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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

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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!

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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

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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.]

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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