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GERENT

PRONUNCIATION: (JIR-ent)

MEANING: noun: A ruler or manager.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin gerent, present participle of gerere (to manage). Earliest documented use: 1576.
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IGERENT - manager of Disney Enterprises

DERENT - 1. remove from the rolls of available dwellings; 2. sew up

GERENTI - more than one gerentus

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HYPERBOREAN

PRONUNCIATION: (hy-puhr-BOR-ee-uhn)

MEANING: noun: An inhabitant of the extreme north.
adjective: 1. Relating to the extreme north. 2. Very cold.

ETYMOLOGY: In Greek mythology, Hyperboreans were people living in a land of perpetual sunshine, beyond the reaches of north wind. The word is from Greek hyper- (beyond) + Boreas (the god of the north wind). Earliest documented use: 1601.
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HYPARBOREAN - living above the treetops

HYPERBOLEAN - 1. living above the treetrunks; 2. exaggerated

HYPER-BORE-FAN - one who likes especially dull people

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DEASIL

PRONUNCIATION: (DEE-zuhl)

MEANING: adverb: In a clockwise direction.+

ETYMOLOGY: From Scottish Gaelic deiseil (righthandwise), from Middle Irish dessel, from Old Irish dess (right, south) + sel (turn). Earliest documented use: 1771.+
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DEA-SHIL - a patsy used by the Drug Enforcement Agency to entrap the unsuspecting

D,EASILY - when you're going to pass the course, but only by the skin of your teeth

TEASIL - how you make a measle grow (see Sneezles, here, about half-way down)


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TANTIVY

PRONUNCIATION: (tan-TIV-ee)

MEANING: adverb: At full gallop; at full speed.
noun: A fast gallop; rush.
adjective: Swift.
interjection: A hunting cry by a hunter riding a horse at full speed.

ETYMOLOGY: Of obscure origin, perhaps from the sound of a galloping horse’s hooves. Earliest documented use: 1648.
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TANTIFY - to give testimony that is inconclusive but intriguing

T'AINT IVY - disparaging dismissal of Stanford or Amherst or any number of other excellent schools because they're not Harvard or Princeton or Yale

TANT IV - the fourth member of the Tant dynasty

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FAIN

PRONUNCIATION: (fayn)

MEANING:
adverb: 1. Willingly; gladly.
2. Rather.
adjective: 1. Pleased.
2. Obliged.
3. Eager.

ETYMOLOGY: From Old English faegen (glad). Earliest documented use: 888.
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AIN - (dial.) one

FLAIN - escaping (cf. fled, flown)

FARIN - (verb) makin one's way

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PIECEMEAL

PRONUNCIATION: (PEES-meel)

MEANING: adverb: One part at a time; gradually.
adjective: Done in stages.

ETYMOLOGY: From Middle English pecemeale, from pece (piece) + mele, from Old English mael (fixed time). Earliest documented use: 1325.
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PIERCEMEAL - what usually happens when you try to poke a rat in your flour bin

PIECEMETAL - 1. what you make armor out of; 2. a very coarse Nobel Prize

NIECEMEAL - luncheon with your sister's daughter

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WIDDERSHINS

PRONUNCIATION: (WID-uhr-shinz)

MEANING: adverb: In a counterclockwise, left-handed, or wrong direction.

ETYMOLOGY: From Old High German widar (back, against) + sin (direction). Earliest documented use: 1513. Also see deasil.
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WIEDERSHINS - the back of the shins, i.e. the calves

BIDDERSHINS - what you kick when your partner is your competition at an auction

WIDDERSHINE - you might take this to a woman whose husband has died

WIDERSHINS - why you really have to wear bell-bottomed trousers

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EXPERGEFACTION

PRONUNCIATION: (ek-spuhr-juh-FAK-shuhn)

MEANING: noun:
1. Awakening or arousing.
2. The state of being awakened or aroused.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin expergefacere (to awaken), from expergisci (to become awake) + facere (to make or do). Earliest documented use: 1639.
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EXPURGEFACTION - removing all traces of your former spouse

DEXPERGEFACTION - emphasizing all things right-leaning (compare "levo-pergefaction")

EXPERGEFICTION - Bowdlerization or censorship of a literary work

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VAQUERO

PRONUNCIATION: (vah-KER-o)

MEANING: noun: A livestock herder: a cowboy.

ETYMOLOGY: From Spanish vaquero (cowboy), from vaca (cow), from Latin vacca. Earliest documented use: 1826.
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VAQIUERO - I want you to leave!

VAQUERY - Where is Richmond?

VAQUESO - goat-cheese

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AZYMOUS

PRONUNCIATION: (AZI-muhs)

MEANING: adjective: Unleavened; unfermented.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin azymus (unleavened, uncorrupted), Greek azumos (unleavened). Earliest documented use: 1728.
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LAZYMOUS - Mickey's slothful cousin

AZYMOUV - orthographically-challenged science-fiction writer

AZYGOUS - 1. without germ cells; 2. unary; not part of a pair [YCLIU!]

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