AROUNDER - one who doesn't want to go over, under, or through
PRO-UNDER - someone who always roots for the competitor expected to lose
GRO-UNDER - an agriculturalist specializing in root crops
HOTSPUR
PRONUNCIATION: (HOT-spuhr)
MEANING: noun: A rash, hotheaded person.
adjective: Having a rash, hotheaded temperament.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1403.
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HOPS PUR ® - brand name known to artisanal brewers; its whose slogan is "It makes your beer better!"
HOT'S P.U. - When you sweat, you stink!
HOT, SPURN - to be angry and dismissive at the same time
SHOT SPUR - my rowel is dull, and it won't turn, either
BLELLUM
PRONUNCIATION: (BLE-luhm)
MEANING: noun: An idle, talkative person.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps a blend of Scots bleber (to babble) + skellum (rascal). Earliest documented use: 1790.
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B. TELL 'UM - Second choice in giving people unpleasant news, after A. Avoid the subject
BREL, LUM - Jacques' younger brother
B.L.E. ALUM - graduate of the Bourdeaux Lycée Économique
POT-VALIANT
PRONUNCIATION: (POT-val-yuhnt)
MEANING: noun: A person displaying boldness or courage while drunk.
adjective: Displaying bravado under the influence of alcohol.
ETYMOLOGY: From pot, alluding to a drinking pot + valor (boldness), from Latin valor (worth), from valere (to be well, be of worth). Earliest documented use: 1647. Someone pot-valiant is also said to display liquid courage or Dutch courage.
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POI VALIANT - an earnest first attempt at Hawaiian cooking
POT-VARIANT - mentholated weed
POT; VAIL I AIN'T - To what do you attribute your success as a ski resort?
BLACK SWAN
PRONUNCIATION: (BLAK swan)
MEANING: noun:
1. An unpredictable occurrence that has major consequences.
2. Something extremely rare.
ETYMOLOGY: From the former belief that all swans were white until black swans were discovered in Australia in 1697.
Earliest documented use: 1570.
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BRACK SWAN - a graceful bird which swims in salty water
BACK SWAN - a retrograde popular dive
A-LACK SWAN - "SWN"
GOWK
PRONUNCIATION:
(gouk, gohk)
MEANING:
noun: 1. A foolish person.
2. A cuckoo.
verb tr.: To make a fool of or to stupefy.
verb intr.: To stare foolishly.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Old Norse gaukr (cuckoo). Earliest documented use: 1325.
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HOWK - erstwhile Yankees and Red Sox manager
GROW K - you can raise aquamephyton in your own back yard by planting Kale (though that's not the origin of the name)
AGO WK - seven days in the past
LAME DUCK
PRONUNCIATION: (LAYM duhk, laym DUHK)
MEANING: noun:
1. An elected official soon going to be out of office due to losing a re-election bid, not running again, or being ineligible to run again.
2. Something or someone weak, unsuccessful, ineffectual, disabled, helpless, etc.
3. Someone who cannot fulfill their contracts, especially one who has lost a great deal of money in stocks or other speculations.
ETYMOLOGY: The term originated in the London Stock Exchange where a stockbroker who lost a lot of money and defaulted on his debts was called a lame duck. Other animal metaphors used in the financial world are bull and bear. Earliest documented use: 1761. The term came to be applied to politics about 100 years later.
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LIME DUCK - a sturdy, green, tightly woven canvas-like material, with two yarns in the warp and a single yarn in the weft
LAMA DUCK - the Dalai Donald
FLAME DUCK - Icarus Drake
HENPECK
PRONUNCIATION: (HEN-pek)
MEANING: verb tr.: To criticize, nag, pester, etc. in a persistent manner.
ETYMOLOGY: The word hen has been used for a woman or a girl for a long time (1555). So has the verb peck for nagging (1641). Earliest documented use for the verb henpeck: 1677.
NOTES: The word is often used in reference to a wife nagging her husband. A henpecked husband is one considered subservient to his wife and a chickenpecked parent is one nagged, harassed, or bullied by a child.
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THENPECK - what you do at a typewriter after youhunt
HANPECK - a Solo air-kiss
HENDECK - where Noah stowed the egg-layers on the ark
OSTRICHISM
PRONUNCIATION: (OS-tri-chiz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: The act or policy of refusing to face reality or unpleasant facts.
ETYMOLOGY: From the erroneous popular belief that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when facing danger. From Old French ostrusce/ostriche, from Latin struthio (ostrich), from Greek strouthos. Earliest documented use: 1834.
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OSTRI-SCHISM - fragmentation in the bird colony
POST-RICH-ISM - life after bankruptcy
MOST-RICH-ISM - Potlatch-participants' credo
MITZVAH
PRONUNCIATION: (MITS-vuh)
MEANING: noun:
1. A good deed.
2. A duty, obligation, or commandment.
ETYMOLOGY: From Hebrew mitzvah (commandment), from tziwwah (to command). Earliest documented use: 1723. Plural: mitzvahs or mitzvoth.
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MIT ZE V.A.H. - ...along with the Veterans' Administration Hospital
MIT, ZVI? AH! - Zvi just got into his first-choice college
M.I.? TZVI? AH... - No, Tzvi just had a heart attack
CHERUB
PRONUNCIATION: (CHER-uhb)
MEANING: noun: A person, especially a child, with a sweet innocent appearance.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin cherubim, from Greek kheroubin, from Hebrew kerubim. Ultimately from the Semitic root krb (to praise). Earliest documented use: 825.
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CHERUT- a cigar with a heavenly aroma
CHE TUB - this bath was used during the Cuban Revolution
CHER B - body double for Cherilyn Sarkisian
TZEDAKAH or ZEDAKAH
PRONUNCIATION: (tsuh-DAH-kuh, -dah-KAH)
MEANING: noun: Charitable giving or charity, especially when seen as a moral obligation.
ETYMOLOGY: From Hebrew tzedaqah (righteousness). Earliest documented use: 1959. Plural: tzedakahs or tzedakot.
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ZEDAKIAH - the book of the Bible between Zephaniah and Habakkuk
TED A.K.A. "H" - Ted adopted a nom-de-plume for his blog
"THE DAK" - AH! - Quarterback Prescott has lived up to his advance billing
SHEKEL or SHEQEL
PRONUNCIATION: (SHEK-uhl)
MEANING: noun:
1. Money; wealth; cash.
2. A monetary unit of Israel.
ETYMOLOGY: From Hebrew sheqel, from shaqal (to weigh). Ultimately from the Semitic root tql (to weigh), which also gave us scallion and shallot. Earliest documented use: 1560.
NOTES: A shekel was an ancient unit of weight of the Babylonians. From there the term came to be applied to a coin of this weight. In 1980, Israel replaced the pound as its monetary unit with the shekel. Hyperinflation forced the replacement of shekel with the new shekel in 1986. Today, the new shekel is simply called a shekel. Three shekels equal approx. one US dollar.
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SHECKEL - what the Lower East Side bartender gave to the martini he was mixing for James Bond
SHEQUEL - 1. followup tale as related by a drunken storyteller; 2. with a female main character
SHEIKEL - a minor middle-Eastern potentate
SABBATH
PRONUNCIATION: (SAB-uhth)
MEANING: noun:
1. A day of the week observed as a day of rest.
2. A period of rest.
3. A meeting of witches and sorcerers (typically spelled as sabbat).
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English sabat, from French sabbat, from Latin sabbatum, from Greek sabbaton, from Hebrew sabbat, from sabat (rest). Earliest documented use: 950.
NOTES: Typically, Friday is considered a day of Sabbath by Muslims, Saturday by Jews (and some Christians), and Sunday by Christians. Why not convert to Islam, Judaism, and Christianity and take a three-day weekend off?
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SAAB BATH - what you give to your Swedish car when it gets filthy
AB BATH - ritual dip when you get your college degree
SAMBATH - Brazilian dances, with a lisp
WRONGOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (RONG-uhs)
MEANING: adjective: Unfair, lacking propriety, illegal, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From wrong, from Old English wrang + wise (manner). Earliest documented use: 1200.
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WRENGOUS - songbirdly
WRONG OF US - we shuddn'a done it
ORO'N'GOUS - a tasty mouthful
EUPNEA
PRONUNCIATION: (yoop-NEE-uh)
MEANING: noun: Normal breathing.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek eu- (good) + pnein (to breathe). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pneu- (to breathe), which also gave us pneumonia, sneer, sneeze, snort, snore, pneumatic, pneuma, and pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Earliest documented use: 1706.
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EUTNEA - a kind of Reader published periodically, now only on-line
EUPEA? - an Italian parent encourages the bambino to use the potty
EUPHEA? - How much do you charge?
EUPPEA - Eung Upwardly-mobile Professional
POSTPOSITION
PRONUNCIATION: (post-puh-ZISH-uhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. The placing of something after another.
2. Something placed in this manner, especially a word or an element placed after another.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin post- (after) + position, from ponere (to put). Ultimately from the Indo-European root apo- (off or away), which is also the source of pose, apposite, after, off, awkward, post, puny, appose, depose, repose, interpose, apposite, apropos, eftsoons, postiche, and pungle. Earliest documented use: 1546.
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PAST POSITION - where you were before you changed your mind
POSH POSITION - the lap of luxury
POSTPONITION - putting off until tomorrow what you can do today
APOCRYPHAL
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-PAH-kri-fuhl)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Of dubious authorship or authenticity.
2. False; erroneous; fictitious.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin apocryphus (secret), from Greek apokruphos (secret, hidden), from apokruptein (to hide away), from apo- (away) + kruptein (to hide). Earliest documented use: 1590.
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A.P.O. CRY "PHIL !" - Army post office cheers for Groundhogs' Day
APOCRYPTAL - pertaining to the point most distant from a tomb
ANERGY
PRONUNCIATION: (AN-uhr-jee)
MEANING: noun:
1. Lack of energy.
2. The lack of an immune response to a foreign substance.
ETYMOLOGY: From an- (not) + ergon (work). Earliest documented use: 1890. The opposite of sense 1 is energy and the opposite of sense 2, allergy. Earliest documented use: 1890.
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ANERGO - similar to a wherefore, a hence, and a therefore
IANERGY - what gives the original James Bond novels their drive
AN URGY - emphatic suggestion of importance and a need for promptness
WAFFLEPRONUNCIATION: (WAH-fuhl)
1. MEANING: noun: A crisp cake made by baking batter in an appliance with a gridlike pattern.
ETYMOLOGY: From Dutch wafel. Ultimately from the Indo-European root webh- (to weave; to move quickly), which also gave us weave, webster, wave, waver, wafer, wobble, and weft. Earliest documented use: 1744.
2. MEANING: American English: verb intr.: To be indecisive or evasive; to waver.
noun: Evasive speech or writing.
British English: verb intr.: To talk or write idly or foolishly.
noun: Pretentious or useless speech or writing.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps a frequentative of woff (to yelp), of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1298.
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WAAFLE - a diminutive soldier of the Women's Auxilliary Air Force
WIFFLE - to curve unpredictably, due to changing aerodynamic drag
WAFFLEY - like the nose of
Christopher Robin's mouse [scroll down]
TAW
PRONUNCIATION: (taw)
MEANING: verb intr.: To shoot a marble.
noun: 1. A large marble used as a shooter.
2. A line from which the players shoot marbles.
ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1709.
MEANING: verb tr.: 1. To prepare raw material for use.
2. To tan animal skin with alum and salt.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English tawian (to make or prepare). Earliest documented use: 893.
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ITAW - what I tawt I did to a puddy tat
TEA W - the twenty-first entry on a list of brewed beverages
TAL - Latvian chess player, World Champion in the early 1960s, died 1992
CHUM
PRONUNCIATION: (chuhm)
A.
MEANING: noun: 1. A close friend.
2. A roommate.
verb intr.: 1. To be a close friend or to be friendly.
2. To share a room, especially in a dormitory at a school or college.
ETYMOLOGY: Originally university slang, probably from chamber fellow or chamber mate. Earliest documented use: 1684.
B.
MEANING: noun: Matter, especially fish parts, dumped into the water to attract fish.
verb intr.: To throw fish parts into the water.
ETYMOLOGY:
Of uncertain origin, perhaps from chum salmon. Earliest documented use: 1857.
C.
MEANING:
noun: Chum salmon, a fish of the northern Pacific Ocean.
ETYMOLOGY:
Probably from Chinook Jargon tzum (spotted, striped). Earliest documented use: 1908.
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CHURM - a Teutonic pathogen
CHUR - the noise made by a cicada by rubbing its foot over its wing rapidly
CO-HUM - two people yawning at the same time
MARL
PRONUNCIATION: (marl)
1.
MEANING: noun: 1. An earthy deposit containing clay and lime.
2. Earth.
verb tr.: To fertilize with marl.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French marle, from Latin margila, diminutive of Latin marga (marl). Earliest documented use: 1280.
2.
MEANING: noun: A yarn made of differently colored threads or a fabric made from such a yarn.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin. Probably from shortening of marble or marbled, from Latin marmor, from Greek. marmaros (shining stone). Earliest documented use: 1892.
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MBA/RL - a business degree attained via Zoom (Masters of Business Administration/Remote Learning)
DARL - a shortened term of familiar endearment
MORL - the pithily-expressed point of Esop's Fbles
GROUSE
PRONUNCIATION: (grous)
1.
MEANING: verb intr.: To complain or to grumble.
noun: A complaint.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old French groucier/grousser (to murmur or grumble). Earliest documented use: 1887.
2.
MEANING: adjective: Wonderful.
ETYMOLOGY: Australian slang, of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1941.
3.
MEANING: noun: Any of various birds that are typically plump, ground-dwelling, and have feathered legs.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from northern English dialect crouse (cheerful). Earliest documented use: 1531.
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TROUSE - what a trouser does
AGRO-USE - farming
GAROUSE - what a dog does to a covey of hidden game-birds
CACOETHES
PRONUNCIATION: (kak-oh/uh-WEE-theez)
MEANING: noun: An irresistible urge to do something, especially something inadvisable.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek kakoethes (ill-disposed), from kakos (bad) + ethe (disposition). Kakos is ultimately from the Indo-European root kakka-/kaka- (to defecate), which also gave us poppycock, cucking stool, cacology, and cacography. Earliest documented use: 1603.
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CACAOETHES - irresistibe urge to eat uprocessed chocolate
CACO-ETHER - foul-smelling stuff that pervades the entire universe
CACOETHESE - the language spoken in the pre-Columbian Cacoeth civilization
REFOULEMENT
PRONUNCIATION: (ruh-FUL-man) [the last syllable is nasal]
MEANING: noun: The forcing of refugees or asylum seekers to return to a place where they are likely to face persecution.
ETYMOLOGY: From French refoulement (turning back), from refouler (to push back), from re- (again) fouler (to trample). Earliest documented use: 1780.
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REFOUL EVENT - another example of unpermitted poor sportsmanship
REFOU LAMENT - crazy again, alas
REF: 0-ELEMENT - the umpire says every group has to have one member which after interacting with every other group member leaves it unchanged
MEMETIC
PRONUNCIATION: (muh/mee/mi-MET-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to memes.
ETYMOLOGY: From meme, from Greek mimeisthai (to imitate, copy). Earliest documented use: 1977.
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MIMETIC - imitating Marcel Marceau
HEMETIC - bloody
MAME-TIC - my Auntie's eyelid twitches repetitively
BIMARIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (by-MAY-ree-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to two seas.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin bimaris, from bi- (two) + mare (sea). Earliest documented use: 1731.
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'BAMARIAN - neat and tide-y
BINARIAN - one who can always see two sides to everything
BIG MARIAN - the librarian is very tall and strong
GRAPHOMANIA
PRONUNCIATION: (graf-oh-MAY-nee-uh)
MEANING: noun: An obsessive inclination to write.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek grapho- (writing) + -mania (obsession). Earliest documented use: 1827.
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GRAPPOMANIA - an obsessive devotion to an Italian brandy distilled from fermented pomace
GIRAPHOMANIA - an obsessive devotion to an African herbivore with a very long neck
GRAPHOMANTA - a species of ray that uses its "stinger" to write. (Surprised? Don't be. Mantas have the largest brains among all cold-blooded fish)
APHRODITE
PRONUNCIATION: (af-ruh-DY-tee)
MEANING: noun: A beautiful woman.
ETYMOLOGY: After Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Her Roman equivalent is Venus. Earliest documented use: 1658.
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ACHRODITE - a colorless person
APHRODILE - a horny reptile
APHRODICE - Johannesburg gambling cubes
TITANISM
PRONUNCIATION: (TY-tuh-niz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: A spirit of nonconformity, rebelliousness, or revolt, against authority, convention, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: After Titan, any of a family of giant gods in Greek mythology. Titans, under the leadership of Cronus, one of the Titans, overthrew their father Uranus and ruled themselves. Eventually, Cronus’s son, Zeus, rebelled against his father and defeated the Titans. Earliest documented use: 1628.
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TIGANISM - a condition resulting from exposure to trimethobenzamide (Tigan), an anti-nauseant know to have Parkinson-like side effects, because of which it's not used very much these days
TRITANISM - the practice of getting an intense sun exposure three times a year
TETANISM - another word for severe muscle spasms
BOREAL
PRONUNCIATION: (BOH-ree-uhl)
MEANING: adjective: Northern; relating to the north, north wind, northern regions, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Boreas, the god of the north wind in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: 1470. The opposite is austral.
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COREAL - describing starfish which eat invertebrate polyp colonies for breakfast in the morning
FOREAL - slang for "No, honestly, it's true!"
BO REGAL - Ms Derick truly has a queenly persona
VULCANIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (VUHL-kuh-nyz)
MEANING: verb tr.: To harden or improve, for example, rubber by application of sulfur and heat.
verb intr.: To become hardened.
ETYMOLOGY: After Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, metalworking, etc. Earliest documented use: 1846.
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VOLCANIZE - to convert to an active erupting mountain after eons of dormancy
SULCANIZE - to show pouting in ones facial expression
HULCANIZE - to metamorphose into an immensely powerful green monster (see Bruce Banner)
GORGONIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (GOR-guh-nyz)
MEANING: verb tr.: To paralyze, petrify, or hypnotize.
ETYMOLOGY: After Gorgon, any of the three monstrous sisters in Greek mythology: Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. They had snakes for hair and turned into stone anyone who looked into their eyes (apparently it was OK to objectify people in those days). Earliest documented use: 1609.
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GORDONIZE - what the Commissioner of Gotham City Police does to reshape his department
GO AGONIZE - you've decided nothing will help your bad situation
G. ORGANIZE - the seventh and ultimate way to improve working conditions
SEHNSUCHT
PRONUNCIATION: (ZEN-zookht)
MEANING: noun: Yearning or longing.
PRONUNCIATION: (ZEN-zookht)
ETYMOLOGY: From German Sehnsucht (longing or yearning), from sehnen (to long or yearn) + Sucht (craving or addiction). Earliest documented use: 1847.
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SEIN SUCHT - 1. his needs; 2. I'm looking for that river through Paris
SEHN SUCH - they really want that kind of thing
SEHN AUCH "T" - they also crave those little golf-ball supports
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[In a foreign language these tend to be a little strained]
LEI
PRONUNCIATION: (lay, LAY-ee)
MEANING: noun: A garland, typically made of flowers, or leaves, shells, nuts, feathers, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Hawaiian lei. Earliest documented use: 1843.
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ILEI - paralyzed intestines
LEIB - (German) body
LII - that new card game, named for the number of cards in its deck
VERSTEHEN
PRONUNCIATION: (fuhr-SHTAY-uhn)
MEANING: noun: The use of empathy in understanding human actions and behavior, especially in interpreting sociological or historical events.
ETYMOLOGY. From German verstehen (to understand). Earliest documented use: 1934.
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VERSE HEN - she writes poetry
VERS THEN - toward that time, in Paris
OVER-STEHEN - to remain in Berlin for too long
KAPU
PRONUNCIATION: (KAH-poo)
MEANING: noun: Taboo.
ETYMOLOGY: From Hawaiian kapu, from the Proto-Polynesian root tapu which also gave us taboo. Earliest documented use: 1933.
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OKAPU - more than one relatively long-necked African ruminants, akin to giraffes
KARU - a brand of sweet corn-sugar syrup, often poured over pancakes and waffles
KUPU - a small hand-sized vessel for tea, used in Japan
WISSENSCHAFT
PRONUNCIATION: (VI-suhn-shaft)
MEANING: noun: Knowledge, learning, and science or their systematic pursuit.
ETYMOLOGY: From German Wissenschaft (science), from Wissen (knowledge) + -schaft (-ship, making). Earliest documented use: 1934.
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WISSENSCHRAFT - a former restaurant chain and manufacturer of candy, chocolates and cakes, since purchased by Pet Milk Company and broken into its several components
WISSENS CHAT - a conversation about human knowledge
WISSENS CHART - a graphic representation of same
PALMATE
PRONUNCIATION: (PAL/PAHL/PA/PAH-mayt)
MEANING: adjective: Shaped like a hand with the fingers spread.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin palma (palm, palm tree), which also gave us palmer, palmary, and palmy. Earliest documented use: 1738.
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PSALMATE - lyrical and poetic
PALM DATE - a kind of tree tryst
DALMATE - to speckle a white dog with black dots
TWO-FISTED
PRONUNCIATION: (TOO-fis-tuhd, too-FIS-)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Tough; aggressive.
2. Energetic; enthusiastic.
3. Using both hands.
ETYMOLOGY: The term describes someone using both hands, literally or figuratively, where a clenched fist alludes to vigor, resolve, etc. From two, from Old English twa (two) + fist, from Old English fyst (fist). Earliest documented use: 1774. Also see ironfisted, clutchfist, and hardfisted.
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TWO-FASTED - celebrating both abstinence-observing holidays on the same day
TWO-LISTED - a second-team player
TWO-FISHED - limited to only a couple of piscatorial species
PUGILISM
PRONUNCIATION: (PYOO-juh-liz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: The hobby or sport of fighting with fists: boxing.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin pugil (boxer), from pugnare (to fight), from pugnus (fist). Ultimately from the Indo-European root peuk- (to prick), which also gave us point, puncture, pungent, punctual, poignant, pounce, poniard, oppugn, repugn, impugn, pugilist, repugnant, pugnacious, and propugnaculum. Earliest documented use: 1788.
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RUGILISM - a style of interior-decorating featuring small carpets in many places
PURILISM - childishness
BUGILISM - 1. government by insects; 2. government by horn-players
CACK-HANDED
PRONUNCIATION: (kak-HAN-did, KAK-han-)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Clumsy; awkward.
2. Left-handed.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin. Perhaps from cack (excrement), ultimately from the Indo-European root kakka-/kaka- (to defecate) which also gave us poppycock, cacophony, cacology, cacography, and cacoethes. Earliest documented use: 1854.
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BACK-HANDED - like "TNEMILPMOC"
CLACK-HANDED - a Flamenco castinet-player
LACK-HANDED - afflicted with phocomelia
MANDUCTION
PRONUNCIATION: (man-yuh-DUHK-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. The act of guiding, leading, or introducing.
2. Something that guides, leads, or introduces.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin manuduction, from manus (hand) + ducere (to draw, lead). Earliest documented use: 1505.
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SANDUCTION - the process whereby the beach under your feet at the waterline is washed away by receding waves
MANDICTION - using very clear enunciation to give a condescending (and perhaps unnecessary) explanation
MANDUCATION - teaching young Homo sapiens to be more mature
APHRODITE
PRONUNCIATION: (af-ruh-DEE-zee-ak, -DIZ-ee-ak)
MEANING: noun: Something, such as a food or drug, that increases sexual desire.
adjective: Arousing sexual desire.
ETYMOLOGY: After Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty in Greek Mythology. Earliest documented use: 1710. Another word coined after her is hermaphrodite.
_________________________________
ACHRODITE - any colorless individual
APHRODATE - an evening out with a goddess
APHORODITE - an ancient scholar given to uttering concise quote-worthy statements
TITANIC
PRONUNCIATION: (ty-TAN-ik)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Of great power, strength, size, etc.
2. Relating to or made of the element titanium.
ETYMOLOGY: After Titan, any of a family of giant gods in Greek mythology. The element titanium is named after Titans because of its high strength. Earliest documented use: 1628; for sense 2: 1814. Another word coined after the Titans is titanism
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TRITANIC - containing tritium
TITANTIC - a step above belly-dancing
TISANIC - brewed from plant leaves and stems
BORASCO
PRONUNCIATION: (buh/boh-RAS-koh)
MEANING: noun:
1. A sudden violent gust of wind, typically accompanied by rain, snow, or sleet. Also known as a squall.
2. A bad spell; something unproductive, especially a mine (the opposite of bonanza).
ETYMOLOGY: The term is also spelled as borasca or borrasca. It’s from Spanish borrasca (squall), from Latin borras (north wind), from Greek borras (boreas), after Boreas, the god of the north wind, in Greek mythology who also gave us boreal and hyperborean. Earliest documented use: 1686.
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BORISCO - Russia, Inc.
BORA'S C.E.O. - chief executive officer of half of a Tahitian island
BORASCH - beet soup from central Europe
VULCANIC
PRONUNCIATION: (vuhl-KAN-ik)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Relating to volcanoes.
2. Fiery; explosive; full of anger, energy, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: After Vulcan, the god of fire and metalworking in Roman mythology. The word vulcanize is also coined after him. Earliest documented use: 1660. The word vulcanic is also spelled as volcanic.
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VULCAN - ICK ! - response of someone who finds Spock and his ilk to be repulsive
SULCANIC - full of grooves and furrows
VULPANIC - a stampede of foxes
GORGONIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (gor-GOH-nee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Terrible; repulsive.
noun: Any of various corals having a hard, treelike skeleton.
ETYMOLOGY: After Gorgon, any of the three monstrous sisters in Greek mythology, who had snakes for hair: Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Earliest documented use: 1616. See also, gorgonize.
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GORDONIAN - knotty
GOREGONIAN - from the bloody history of the US Northwest
ORGONIAN - like a device constructed of layers of wood and other materials, as tin, claimed by its inventor, Wilhelm Reich, to restore energy to persons sitting in it, thereby aiding in the cure of impotence, cancer, the common cold, etc; first postulated in the 1940s
ANTRE
PRONUNCIATION: (AN-tuhr)
MEANING: noun: A cave, cavern, cavity, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle French antre (cave), from Latin antrum (cave), from Greek antron (cave). Earliest documented use: 1585.
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ANTARE - a singularly bright star in the night sky, 𝛂-Scorpius
ANTIE - a female protester
AITRE - high-falutin' pronunciation of the French verb "to be"
REEVE
PRONUNCIATION: (reev)
MEANING: verb tr.: To pass (a rope or the like) through.
noun: A local official.
ETYMOLOGY: For verb: Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1600.
For noun: From Old English gerefa (high official). Earliest documented use: before the 12th century.
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PRE-EVE - the night before the night before a holiday
RÈVE - a French dream
PREEVE - slang for "to look at in advance"
ANTRE
PRONUNCIATION: (AN-tuhr)
MEANING: noun: A cave, cavern, cavity, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle French antre (cave), from Latin antrum (cave), from Greek antron (cave). Earliest documented use: 1585.
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ANTARE - a singularly bright star in the night sky, 𝛂-Scorpius
ANTIE - a female protester
AITRE - high-falutin' pronunciation of the French verb "to be"
VESTA
PRONUNCIATION: (VES-tuh)
MEANING: noun: A short wooden match.
ETYMOLOGY: After Vesta, the goddess of hearth and household in Roman mythology. Her temple had a fire tended by the vestal virgins. Earliest documented use: 1839.
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PESTA - an Italian bug
NESTA - what a swarm of pestas lives in
YESTA - 1) with "say," to agree; 2) the day before
TALPA
PRONUNCIATION: (TAL-puh)
MEANING: noun:
1. A mole (the animal).
2. A cyst.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin talpa (mole). Earliest documented use: 1684.
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TALL P.A. - my Physician's Assistant's height is 2.5 meters
T-ALPHA - where I place my golf ball before driving on the first hole
TOLPA - the fee you pay to drive on the turnpike from Philadelphia to Pittsburg
PAEAN
PRONUNCIATION: (PEE-uhn)
MEANING: noun: An expression of praise, joy, or triumph, typically in the form of a song.
verb tr.: To make such an expression.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin paean, from Greek paian (hymn of thanksgiving to Apollo), after Paian, Paion (epithet of Apollo in the hymn). Earliest documented use: 1592.
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P.A. DAN - few people know he was a Physicians Assistant before he became Doctor Dan, the Band-Aid Man
PANE AN - designating the top row, fourteenth window over
PRE-AN- - in the encyclopedia, that would be AM, yes?
RUSTICATE
PRONUNCIATION: (RUS-ti-kayt)
MEANING: verb intr.: 1. To go to or live in the country.
2. To live or spend time in seclusion.
verb tr.: 1. To send to the country.
2. To suspend (a student) from a university as a punishment.
3. To make rustic or rural.
4. To make something, such as a masonry surface, rough, textured, jagged, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin rusticari (to live in the country), from rus (country). Earliest documented use: 1660.
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RUSTIC MATE - the farmer's wife
RUSTIGATE - that's why it squeaks
RASTICATE - to convert to a Jamaican religion
FLAGELLATE
PRONUNCIATION: verb: FLAJ-uh-layt; adj.: FLAJ-uh-lit/layt)
MEANING: verb tr.: To punish, especially by whipping.
noun: An organism having a whip-like appendage that’s used for locomotion, such as swimming.
adjective: Relating to such an organism.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin flagellare (to whip), from flagellum (whip), diminutive of flagrum (whip). Earliest documented use: 1623.
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FLAG ELATE - rapturously patriotic
PLAGELLATE - like a stretch of French shoreline mostly covered by sandy beach
FLAG "EL LATTE" - to feature Starbuck's latest specialty coffee
MOLLIFY
PRONUNCIATION: (MOL-uh-fy)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To pacify or appease.
2. To soften or reduce, as in intensity.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin mollis (soft). Earliest documented use: 1425.
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MOLL IFFY - gangster's girl is uncommitted
POLLIFY - to survey people's opinions
MALLIFY - to convert a neighborhood to a shopping center
QUILLET
PRONUNCIATION: (KWIL-it)
MEANING: verb intr.: To quibble.
noun: A subtlety or quibble.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps short for quillity, an alteration of quiddity. Earliest documented use: 1576.
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QUIDLET - one Pound Sterling after dieting (or inflation)
QUILLETH - to write with a feather pen, 3rd person singular
SQUILLET - a small asparagus. (Per Wikipedia: "Squill · Drimia maritima, a medicinal plant native to the Mediterranean...," part of a genus of about 50 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae...)
FLEER
PRONUNCIATION: (fleer)
MEANING: verb intr.: To laugh in a derisive manner.
noun: A mocking look.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps of Scandinavian origin. Earliest documented use: 1400.
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FLUER - chimney-sweep
GLEER - one who sings at parties
FLEVER - a febrile condition that makes you cry out loud
DEFROCK
PRONUNCIATION: (dee-FROK)
MEANING: verb tr.: To remove from a position of authority, privilege, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From French défroquer (to defrock), from de- (away) + froc (frock, gown, coat), alluding to frock (habit) worn by members of the clergy. Earliest documented use: 1600.
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DEFLOCK - Bo-Peep was the victim of a scam
DE-FRACK - the aim of many environmentalists
DIE FROCK - an informal German dress, similar to a Dirndl
DIVEST
PRONUNCIATION: (di/duh/dy-VEST)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To remove, give up, or sell off.
2. To take away or deprive.
3. To strip of clothing, ornament, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French desvestir (to undress), from Latin divestire, from di- (away) + vestire (to dress), from vestis (garment). Earliest documented use: 1616.
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D-INVEST - put the right money in
DI BEST - Italian superlative
DO I VEST? - Should I put on my waistcoat?
TRAVESTY
PRONUNCIATION: (TRAV-uh-stee)
MEANING: noun: 1. Mockery.
2. A debased or grotesque imitation.
verb tr.: 1. To represent in a false or absurd manner.
2. To caricature or parody.
ETYMOLOGY: From French travesti (in disguise), past participle of travestir (to disguise, to cross-dress), from Italian travestire, from tra- (across), from Latin trans- + vestire (to dress). Earliest documented use: 1664.
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BRAVESTY - a Deed of Derring-Do
TRAVESTO - that fantastic new magician you've heard so much about
TRA-VESTRY - the room where members of the Choir put on their robes
REVET
PRONUNCIATION: (ri-VET)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To cover a wall, embankment, etc., with masonry or other supporting material.
2. To recheck or reexamine.
ETYMOLOGY: For 1: From French revêtir (to dress), from Latin revestire, from re- (again) + vestire (to clothe). Earliest documented use: 1751.
For 2: From re- (again) + vet (to check), shortening of veterinarian. Earliest documented use: 1940.
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REVENT - put in another window
PREVET - planning on a career in animal husbandry
REVETO - to put the kibosh on for the second time
R.E.O. VET - having survived his encounter with Mr Olds's vehicle, he thought he'd be able to handle Mr Ford's without a problem
INVESTITURE
PRONUNCIATION: (in-VES-ti-choor/chuhr)
MEANING: noun: A formal ceremony in which someone is given an official title, rank, honors, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin investire (to cloth, install), from vestis (garment). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wes- (to clothe), which also gave us wear, vest, invest, divest, travesty, and revet. Earliest documented use: 1387.
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INTESTITURE - having no Will
INVESTICURE - how to make money in the Pharmaceutical industry
INVESTITUTE - where one learns Wealth Management
LITMUS TEST
PRONUNCIATION: (LIT-muhs test)
MEANING: noun:
1. A test in which a single indicator prompts the decision.
2. A test to determine if a solution is acidic or alkaline.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old Norse litmosi (dye-moss), from litr (dye) + mosi (moss). Earliest documented use: 1824.
NOTES: Litmus paper turns red when dipped in an acidic solution and blue when in alkaline. It’s a quick and easy test to determine the type of solution one has. Litmus is derived from moss and has been around since approx. 1300 CE...
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LITMUS ZEST - a lemon with red skin (from its citric acid content)
LIT-MUSKEST - the smelliest burning incense ever
I.T. MUST EST - Computer Nerds Oppose Daylight Savings Time!
FLASHPOINT
PRONUNCIATION: (FLASH-point)
MEANING: noun:
1. The point at which a situation turns critical, for example, resulting in violence.
2. A location or situation where conflict, violence, etc., flare up.
3. The lowest temperature at which a substance’s vapors ignite in the presence of an ignition source.
ETYMOLOGY: From flash, of imitative origin + point, partly from Old French point and Latin punctum (point). Earliest documented use: 1878.
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FLESHPOINT - a cutaneous horn
FLASH-PAINT - paint mixed with lycopodium powder, for special movie effects
FLASK POINT - a clandestine liquor-holder that you can stand upright next to you on a lawn or on the beach
CHAIN REACTION
PRONUNCIATION: (CHAYN ree-ak-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. A series of events, each triggered or influenced by the previous.
2. A chemical or nuclear reaction that results in products that cause further reactions
ETYMOLOGY: From chain, from Old French chaine/chaeine, from Latin catena (chain) + act, from Latin actus (act). Earliest documented use: 1926.
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CHAI REACTION - being allergic to spiced Russian tea
CHAIN REDACTION - a panel of editors makes one change after another
CHIN REACTION - Tinea barbae [a skin condition on the face, from using the wrong kind or razor or having the wrong kind of beard. YCLIU.]
BORAX
PRONUNCIATION: (BOR/BOHR-aks/uhks)
MEANING: adjective: Cheap and showy.
noun: A white crystalline compound, also known as sodium borate, used in manufacturing, cleaning, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French boras, from Latin borax, from Arabic buraq, from Persian burah (borax). Earliest documented use: 1920s.
NOTES: A century ago, cheap furniture was given as a premium for buying a box of borax soap. That, or borax soap was given away for buying cheap furniture. Either way, the word borax became slang for something cheap and poorly made.
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BOROX - what the pregnant beast of burden did
BOTAX - government-imposed fee for cosmetic wrinkle-removing skin treatment
BORA - half a Polynesian island
BOILING POINT
PRONUNCIATION: (BOI-ling point)
MEANING: noun:
1. The point at which a situation turns into a crisis.
2. The point at which one loses one’s temper.
3. The temperature at which a liquid boils.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French boillir, from Latin bullire (to bubble), from bulla (bubble). Earliest documented use: 1773.
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BAILING POINT - the level above which most skippers decide to start emptying the water out of the boat
BOILING PRINT - a work of art with a bubbly appearance; often created using BOILING PAINT
FOILING POINT - the tip of the epeé
PYRRHONISM
PRONUNCIATION: (PIR-uh-niz-uhm)
MEANING: noun: Extreme or absolute skepticism.
ETYMOLOGY: After Pyrrho, a Greek philosopher, c. 360-270 BCE. Earliest documented use: 1603.
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PYRO-RHONISM - igniting the polluted surface of a major European river
PYRO-HONISM - when sparks fly between you and your sweetheart
TYRRHONISM - The cult of Hollywood star Power
MORPHETIC
PRONUNCIATION: (mor-FET-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to sleep or dreams.
ETYMOLOGY: After Morpheus, the god of dreams in Greek mythology. He was the son of Hypnos, the god of sleep. The name of the drug morphine is also derived after Morpheus. Earliest documented use: 1788.
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MORPHETIN - a catalyst that triggers the change from caterpillar to butterfly
MOR-PHOTIC - an early scheme by Eastman Kodak to encourage picture-taking
MO-RHETIC - pertaining to the flow of the Missouri river
ROTHSCHILD
PRONUNCIATION: (ROTH/ROTHS-chyld)
MEANING: noun: A very rich person.
ETYMOLOGY: After the Rothschild banking family that rose to prominence with Mayer Rothschild (1744-1812). He had his five sons expand business in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, and Naples. Earliest documented use: 1824.
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ROTHSCHILD - A nullity. The author of Portnoy's Complaint, said to be "Roth as a misogynist and control freak," had no children, though he did marry.
ROTH'S "CHILL" - Portnoy's Complaint (1969)
WROTH'S CHILD - Violence, a common consequence of anger
ROORBACK
PRONUNCIATION. (ROOR-back)
MEANING: noun: A false story or slander, especially one spread for political purposes.
ETYMOLOGY: After Baron von Roorback, a fictitious author invented during the 1844 presidential elections in the US to discredit the Democratic candidate James K. Polk. Earliest documented use: 1844.
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ROORBANK - the shore of a German river. which flows through industrial Westphalia and empties into the Rhine
ROARBACK - if you're foolish, what you do when a lion roars at you
ROOKBACK - what you hope to take when you lose a knight or a bishop
HERJULES
PRONUNCIATION: (HUHR-kyuh-leez)
MEANING: noun: A man of extraordinary strength or size.
ETYMOLOGY: After Hercules, the son of Zeus and Alcmene in Greek mythology. Hercules performed many feats requiring extraordinary strength and effort, such as cleaning the Augean stables. He also slew the monster Hydra. Earliest documented use: 1567. Also see herculean.
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HERULES - Vive le Roi!
HERJULES - the royal diamonds and emeralds
HERCULESS - Dame Agatha without her renowned Belgian detective
HERCUES - Even after losing everything in a disastrous fire, the renowned actress never missed these
TRAVEST
PRONUNCIATION: (TRA-vuhst)
MEANING: verb tr.: To mock or to parody.
ETYMOLOGY: From either French travestir or Italian travestire, from tra- (across), from Latin trans- + vestire (to dress). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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TARAVEST - a waistcoat with the motto of Scarlett's plantation embroidered to the pocket
TERAVEST - what you'd have to do, and tlhen some, to buy half of the outstanding Apple stock
THAVEST - what you put on after you've put on thapants, thashirt, and thatie
ANATHEMATIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-NATH-uh-muh-tyz)
MEANING: verb tr.: To denounce, condemn, or curse.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle French anathematiser, from Latin anathematizare (to ban, curse, or detest), from Greek anathematizein (to curse), from anathema (something devoted to evil). Earliest documented use: 1473.
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A.B.A.-THEMATIZE - to re-write a Scott Turow book so that it's really about Organized Law
ANTHEMATIZE - to make a song symbolize a country
ANATHEMA-TIKE - Dennis the Menace (apologies to Hank Ketcham)
IMMISERATE
PRONUNCIATION: (i-MIZ-uh-rayt)
MEANING: verb tr.: To impoverish or to make miserable.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from immiseration (impoverishment), loan translation of German Verelendung (impoverishment). The word is from in- (into) + miserable, from Latin miserari (to pity), from miser (pitiable, wretched). Earliest documented use: 1956.
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A.M. MISERATE - unhappiness in the morning
IMMIE RATE - what it costs to buy a marble
EMMI-BERATE - to scold for being too fixated on TV awards
BETRUMP
PRONUNCIATION: (be-TRUHMP)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To deceive or cheat.
2. To elude.
ETYMOLOGY: From be- + French tromper (to deceive), which also gave us trumpery and trompe l’oeil. Earliest documented use: 1522.
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BEST RUMP - a superlative cut of roast
BE TRAMP - play a role in a Charlie Chaplin movie (or a full-length Disney cartoon)
BET SUM (𝑝) - make a quiet wager
MANUSCRIBE
PRONUNCIATION: (MAN-yuh-skryb)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To write by hand.
2. To autograph.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from manuscript, from manus (hand) + scribere (to write). Ultimately from the Indo-European root skribh- (to cut, separate, or sift), which also gave us subscribe, scripture, scribble, describe, circumflex, and circumspect. Earliest documented use: 1649.
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MANY SCRIBE - just about everybody knows how to write
MANUS CRIME - transgressions committed by hand
MANU'S TRIBE - his extended family, friends and companions
TYPOMANIA
PRONUNCIATION: (ty-puh-MAY-nee-uh)
MEANING: noun:
1. An obsession with typography.
2. An obsession with typology or symbolism.
3. An obsession with getting published.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek typos (impression) + mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented use: 1882.
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TYPHOMANIA - I see evidence of Salmonella infections everywhere
T.Y., ROMANIA - an expression of gratitude in Bucharest
TYPTOMANIA - a fascination with tulips, Tiny Tim, and ukuleles
EPISTEMOLOGY
MEANING: noun: The study of knowledge, especially its nature, origin, limits, validity, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek episteme (knowledge) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1847.
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EPISTEMOLOGY - science of plant pests (aphids et al) that grow on the stems and leaves
EPICSTEMOLOGY - how sunflowers keep their blooms upright
EXISTEMOLOGY - whether or not there is a genre of rock music dealing with emotional themes
YESTEREVE
PRONUNCIATION: (YES-tuh-reev)
MEANING: noun: Yesterday evening.
adverb: During yesterday evening.
ETYMOLOGY: From yester- (a time one period before the present one), from Old English giestran (previous day) + eve/even (evening). Earliest documented use: 1565. Another form of this word is yestreen.
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ESTEREVE - the night before Purim
YESSER, EVE - Adam accedes to his mate's requests, if sarcastically
GESTE RÈVE - dream of elegance and magnanimity
MARCESCENCE
PRONUNCIATION: (mahr-SES-uhns)
MEANING: noun: The retention of dead leaves, etc., as opposed to shedding.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin marcescere (to wither), from marcere (to wither). Earliest documented use: 1859.
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MAR-CRESCENCE - sea level is rising
MARCH SCENE - warriors in serried ranks assembled
AGGIORNAMENTO
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-johr-nuh-MEN-toh)
MEANING: noun: A process of modernization or bringing up to date.
ETYMOLOGY: The word came on the radar of the English-speaking world from a speech given by Pope John XXIII in which he called for a revision of the church code. From Italian aggiornamento (updating), from aggiornare (to bring up to date), from a- (to) + giorno (day), from Latin diurnus (daily) ), from dies (day). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dyeu- (to shine) that also gave us adjourn, diary, diet, circadian, journal, journey, quotidian, sojourn, diva, divine, deify, Jupiter, Jove, jovial, July, Zeus, and Sanskrit deva (god). Earliest documented use: 1962.
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ANGIORNAMENTO - an elegant treatment for fixing narrowed coronary arteries
OGGIORNAMENTO - today's outfit
AGRIORNAMENTO - decorative plants
AGGIORNAMENT - the chess match will be continued tomorrow
CLICKBAIT
PRONUNCIATION: (KLIK-bayt)
MEANING: noun: A sensationalized, often misleading, headline that is designed to entice users to click on a hyperlink.
ETYMOLOGY: A combination of click + bait, a headline that makes a user click on the link to find out more, only to be disappointed by content of dubious value. Earliest documented use: 1999.
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CHICKBAIT - a baby in a carriage
CLOCKBAIT - what it takes to get a mouse to run up (must be finished before one)
CLICKWAIT - how you know you've been put on "Hold"
OMNISHAMBLES
PRONUNCIATION: (OM-ni-sham-buhlz)
MEANING: noun: A situation that is a complete mess, especially when resulting from mismanagement.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin omni- (all) + shambles (a state of great disorder). The word was coined by writer Tony Roche in The Thick of It (video, 2 sec.), a satirical television series about the inner workings of the British government. Earliest documented use: 2009. Some related terms are dumpster fire and clusterfuck.
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SOMNISHAMBLES - so messed up it puts you to sleep
OMNI-SHAM, LES - Lester, it's all a fake
OMENISH AMBLES - if we go walking maybe we'l see the shape of things to come
LISTICLEPRONUNCIATION: (LIS-ti-kuhl)
MEANING: noun: An article or other piece of writing structured in the form of a list.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of list + article. From Old English liste (border, strip) and Latin articulus (small joint), from artus (joint). Earliest documented use: 2007. Clickbaits often lead to listicles.
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LUSTICLE - advertising catalog for aphrodysiacs, in outline form
LISTICKLE - miles and miles of Chinese feathers
LISTICHE - a pastiche of a listicle;
e.g.![[Linked Image]](https://wordsmith.org/words/images/listicle_large.png)
ACQUIHIRE
PRONUNCIATION: (AK-wi-hy-uhr)
MEANING: noun: The purchase of a company for its talent rather than its products or services.
verb tr.: To buy a company in this manner.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Rex Hammock as a combination of acquire + hire. From Latin quaerere (to seek, get) and Old English hyrian (to hire). Earliest documented use: 2005.
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AQUÍHIRE - Workers Needed, Spanish a Plus
ACQUAHIRE - Lifeguards Needed
ACQUISHIRE - Hobbits' Swim Club
PAYWALL
PRONUNCIATION: (PAY-wal)
MEANING: noun: A system of restricting access to online content or services, making them accessible only upon payment.
ETYMOLOGY: A combination of pay + wall. From Latin pacare (appease), from pax (peace) and vallum (rampart), from vallus (stake). Earliest documented use: 2004.
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PLAYWALL - public handball court
PRYWALL - hidden door to a secret room
PAYWELL - the kind of job most people want
TIMEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (TY-muhs)
MEANING: adjective: In good time.
ETYMOLOGY: From time, from Old English tima (time). Earliest documented use: 1482.
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TIMEOLUS - tiny quantity of fear
TRIMEOUS - overzealous with the hedge clippers
TIMEOPUS - determine the airspeed velocity of an unladen Penguin
YEALING
PRONUNCIATION: (YEE-ling)
MEANING: noun: Someone who is the same age as oneself.
ETYMOLOGY: From Scots eildins. Earliest documented use: 1728.
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EALING - city in Est Irginia, about 60 miles WSW of Pittsburg PA
YALING - an entertainment of the Crimson of Harvard, baiting the Eli
YEALING - novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlngs (set in Boston where they can't pronounce Rs)
WITCHING HOUR
PRONUNCIATION: (WICH-ing our)
MEANING: noun: Midnight.
ETYMOLOGY: From the belief that witches are the most active at that time. Earliest documented use: 1762.
NOTES: Some say the witching hour is midnight while others believe it’s 3-4 am. The term witching hour has also been applied to early evening when babies supposedly cry more often. In the world of stock markets, it is the last hour of trading on the third Friday of certain months when there’s more volatility. So which one is it? Only witches know.
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WITCHING TOUR - Salem, MA, on October 31
PITCHING HOUR - a sixty-minute-long infomercial
WITCHING HOURI - a magical attractive Muslim woman
MERIDIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (muh-RID-ee-uhn)
MEANING: noun: 1. A line connecting the North Pole to the South Pole or a circle passing through the two poles.
2. Midday.
3. The highest point, as of power, prosperity, development, etc.
adj.: 1. Relating to a meridian.
2. Relating to midday.
3. Relating to the highest point of someone’s power, prosperity, development, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French meridien, from Latin meridianus, from meridies (noon), from medius (mid) + dies (day). Earliest documented use: 1386.
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MERINDIAN - a large body of water bounded on East and West by Africa and Australia, on North and South by Asia and Antarctica
MERIDIANA - light-hearted Princess
MERDIAN - crappy
EPHEMERAL
PRONUNCIATION: (i-FEM-uh-ruhl)
MEANING: adjective: Lasting a very short time; transitory.
noun: Anything short-lived.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek ephemeros (short-lived), from epi- (upon) + hemera (day). Earliest documented use: 1576.
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PHEMERAL - pertaining to the upper-leg bone
e-pH EMERALD - a highly acidic green jewel, with a log-hydrogen-ion concentration of -2.718281828...
EPHEMERAW - I know it hurts now, but it'll be better by tomorrow
CERACEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (suh-RAY-shuhs)
MEANING: adjective: Waxy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin cera (wax) + -aceous (resembling or relating to). Earliest documented use: 1768.
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ACERACEOUS - sharp, barbed
CELACEOUS - titillating, suggestive
CERVACEOUS - beery
[not to mention the homophone "Serratious" - pertaining to a bacterium of the genus Serratia]
HEBDOMADAL
PRONUNCIATION: (heb-DOM-uh-duhl)
MEANING: adjective: Weekly.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin hebdomas, from Greek hepta (seven). Earliest documented use: 1612.
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HEBDO-MEDAL - like Mark Spitz (winning seven Olympic events)
HEBDONADAL - seven championship tennis players
HEBDOMANAL - pertaining to the digestive viscera
PISCINE
PRONUNCIATION: (PY-seen, PIS-ayn)
MEANING: adjective: Fishy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin piscis (fish). Earliest documented use: 1670.
[and of course there is Pisces, the astrological sign, the fish]
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PICCINE - Italian opera composer , viz. La Bohême and others
VISCINE - eyedrops
PA'S CINE - your father's movie
APIS-CINE - slow-motion film about bees
ODONTALGIA
PRONUNCIATION: (oh-don-TAL-juh -jee-uh)
MEANING: noun: Toothache.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek odont- (tooth) + -algia (pain). Earliest documented use: 1706.
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O, DONUT-ALGIA - pain in the jaw from too many sweeets
ADONTALGIA - phantom pain in the jaw even after the dentist pulls your infected tooth
ODONTAL, GA - Georgia branch office of a Mexican dentist
ABLIGURITION
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-blig-yoo-RISH-uhn)
MEANING: noun: Extravagance, especially in matters of food and drink.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin abligurire (to squander on delicacies), from ab- (away) + ligurire (to be dainty), from lingere (to lick). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leigh- (lick), which also gave us linctus, lichen (apparently from the way it licks its way around a surface), lecher, and cunnilingus. Earliest documented use: 1724.
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OBLIGURITION - under contract to become pregnant
ABL-IG-UTRITION - fulfilling the Inspector General's criteria for supporting an organism with food
ABO-LIGURITION - hooking other antigens onto the main blood groups
NUDUM PACTUM
PRONUNCIATION: (NOO/NYOO-duhm PAK-tuhm)
MEANING: noun: An unenforceable contract, one that’s void because of lack of consideration (something of value promised in exchange).
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin nudus (bare) + pactum (pact). Earliest documented use: 1603.
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NUNDUM PACTUM - a contract in a convent
NUDUM PICTUM - produce gathered by unclad farmers
NUDUM PARTUM - naked as a newborn babe
TITUBATION
PRONUNCIATION: (tich-uh-BAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. Unsteady movement, such as the staggering, lurching, or nodding of the head or the body.
2. Stuttering or stammering.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin titubare (to stagger). Earliest documented use: 1641.
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T-TUBATION - inserting a branched tube into the Common Bile Duct
TITUS-ATION - transforming into be the Roman Emperor from around 80 BC
Ti-TUBA TIN - when mixed with titanium, an alloy from which large, low-pitched musical instruments are made
TWATTLE
PRONUNCIATION: (TWAT-uhl)
MEANING: noun: Idle talk; nonsense.
verb intr.: To talk idly.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps an alteration of tattle, of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1673.
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WATTLE - the dingle-dangle hanging from a turkey's throat (not to be confused with the dingle-dangle that hangs from a turkey's beak, which is a SNOOD)
TWA TALE - the Rise and Fall of the Constellation
WATTLE - Barrista's greeting (usually followed by "you have?")
COCK OF THE WALK
PRONUNCIATION: (KOK ov thuh wahk)
MEANING: noun: A person who behaves in an arrogant and domineering manner in a group.
ETYMOLOGY: In animal husbandry, an enclosed yard or a pen is known as a walk. A rooster who rules a roost is, literally, a cock of the walk. Earliest documented use: 1781.
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CONK OF THE WALK - hit your head on a low-hanging branch
CORK OF THE WALK - the Minister of Silly Walks (see Monty Python's Flying Circus)
CLOCK OF THE WALK - used for time trials in the Olympic power-walking event
PENETRALIA
PRONUNCIATION: (pe-nuh-TRAY-lee-uh)
MEANING: plural noun: The innermost, secret, or hidden parts of something.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin penetralia, from penetrare (to penetrate), from penitus (interior) + intrare (to enter). Earliest documented use: 1668.
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PEN-TRALIA - old slang from when Australia was the place they sent convicted criminals to
PINE TRALIA - we'll follow your scent with bloodhounds
FENETRA LIRA - throw your pre-E.C. Italian currency out the window
FRENEMY
PRONUNCIATION: (FREN-uh-mee)
MEANING: noun: Someone with whom one is friendly, despite feeling hostility.
ETYMOLOGY: blend of friend + enemy. Earliest documented use: 1891.
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FIRE NEMY - Nemy, you're out of a job
FREE MY - release the one I own
𝒇 RENÉ MAY - [loudly] it's possible that M. Coty will
GLAMP
PRONUNCIATION: (glamp)
MEANING: verb intr.: To camp in comforts or luxuries not typically available in camping, such as electricity, plumbing, beds, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from glamping, a blend of glamorous + camping. Earliest documented use: 2007.
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GO LAMP - green light
GLAM UP - apply a superficial veneer, in an attempt to be stylish
GLAD MP - a happy member of the House of Commons
INSINUENDO
PRONUNCIATION: (in-sin-yuh-EN-doh)
MEANING: noun: An assertion or hint that’s disparaging and suggestive.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of insinuation + innuendo. Earliest documented use: 1884.
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IN SIN U END - you'll go to Hell if you don't mend your ways
RINSIN UENDO - using a bidet
IN-SITU ENDO - the goal of endoscopy; examining something in place, without removing it
COOPETITION
PRONUNCIATION: (ko-op-uh-TISH-uhn)
MEANING: noun: A collaboration between rivals.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of cooperative + competition. Earliest documented use: 1913.
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COMP-ETITION - the struggle for free tickets
C=O=O PETITION - popular proposal to limit Carbon Dioxide emissions
CO-PETITION - 1) two people express their wishes; 2) or maybe it's just the Commanding Officer's request
GLAMAZON
PRONUNCIATION: (GLA-muh-zon)
MEANING. noun: A tall, glamorous, self-assured woman.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of glamor + amazon. Earliest documented use: 1943.
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GLAMAZONE - Hollywood
LLAMAZON - a very strong Andean beast of burden
GLAMATON - a motorized Barbie doll
CORONATION STREET
PRONUNCIATION: (kor-uh-NAY-shuhn street)
MEANING: adjective: Working-class.
ETYMOLOGY: After Coronation Street, a British television series about the lives of working-class people in the fictional town of Weatherfield. The soap opera debuted in 1960 and has been running ever since. It has its own affectionate nickname: Corrie. Ironically, Coronation Street is named after something far from working-class, a crown (corona). Earliest documented use: 1962.
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CORONATION TREET - candy distributed at the installation ceremony
CORN-NATION STREET - the main drag in Iowa
MORONATION STREET - the way of the mentally challenged
STEPNEY
PRONUNCIATION: (STEP-nee)
MEANING: noun:
1. A spare wheel or a spare tire.
2. Something or someone treated as a backup.
ETYMOLOGY: After Stepney Street in Llanelli, Wales, where such wheels were initially manufactured. Earliest documented use: 1907.
NOTES:In the early days, automobiles did not come with a spare wheel. At the same time, roads were often not in good condition. Also, they were more likely to have nails that had fallen from horseshoes. As a result, flat tires or punctures were common. Walter and Thomas Davies started a business manufacturing compact spare wheels at Stepney Street and it took off. As a result, such wheels came to be known as stepneys. These days the term is used mostly on the Indian subcontinent.
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STEPKEY - needed to decipher the Dance of the Bees, which they use to tell the hive where the source of nectar is
STEPNEY - rigging used by sailors to climb to the sails and spars
SHEPNEY - word used by some Welsh rustics as an elided form of "Shetland pony"
PEPPER ALLEY
PRONUNCIATION: (PEP-uhr AL-ee)
MEANING: noun:
1. Rough treatment.
2. Severe beating.
ETYMOLOGY: After Pepper Alley, a street in London, UK. Earliest documented use: 1820.
NOTES: The term arose as boxing slang, from the verb pepper, meaning to hit repeatedly. The phrase “to pay a visit to Pepper Alley” means to receive severe beating.
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PEPPE RALLY - assembly to foster a girls' school spirit
"PEPPER" ALLEN - nickname of Gracie's older brother
PEPPER VALLEY - instead of grapes they grow Capsicum plants
CARNABY
PRONUNCIATION: (KAHR-nuh-bee)
MEANING: adjective: Fashionable or stylish.
ETYMOLOGY: After Carnaby Street in the West End of London, which became known in the 1960s for fashionable clothing stores. Earliest documented use: 1964.
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CAR BABY - how Uncle Remus would trap a modern-day Br'er Rabbit, if he wanted to
CANNABY - weed, diminutively speaking
CARNALY - (sorry, can't publish this one; it's a family website)
ACACIA AVENUE
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-KAY-shuh AV-uh-nyoo)
MEANING: noun: The middle class.
ETYMOLOGY: After Acacia Avenue, a common name of streets in the UK. Earliest documented use: 1919.
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AFACIA AVENUE - unable to speak the name of the street
FACACIA AVENUE - a street in Rome named for it's signature bread dipped in a sauce of oil, garlic, and spices
ABA/CIA AVENUE - the place where the two organizations have a joint headquarters. I'm not authorized to tell you what they do there.
ORPHEAN
PRONUNCIATION: (OR-fee-uhn, or-FEE-uhn)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Melodious.
2. Enchanting.
3. In the manner of Orpheus’s journey to the underworld.
ETYMOLOGY: After Orpheus, a musician, poet, and prophet in Greek mythology. His lyre-playing and singing could charm animals, trees, and even rocks. After his wife Eurydice, a nymph, died of a snakebite, he traveled to the underworld to bring her back. His music melted the heart of Hades, the god of the underworld, who allowed him to take his wife back on the condition that he not look back at her until they had reached the world of the living. They had almost made it when he looked back and lost her again. His mother Calliope/Kalliope has also given a word to the English language: calliopean. Earliest documented use: 1593.
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MORPHEAN - a Greek Odo
ORPHAN - parentless owner of Sandy, the dog who barks "Orph! Orph!"
ORCHEAN - 1. testicular; 2. played by several instruments in concert
PROTEUS
PRONUNCIATION: PRO-tee-uhs, -tyoos)
MEANING: noun: One who can easily change appearance, form, character, principles, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: After Proteus, a sea god in Greek mythology, who could assume different forms. He got his name from Greek protos (first) as he was one of the earliest sea gods. Earliest documented use: 1528. The adjectival form is protean.
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PROTEANS- Odo again!
PROTEURS - professional amateurs (e.g. many college football players)
EROTEUS - a strip-tease artist
EOLIAN or AEOLIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (ee-O-lee-uhn)
MEANING:adjective: Relating to or caused by the wind.
ETYMOLOGY: After Aeolus, god of the winds in Greek mythology. As keeper of the winds, he gave a bag containing winds to help with Odysseus’s sailing. Earliest documented use: 1546.
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EOSIAN - like a red dye
EYOLIAN - asinine, tailless and pessimistic
AEOLIGAN - a Greek thug or rowdy troublemaker
PANDERER
PRONUNCIATION: (PAN-duhr-uhr)
MEANING: noun: One who caters to the base desires, whims, or prejudices of others.
ETYMOLOGY: After Pandarus, a Trojan warrior in Greek mythology. He was known for his skill in archery. In later accounts, such as Chaucer’s and Shakespeare’s, he acts as a go-between in the love affair of Troilus and Cressida. This resulted in his reputation as a procurer in the English language. Earliest documented use: 1826.
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WANDERER - an itinerant Magician
PANDORER - she who released all the evil in the world from a box in Boston
PANERER - a glazier specializing in double-paned windows
CHIMERIC
PRONUNCIATION: (KY/KI-mer-ik)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Made up of parts that are very different.
2. Fanciful; imaginative; illusory.
ETYMOLOGY: After Chimera, a fire-breathing female monster in Greek mythology who had a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. From Greek khimaira (she-goat), ultimately from the Indo-European root ghei- (winter), which also gave us chimera (literally, a female animal that is one winter, or one year old), hibernate, and the Himalayas, from Sanskrit him (snow) + alaya (abode). Earliest documented use: 1655.
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CRIME RIC - what they call Ricardo, the new Head of the Family
CHIME RICE - what they put into those lovely delicate-sounding maracas
CHUM ERIC - he's my best pal
VERBIFY
PRONUNCIATION: (VUHR-buh-fy)
MEANING: verb tr.: To convert into a verb.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin verbum (word, verb). Earliest documented use: 1820.
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VERGIFY - to push to the edge
HERBIFY - fancy word for "to add seasoning"
OVERBIFY - having too many bifs
PROPAROXYTONE
PRONUNCIATION: (pro-puh-ROK-si-tohn)
MEANING: adjective: Having stress on the third-from-the-last syllable.
noun: Such a word.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek proparoxytonos, from pro (before) + para (beside) + oxys (acute) + tonos (tone). Earliest documented use: 1764.
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PROPAROXYTENE - an antidepressant which is metabolized in the body to Paxil
PYRO-PAROXYTONE - a sudden sound of burning intensity
PRO-PROXYTONE - Management's language when they deliver their request for shareholder approval at the Annual Meeting
ABSTRUSE
PRONUNCIATION: (ab-STROOS)
MEANING: adjective: Hard to understand; obscure.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin abstrudere (to hide), from ab- (away) + trudere (to push). Ultimately from the Indo-European root treud- (to squeeze), which also gave us extrude, intrude, threat, and thrust. Earliest documented use: 1549.
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ABS TRUSS - one way to deal with the hernia above our navel
ABS TRUST - ... I'll put money on how many sit-ups I can do!
ABUT RUSE - scam involving your next-door neighbor
GRANDILOQUENT
PRONUNCIATION: (gran-DIL-uh-kwuhnt)
MEANING: adjective: High-flown or pompous.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin grandis (grand) + loqui (to speak). Ultimately from the Indo-European root tolkw- (to speak), which also gave us breviloquence, obloquy, pleniloquence, sialoquent, somniloquy, ventriloquism, loquacious, and allocution. Earliest documented use: 1592.
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GRAND ELOQUENT - thousand dollar fee for giving a speech
GRANDILO QUINT - Mr and Mrs Grandilo expected twins, not this!
GRENDILOQUENT - describing the Scandinavian bard who originally sung of Beowulf
SESQUIPEDALIANISM
PRONUNCIATION: (ses-kwi-pi-DAYL-yuh-niz-uhm)
MEANING: noun:
1. The practice of using big words.
2. A very long word.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sesqui- (one and a half) + ped- (foot). Earliest documented use: 1863.
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SESQUIPEDALIAN IS ME - said the 18-inch-tall midget
'S EQUI-PEDALIANISM - it's the doctrine of having all one's feet the same length
SESQUIPETALIANISM - Schroedinger's Daisy, with one-and-a-half petals; it can't makeup it's mind whether she loves me or she loves me not
MAINPAST
PRONUNCIATION: (MAYN-past)
MEANING: noun:
1. A household.
2. A member of a household.
3. A servant.
4. A dependent.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French mainpast (household), from Latin manupastus (household or its member), from manus (hand) + pastus, past participle of pascere (to feed). Earliest documented use: 1865.
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MAINE PAST - formerly part of Massachusetts
MAINPASTA - we're having spaghetti for dinner
MATINPAST - yesterday morning
OPENHANDED
PRONUNCIATION: (oh-puhn-HAN-duhd)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Generous; liberal.
2. Delivered with an open hand, as a blow.
ETYMOLOGY: The figurative meaning alludes to someone giving money or other things away with an open hand. Earliest documented use: 1593. Some opposite terms are clutchfist, ironfisted, and hardfisted.
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OPEN-HANDEL - the first two measures of The Messiah
COPENHANDED - they're very generous in the capital of Denmark
OPEN HAN DID - Yoda describes a poker game on the Millennium Falcon
LIGHT-FINGERED
PRONUNCIATION: (lyt-FING-uhrd, LYT-fing-)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Prone to or skilled at stealing.
2. Having nimble fingers or having a light touch.
ETYMOLOGY: From light, from Old English leoht + finger, from Old English. Earliest documented use: 1546. A synonym of the first sense is sticky-fingered.
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SIGHT-FINGERED - skilled in Braille
FLIGHT-FINGERED - hands-on piloting
LIGHTING-EARED - "portmanteau puppet" - part Yoda, part E.T.
THUMBSUCKER
PRONUNCIATION: (THUHM-suhk-uhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. Someone who likes to suck their thumb.
2. A journalistic piece that deals with the background and interpretation of events instead of hard news.
ETYMOLOGY: Why thumbsucker for such a piece of writing? It has been explained as something that a journalist writes after sucking their thumb for a while instead of going out there and covering hard news. Another interpretation is that such a piece provides background and interpretation of an event as a way to comfort the reader. It’s also called news analysis or a think piece. Earliest documented use: 1891.
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THUMBTUCKER - so much thumb-wrestling that your thumb is all tuckered out
THUMB-ZUCKER - what you use to induce German infants to suck on their thumbs
THUMB-SICKER - having a worse infection on ones' pollex
SOUTHPAW
PRONUNCIATION: (SOUTH-paw)
MEANING: noun: A left-handed person.
adjective: Left-handed.
ETYMOLOGY: Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1813.
NOTES: The term is especially common in baseball to describe a left-handed pitcher and in boxing to describe a boxer who uses the left hand for the most powerful punches, but what’s the origin of the term? According to popular belief, the term originated in baseball: the diamond was placed so the batter faces east and avoids the afternoon sun. A left-handed pitcher facing the batter would thus have the left hand to the south. The only problem with this is that the earliest citation of the term doesn’t involve baseball or any other sports.
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SOUTHPOW - a roundhouse punch delivered by the left hand
MOUTHPAW - hoof-and-mouth disease
COUTHPAW - what a doggie offers you in polite greeting
STAYCATION
PRONUNCIATION: (STAY-kay-shuhn)
MEANING: noun: A vacation spent at home or close to home.
verb intr.: To vacation at or close to home.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of stay + vacation, from Latin vacare (to be empty). Earliest documented use: 1944. Also see, busman’s holiday.
NOTES: It’s all relative. In the US, a vacation taken at or close to home -- a day trip -- is a staycation. In the UK, the definition includes any vacation taken within one’s country instead of traveling abroad. _______________________________
STRAYCATION - aimlessly driving the RV
STAGCATION - 2-weeks away from work - for men only
STAY CAT ICON - the Board of Directors of MGM will keep the lion as its symbol
ORATURE
PRONUNCIATION: (OR-uh-chuhr)
MEANING: noun: Songs, poems, stories, etc., transmitted orally across generations.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of oral + literature. Earliest documented use: 1976.
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RATURE - the ecstasy of a large rodent in a cheese factory
ORALURE - seeking gold, or Why the Spaniards came to the New World
ORASURE - supremely confident in one's utterances
ORAPTURE - an apostrophe uttered by a very happy person
PENNANT
PRONUNCIATION: (PEN-uhnt)
MEANING: noun:
1. A long tapering flag.
2. A flag symbolizing a sports championship or another achievement.
3. A victory, championship, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of pendant, from Latin pendre (to hang) + pennon, from Latin penna/pinna (feather). Earliest documented use: 1470.
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PENZANT - home of a Pirate
PENNANG - a city (and a state) in northwest Mallaysa
PENWANT - something you lack when you're in jail
FLEXITARIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (flek-suh-TAYR-ee-uhn)
MEANING: noun: One who follows a primarily vegetarian diet but occasionally consumes animal products.
adjective: Primarily but not completely vegetarian.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of flexible + vegetarian. Earliest documented use: 1998.
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ILEXITARIAN - a holly tree is supple, therefore eminently suitable for making into wreaths
FLO, EXITARIAN - Florence specializes in going out
FLEX ITALIAN - the bend in the Tower of Pisa
BROMANCE
PRONUNCIATION: (BRO-mans)
MEANING: noun: A close friendship between men.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of bro + romance. Earliest documented use: 2001. The female equivalent is womance (Don’t blame us -- we didn’t coin any of these).
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EBROMANCE - a novel taking place on a Spanish river
BOOMANCE - a novel taking pace on Halloween
BROMANCHE - my brother lives on the other side of the English Channel, in France
STADDLE
PRONUNCIATION: (STAD-uhl)
MEANING: noun: A base, support, or supporting framework.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English stathol (base, support, or tree trunk). Earliest documented use: 900.
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STANDLE - a low knick-knack stand
STADDLER - a fictional scientist (see Atlas Shrugged) who sold out his intellectual integrity to the Estabishment, in return for Power
STADD LEE - originator of Spiderman with a bad cold, introducing himself
DRAGOON
PRONUNCIATION: (druh-GOON)
MEANING: verb tr.: To force someone to do something; coerce.
ETYMOLOGY: From French dragon (dragon, to dragoon). Earliest documented use: 1622.
NOTES: This is a good example of how the meaning of a word evolves from an object to a person to an action. Originally, the word dragoon referred to firearms, either from the fact that they breathed fire like a dragon or from the shape of the pistol hammer. Eventually, it began to be applied to a cavalryman armed with a carbine. Today the term is a verb for forcing someone to do something against their will.
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DRANGOON - capital of Dburma
DRABOON - a colorless omnivorous primate
ERAGOON - protagonist of a scifi series by Chris Poolini
SPECIE
PRONUNCIATION: (SPEE-shee/-see)
MEANING: noun:
1. Money, especially in a form that has an intrinsic value (for example, coins made from precious metals as opposed to paper money).
2. Type or kind (used in the phrase “in specie” meaning “in a similar manner”).
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin species (appearance, form, kind), from specere (to look). Earliest documented use: 1551.
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SPECIE - another counterexample to "I before E except after C..."
SPECOE - answer to "What kind of tea did you say this is?"
SPECIME - a sample children's TV program which takes place on a street
NAVVY
PRONUNCIATION: (NAV-ee)
MEANING: noun: A laborer or a construction worker.
ETYMOLOGY: Short for navigator, from Latin navigator (sailor), from navigare (to sail), from navis (ship). Earliest documented use: 1574.
NOTES: A navigator is someone who navigates. In the past, it was also a sailor or a mariner, from Latin navis (ship). Then the word came to be applied to someone who worked on the construction of a canal. Eventually, it became shortened to navvy and was used for any constructor worker, one who worked on roads, railroads, etc. The word is also used for mechanical excavators.
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LAVVY - a diminutive London washroom
NAVEY - like the place in a church where the congregation sits
KNAVVY - fourth highest card in each suit in a modern deck
COMPROMIS
PRONUNCIATION: (KOM-pruh-mee)
MEANING: noun: An agreement, especially between nations, to submit disputes to arbitration.
ETYMOLOGY: From French compromis (compromise). Earliest documented use: 1590.
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COMP. ROMAs - free plum tomatoes
COR: PRO MIs - you have a lot of risk factors for getting a heart attack, y'know
COME: PROM IS...! - Would you accompany me to the Senior dance?
SPEECHIFY
PRONUNCIATION: (SPEE-chuh-fy)
MEANING: verb intr.: To make a speech, especially in a tedious or pompous manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From speech, from Old English spaec/spreac (speech), from sprecan (to speak) + -ify (to make), from Latin facere (to make or do). Earliest documented use: 1723
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SPEECH IFFY - we're not sure whether or not he'll give his oration
SPEE CHIEF Y - club named after the Captain of the Dirigible.
PEECHIFY - convert the orchard to a different fruit
AGROSTOLOGY
PRONUNCIATION: (ag-ruh-STOL-uh-jee)
MEANING: noun: The study of grasses.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek agrostis (a type of grass), from agros (field) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1820.
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A GROSS -OLOGY - a crude body of knowledge
AGRISTOLOGY - how windmills work during a famine
AGRA-STOLOGY - the study of Indian marble mausoleum sites
SMILET
PRONUNCIATION: (SMY-luht)
MEANING: noun: A little smile.
ETYMOLOGY: From smile + -et (a diminutive suffix). Earliest documented use: 1591.
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SMITLET - a tap in the wrist
SMILENT - describing the Mona Lisa's expression
'SMILES - how far I have to go before I sleep (said Tom, frostily)
TERGIVERSATION
PRONUNCIATION: (tuhr-ji-vuhr-SAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. Misleading, evasive, or ambiguous speech or action.
2. Desertion of a party, position, cause, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin tergiversari (to turn one’s back, to evade), from tergum (back) + vertere (to turn). Earliest documented use: 1570.
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FERGIVERSATION - when two people meet for apology, acceptance, and reconciliation
TERGIVER'S ACTION - Mr Tergiver has been a busy bee, hasn't he?
TER GIVE RATION - why I donated my lunch
META
PRONUNCIATION: (ME-tuh)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Self-referential.
2. Relating to members of its own category.
adverb: In a self-referential manner.
noun: Something that is self-referential.
prefix: Denoting transformation, transcending, going beyond, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek meta (after, beyond, behind, beside, among, etc.). Earliest documented use: 1838.
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METSA - so-so; half-way
MEETA - what you might do to a body comin' through the rye
NETA - your first and best butterfly-catching equipment
m𝒇 ETA - utter a Greek vowel at moderate loudness
JOHN HENRY
PRONUNCIATION: (jon HEN-ree)
MEANING: noun: A person’s signature.
ETYMOLOGY: From the name John Henry, from confusion with John Hancock. Hancock’s signature was the most prominent on the United States Declaration of Independence and his name became a synonym for a signature. Earliest documented use: 1914.
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JOIN HENRY - Mr Ford requests the pleasure of your company
JOHN HENLY - what the combined Harvard-Yale crew team calls the bathroom
JOAN, HENRY - the Sainte is introduced to the King of England
MOLLYCODDLE
PRONUNCIATION: (MOL-ee-kod-uhl)
MEANING: noun: A pampered or overprotected person.
verb tr.: To overprotect or pamper.
ETYMOLOGY: From Molly (a nickname for Mary) + coddle (to treat or boil gently), from caudle (a warm drink for the sick), from Latin caldum (hot drink), from calidus (warm). Earliest documented use: 1823.
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COLLYMODDLE - Lassie has a new contract!
POLLY-CODDLE - you risk catching psittacosis if you share a cracker
MOLLY CO/DOLE - after the pineapple company and the fastener-manufacturer merge
JONES
PRONUNCIATION: (jonz)
MEANING: noun: 1 One’s neighbors or social equals. Typically used in the phrase: keeping up with the Joneses.
noun: 2. An addiction or craving, especially for drugs.
verb intr.: To have an intense longing.
ETYMOLOGY: For noun 1: From Jones, a common surname. The phrase was popularized by the comic strip Keeping up with the Joneses that ran in newspapers from 1913 to 1938. Earliest documented use: 1879.
For noun 2, verb: Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1965
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JONDES - yellow skin and eyes, from liver disease
D.J. "ONES" - favorites on the disk-jockeys' Hit Parade
JOLES - where on the greens they stand the flags on the Madrid golf course
PATSY
PRONUNCIATION: (PAT-see)
MEANING: noun: One who is easily taken advantage of, by being deceived, unfairly blamed, or ridiculed.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps from the name Patsy, a diminutive of Patrick or Patricia, or from Italian pazzo (crazy), whose plural is pazzi, pronounced paht-see. Earliest documented use: 1889.
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PATSHY - pulling away rom a light touch
NATSY - not just mean but can't spell, either
TATSY - covered with inked images
JASPER
PRONUNCIATION: (JAS-puhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. A person; guy.
2. A wasp.
3. A compact, opaque quartz, typically in dull shades of red, yellow, and brown.
ETYMOLOGY: For 1: From the name Jasper. Earliest documented use: 1896.
For 2: Perhaps from the name Jasper. Earliest documented use: 1967.
For 3: From Old French jaspre, from Latin iaspis, from Ancient Greek iaspis, of Semitic origin. Earliest documented use: 1330.
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JA, SUPER - the German chancellor gives whole-hearted approval
ASPER - according to
WASPER - the exterminator who specializes in stinging flying insects
OBTRUDE
PRONUNCIATION: (uhb/ob-TROOD)
MEANING: verb tr.: To impose one’s ideas, opinions, etc.
verb intr.: To thrust forward or to intrude.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin obtrudere (to thrust at), from ob- (against) + trudere (to push). Ultimately from the Indo-European root treud- (to squeeze), which also gave us extrude, intrude, threat, thrust, and abstruse. Earliest documented use: 1575.
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OBTRUE - If you can't believe your obstetrician, whom can you believe?
O BTRADE - an apostrophe after experiencing treachery
OBI RUDE - Jedi or not, Kenobi is not only inexperienced but also disrespectful
MUNDIFYPRONUNCIATION: (MUHN-duh-fy)
MEANING: verb tr.: To wash, cleanse, or purify.
ETYMOLOGY: From Middle French mondefier , from Latin mundificare (to cleanse), from mundus (clean). Earliest documented use: 1425.
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MINDIFY - to provide a foil for
that comedian from OrkHUNDIFY - to make into a German dog
FUNDIFY - to deepen
DISCERP
PRONUNCIATION: (di-SUHRP)
MEANING: verb tr.: To tear off or to rip into pieces.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin discerpere (to tear to pieces), from dis- (apart) + carpere (to pick, pluck). Earliest documented use: 1483.
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DISCERN - to remove the ashes from their container
DIS-CERA - to take out wax
DISPERP - a particular small-time crook from Brooklyn
ELUTE
PRONUNCIATION: (ee/i-LOOT)
MEANING: verb tr.: To wash out or extract, especially with a solvent.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin eluere (to wash out), from ex- (out) + -luere (to wash), from lavare/lavere (to wash). Earliest documented use: 1731.
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ME LUTE - Honi's boyfriend doesn't speak English very well. (But then why should he? He's a Viking!)
ELUGE - to get thrown out of a speeding sled
EXLUTE - a musical instrument once used by Kurt Cobain. (It was a smashing success!)
MICRIFY
PRONUNCIATION: (MYK-ruh-fy)
MEANING: verb tr.: To make small or insignificant.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek micro- (small) + -ficare (to make). Earliest documented use: 1836.
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MICRIFT - Sherlocks's older brother?
MICTIFY - to add urine (see LANT)
MICKIFY - to make mousy
CYNICAL
PRONUNCIATION: (SIN-i-kuhl)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Believing that people are motivated primarily by self-interest.
2. Behaving in a selfish manner, callously violating accepted standards.
3. Pessimistic; jaded; negative.
4. Contemptuous; mocking.
ETYMOLOGY.
From Latin cynicus, from Greek kynikos (like a dog), from kyon (dog). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog), which is also the source of canine, chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, corgi, and cynosure cynophilist, cynophobia, philocynic, cynegetic, and cynosure. Earliest documented use: 1588.
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CYGNICAL - baby-swan-like.
BYNICAL - a housing for a ship's compass and a lamp
MY NICAL - what permits me to talk for as long as I want on the pay phone in the booth. (Well, 60 years ago, anyway. There aren't any more pay phones any more, or booths, either. Alas, poor Superman...)
LEMMING
PRONUNCIATION: (LEM-ing)
MEANING: noun:
1. Any of various small, thickset, short-tailed, furry rodents.
2. One who mindlessly conforms or follows, especially toward disaster.
ETYMOLOGY: From Norwegian and Danish lemming, from Old Norse lómundr/læmingi/læmingr. Earliest documented use: 1607.
NOTES: Lemmings do not go lemming. It’s a myth that lemmings jump off a cliff into water in an act of mass suicide.
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LE MING - the precious old Chinese relic in the Louvre
BEM MING - Flash Gordon's serial nemesis was a Merciless Bug-Eyed Monster
LEMMINY - how your tea tastes when you add too much citrus
SERPENTINE
PRONUNCIATION: (SUHR-pen-teen/tyn)
MEANING:
adjective: 1. Of or relating to a snake.
2. Winding, twisting, or coiling.
3. Intricate; cunning; treacherous.
verb intr.: To move or lie in a winding course.
noun: 1. Something winding, twisting, or coiling.
2. A dull green mineral with a texture resembling the skin of a snake.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin serpens, present participle of serpere (to creep). Earliest documented use: 1400.
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TERPENTINE - paint thinner containing limonene
SERP ENGINE - Solar Emitting Rotary Propulsion motor
SIR PENTINE - eponymous Knight of the Five-Sided Table
JACKRABBIT
PRONUNCIATION: (JAK-rab-it)
MEANING: noun: Any of various hares having long ears and very long hind legs.
verb intr.: To move or begin to move very quickly.
adjective: Moving or beginning to move very quickly.
ETYMOLOGY: A combination of jackass + rabbit. Earliest documented use: 1863, in a figurative use: 1922.
NOTES: The word jackrabbit is a misnomer. A jackrabbit is a hare, not a rabbit. It is called a jackrabbit because of its long ears, as if those of a jackass. The metaphorical use is from a jackrabbit’s sudden movement. This has given us the slang “jackrabbit start” meaning a start in which a person accelerates very quickly as a traffic light turns green, maybe even before the light has turned. Like most animal-related metaphors, this unfairly maligns our furry friends. There have been no reported sightings of jackrabbits jumping a red light.
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JACK, RABBI - John, meet my spiritual advisor
PACK RABBIT - a leveret capable of carrying large loads
JA, CRAB BIT - Were you able to trap that crustacean, Hans?
CHEVACHEE
PRONUNCIATION: (shuh-vuh-CHEE/SHAY)
MEANING: noun: An expedition, raid, or campaign.
ETYMOLOGY: From French chevauchée (ride), from cheval (horse), from Latin caballus (horse). Earliest documented use: 1380.
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CHE VACHE - a Cuban cow
CHEVA CHEER - Hooray for Cheva!
cc: EVA CHEE - Send Ms Chee a copy of this message
PLUTOGRAPHY
PRONUNCIATION: (ploo-TAH-gruh-fee)
MEANING: noun: The genre that chronicles the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek pluto- (wealth) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented use: 1985.
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PHUTOGRAPHY - high-speed image of spitting
POUTOGRAPHY - pictures of spoiled brats making dissatisfied faces
PLUSOGRAPHY - charts showing nothing but increases
MINIATE
PRONUNCIATION: (MIN-ee-ayt)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To decorate a manuscript, book, etc., with colors, gold, silver, etc.
2. To paint in red, titles, headings, or important parts of a book or manuscript.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin miniatus (illuminated), past participle of miniare (to color red with cinnabar), from minium (cinnabar, a red mineral of mercury). Earliest documented use: 1610.
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MINI-ATE - what she had for dinner (cf. MIKI-ATE, which is what he had for dinner)
SIN: I ATE - I need absolution for being so heavy
MINI-AWE - what one experiences when distinctly unimpressed
IRREDENTIST
PRONUNCIATION: (ir-i-DEN-tist)
MEANING: noun: One advocating the restoration of territory that earlier belonged to one’s country.
ETYMOLOGY: During the late 1800s and early 1900s in Italy, an irredentist was someone who advocated for restoration of Italian-speaking districts in other countries to Italy. The word is from Italian irredentista, from the phrase Italia irredenta (unredeemed Italy), from Latin redimere (to redeem). Earliest documented use: 1882.
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SIR RE-DENTIST - knight whose trademark is to make yet another ding in your armor
IRKED ENT-IST - got your otorhinolaryngologist annoyed at you
IRREPENTIST - one with no qualms whatsoever
RECURSE
PRONUNCIATION: (ri-KUHRS)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.
1. To describe, define, or perform something in terms of itself.
2. To perform an operation by repeated application of a technique, such that the results of the first step are put through the same technique again.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin recurrere (to run back), from re- (again) + currere (to run). Earliest documented use: 1965.
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RECUSE - gives the actor his line a second time
RECURVE - the dreaded Serpentine pitch (baseball)
E-CURSE - used by Draco Malfoy and crew during the pandemic
DECALCOMANIA
PRONUNCIATION: (de-kal-kuh-MAY-nee-uh)
MEANING: noun:
1. The process of transferring a design from a specially prepared paper onto another surface.
2. A decal: a design on a specially prepared paper made to be transferred onto another surface.
ETYMOLOGY: From French décalcomanie, from décalquer (to transfer a tracing), from de- (from) calquer (to trace), from manie (craze). Earliest documented use: 1864.
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DECAL CO. MANNA - food paid for by the decal company
RECALCOMANIA - compulsively rechecking one's arithmetic again
DE-CALICOMANIA - having an irresistible urge to get rid of three-colored cats (usually black and white and orange)
GROUNDHOG DAY
PRONUNCIATION: (GRAUND-hog day)
MEANING: noun: A situation in which events are repeated as if in a loop, especially when such events are of a tedious or monotonous nature.
ETYMOLOGY: After the 1993 film Groundhog Day in which the lead character, a television weatherman, relives a day in a time loop. Earliest documented use: 1994.
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GROUNDDOG DAY - holiday to celebrate Korean sausages
GROUNDFOG DAY - holiday to celebrate exceedingly high dew-points
GROWN D'HOG DAY - holiday to celebrate bacon
RASHOMON
PRONUNCIATION: (RASH-uh-mahn)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to differing accounts or subjective interpretations of an event.
ETYMOLOGY: After the 1950 Japanese film Rashomon (based on Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s 1922 short story “In a Grove”) which showed a crime described by different people in different ways. Earliest documented use: 1961.
NOTES: In the film Rashomon, four people (a bandit, a samurai, his wife, and a woodcutter) narrate the details of a crime differently. Their stories are plausible, yet contradictory. The film touches upon the unreliability of eyewitnesses and the subjective nature of truth, reality, and memory. This phenomenon is also known as the Rashomon effect. The traditional story of the elephant and six blind men is another instance of this. It’s good to remember this the next time we feel too confident in our beliefs, perceptions, and experiences. Ultimately, we all can be unreliable narrators.
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RASTO, MON - a Caribbean religion
RASHOMOON - full moon during the monsoon, when people get skin lesions
BASHŌ MON. - the Monday when we read Zen ko-ans
KING KONG
PRONUNCIATION: (king KONG)
MEANING: noun: Something or someone of great size, strength, etc.
adjective: Huge.
ETYMOLOGY: After the title character of the 1933 film King Kong that depicts a huge ape-like monster. Earliest documented use: 1933.
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KING SONG - You've Got a Friend
KING TONG - the biggest Chinese gang
KIN KONG - the big ape had a family
MAD MAX
PRONUNCIATION: (mad MAKS)
MEANING: adjective: Dystopian, post-apocalyptic, anarchic.
ETYMOLOGY: After the 1979 film Mad Max and its sequels that portray a world marked by anarchy and extreme violence. Earliest documented use: 1986.
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MAD MAC - the latest fast-food burger. Crazy, man!
MAMA X - mother of Malcom
MAD MANX - tailless cat with rabies
GODZILLA
PRONUNCIATION: (GOD/guhd-zil-uh)
MEANING: noun:
1. Someone or something of enormous size.
2. Someone or something fierce, frightening, monstrous, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: After the 1954 Japanese film Gojira released in the US in 1956 as Godzilla. The film features an enormous dinosaur-like monster. Earliest documented use: 1965.
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GOD-ZILLO - heavenly properties for sale
GOLDZILLA - an idol worshiped by the followers of Gojira
D.O.D.-ZILLA - a hugely bloated Department of Defense
ROSE-COLORED
PRONUNCIATION: (ROZ-kuhl-uhrd)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Optimistic or cheerful, especially naively or to an unrealistic degree. Often used in the form “to see through rose-colored glasses”.
2. Of a bright pink or red color.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin rosa (rose), from Greek rhodon (rose). Yes, a rhododendron is a rose tree, literally speaking. Earliest documented use: 1526.
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DOSE-COLORED - identified with colored markings so you can tell how much (radiation, medication, capacitance) you're getting
ROSS-COLORED - red, white, and blue. Just ask Betsy!
ROE-COLORED - pink or black, depending on whether it's salmon or sturgeon
TAJ MAHAL
PRONUNCIATION: (taj/tazh muh-HUHL/HAHL)
MEANING: noun: Something, especially a building, that is luxurious or an extraordinary example of its kind.
ETYMOLOGY: After Taj Mahal, a mausoleum in Agra, India. Earliest documented use: 1860.
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"RAJMAH AL" - chief cook in that great Indian restaurant
TAN MAHAL - they couldn't get any more white marble
TAJMA HAM - a curried pork dish
HOTHEADED
PRONUNCIATION: (HOT-hed-id)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Easily angered.
2. Very angry.
3. Rash.
ETYMOLOGY: From hot, from Old English hat + head, from Old English heafod (top of the body). Earliest documented use: 1603.
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HOT-BEADED - decorated with stolen jewelry
POT-HEADED - confused by repeated marijuana use
ROT-HEADED - afflicted with brain-eating amebas
CHICKEN FEED
PRONUNCIATION: (CHIK-en feed)
MEANING: noun: A small amount of something, especially money.
ETYMOLOGY: From chicken, from Old English cicen + feed, from Old English fedan. Earliest documented use: 1834.
NOTES: Why chicken feed, as opposed to, say, cattle feed. The term alludes to a chicken’s relatively small size and hence their needing a small amount of feed. Also, they scratch at the soil in search for insects, seeds, etc.
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THICKEN FEED - throw in some starch so the feed isn't so runny
CHICKEN FEET - the little wrinkles that radiate form the outer corners of the eyes as we age
CHUCKEN FEED - how I spent last summer, workin on the farm
ROSEATE
PRONUNCIATION: (ROH-zee-uht/ayt)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Like a rose, especially in color: pink, red, etc.
2. Bright; favorable; promising.
3. Unreasonably optimistic.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin roseus (rosy), from rosa (rose), from Greek rhodon (rose). Earliest documented use: 1449. Also see rose-colored.
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ROW SEAT E - fifth one in from the aisle
URO-SEATE - a bidet
ROSE DATE - Abie
DAISY CHAIN
PRONUNCIATION: (DAY-zee chayn)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To connect in a sequence, especially in a way such that one element latches on to the next (instead of being connected by another medium, such as a piece of thread).
noun: An interlinked sequence of things, events, people, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From allusion to a string of daisies tied together in a garland. From daisy, from Old English dæges éage (day’s eye, referring to the flower closing at night) + chain, from Old French chaine, from Latin catena. Earliest documented use: 1841.
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DAISY CHAIM - the love interest in the newly-discovered series of Sholem Aleichem stories about "Li'l Avner"
DAISY CHAIR - where you sit in the room with the flower bed
DAISY CAIN - Abel's younger sister
DAISY CHAN - the unheralded wife of the famous Chinese detective, who did much of the sleuthing for him
ORCHIDACITY
PRONUNCIATION: (or-ki-DAS-i-tee)
MEANING: noun: Showiness.
ETYMOLOGY: From the large and showy flowers in the orchid family. From Latin orchis (orchid), from Greek orkhis (testicle, orchid, from the shape of its tubers). Earliest documented use: 1897. A related word is orchidaceous.
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ORCHID CITY - Quito, Ecuador, purportedly
TORCH I.D. A CITY - Liberty's, in New York City, beside the golden door
ORCHIDACIDY - lovely flower with a low pH
TALL POPPY
PRONUNCIATION: (TAWL pop-ee)
MEANING: noun: Someone conspicuously successful, especially one likely to attract hostility.
ETYMOLOGY: From tall, from Old English getæl (quick, prompt) + poppy, from Old English popæg/popig. Earliest documented use: 1858.
NOTES: The word poppy has been used for a prominent person for a long time. The earliest example in the OED is from a 1641, a use by John Milton. Making it “tall poppy” is just a little inflation (or elongation)
...
Tall poppy syndrome is the tendency to cut someone down to size, someone who is successful, rich, or prominent. The expression is popular in Australia and New Zealand. A similar expression is that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
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TAIL POPPY - the last flower in the row
TALL HOPPY - Charley, the six-foot rabbit
TALL PUPPY - Clifford the Red Dog when he was young
WALLFLOWER
PRONUNCIATION: (WAL-flou-uhr)
MEANING: noun
1. Someone who does not mingle at a social event, such as a party, dance, etc.
2. A person or an organization that is forced to stay at the sidelines of some activity.
ETYMOLOGY.
From wall, from Old English weall, from Latin vallum (rampart), from vallus (stake) + flower, from Old French flor (flower, flour, the best of anything). Earliest documented use: 1578.
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TALL FLOWER - Helianthus annuus
CALLFLOWER - one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea in the genus Brassica. Typically, only the head is eaten (the edible white flesh).
WALL GLOWER - 1. a nightlight; 2. chaperone at a teenagers' dance
CORUSCATE
PRONUNCIATION: (KOR-uh-skayt)
MEANING: verb intr.: 1. To sparkle, flash, or gleam.
2. To display great style or technique.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin coruscare (to flash). Earliest documented use: 1705.
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CHORUSCATE - to arrange to be sung by a group of voices
CORUSGATE - 1. the portal through which the singers enter; 2. scandal in the Altos
CORPUS CATE - the body of an untamed shrew
PLENITUDE
PRONUNCIATION: (PLEN-i-tood/tyood)
MEANING: noun:
1. The state of being full.
2. Abundance.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin plenus (full). Earliest documented use: 1425.
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SPLENITUDE - anger, vitriol, ill-humor
P-LENTITUDE - a quiet Easter
PENITUDE - incarceration (portmanteau word for "penal servitude")
RUFESCENT
PRONUNCIATION: (ru-FES-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Reddish.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin rufus (red, reddish). Ultimately from the Indo-European root reudh- (red), which also gave us red, rouge, ruby, ruddy, rubella, robust, corroborate, raddle, roborant, robustious, roborant, and russet. Earliest documented use: 1802.
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R.U. DESCENT? - May I come in?
BUFESCENT - turning into a toad
PRUFESCENT - The Love Song of J Alfred grows on you, doesn't it?
BRUME
PRONUNCIATION: (broom)
MEANING: noun: Fog or mist.
ETYMOLOGY: From French brume (mist), from Latin bruma (winter), from brevima dies (shortest day or winter solstice), from brevis (short). Earliest documented use: 1500.
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BRUMEI - a small country in Bormeo, with Malaysia to the east and the South Chima Sea to the west
BRULE - what you do to creme to make a yummy dessert
BRUM - city in the West Midlands region of England, about 100 miles from London, after a linguistic evolution similar to that which reduced "elëemosynary" to "alms"
ALTILOQUENT
PRONUNCIATION: (al-TIL-uh-kwuhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Pompous or pretentious.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin altus (high) + loquentem (speaking), from loqui (to speak). Earliest documented use: 1656.
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ALTOLOQUENT - having a low-pitched voice
GALTILOQUENT - espousing Objectivism
SALTILOQUENT - full of imprecations
BRIDEZILLA
PRONUNCIATION: (bryd-ZIL-uh)
MEANING: noun: A woman who is overbearing and obnoxious in planning her wedding.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of bride + Godzilla, a fictional monster. Earliest documented use: 1995.
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BRIDLEZILLA - a monstrously overdone outfit for guiding ones' horse
BRIDENILLA - an ordinary, indifferent-looking woman getting married
BRIEZILLA - the Paris Cheese Festival
AUTOLATRY
PRONUNCIATION: (aw-TOL-uh-tree)
MEANING: noun: Self-worship.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek auto- (self) + -latry (worship). Earliest documented use: 1861.
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ALTOLATRY - worship of female singers with low voices
AUTOMATRY - the science of Horn and Hardart
AOÛTOLATRY - the French worship the month of August
ALLOTRIOPHAGY
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-lah-tree-AH-fuh-jee)
MEANING: noun: An abnormal desire to eat things not usually eaten, such as chalk or clay. Also known as pica.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek allotrio- (foreign) -phagy (eating). Earliest documented use: 1845.
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ALTO-TRIO-PHAGY - couldn't you just eat up those three low-pitched voices singing...
ALLOT-RIO-PHAGE - a strange type of virus that decides how to divide the Brazilian city
ALLOW RIO PHAGY - the Phagy River is permitted
ZOANTHROPY
PRONUNCIATION: (zo-AN-thruh-pee)
MEANING: noun: The delusion that one is a beast.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek zoo- (animal) + -anthropy (human). Earliest documented use: 1856.
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KOANTHROPY - belief that one is a Zen proposition
AZO-ANTHROPY - belief that one is a blue man
ZOAN THE ROPY - Zoan was extremely long and flexible
ZOAN THEROPY - the people of Zoa have their own unique way of treating certain disorders
TIMESERVER
PRONUNCIATION: (TYM-suhr-vuhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. One who makes little effort at work, such as while waiting to retire or find another job.
2. One who changes views to conform to prevailing circumstances.
3. A computer that transmits precise time information on a network.
ETYMOLOGY: From time, from Old English tima (time) + server, from Latin servire (to serve), from servus (slave). Earliest documented use: 1566.
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TOMESERVER - the runner in the Library who brings your requests from the stacks
LIMESERVER - the bartender's assistant who completes your Rickey
TIM RESERVER - someone who wants to be sure Timothy is available
SANDBOY
PRONUNCIATION: (SAND-boi)
MEANING: noun:
1. A very happy person.
2. One who deals in sand.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English sand + boy. Earliest documented use: 1796.
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SANDBAY - why they keep having to dredge the harbor
SANDBUOY - "Stay away or you'll run aground!"
WANDBOY - derisive Muggles' nickname for Harry Potter
MUSiCASTER
PRONUNCIATION: (MYOO-zi-kas-tuhr)
MEANING: noun: A mediocre musician.
ETYMOLOGY: From music + -aster (a pejorative suffix). Earliest documented use: 1838.
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MUNi-CASTER - the filmmaker assigned to recruit Paul for a particular role
MOUSiCASTER - looking for Mickey's love interest
MUSHCASTER - Assistant Campaign Manager for Mudslinging
GRUMBLETONIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (gruhm-buhl-TOH-nee-uhn)
MEANING: noun: A habitual complainer.
ETYMOLOGY: From grumble, perhaps from French or Dutch. Earliest documented use: 1690.
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GRUMBLETONIA - a village of Sourpusses ["Sourpi"?]
CRUMBLETONIAN - where all the buildings are sand castles
(GRUMBLE) TAN IAN - he deserves a whuppin'
GRUMBLESTONIAN - Arvo Pärt at his most irritated
LOGODAEDALIST
PRONUNCIATION:
(log-uh-DEE-duh-list)
MEANING:
noun: One skilled in using or coining words.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin logodaedalia, from Greek logodaidalia, from logodaidalos, from logos (word) + daedalus (skillful). Earliest documented use: 1727.
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POGODAEDALIST - Walt Kelly, speaking through his Okeefenokee Swamp characters
LOCODAEDALIST - ...and crazy words at that, man
LOGO: DAEDALIS - small icon representing a wax-winged figure flying (too) close to the sun
LUDICROUS
PRONUNCIATION: (LOO-di-kruhs)
MEANING: adjective: So absurd as to provoke laughter.
ETYMOLOGY: In the beginning the word meant sportive. From Latin ludere (to play). Ultimately from Indo-European root leid- (to play), which also gave us allude, delude, elude, illusion, ludicrous, Ludo, collusion, ludic, and prelude. Earliest documented use: 1619.
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MUDICROUS - what the Mississippi River is from one side to the other
LUDICROWS - very smart black birds whose antics make you laugh
LUDICROUP - a condition where you laugh so hard you can't breathe
JAUNTY
PRONUNCIATION: (JON/JAHN-tee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Stylish.
2. Lively; self-confident.
ETYMOLOGY: In the beginning the word meant well-bred. From French gentil (nice), from Old French gentil (noble), from Latin gens (clan). Earliest documented use: 1662.
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AUNTY - 2. (adj) against
HAUNTY - suitable for Halloween
JAUNEY - yellowed, icteric
HIPSTER
PRONUNCIATION: (HIP-stuhr)
MEANING: noun: One whose interests in clothing, music, etc., tend to be outside the mainstream, especially in a self-conscious way.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from hep (up-to-date). Earliest documented use: 1920.
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SHIPSTER - lover of large boats (think John Masefield !)
HOPSTER - beer aficionado; owner of a craft brewery
CHiPster - Erik Estrada
DECARBONIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (dee-KAHR-buh-nyz)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: 1. To reduce or remove carbon emissions by curtailing the use of fossil fuels.
verb tr.: 2. To remove carbon deposits from something, such as an internal combustion engine.
ETYMOLOGY: Earlier to decarbonize was to reduce the content of carbon in metals, such as crude iron. From de- (off, away) + carbon, from Latin carbon (charcoal). Earliest documented use: 1876.
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DE-GARBONIZE - remove the chickpeas
DE-CARBORIZE - retrofit an engine with fuel injectors
DE-CARTONIZE - remove from their paper boxes
SURLY
PRONUNCIATION: (SUHR-lee)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Rude; sullen; unfriendly.
2. Ominous or dismal (used for weather, clouds, sky, ocean, etc.).
ETYMOLOGY: In the beginning the word meant lordly or majestic. Surly is an alteration of sirly, from sir, shortening of sire, from Old French sire, from Latin senior (older man), from senex (old). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sen- (old), which is also the ancestor of senate, senile, senectitude, and senescence. Earliest documented use: 1566.
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SKURLY - droning, like a bagpipes
SUERLY - plaintiffly
SUR LYS - over the Lily (compare sub rosa - under the Rose)
COPERNICAN
PRONUNCIATION: (koh/kuh-PUHR-ni-kuhn)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Very important; radically different; paradigm shifting.
2. Relating to Copernicus or his theory that the earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun.
ETYMOLOGY: After the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) whose heliocentric views were considered revolutionary in a world that believed in the geocentric model. Earliest documented use: 1667.
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KAEPERNICAN - placing principles above financial gain; “putting one’s money where one’s mouth is”
COPPERNICAN - a special battery made from copper, nickel, and calcium
COPER-NICIAN - one who is expert in dealing with adversity
RITZY
PRONUNCIATION: (RIT-see)
MEANING: adjective: Stylish, glamorous, elegant, fashionable, etc., especially in an ostentatious manner.
ETYMOLOGY: After César Ritz (1850-1918), a Swiss hotelier known for luxurious hotels. Earliest documented use: 1919.
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RITTY - full of dye
FRITZY - Nancy's aunt (her last name, btw, was "Ritz")
ROTZY - college extracurricular group for training potential military officers
BACCHANALIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (BAK-uh-nuh-lyz)
MEANING: verb intr.: To engage in wild revelry.
ETYMOLOGY: After Bacchus, the god of wine in Roman mythology. His Greek equivalent is Dionysus. Earliest documented use: 1656.
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BATCHANALIZE - examine a subset of the product in question
T'BACCH-ANALIZE - scrutinize the cigarettes
BACH-ANALIZE - let me explain to you the structure and complexity of the Goldberg Variations
OVERTON WINDOW
PRONUNCIATION: (OH-vuhr-tuhn WIN-doh)
MEANING: noun: The range of beliefs, attitudes, etc., considered acceptable at any given time.
ETYMOLOGY: After Joseph Overton (1960-2003) who proposed the idea. Earliest documented use: 2003.
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OVERTOE WINDOW - an opening in the tip of shoes so the nails can be viewed
OVERTON WIDOW - surviving spouse of the late Sir John Overton
OVERTON WINDOW - overtone window (see "f-hole")
BARMECIDE
PRONUNCIATION: (BAHR-muh-syd)
MEANING: noun: One giving only the illusion of abundance or some benefits.
ETYMOLOGY: After Barmecide, a nobleman in the story “Barber’s Sixth Brother” from the collection One Thousand and One Nights (also known as The Arabian Nights). In the story, Barmecide pretends to host a lavish feast for a beggar. The beggar plays along, pretending to enjoy the food and wine. He then pretends to get drunk and knocks Barmecide down in the process. In the end, Barmecide is pleased with the beggar for going with the joke and offers him a real feast. Earliest documented use: 1713.
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BARDECIDE - the barrista will let me know when she can't serve me any more beer
BARBECIDE - to kill a beard
KARMECIDE - when it's your fate to be murdered
SHRINKFLATION
PRONUNCIATION: (shringk-FLAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun: The practice of reducing the size of products while selling at the same price.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of shrink + inflation. Earliest documented use: 2013.
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SHRINKFLATIRON - a smaller gadget to press your clothes with
SHRIEKFLATION - when you exclaim with horror upon seeing the latest CPI
SELECTORATE
PRONUNCIATION: (si-LEK-tuhr-it)
MEANING: noun: A smaller group of people, as opposed to the general population, involved in picking a person, especially for a political position.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of select + electorate. Both from Latin legere (to choose). Earliest documented use: 1967.
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SELECT ORNATE - choose Rococo
SELECTOR AGE - How old is your Automatic Transmission shifter?
SELECTORATI - the Pulitzer Prize committee
SHRINKFLATION
PRONUNCIATION: (shringk-FLAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun: The practice of reducing the size of products while selling at the same price.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of shrink + inflation. Earliest documented use: 2013.
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SHRINKFLATIRON - a smaller gadget to press your clothes with
SHRIEKFLATION - when you exclaim with horror upon seeing the latest CPI
FRIZZLE
PRONUNCIATION: (FRIZ-uhl)
MEANING: verb intr.: To make a sizzling or sputtering noise.
verb tr.: To fry until crisp or curled.
verb intr.: To form into small tight curls; to frizz.
noun: A short curl.
ETYMOLOGY: For group 1: A blend of fry + sizzle. Earliest documented use: 1839.
For group 2: Of unknown origin, perhaps from Old English fris (curled). Earliest documented use: 1565.
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FRIZZLEE - the recipient of being crisped and curled (think "bacon")
GRIZZLE - to render streaked with grey, aged, weathered, and slightly unkempt
FRIZZLET - a young frizz
SLOANE RANGER
PRONUNCIATION: (slohn RAYN-juhr)
MEANING: noun: A young, fashionable, upper-class person.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of Sloane Square (in Chelsea, London) + Lone Ranger, coined by the writer Peter York in Harpers & Queen magazine. Earliest documented use: 1975.
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LOAN ERANGER - Beware brokers bearing gifts
'S LOANER DANGER - what's the risk of using a car dealer's temporary replacement vehicle?
SLOANE RANTER - malcontent MIT B-school student who harangues a lot
DA LONA RANGER – spaghetti Western
(anagram: RONALD REAGAN)
Yes, there's that, too...
FERTIGATION
PRONUNCIATION: (fuhr-ti-GAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun: The application of fertilizer by adding it to the water in an irrigation system.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of fertilizer + irrigation. Earliest documented use: 1967.
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FARTIGATION - Something smells rotten in the State of Denmark
FEETIGATION - ditto
FERMIGATION - the creation of a Fermi Gate, a hypothetical wormhole through which an advanced alien civilization could observe our society without being seen - a possible resolution of the Fermi Paradox
MISOPHONIA
PRONUNCIATION: (mi-soh-FOH-nee-uh)
MEANING: noun: An intolerance of certain sounds, such as chewing, slurping, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek miso- (hate) + -phonia (sound). Earliest documented use: 2001.
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MISOPHOBIA - fear of Japanese soup
MISTOPHONIA - the sighing of the breeze, heard on a foggy morning
MIS-OPTONIA - improper eyeball pressure; glaucoma
LAWFARE
PRONUNCIATION: (LAW-fare)
MEANING: noun: The use of the legal system to overwhelm an opponent.
ETYMOLOGY: From law + warfare. Earliest documented use: 1975.
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SLAWFARE - side order at the deli
LA FARE - price of a ticket to the West Coast
LOW FARE - airline advertising feature
GERONTOCRACY
PRONUNCIATION: (jer-uhn-TOK-ruh-see)
MEANING: noun: The system of government by old people.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek geronto- (old) + -cracy (rule). Earliest documented use: 1830. Note that the word senate is, literally, a council of elders, from Latin senex (old).
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IGERONTOCRACY - government as practiced by Disney Inc.
GERONTOCRAZY - senile dementia
GERON TOO RACY - Geron can't have anything scheduled during prime time
GAMESMANSHIP
PRONUNCIATION: (GAYMZ-muhn-ship)
MEANING: noun:
1. The use of legal, but unethical, tactics in a contest. For example, psychological intimidation, manipulation, distraction, etc.
2. The use of questionable means to gain an advantage.
ETYMOLOGY: From games + sportsmanship. Earliest documented use: 1939.
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DAMES MAN SHIP - oxymoronic definition of the Women's Navy Corps
GAMES MANWHIP - ancient spectacle for sadists
GATESMANSHIP - the art of sneaking in without paying
PHONOPHOBIA
PRONUNCIATION: (foh-nuh/noh-FOH-bee-uh)
MEANING: noun:
1. A fear of or intolerance of loud sounds.
2. A hypersensitivity to sound.
3. An aversion to the sound of one’s own voice.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek phono- (sound) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1841. See also, astraphobia.
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PRO-NO-PHOBIA - professionals don't scare me
PEONOPHOBIA - ...but I am afraid of serfs
PHONOPHIBIA - I can hear my leg-bones when I walk
RETCON
PRONUNCIATION: (RET-kon)
MEANING: noun: The introduction of new information to give a different interpretation of an established storyline.
verb tr.: To revise a storyline in this manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From the first three letters of words in the phrase retroactive continuity. Earliest documented use: 1988.
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RETOON - what a fiddler does between pieces
RETCHON - the fundamental particle of nausea
RESTCON - even a prisoner is entitled to a fifteen-minute break every now and then
FLAK
PRONUNCIATION: (flak)
MEANING: noun:
1. Severe criticism.
2. Anti-aircraft fire.
ETYMOLOGY: An acronym of German Flugzeugabwehrkanone (anti-aircraft gun), from Flieger (flyer) + Abwehr (defense) + Kanone (gun). Earliest documented use: 1938. The word is sometimes also spelled as flack.
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KLAK - the second of the Tappet brothers
BLAK - one of the colors of my True Love's hair
FLARK - Noah's flying boat
HAZMAT
PRONUNCIATION: (HAZ-mat)
MEANING: noun: Dangerous material, for / example, something toxic, explosive, or inflammable.
adjective: Relating to hazardous material.
ETYMOLOGY: A shortening of hazardous + material. Earliest documented use: 1972.
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HAZMATH - the calculus of danger
HAR ! M.A.T. - my getting a Masters of Arts in Teaching would be laughable
HAZOMAT - where to buy teasing routines
LARP
PRONUNCIATION: (larp)
MEANING: noun: A role-playing game in which participants assume various characters and use costumes and props.
verb intr.: 1. To play such a game.
2. To pretend to be what one is not.
ETYMOLOGY: An acronym for Live Action Role Playing. Earliest documented use: 1990.
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LARF - the sound of a Cockney laughing
LRRP - (pronounced “lurp”) a prolonged mission deep behind enemy lines; acronym of “Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol”
L.A. NP - Nurse Practitioner from southern California
BLAD
PRONUNCIATION: (blad)
MEANING: noun: A promotional flier or a book extract packaged to showcase and promote a book.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps a blend of blurb + ad or an acronym for Basic/Book Layout and Design. Another possibility is from Scottish blad (fragment, portfolio). Earliest documented use: 1930s.
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BX AD - promotional literature for am obsolete form of electrical cable
OB LAD - a boy baby
B DAD - so-so parent
INCARNATE
PRONUNCIATION: (adj: in-KAHR-nuht/nit/nayt, verb: in-KAHR-nayt)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Embodied in flesh.
2. Personified.
3. Flesh-colored; blood red..
verb tr.: 1. To give bodily form to.
2. To make real; to actualize.
3. To personify.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin incarnare (to make into flesh), from Latin caro (flesh). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sker- (to cut), which also gave us skirt, curt, screw, shard, shears, carnage, carnivorous, carnation, sharp, scrape, and incarnadine. Earliest documented use: 1395. A related word is avatar.
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IN BARN ATE - had lunch in the building with straw and cows and horses and stuff
"INCA" NATE - nickname for Nathan, the expert in Peruvian pre-Columbian civilization
IN-CAR NITE - once a month the fast-food joint invites its customers to eat their evening meal in the parking lot
UNPLUGGED
PRONUNCIATION: (un-PLUHGD)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Authentic; unadorned.
2. Refraining from the constant use of electronic communication and entertainment devices.
3. Relating to music performed with acoustic rather than electric instruments.
4. Not connected to an electrical outlet.
5. Without a plug or stopper (of a container of liquid).
6. Low-key; intimate.
ETYMOLOGY: From un- (not) + plug, from Dutch plug. Earliest documented use: 1823.
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UMP-LUGGED - toted by the referee
GUNPLUGGED - shot with a bullet
UNSLUGGED - not shot with a bullet
A GOGO
PRONUNCIATION: (uh GO-go)
MEANING: adjective: In abundance.
ETYMOLOGY: From French à gogo (aplenty). Earliest documented use: 1950. A synonym, galore, is also used postpositively.
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GOGO - a popular social form the 1960s, featuring provocatively clad women dancing, originally in nightclubs and bars
A GIGO - bad data give useless conclusions (acronym of "Garbage In, Garbage Out")
A GOO-GO - a solvent for sticky stuff
PRESUMPTIVE
PRONUNCIATION: (pre-ZUHMP-tiv)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Assumed; expected; inferred.
2. Giving a reasonable basis for belief.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin praesumere (to assume), from prae- (pre-) + sumere (to take). Earliest documented use: 1443.
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RESUMPTIVE - picking up where it left off
PRE-UMPTIVE - how it was before there were referees
PRESTUMPTIVE - before the tree is cut down
AT LARGE
PRONUNCIATION: (at larj)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Having a wide scope.
2. As a whole.
3. Not captured.
adverb: In a general manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ad largum (at liberty). Earliest documented use: 1391.
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AT LARGO - vacationing in the Florida Keys
ATLAS GE - rocket booster made by General Electric
APT LARGE - Real Estate listing for a very spacious apartment
MALCONTENT
PRONUNCIATION: (MAL-kuhn-tent, mal-kuhn-TENT)
MEANING: noun: One who is chronically dissatisfied.
adjective: Chronically dissatisfied, complaining, rebellious, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin mal- (badly) + contentus (satisfied), from continere (to contain), from con- (with) + tenere (to hold). Earliest documented use: 1574.
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MAC CONTENT - two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun
MALCOM TENT - where he did his preaching
MAL CONTEST - Oh yeah? Well my sea-sickness was so-o-o bad...
afterthought:
FALCON TENT - where Han keeps his ship when he isn't using it
FANBOY
PRONUNCIATION: (FAN-boi)
MEANING: noun: A boy or man who is an extremely enthusiastic follower of someone or something.
verb intr.: To behave in an obsessive way about someone or something.
ETYMOLOGY: From fan, short for fanatic, from Latin fanum (temple) + boy. Earliest documented use: 1919.
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FANBOT - a computer program whose purpose is to cast (fraudulent) votes in an online popularity contest
TANBOY - a confirmed surfer (compare WANBOY, a confirmed sun avoider)
FANBAY - where the air-blowers are stored when not in use
THAUMATURE
PRONUNCIATION: (THO-muh-tuhrj)
MEANING: noun:
1. A miracle worker.
2. A magician.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek thaumat- (wonder, miracle) + -urgy (work). Earliest documented use: 1715.
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THAUMATURF - the new Wonder Grass
THAT U MATURE - prerequisite for growing up
THOU MATURE - my $1,000 bond is now due
TEMPORISER
PRONUNCIATION: (TEM-puh-ry-zuhr)
MEANING: noun: One who delays, waiting for a favorable time, or to avoid making a decision.
ETYMOLOGY: From French temporiser (to bide one’s time), from Latin temporizare (to pass the time), from tempus (time). Earliest documented use: 1555.
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TEMPORITER - the composer who figures out how fast to play
TEMPORINSER - the conductor who wrings every last bit of emotion out of the music
TEMPTORISER - up-and-coming seductress
CASUIST
PRONUNCIATION: (KAZH-oo-ist)
MEANING: noun: One who employs deceptive or excessively subtle reasoning, especially on moral issues.
ETYMOLOGY: From French casuiste, from Spanish casuista, from Latin casus (case, fall, chance). Earliest documented use: 1616. Also see sophist.
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CASHIST - no checks or credit cards accepted (viz. Spags, in Worcester, MA)
Ca SUIT - hard shell containing calcium, such as is produced by clams and oysters and mussels
CAMUIST - proponent of the philosophical theory that Existence is intrinsically absurd; favorite literature is The Stranger or The Plague
TRUFFLE
PRONUNCIATION: (TRUHF-uhl, TROO-fuhl))
MEANING: verb intr.: To search, rummage, dig up, etc.
verb tr.: To stuff or to intersperse with something.
noun: 1. Any of various edible fungi that grow underground.
2. A soft, round candy made with chocolate, often coated with cocoa powder.
ETYMOLOGY: From French truffe, probably from Latin tuber (swelling). The verb intr. sense alludes to the search for underground truffles, traditionally with the help of pigs or dogs. The transitive verb is from the stuffing of truffles in something being cooked. Earliest documented use: noun 1591, verb 1868.
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TRUFFOE - New Wave French film director, 1955-1984
TRU-FF-LY - in an extremely loud manner
GRUFFLE - to express being upset in a grouchy manner
SCUNNER
PRONUNCIATION: (SKUHN-uhr)
MEANING: verb intr.: 1. To disgust or sicken.
2. To feel disgust or to flinch.
noun: 1. Dislike or disgust.
2. A rascal; nuisance.
ETYMOLOGY: From Scots scunner/skunner (to shrink back). Earliest documented use: verb: 1425, noun: 1512.
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'S CUTNER - Who wrote Elak of Atlantis in 1985 and Prince Raynor in 1987 ?
SCANNER - a product of the imagination of SciFi writer Cordwainer Smith, in "Scanners Live in Vain"
STUNNER - unexpected and shocking, like the Patriots/Jets game of last weekend, or the Pats/Dolphins game of December 2019
TOMCAT
PRONUNCIATION: (TOM-kat)
MEANING: noun: 1. A male domestic cat.
2. A womanizer.
verb intr.: To pursue women promiscuously.
ETYMOLOGY:The word was probably popularized by the anonymously published children’s book The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760). Earliest documented use: for a cat: 1772; for a womanizer; 1884, for verb: 1917.
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I AM CAT - popular song proclaiming the power of the species; 1971, by Feline Reddy, also covered by many others
TOM-TAT - past tense of the singer of "Willow, tit-willow, tit-willow"
TOM-CRAT - member of a government by cat
WHINGE
PRONUNCIATION: (whinj)
MEANING: verb intr.: To whine or to complain.
noun: A whine or complaint.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English hwinsian (to whine). Earliest documented use: verb 1150, noun 1530.
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SHINGE - to sear one's hair while intoxicated
WHINCE - to flinch in an aspirated fashion
W-HINGE - articulates in three bends
NITCH
PRONUNCIATION: (nich)
MEANING: noun: A notch or a small cut.
verb tr.: To make a small cut or notch.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps a variant of niche. Earliest documented use: noun: 1726; verb: 1880.
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KITCH - where you prepare din-din
NIT, DH - Now batting, Willie Nit, Designated Hitter
NITCO - "Our Specialty: the eggs of Pedculus humanus capitis"
MARATHON
PRONUNCIATION: (MAR-uh-thon/thuhn)
MEANING: noun: 1. A footrace of 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 km).
2. Any long-distance race, for example, a swimming marathon.
3. An endurance event or contest, such as a dance marathon.
4. An event of greater than usual length, for example, a Netflix marathon.
adjective: Relating to something that requires a lot of effort and endurance.
verb tr.: To take part in a long race, task, event, etc., or one that requires long sustained effort.
ETYMOLOGY: After Marathon, a village in Greece, the site of victory over Persians in 490 BCE and from where a messenger ran to Athens to carry the news. Earliest documented use: 1896.
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BARATHON - major push to study before the lawers' certification test
MARATHOU - deface a $1,0000 bill
MURATHON - covering the entire wall with art in one single session
TROCHE
PRONUNCIATION: (TROH-kee, British: trosh)
MEANING:
oun: A small tablet or lozenge, typically round and sweetened.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek trochos (wheel), from trechein (to run), which also gave us the metrical trochee. Earliest documented use: 1597.
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TORO CHE - prize bull named for the Cuban revolutionary
TROTHE - women promising to marry
TOCHE - one buttock
INTERLOPE
PRONUNCIATION: (in-tuhr-LOHP, IN-tuhr-lohp)
MEANING: verb intr.: To intrude or interfere.
ETYMOLOGY: Probably a back-formation from interloper, from Latin inter- (between) + Dutch lopen (to run), which also gave us landloper and landlubber. Earliest documented use: 1603.
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WINTER LOPE - it's a different gait, running in February
INTER HOPE - exhortation to All Ye Who Enter Here
INTER-POPE - when the Pope dies and a new Pope has yet been elected
PRODROME
PRONUNCIATION: (PROH-drohm)
MEANING: noun: An early symptom that indicates the onset of a disease or an episode of something such as a migraine.
ETYMOLOGY: From French prodrome (forerunner), from Latin prodromus, from Ancient Greek prodromos, from pro- (before) + dromos (running), which also gave us syndrome, hippodrome, and palindrome. Earliest documented use: 1611.
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PYRO-DROME - where they hold competitive fireworks displays
PRO DOME - indoor arena where the Big Leagues play
PROD ROMEO - Juliet is hinting
DROMOMANIA
PRONUNCIATION: (droh-muh-MAY-nee-uh)
MEANING: noun
1. A compulsive desire to travel.
2. An excessive enthusiasm for running.
ETYMOLOGY: From Ancient Greek dromos (running) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented use: 1900.
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DR. OÖMANIA - a medical ovulation specialist (not to say a fanatic)
DR.OZ-OMANIA - what almost got him elected in Pennsylvania
DRONOMANIA - excessive enthusiasm about remote-controlled flying craft
CHERUBIC
PRONUNCIATION: (chuh-ROO-bik)
MEANING: - adjective: Having a sweet, innocent appearance.
ETYMOLOGY: - From cherub, from Latin cherubim, from Greek kheroubin, from Hebrew kerubim. Ultimately from the Semitic root krb (to praise). Earliest documented use: 1645.
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THE RUBIC - that fellow who invented that cube puzzle so popular 40 years ago
CHERUB, INC - a subsidiary of Heaven, LLC (salvation is a growth industry these days)
CHER URIC - dear gout
NIDUS
PRONUNCIATION: (NY-duhs)
MEANING: noun:
1. A nest.
2. A source or the central point, especially of infection where bacteria or other pathogens breed.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin nidus (nest). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sed- (to sit), which also gave us nest, sit, chair, saddle, assess, sediment, soot, cathedral, tetrahedron, nidifugous (leaving the nest soon after birth), and nidicolous (remaining with parents). Earliest documented use: 1691.
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MID-U.S. - two or three hundred miles on either side of the Mississippi
NIDUC - a Native American tribe of western New Hampshire
NINDUS - a river in Nindia, one of the four great rivers of the middle-east and Nindian subcontinent and a cradle of cnivilization
PELAGIC
PRONUNCIATION: (Pe-LAJ-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to or living in the open ocean, far from land.
ETYMOLOGY: Latin pelagicus (of the sea), from Greek pelagos (sea). Ultimately from the Indo-European root plak- (to be flat) which also gave us archipelago, flake, flaw, placate, plead, please, and plank. Earliest documented use: 1656.
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PELATIC - like an eastern exercise program
P.E. MAGIC - mystical results resulting from a Physical Education program
OPELAGIC - like a German car
TATTERDEMALION
PRONUNCIATION: (tat-uhr-di-MAYL-yuhn, -MAL-)
MEANING: adjective: Ragged, tattered.
noun: A person in ragged clothes.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old Norse toturr (rag). The origin of demalion is uncertain. Earliest documented use: 1608
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TATTED ÉMALION - made lace in the French town of Émalion
TASTER deMAL-ION - epicure specializing in evil charged particles
TATTER-DERMA-LION - big cat with raggedy skin
BIBLIOPHAGIST
PRONUNCIATION: (bib-lee-AH-fuh-jist)
MEANING: noun: One who loves to read books; a bookworm.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek biblio- (book) + -phage (one who eats). Earliest documented use: 1881. Another form of the word is bibliophage.
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BILIOPHAGIST - a bile drinker
BIBIOPHAGIST - one who devours Israeli Prime Ministers
BIBLIOPTAGIST - one who values books because of their appearance
PROSATEUR
PRONUNCIATION: (pro-zuh-TUHR)
MEANING: noun: A writer of prose.
ETYMOLOGY: From French prosateur (a prose writer), from Italian prosatore, from Latin prosator, from prosa (straightforward). Earliest documented use: 1728.
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PRO-S.A.T.-ER - someone in favor of continuing to use the Scholastic Aptitude Test as part of the College Admissions process
PROSTATEUR - a connoisseur of Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (that bane of the aging male)
PYROSATEUR - a hypersexed demon, half man and half goat, who lights fires
BIBLIOPOLE
PRONUNCIATION: (BIB-lee-uh-pohl)
MEANING: noun: A bookseller, especially of rare works.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin bibliopola (bookseller), from Greek bibliopoles, biblio- (book) + polein (to sell). Earliest documented use: 1775.
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BIBLIOPOLY - government by book readers (a consummation devoutly to be wished)
BILLIOPOLE - to which you tie the male goat, to keep him out of mischief
BIBLIOPLE - (the library was really in Istanbul, not Alexandria)
PERITEXT
PRONUNCIATION: (PER-uh-tekst)
MEANING: noun: The material surrounding the main text of a book, such as covers, preface, bibliography, colophon, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek peri- (around) + text, from Latin texere (to weave). Ultimately from the Indo-European root teks- (to weave), which also gave us context, texture, tissue, tectonic, architect, technology, ]PERITEXT[/b]subtle, and subtile. Earliest documented use: 1977.
NOTES: The word is primarily used with books, but can be applied to other creative works such as films, computer games, etc.
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"PERI - NEXT!" - the dentist specializing in gum-diseases must be doing a land-office business
PETIT-EXT - a small extension
P.E. WRITE-XT - old computer program for teachers to record the results of gym class
BIBLIOPHOBE
PRONUNCIATION: (BIB-lee-uh-fohb)
MEANING: noun: A person with a strong aversion to books.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek biblio- (book) + -phobe (one who fears).
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BI-BIOPHOBE - fearful of having the story of one's life told twice
BILIOPHOBE - afraid of gall bladder secretions
BIBLIOPROBE - Congress investigates its Library
BIBLIOPHOEBE - a Gospel-singing bird
FOLKMOOT
PRONUNCIATION: (FOK-moot)
MEANING: noun: A general assembly of the people of a town, city, county, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English folcmot, from folc (folk) + mot (moot). Earliest documented use: 1513.
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FORKMOOT - the reply to the question, "Should the place setting include to salad fork or the dinner fork when all I'm serving is split pea soup?"
FOLKMOON - the peasants make a rude gesture en masse
FOLKMOO - the sound of the herd
QUALM
PRONUNCIATION: (kwam, kwom)
MEANING: noun:
1. An uneasy feeling about the rightness of a course of action.
2. A sudden feeling of sickness, faintness, or nausea.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1531.
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QUAD M - a pretty big type spacer, about as wide as the letter M is tall
SQUAL M - the thirteenth small, localized, intense sea storm of the season
QUO ALM - Whence cometh this charity?
PASTILLAGE
PRONUNCIATION: (PAH-stee-ahj)
MEANING: noun: A sugar paste that’s molded into shapes and figures for decorating cakes, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From French pastillage (a small figure made of sugar), from pastille (lozenge), from Spanish pastilla (candy), from Latin pasta (dough). Earliest documented use: 1883.
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POSTILLAGE - after the harvest is over
PASVILLAGE - 1. the town my dad grew up in; 2. a community of dances
PASTILLAGE - see POSTILLAGE, above
EASTILLAGE - a neighborhood in lower Manhattan
PSALM
PRONUNCIATION: (sahm)
MEANING: noun: A sacred poem or song.
verb intr.: To sing a poem or song.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English psealm, from Latin psalmus, from Greek psalmos (plucking of strings), from psallein (to pluck). Earliest documented use: c. 450 CE.
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UPS ALM - government charity for the delivery company with the brown trucks
PSALOM - the son for whom King David wept when he heard of his death in battle
PSA-FM - a Public Service Announcement on the radio
POINTILLAGE
PRONUNCIATION: (pwan-tee-YAZH)
MEANING: noun: A style of painting in which small dots are applied to the canvas. Also known as pointillism.
ETYMOLOGY: From French pointiller (to paint small dots), from Latin punctum (point), from pungere (to prick). Earliest documented use: 1887.
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PO IN VILLAGE - the river goes through the middle of town
PIN TILLAGE - the growing of golf holes
POINT ULLAGE - a promontory where liquid contents evaporate from bottles
EUNOIA
PRONUNCIATION: (yoo-NOY-uh)
MEANING: noun:
1. A feeling of goodwill.
2. A state of good mental health.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek eunoia (well mind), from eu (well, good) + noos (mind, spirit).
NOTES: Eunoia is the shortest word in English with all five vowels.
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EU-NO-MI-A - my Italian acquaintance
REUNOIA - the return of the psychotic
PUNOIA - the satisfying feeling of having just made a good one
SCRAUNCH or SCRANCH
PRONUNCIATION: (skrawnch)
MEANING: verb tr.: To crunch, crush, or grind.
ETYMOLOGY: Of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1620.
NOTES: The word scraunched is the longest one-syllable word in the English language.
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S.C. RANCH - what they call a hacienda in Greenville
SCRUNCH - to squeeze together so as to take up less space, as on a sofa or car seat
S.C.R. LUNCH - midday meal in the cafeteria of the State Capitol Refectory
LIMNOPHILOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (lim-NOF-uh-luhs)
MEANING: adjective: Fond of or living in inland bodies of water such as lakes, pools, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek limne (lake) + -philous (liking). Earliest documented use: 1855.
NOTES: The word limnophilous is one of the few words in English that have four consecutive letters of the alphabet in a row. Some everyday words are understudy and overstuff.
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LIMOPHILOUS - a devotion to travelling by luxury cars
LIMPOPHILOUS - a fondness for great gray-green greasy rivers
GIMNOPHILOUS - opposite of angiophilous
PHARMACOPOEIA or PHARMACOPEIA
PRONUNCIATION: (far-muh-kuh-PEE-uh)
MEANING: noun:
1. A book listing approved drugs and related information.
2. A stock of drugs.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek pharmakon (drug) + poiein (to make). Earliest documented use: 1618.
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PHARMACOPERA - a musical drama about ants
PARMA-COPE-IA - there's not enough cheese for the spaghetti, but I'll manage
P. HARM-A-COP ERA - 16. an unfortunate outgrowth of the Black Lives Matter movement
OXYGEUSIA
PRONUNCIATION: (ok-see-GOO/GYOO-zee/zhee-uh, -zhuh)
MEANING: noun: An acute sense of taste.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek oxy- (sharp) + -geusia (taste). Earliest documented use: 1848.
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FOXYGEUSIA - "They never had such a supper in their life/And the little ones chewed on the bones, O...."
LOXYGEUSIA - the yummy taste of bagel and cream cheese and all the trimmings
OXYGE-U.S.A. - what we'll breathe when the CO2 level builds up too high
in this country
HARK
PRONUNCIATION: (hark)
MEANING: verb intr.:
1. To listen attentively.
2. Hark back: to allude to or return to a previous topic, time, event, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English heorcian (to listen). Earliest documented use: 1175. A variant is hearken.
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MARK - the Muster who has three quarks, according to James Joyce
HAIK - when the Center snaps the football on the 5/7/4th syllable (that is, the count is missing its final syllable)
TARN
PRONUNCIATION: (tarn)
MEANING: noun: A small mountain lake.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old Norse tjǫrn (small lake). Earliest documented use: 1400.
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TO A RN - ode in appreciation of my nurse
STARN - plural of "Star" (German)
TARM - a short runway (or, one with no alternating current)
TOPOS
PRONUNCIATION: (TOH-pohs/pahs)
MEANING: noun: A traditional theme, literary motif, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek koinos topos (common place) which also gave us the word topic. Earliest documented use: 1948.
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POPOS - what you pat 'em on after thy put their feet up
TOPOS - short for "topographical errors"
NOPOS - Should I attach this wire to the negative terminal?
SPIV
PRONUNCIATION: (spiv)
MEANING: noun: An unscrupulous person or a petty criminal, especially one who is sharply dressed.
verb intr.: To make a living unscrupulously.
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SHIV a small knife used by a petty criminal
SHTV - use the Mute button on a television set
SPID - went too fast and skidded
RIVE
PRONUNCIATION: (ryv)
MEANING: verb tr.: To tear, split, fracture, etc.
verb intr.: To become split or cracked.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old Norse rifa (to tear apart). Earliest documented use: 1250.
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RIVER - one who cracks
ROVE - used to crack
DRIVE - chief design officer (CDO) of Apple Inc. (from 1997 until 2019) after he was awarded an honorary doctorate
IDIOLATRY
PRONUNCIATION: (i-di-OL-uh-tree)
MEANING: noun: Self worship.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek idio- (one’s own, personal) + -latry (worship). Earliest documented use: 1626. A synonym is autolatry.
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IDI-OLATRY - glorifying the former head of Uganda
INDIOLATRY - diehard NASCAR racing fanatic
I DIOL AUTRY - What do I do when I want to talk to Trigger?
CYNANTHROPY
PRONUNCIATION: si-NAN-thruh-pee)
MEANING: noun: A delusion in which one believes oneself to be a dog.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek kyon (dog) + -anthropy (human). Earliest documented use: 1594.
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CYANTHROPY - believing to b one of Burton Rouché's Eleven Blue Men
CYGNANTHROPY - believing to be an Ugly Duckling (actually, a baby swan)a
MY ANTHROPY - a child pioneer in Nebraska at the end of the Nineteenth Century
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BOLT-HOLE
PRONUNCIATION: (BOLT-hol)
MEANING: noun:
1. A place of escape, hiding, or seclusion.
2. A hole through which to escape when in danger.
ETYMOLOGY: From bolt + hole, from Old English bolt (a heavy arrow) + Old English hol (hole, cave). Earliest documented use: 1851.
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BOLT HOME - what the third-base runner does on a passed ball
DOLT-HOLE - alternative to a dunce cap on the three-legged stool in the corner
BOLE-HOLE - where you hang the bucket after tapping the sugar maple tree
HYPERACUSIS
PRONUNCIATION: (hy-puhr-uh-KYOO-sis)
MEANING: noun: A heightened sensitivity to sounds.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hyper- (over) + acousis (hearing). Earliest documented use: 1825.
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HYPERACUSS - a very special swear word
HYPER-ACCUSIS - "But her e-mails!..."
HOPE-RACUSIS - how we wished the Clarence Thomas affair had worked out (alas, in vain)
SUEDE-SHOED
PRONUNCIATION: (SWAYD-shood)
MEANING: adjective: Affecting smartness and respectability.
ETYMOLOGY: From the perceived preference of suede shoes by people supposedly smart and respectable. From suede (a soft leather), from French gants de Suède (Swedish gloves). Later the word suede was applied to the material, instead of the country. Earliest documented use: 1936. Also see white-shoe.
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SUED-SHOED - obtained a warrant against the person with the boots
SUE, DE-SHOD - yes and they took off her high heels, too
SUE DE-SHOWED - she took down the racy web images
SABOTEUR
PRONUNCIATION: (sab-uh-TUHR)
MEANING: noun: One who disrupts, damages, or destroys, especially in an underhanded manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From French saboter (to walk noisily, to botch), from sabot (wooden shoe). Earliest documented use: 1921.
NOTES: The popular story of disgruntled workers throwing their sabots into the machinery to jam it is not supported by evidence. Rather, it’s that the workers typically wore sabots.
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SAVOTEUR - a devotee of Gilbert & Sullivan, so named because of G&S' connection with the Savoy Theater in London
SABETEUR - one who knows (after Spanish ¿Quien sabe?, proposed source of Tonto's "Kemo Sabe")
SAMBOTEUR - habitual patron of a now-defunct restaurant chain (long considered politically incorrect)
WELL-HEELED
PRONUNCIATION: (wel-HEELD)
MEANING: adjective: Having plenty of money.
ETYMOLOGY: Alluding to a person who can easily afford to replace shoes often. Earliest documented use: 1871. The opposite is down-at-the-heel.
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WELL-HEEDED - paid attention when told "the first priority is a good water supply"
WELL-WHEELED - having enclosures for its wheels
WE'LL-SEE-LED - the CEO has a make-it-up-as-we-go-along attitude
(B)SNEAKERNET(/B)
PRONUNCIATION (SNEE-kuhr-net)
MEANING: noun: The transfer of electronic information by physically moving it storing it on a device and moving the device), instead of doing it over a computer network.
ETYMOLOGY: From sneaker (a shoe popular in everyday use) + net, alluding to someone carrying a disk, memory key, etc. from one computer to another. The shoes were called sneakers because their rubber soles made them very quiet. Earliest documented use: 1984.
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SNEAKERNET
PRONUNCIATION: (SNEE-kuhr-net)
MEANING: Noun: The transfer of electronic information by physically moving it (storing it on a device and moving the device), instead of doing it over a computer network.
ETYMOLOGY: From sneaker (a shoe popular in everyday use) + net, alluding to someone carrying a disk, memory key, etc. from one computer to another. The shoes were called sneakers because their rubber soles made them very quiet. Earliest documented use: 1984.
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SPEAKERNET - 1. the coarse cloth covering the cone of a large loudspeaker; 2. a collection of loudspeakers linked together a a common control board
SNEAKERTET - subdued public lectures on the occasion of the Vietnamese New Year
SNEAKER WET - why you don't step into puddles leaving the Basketball court
BOOT-FACED
PRONUNCIATION: (BOOT-fayst)
MEANING: adjective: Having a stern, angry, or sad expression.
ETYMOLOGY: From the expression “to have a seaboot face” (to have grim face), probably alluding to seaboots being worn on a ship in bad weather. Earliest documented use: 1925.
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BOOT-FARAD - the strength of the start-up capacitor
TOOT-FACED - red-cheeked from blowing the tuuba too hard
BOOT-ACED - cheated out of the pot because your opponent pulls out an ace that was hidden in his footwear
IKIGAI
PRONUNCIATION: (I-ki-gai)
MEANING: noun:
1. A sense of purpose or something that gives a sense of purpose; a reason for living.
2. Something that brings fulfillment or enjoyment.
ETYMOLOGY: From Japanese ikigai (a reason for being), from iki (life) + -gai (worth). Earliest documented use: 1972. The French equivalent is raison d’être.
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IKI-GAI - unappealing young man
I-KIRAI - [possible trigger warning] the final moments of a ritual suicide (seppuku)
I, KING AI - self-proclaimed Ruler of the Sloths
CHAEBOL
PRONUNCIATION: (CHAY/JAY-bol/buhl)
MEANING: A large conglomerate of businesses, tightly controlled by a person or a family.
ETYMOLOGY: From Korean chaebol, from chae (wealth) + bol (faction), modeled after Japanese zaibatsu, by the use of Korean pronunciations of the two Chinese characters with which the word zaibatsu is formed. Earliest documented use: 1972.
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CHAEBOT - Artificial Intelligence app to imitate the governance of a cartel
CHATBOL - A talking soccer ball; it says "Ouch" when you kick it, "Aah" when you head it, "Gotcha!" when you do a good dribble maneuver
AHA! EBOL' - Uh-oh, there's a new outbreak of virus in rural Africa
COSH
PRONUNCIATION: (kosh)
MEANING: noun: 1. A short, thick, heavy stick, used as a weapon. Also known as a truncheon, blackjack, bludgeon, etc.
2. An attack with, or as if with, such a weapon.
verb tr.: To hit with, or as if with, such a weapon.
ETYMOLOGY: From Romani kosh, from koshter (stick). Earliest documented use: 1869.
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COSHA - food that's OK to be eaten by Orthodox Bostonian Jews
COASH - what a drunken athlete calls the head of his team
COKH - a Klingon delicacy, made of live beetle larvae. Just ask Will Riker.
TOCO
PRONUNCIATION: (TOH-koh)
MEANING: noun: Chastisement; punishment; beatings.
ETYMOLOGY: From Hindi thoko, imperative of thokna (to strike or beat). Earliest documented use: 1823. Also see dekko.
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ROCO - an artistic style characterized by not-very-elaborate ornamentation
TO CD - where to move your funds when you're worried about an imminent stock market crash
TOE CO. - a firm that makes polydactyl feet
CHURL
PRONUNCIATION: (chuhrl)
MEANING: noun:
1. A rude person.
2. A miserly person.
3. A peasant.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English ceorl (peasant). Earliest documented use: 800.
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C.O. HURL - the Company commander is pitching for the ball team
D.C. HURL - sick drunk in the nation's Capital
CHURE - "Of course," with a heavy Slavic accent
DICKEY, DICKY, or DICKIE
PRONUNCIATION: (DIK-ee)
MEANING:
noun: 1. A detachable shirtfront, collar, bib, etc.
2. A small bird. [as in "Oh willow, tit willow, tit willow" - Wofa]
3. A donkey.
4. The driver’s seat or rear seat in a carriage.
5. The luggage compartment of a vehicle; also known as trunk or a boot.
adjective: 1. Not working properly.
2. In poor health.
ETYMOLOGY: For noun: A diminutive of Dick, a nickname for Richard. Earliest documented use: 1753.
For adjective: Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1788.
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I.C. KEY - needed to reverse-engineer an integrated circuit
DICEY - cubical
DICK ICE - cure for the hots
DINGBAT
PRONUNCIATION: (DING-bat)
MEANING: noun: 1. An eccentric or crazy person.
2. An ornamental typographical symbol, such as ✲, ❏, ☛, ♥.
3. An object, such as a brick, used as a missile.
4. A gadget or an object whose name is unknown or forgotten. Aka, thingamajig, gizmo, etc.
5. A two- to three-story boxy apartment building with parking spaces directly under it.
adjective: Eccentric or crazy.
ETYMOLOGY: Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1838.
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DANGBAT - annoying baseball hitter
DING BAIT - leaving your car where it's likely to be struck by another, so you can file for insurance payments
DIN-GOAT - one noisy caprid
DECOLLATE
PRONUNCIATION: (for 1: dee-KAH-layt, for 2: DEK-uh-layt)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To behead.
2. To separate sheets of paper, from a multiple-copy printout, for example.
ETYMOLOGY: For 1: From Latin decollare, from de- (from) + collum (neck). Earliest documented use: 1599.
For 2: From de- (from) + collate (to gather, merge, etc.), from conferre (to bring together). Earliest documented use: 1967.
NOTES: Sometimes the word decollate is used as an alternate spelling for the decollete (which is a short for decolletage: a low neckline on a woman’s dress). If your name is Chasity and you’re writing a romance novel (The Other Wife), any spelling is fine. But when you need to refer to a low neckline in a formal context -- an office memo, a research paper, a court brief, a patent application, etc. -- it’s best to go with decollete.
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DECOLLAGE - to be expunged from the University records for inferior spelling
DE DOLL ATE - Raggedy Ann had dinner
DECOR LATE - the interior furnishings were only an afterthought
LAVE
PRONUNCIATION:
(layv)
MEANING:
noun: Residue or remainder.
verb tr.: 1. To wash or bathe.
2. To flow.
3. To pour.
ETYMOLOGY:
For noun: From Old English laf (remainder). Earliest documented use: 971.
For verb: From Old English lafian (to pour or wash), from Latin lavare (to wash). Earliest documented use: 450.
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FLAVE - taste
LLAVE - wash your South American beast of burden
GLAVE - medieval weapon, basically a 50-cm blade at the end of a 2-meter pole
ARMIPOTENT
PRONUNCIATION: (ahr-MIP-uh-tuhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Strong in war, battle, contest, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin arma (arms) + potent (powerful). Earliest documented use: 1405.
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AM I POTENT - do I have erectile dysfunction
ARMIPATENT - if you make weapons you owe me a royalty
ACMI POTENT - Wile E Coyote has a powerful supplier
LEGATION
PRONUNCIATION: (li-GAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. A diplomatic mission ranking below an embassy.
2. The premises of such a mission.
3. The diplomat and staff of such a mission.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin legare (to depute). Earliest documented use: 1425.
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LEGOTION - conversion to brightly-colored interlocking bricks
LEGATHON - a trial that goes on for days without interruption
LE CATION - an ion with a positive charge, first discovered and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris
LIPOGRAPHY
PRONUNCIATION: (li-POG-ruh-fee, ly-)
MEANING: noun: The omission of a letter or syllable in writing.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek lipo- (lacking) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented use: 1888.
NOTES: In spite of what it sounds like, lipography is not writing with lips. Instead, it’s the omission, inadvertent or on purpose, of a letter or syllable in writing.
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SLIPOGRAPHY - creating catalogs of women's undergarments
LIMOGRAPHY - making images of citrus fruit
LIMPOGRAPHY - documenting asymmetrical gaits
RIBALD
PRONUNCIATION: (RI-buhld, RAI-bald)
MEANINGG: adjective: Relating to coarse humor of sexual nature.
noun: A person who uses such language or humor.
ETYMOLOGY: From Anglo-French, from Old French riber (to be wanton), from riban (to be in heat or to copulate). Earliest documented use: 1250.
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EIBALD - (colloq.) looked at
RIBAND - decorated with awards
RIBALED - tied into large, heavy bundles once again
NOSOGRAPHY
PRONUNCIATION: (no-SOG-ruh-fee)
MEANING: noun: The systematic description of diseases.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek noso- (disease) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented use: 1654.
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NOOS-OGRAPHY - making images of hangings
NO-SONG-RAPHY - making images of choral music is forobidden
NASOGRAPHY - making images of large probosci
AENEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (ay-EE-nee-uhs, EE-nee-uhs)
MEANING. adjective: Bronze- or brass-colored.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin aes (bronze, brass, copper). Earliest documented use: 1808.
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ARNEOUS - like the composer of Rule Britannia
GENEOUS - very smart, very capable spirit who should nevertheless avoid lamps
AMENEOUS - giving rise to widespread murmurs of agreement
ARGENT
PRONUNCIATION: (AHR-juhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Of the color silver or white.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin argentum (silver). Ultimately from the Indo-European root arg- (to shine; white) that is also the source of argue (from Latin arguere, to make clear), argillaceous, and French argent (money). The word also appears in the chemical symbol for silver (Ag) and in the name of the country Argentina where Rio de la Plata (literally, river of silver) flows. Earliest documented use: 1500.
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WARGENT - Five-star General
PARGENT - a consistent but uninspiring golfer
AROGENT - haughty. And he can't spell worth a damn, either.
STRAMINEOUS
PRONUNCIATION: (struh-MIN-ee-uhs)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Straw-colored.
2. Of or relating to straw.
3. Like straw: Valueless.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin stramen (straw). Earliest documented use: 1624.
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SCRAMINEOUS - engendering an abrupt dismissal
STRAYINEOUS - attractive to small feral animals
STRAPINEOUS - insistent that everyone use a seat belt
RUBICUND
PRONUNCIATION: (ROO-bi-kuhnd)
MEANING: adjective: Red or reddish.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin rubere (to be red). Ultimately from the Indo-European root reudh- (red), which also gave us red, rouge, ruby, ruddy, rubella, robust, rambunctious, corroborate, roborant, raddle, robustious, rufescent, and russet. Earliest documented use: 1425.
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RUBI FUND - a collection of money for the purpose of buying red jewels
RUBIC AND - a partnership of puzzlemakers, one famous and the other anonymous
RUE BICUND - Bicund Street, in Paris
VIRESCENT
PRONUNCIATION: ( vuh/vy/vi-RES-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Greenish.
2. Turning green.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin virescere (to become green), from virere (to be green). Earliest documented use: 1826.
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VI. DESCENT - the sixth phase of air flight, after boarding, seatbelt inspection, takeoff, climbing, and cruising at altitude
VIRUS CENT - a one-penny coin commemorating the pandemic of 2019-2023
VILE SCENT - the combined musk of a thousand angry skunks
MEMORITER
PRONUNCIATION: (muh-MOR-uh-ter)
MEANING: adverb: By memory; by heart.
adjective: Involving memorization.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin memoriter (by memory), from memor (mindful). Earliest documented use: 1612.
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MEMO WRITER - 1. the Boss, dictating to stenographer; 2. the stenographer, transcribing
MEMORY ITER - where Julius Caesar strolls when waxing nostalgiac
MEMO RATER - grader in the course on how to write business letters
ASTERN
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-STUHRN)
MEANING: adverb, adjective:
1. At the rear of a ship or another vessel.
2. In a reverse direction.
3. Backward.
ETYMOLOGY: From a- (toward) + stern (back part), probably from Old Norse stjorn (steering). Earliest documented use: 1627.
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A-SPERN - what an Italian does to an unwanted marriage proposal
WAS TERN - used to be a bird
E-ASTER-N - an electronic Fall flower that tries to face North
SINISTRAD
PRONUNCIATION: (SIN-uh-strad)
MEANING: adverb, adjective: Toward the left side.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sinister (left, left hand, unlucky). Earliest documented use: 1803.
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SIGNIST RAD - a very woke ASL translator
SINIST: READ - trigonometrician's homework assignment
SIN IS TRIAD - committed not one but three evil acts
AGLEY
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-GLEE/GLAY/GLY)
MEANING: adverb, adjective:
1. Awry.
2. Wrong.
ETYMOLOGY: From Scots agley, from a- (toward) + gley/glee (to squint). Earliest documented use: 1785.
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GAGLEY - like a gathering of geese
AGNEY - terrble pain
ANGLEY - having lots of sharp corners
GRATIS
PRONUNCIATION: (GRAT-is, GRA/GRAY-tis)
MEANING: adverb, adjective: Without payment; free.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin gratis, contraction of gratiis (out of kindness), from gratia (grace, kindness). Earliest documented use: 1477.
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GRAMIS - awards for Best Recording
GYRATIS - another word for "drones"
GRATIST - a vegetable shredder
PINION
PRONUNCIATION: (PIN-yuhn)
MEANING: noun: 1. A feather or a wing, especially the terminal segment of a wing.
2. A small cogwheel engaging with a larger wheel or a rack.
verb tr.: 1. To cut or bind the wing of a bird.
2. To bind, restrain, shackle, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: For noun 2: From French pignon (cogwheel), from Latin pecten (comb), from pectere (to comb).
For the rest: From French pignon (pinion), from Latin pinna (feather, wing, fin).
Earliest documented use: For noun: 1400; for verb: 1556.
NOTES: According to one website, “The raven has five pinions in each wing and the crow has six. So the true difference between the two is a matter of a pinion!”
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pH-IN-ION - determining the acidity of a charged particle
PI? NON - Is pi the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet? (Vraiment, c'est le seizième.)
PIG ION - what the Fourth Little Pig built his Boston house of
DEACON
PRONUNCIATION: (DEE-kuhn)
MEANING: noun: In a church, a person appointed as a lay leader to a position below a pastor, priest, etc.
verb tr.: 1. To present the best part of something.
2. To pack or arrange in a way so that the finest pieces (such as fruit) are visible.
3. To adulterate; to doctor; to falsify.
4. To kill a calf or another animal soon after birth.
5. To ordain as a deacon.
6. To read aloud lines of a verse before singing.
verb intr.: To lie.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English diacon, from Latin diaconus, from Greek diakonos (servant, minister). Earliest documented use: for noun: 900; for verb: 1839.
NOTES: A deacon typically helps with things like ushering, collecting the offering, visiting church members in their homes, etc. In churches where not enough copies of religious books were available for all attendees, a deacon or a choir leader would read one or two lines at a time before the choir or the congregation would sing them.
It’s not clear how the negative meanings of the word arose. Maybe when a deacon visited, a family did a bit of staging: moved their religious music records to the front, brought out their best china, even displayed the best fruit on the table.
Maybe it’s alluding to the deacons themselves, displaying goodness on the surface (speaking politely) that hid what lies inside. According to a New England proverb “All deacons are good, but there’s odds in deacons.”
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BEACON - 1)a signal to light the way; 2)instruction to commit crimes and be sentenced to prison
DEAFCON - a system for grading how much hearing disability there is
ODEACON - a convention of laudatory poets
INFAME
PRONUNCIATION: (in-FAYM)
MEANING: noun: A person having a bad reputation.
verb tr.: To defame: to attack the reputation or to disgrace.
adjective: Having a bad reputation.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin in- (not) + fama (reputation). Earliest documented use: for noun: 1413; for adjective: 1551; for verb: 1413.
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IN GAME - where a bridge player wants to end up
IN FLAME - how we might go down in the Army Air Corps
SINFAME - Ebenezer Scrooge, Casanova, Lizzie Borden had it
SCEND or SEND
PRONUNCIATION: (send)
MEANING: verb intr.: To rise or lift by, or as if by, a wave.
noun: The rising movement of a wave or a ship on a wave.
ETYMOLOGY: Perhaps an alteration of send, influenced by ascend or descend. Earliest documented use: for verb: 1625; for noun: 1726.
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SLEND - not particulary thin (positive form of the comparative SLENDER)
'SCAND - wise-guy reply to the question "Is that fresh or frozen?"
SACEND - what makes a cul-de-sac a cul-de-sac
SWAN
PRONUNCIATION: (swan)
MEANING: noun: 1. Any of various long-necked large waterbirds, usually in white plumage.
2. Someone or something of unusual beauty, grace, purity, etc.
verb intr.: 1. To move about in an idle, aimless way.
2. To declare or to swear.
ETYMOLOGY: For verb 2: From shortening of “I shall warrant” or “I swear on”.
For the rest: From Old English swan. Ultimately from the Indo-European root swen- (to sound), which also gave us sound, sonic, sonnet, sonata, and unison.
Earliest documented use: for noun: 700; for verb 1: 1893; for verb 2: 1823.
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SHWAN - an obsolete catalog of long-playing classical music records, usually 33 1/3 rpm
SWAR - blasphemed, in Ozark country
St. WAN - the fourth Gospel in Madrid, transcribed phonetically
INTERPUNCTION
PRONUNCIATION: (in-tuhr-PUNGK-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. Punctuation.
2. A punctuation mark.
3. The insertion of punctuation marks in a text.
ETYMOLOGY:
from Latin inter- (between) + punctum (dot, point). Earliest documented use: 1617.
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INTER JUNCTION - Old Western city of mortuaries
INTERN PUNCTION - the empathy shown by junior House Officers in a hospital
INTER-FUNCTION - when you switch your focus while multitasking
EXUVIATE
PRONUNCIATION: (ig-ZOO-vee-ayt)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To shed or cast off.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin exuere (to take off). Earliest documented use: 1855.
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EXUVLATE - recently divorced
TEXU-VIA-TE - I order you to go by way of Texas
LEXUVIATE - rejoioce because of the new luxury car
EXUVATE - all the grape has been removed
CYESIS
PRONUNCIATION: (sy-EE-sis)
MEANING: noun: Pregnancy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek kyesis (pregnancy).
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CHYE, SIS - would you like some tea, my sibling?
CY, AS IS - With so many fantastic pitchers of late, shouldn't we change the name of the award?
O YES. "IS." - I've forgotten the third person singular of "to be"
COGITATE
PRONUNCIATION: (KOJ-i/uh-tayt)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To think, reflect, meditate, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin cogitare, from co- (together) + agitare (to turn over, to consider). Earliest documented use: 1570.
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COGITO TE - I think of you
COPITATE - enumerate the members of the police force
CO-GIRATE - dance with a partner
BLATTEROON
PRONUNCIATION: (blat-uh-ROON)
MEANING: noun: A babbler.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin blaterare (to babble). Earliest documented use: 1647.
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BLÄTTEROOM - a special display of Teutonic leaves
BATTEROON - hitters' convention
BLASTEROON - candy made with red-hot Cinnamon and other stimulating ingredients
ADERATION or ADAERATION
PRONUNCIATION: (ay-di-RAY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun: The act of giving a monetary value to something.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin adaerare (to calculate or estimate), from ad- (to, toward) + aes (copper, brass). Earliest documented use: 1623.
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ADORATION - The act of giving a value in gold to something.
ADAGERATION - citing an old folksy saying that overstates its moral
ALE RATION - a reward for soldiers, analogous to a ration of grog in the Navy
SATURNALIAN
PRONUNCIATION: (sat-uhr-NAY-lee-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Marked by unrestrained revelry, overindulgence, licentiousness, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin Saturnalia (relating to Saturn). In ancient Rome, Saturnalia was a festival organized in honor of the Roman god Saturn who also gave his name to the planet Saturn. Earliest documented use: 1621.
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SATURDALIAN - pertaining to the seventh day of the week
SAT URINAL, IAN - Listen, Mr F, I figured out how Bond can empty his bladder on the Moonrakers!
SATURN, ALLAN - NASA used it to launch several early space vehicles, Mr Dulles
BISSEXTILE
PRONUNCIATION: (by-SEKS-til/tyl)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to the leap year or the extra day in a leap year.
noun: Leap year.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin bisextilis annus (leap year), from Latin bissextus (Feb 29: leap day), from bi- (two) + sextus (sixth), from the fact that the sixth day before the Calends of March (Feb 24) appeared twice every leap year. Earliest documented use: 1398.
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BISSEL TILE - bathroom flooring you can clean with a carpet sweeper
BISS EXILE - the villainous Mr Biss has been expelled from the country
BI-SEXTILE - tertile (a third part)
LUNATION
PRONUNCIATION:
(loo-NAY-shuhn)
MEANING:
noun: The time between two new moons, about 29 and a half days. A lunar month.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin luna (moon). Earliest documented use: 1398.
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LUNATHON - watching the moon continuously from new one moon to the next one
LANATION - Miss Lane is jealous of Miss Lang and so officially changes her name
U-NATION - the country formerly known as Burma (re-named in honor of the former U N Secretary General)
CAPUAN
PRONUNCIATION: (KAP-yoo-uhn)
MEANING: adjective: Luxurious.
ETYMOLOGY: After Capua, a city in south Italy, that was known for its luxurious comfort in ancient times.
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CAPUTAN - the commander of a ship (with a Japanese accent)
CAP-MAN - protagonist of a children's book by Esphyr Slobodkina
CA-PUSAN - a South Korean city rich in calcuim
HELOTAGE
PRONUNCIATION: (HEL-uh-tazh)
MEANING: noun: A state of servitude or bondage.
ETYMOLOGY: After Helos, a town in Laconia in ancient Greece, whose inhabitants were enslaved. Earliest documented use: 1934.
NOTES: Other towns in Laconia that have also inspired words in the English language are spartan, after Sparta, the capital of Laconia and caryatid. Laconia itself has given us the word laconic.
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HELLOTAGE - the function of a receptionist
PELOTAGE - the Art of Jai Alai
HELSTAGE - where the Devil puts on his show
CANTERBURY
PRONUNCIATION:
(KAN-tuhr-ber-ee)
MEANING:
noun: A rack with open top and slatted partitions for magazines, sheet music, documents, etc.
ETYMOLOGY:
After Canterbury, UK. It’s said that a bishop of Canterbury first ordered this piece of furniture. Earliest documented use: 1803. Some other words with Canterbury connections are canter and Canterbury tale.
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I-CAN'T-ER BURY - interment of the incapable
CENTERBURY - to lay the remains in the middle of three adjacent plots
CANTER BUOY - marks the turns of a regatta for horses
ELYSIUM
PRONUNCIATION: (i-LIZH-ee-uhm)
MEANING: noun: A place of perfect happiness.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin Elysium, from Greek elysion pedyon (Elysian plain/fields). In Greek mythology, Elysium (or the Elysian Fields) was the final resting place for the souls of heroes and the virtuous after their death. Earliest documented use: 1599.
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ELISIUM - Element number 1701, found at Yale
ELY'S...UM... - the inventor of the Cotton Gin is at a loss for words
ELYSIMUM - a French flower, produced by crossing a lily with a chrysanthemum
CANAAN
PRONUNCIATION: (KAY-nuhn)
MEANING: noun: A land of promise, abundance, and fulfillment.
ETYMOLOGY: After Canaan, an ancient region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. In the Bible, Yahweh promises this land to Abraham. Earliest documented use: 1548.
PRONUNCIATION: (KAY-nuhn)
MEANING: noun: A land of promise, abundance, and fulfillment.
ETYMOLOGY: After Canaan, an ancient region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. In the Bible, Yahweh promises this land to Abraham. Earliest documented use: 1548.
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CANANVAN - a congenital glycogen storage disease
CANCAN - a kick-kick dance-dance
CANABAN - the buzzword of the anti-marijuana movement
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