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CHARLATAN

PRONUNCIATION: (SHAHR-luh-tuhn)

MEANING: noun: One making false claim to having a certain expertise; a fraud or quack.

ETYMOLOGY: From French charlatan, from Italian ciarlatano, from cerretano (an inhabitant of Cerreto). Cerreto is a village in Umbria, Italy, once known for its quacks. Another etymology pins the origin of the term on the Italian ciarlare (to chatter), of imitative origin. Perhaps the word charlatan is a blend of the two, as charlatans are known for chattering. Earliest documented use: 1607.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The ideal scientist thinks like a poet and only later works like a bookkeeper. -E.O. Wilson, biologist (b. 10 Jun 1929)

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CHARLOTAN - a brown spider who weaves words into her web

CHARLATIN - Virgil's cleaning lady

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SPANIEL

PRONUNCIATION: (SPAN-yuhl)

MEANING: noun:
1. A submissive or fawning person.
2. Any of several breeds of small to medium-sized dogs with long drooping ears and a silky coat.

ETYMOLOGY: From Old French espaignol/espaigneul (Spanish dog), from Hispaniolus (Spanish), from Hispania (Spain). Earliest documented use: 1386.

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A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, -- light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful. -John Constable, painter (11 Jun 1776-1837)

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SPACI-EL - Superman's ditzy teenage sister, on Krypton

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JERUSALEM SYNDROME

PRONUNCIATION: (ji-ROOS-uh-luhm SIN-drohm)

MEANING: noun: A phenomenon in which a visitor to a holy place suffers from religious psychosis, such as believing him- or herself to be a messiah.

ETYMOLOGY: After Jerusalem, Israel, where the phenomenon was first described by the psychiatrist Heinz Herman. Earliest documented use: 1987.
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A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: No one has ever become poor by giving. -Anne Frank, Holocaust diarist (12 Jun 1929-1945)
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PERUSALEM SYNDROME - the sense of knowledge, empowerment, and righteousness one gets from sufficiently assiduous study of the Holy Writ


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TENEBROUS

PRONUNCIATION: (TEN-uh-bruhs)

MEANING: adjective: Dark, gloomy, or obscure.

ETYMOLOGY: From Old French tenebreus, from Latin tenebrosus (dark), from tenebrae (darkness). Earliest documented use: 1420.

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A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter. -Euripides, playwright (c. 480-406 BCE)
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DENEBROUS - Something like a Star

ENEBROUS - drunk and vomiting (compare "inebrous")

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SWIDDEN

PRONUNCIATION: (SWID-n)

MEANING: noun: An area of land cleared for farming by slashing and burning the vegetation.

ETYMOLOGY: A variant of Northern English dialect swithen (to burn), from Old Norse svithna (to be singed). Earliest documented use: 1868.

USAGE:
“Some headed out to the charred earth of their swidden gardens to tend crops of manioc, bananas, and sweet potatoes.”
Chip Brown; Kayapo Courage; National Geographic (Washington, DC); Jan 2014.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: The [Nobel] prize is such an extraordinary honor. It might seem unfair, however, to reward a person for having so much pleasure over the years, asking the maize plant to solve specific problems and then watching its responses. -Barbara McClintock, scientist, Nobel laureate (16 Jun 1902-1992)

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SLIDDEN - past tense of "slide;" compare "hide."

USAGE: "The runner slidden to second base ahead of the throw, and the umpire called "Safe!"

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TURBID

PRONUNCIATION: (TUHR-bid)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Unclear; opaque.
2. Dark or dense, as smog or clouds.
3. Confused or muddled.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin turba (turmoil, crowd). Earliest documented use: 1626. Not to be confused with turgid.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Silence will save me from being wrong (and foolish), but it will also deprive me of the possibility of being right. -Igor Stravinsky, composer (17 Jun 1882-1971)

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SURBID - Eight spades !

TOURBID - Couldja drive me around town this afternoon and show me the sights for $500?

TURBED - Go away! It's seven in the morning. I said not to wake me up until eleven! Didn't you see the sign I hung on the doorknob?
[ "Do Not Disturb"]

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TURKID IQ and personality of the Thanksgiving delight.


----please, draw me a sheep----
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PROLEGOMENON

PRONUNCIATION: (pro-li-GOM-uh-non, -nuhn)

MEANING: noun: A critical, introductory discussion, especially an introduction to a text.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek prolegómenon, from prolegein (to say beforehand), from pro- (before) + legein (to say). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leg- (to collect, speak), which is also the source of other words such as lexicon, lesson, lecture, legible, legal, legend, select, alexia, cull, lection, ligneous, lignify, subintelligitur, and syllogistic. Earliest documented use: 1600.
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A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian. -Paul McCartney, singer-songwriter, composer, poet, and activist (b. 18 Jun 1942)
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PRO-LEGO-MELON - in favor of cantaloupe made of many small brightly-colored interlocking plastic blocks

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FRUCTUOUS

PRONUNCIATION: (FRUHK-choo-uhs, FROOK-)

MEANING: adjective: Productive; fruitful; fertile.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin fructus (fruit), from frui (to enjoy). Earliest documented use: 1382.
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A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -Blaise Pascal, philosopher and mathematician (19 Jun 1623-1662)
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FRICTUOUS - rough, scratchy

FRUSTUOUS - like a pedestal with a flat top and slanted sides

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PRECIPITOUS

PRONUNCIATION: (pri-SIP-i-tuhs)

MEANING: adjective:
1. Resembling a precipice, a cliff with a nearly vertical overhanging face.
2. Extremely steep.
3. Abrupt, rapid, or hasty (applied to a worsening situation).

ETYMOLOGY: From obsolete French précipiteux, from Latin praecipitare (to cast down headlong), from prae- (before) + caput (head). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kaput- (head), also the origin of head, captain, chef, chapter, cadet, cattle, chattel, achieve, biceps, mischief, occiput, recapitulate, and capitation. Earliest documented use: 1646.

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A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Him that I love, I wish to be free -- even from me. -Anne Morrow Lindbergh, author and aviator (22 Jun 1906-2001)
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PRECIPITONS - what you use to help you climb a nearly vertical overhanging face

PRECIPITORUS - raining doughnuts

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