March 2016 – WOTDs
31 March 2016
Croesus
[kree-suh s]
noun, plural Croesuses, Croesi [kree-sahy] (Show IPA), for 2.
1. died 546 b.c, king of Lydia 560–546: noted for his great wealth.
2. a very rich man.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for Croesus
Contemporary Examples
Yet she was as rich as Croesus.
The Girl In the Spider’s Web (Millenium Series)
David Lagercrantz
And given the legacy, long before then, of bonuses worthy of Croesus in a world of quotidian pay raises for the 99 percent?
Why Was Executive Greg Smith Shocked by Greed at Goldman Sachs?
Zachary Karabell
March 14, 2012
Historical Examples
Croesus considers her the most excellent among women, and he has studied mankind as the physicians do plants and herbs.
An Egyptian Princess, Complete
Georg Ebers
Anagram
Sources
so curse
score us
30 March 2016
Deus vult
[de-oos voolt]
Latin.
1. God wills (it): cry of the people at the declaration of the First Crusade by Pope Urban II in 1095 following a request by the Eastern Orthodox Church to help defend against the Muslim Conquests. The phrase also appears as Deus Vult (Classic Latin), Dieu le veut (French), Deus lo vult (motto of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, a Catholic order of chivalry).
Dictionary.com / wikipedia.com
Anagram
duel us TV
29 March 2016
wherewithal
[hwair-with-awl, -with-, wair-]
noun
1. that with which to do something; means or supplies for the purpose or need, especially money:
the wherewithal to pay my rent.
adverb
2. by means of which; out of which.
3. Archaic. wherewith.
pronoun
4. wherewith.
Origin of wherewithal
1525-1535; where + withal
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for wherewithal
Contemporary Examples
When the firm was failing, top executives assured the world that it had the wherewithal to survive.
Where’d Our Money Go?
Charlie Gasparino
February 10, 2009
“Even if you had the wherewithal to embarrass a reporter, there was no mechanism to do it,” Mr. Cramer said.
Richard Ben Cramer Dies at 62
Justin Green
January 7, 2013
Those who have the wherewithal to shop online with greater ease and frequency have a greater ability to avoid sales taxes.
Three Cheers for the Internet Tax!
Daniel Gross
April 23, 2013
Anagram
threw awhile
whiter whale
28 March 2016
moratorium
[mawr-uh-tawr-ee-uh m, -tohr-, mor-]
noun, plural moratoria [mawr-uh-tawr-ee-uh, -tohr-, mor-] (Show IPA), moratoriums.
1. a suspension of activity:
a moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons.
2. a legally authorized period to delay payment of money due or the performance of some other legal obligation, as in an emergency.
3. an authorized period of delay or waiting.
Origin of moratorium
Late Latin
1870-1875; < New Latin, Late Latin morātōrium, noun use of neuter of morātōrius moratory
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for moratorium
Contemporary Examples
His Democratic challenger, Tom Wolf, has promised to issue a moratorium on executions if elected.
Pennsylvania’s Lethal Injection Fiasco
Christopher Moraff
September 17, 2014
But Landrieu says the White House moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling is a huge mistake.
Mitch Landrieu’s Tough Challenge
Lloyd Grove
August 15, 2010
Perry is calling for a moratorium on all new regulations “to get America working again.”
Can Perry Keep the Heat?
Mark McKinnon
August 16, 2011
Anagram
atrium moor
omit armour
27 March 2016
tortuous
[tawr-choo-uh s]
adjective
1. full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked:
a tortuous path.
2. not direct or straightforward, as in procedure or speech; intricate; circuitous:
tortuous negotiations lasting for months.
3. deceitfully indirect or morally crooked, as proceedings, methods, or policy; devious.
Origin of tortuous
Middle English, Latin
1350-1400; Middle English < Latin tortuōsus, equivalent to tortu (s) a twisting ( tor (quēre) to twist, bend + -tus suffix of v. action) + -ōsus -ous
Related forms
tortuously, adverb
tortuousness, noun
nontortuous, adjective
nontortuously, adverb
untortuous, adjective
Can be confused
tortuous, torturous (see usage note at torturous )
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
1. bent, sinuous, serpentine. 2. evasive, roundabout, indirect.
Usage note
See torturous.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for tortuous
Contemporary Examples
All of the various things I do I love doing, and occasionally I find them tortuous.
Bob Balaban: How I Write
Noah Charney
February 4, 2014
In 2011, after tortuous negotiations, a deal was struck for $1.2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years.
Markets Approve of the Way U.S. Political System Handles Debt Problems
Robert Shapiro
January 2, 2013
The Quetta Shura official says the negotiations with the French were tortuous.
How the Taliban’s Hostages Were Freed
Sami Yousafzai, Ron Moreau
June 30, 2011
Anagram
roust out
tout ours
25 March 2016
hypocoristic
[hahy-puh-kuh-ris-tik, hip-uh-]
adjective
1. endearing, as a pet name, diminutive, or euphemism.
2. shortening of words as in slang, e.g. totes for total, evs for whatever, arvo for afternoon.
Origin of hypocoristic
Greek
1600-1610; < Greek hypokoristikós diminutive, equivalent to hypokor (ízesthai) to play the child, call by endearing names ( hypo- hypo- + kor- child (Compare kórē girl, kóros boy)) + -istikos -istic
Related forms
hypocoristically, adverb
Dictionary.com
Examples
Besides phonetic and morphological arbitrariness, there is an unpredictable element in the semantics of hypocoristic forms, at least in Australia.
VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VII No 2
Perhaps what all hypocoristic forms have in common is an atmosphere of familiarity.
VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VII No 2
Story on hypocoristics:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/using-aussie-slang-makes-you-more-likeable/7275290
Anagram
chicory posits
choir copyists
or I psychotics
hit spy sirocco
24 March 2016
maverick
[mav-er-ik, mav-rik]
noun
1. Southwestern U.S. an unbranded calf, cow, or steer, especially an unbranded calf that is separated from its mother.
2. a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates:
a modern-dance maverick.
Synonyms: nonconformist, individualist; free thinker; loner, lone wolf.
a person pursuing rebellious, even potentially disruptive, policies or ideas:
You can’t muzzle a maverick.
Synonyms: rebel, cowboy; loose cannon.
3. Maverick, an electro-optically guided U.S. air-to-ground tactical missile for destroying tanks and other hardened targets at ranges up to 15 miles (24 km).
adjective
4. unorthodox, unconventional, nonconformist:
a maverick fiscal conservative willing to raise taxes.
Origin of maverick
1865-1870, Americanism; after Samuel A. Maverick (1803-70), Texas pioneer who left his calves unbranded
Word story
The term maverick surged in popularity, propelled by the presidential bid in the late 2000s of US Senator John McCain, then considered a “political maverick” of the Republican Party. Given the word’s Wild West roots, maverick has always had an edgy, rebellious connotation: it originally referred to unbranded cattle that strayed from the herd, putting their ownership in doubt. It was then a short step in going from this original meaning to applying the word to a person who strayed from and did not follow the thinking of a group he or she belonged to, or who rebelled against accepted ideas or to a herd mentality. Maverick thus came to generally mean an individualistic and independent thinker. In popular culture, as exemplified in the movies Maverick (1994) and Top Gun (1986), the term often describes colorful gamblers and risk takers. Depending on context, then, maverick can be applied to a pioneer who bucks current trends, or to a wild and potentially reckless loose cannon.
Popular references
—Dallas Mavericks: American professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas, a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
— Maverick : popular American TV series (1957–62) set in the Wild West that inspired a film of the same name (1994).
—Maverick: Nickname and call sign of ace fighter pilot, played by Tom Cruise, in the film Top Gun (1986).
—Ford Maverick: Stylish, youthfully designed mid-size car made in the late 1960s and ‘70s in North America and Brazil.
Related Quotations Expand
“Gradually the term [maverick] came to mean any unbranded cattle of unknown ownership. Such animals were fair game for the first branding iron.“
—Richard W. Slatta, The Cowboy Encyclopedia (1994)
“Maverick is a word which appeals to me more than misfit. Maverick is active, misfit is passive.“
—Alan Rickman (actor), “Alan Rickman’s Quotes“ Facebook (2008)
“The rugged individualist is too often mistaken for the misfit, the maverick, the spoilsport, the sore thumb.“
—Lewis H. Lapham, Money and Class in America: Notes and Observations on Our Civil Religion (1988)
“Listen closely to maverick entrepreneurs…, and you quickly realize that they don’t sound like traditional executives.“
—William C. Taylor and Polly G. Labarr, Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win (2006)
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for maverick
Contemporary Examples
McCain thinks of himself as a maverick, an unorthodox thinker, a dissenter.
McCain’s Revenge
News Shrink
November 4, 2008
maverick ‘s “education” is part of a growing wisdom that good old-fashioned play may be better than hitting the books.
Let Preschoolers Play!
Joyce C. Tang
April 4, 2011
Anagram
vim creak
mark vice
23 March 2016
pluperfect
[ploo-pur-fikt]
adjective
1. Grammar.
perfect with respect to a point of reference in past time, as had done in He had done it when I came.
designating a tense or other verb formation or construction with such meaning, as Latin portāveram “I had carried.”. The pluperfect is formed by combining the auxiliary verb had with the past participle of the main verb, as in ‘had jumped’ or ‘had written’.
2. more than perfect:
He spoke the language with pluperfect precision.
noun, Grammar.
3. the pluperfect tense, or other verb formation or construction with such meaning.
a form in the pluperfect.
4. another term for ‘past perfect’: denoting a tense of verbs used in relating past events where the action had already occurred at the time of the action of a main verb that is itself in a past tense. In English this is a compound tense formed with had plus the past participle
Usage
pluperfect subjunctive (grammar)
Used in subordinate clauses and expresses unreal past situations. The pluperfect subjunctive (or past perfect subjunctive) has the same form as the past perfect tense, as follows: HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE. For example, the subjunctive is the ‘If’ statement and the pluperfect is the ‘had + past participle’:
– I would’ve bought the dress if there hadn’t been such a long queue.
– If I had known you were busy, I wouldn’t have called.
– If I had seen you, I would have said hello.
Origin of pluperfect
Latin, Greek
1520-1530; < Latin plū (s quam) perfectum (more than) perfect, translation of Greek hypersyntelikós
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for pluperfect
Historical Examples
Anything to avoid the pluperfect, which the people cannot manage.
English As We Speak It in Ireland
P. W. Joyce
The rest as the pluperfect of gwîl, or of menny, to will, with the infinitive.
A Handbook of the Cornish Language
Henry Jenner
The imperfect and pluperfect alone have besides this a loosely attached particle.
The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt
Daniel G. Brinton
Anagram
flu precept
upper cleft
22 March 2016
invective
[in-vek-tiv]
noun
1. vehement or violent denunciation, censure, or reproach.
2. a railing accusation; vituperation.
3. an insulting or abusive word or expression.
adjective
4. vituperative; denunciatory; censoriously abusive.
Origin of invective
late Middle English Late Latin
1400-1450; late Middle English < Late Latin invectīvus abusive, equivalent to Latin invect (us) (past participle of invehī to attack with words, inveigh ) + -īvus -ive
Related forms
invectively, adverb
invectiveness, noun
uninvective, adjective
Synonyms
1. contumely, scorn. See abuse.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for invective
Contemporary Examples
Humor has given way to humorlessness, sarcasm to sanctimony, irony to invective.
Obama’s No Gangster, Bachmann
Matt Latimer
March 6, 2011
A lot of invective has been thrown their way, but that one company spends about $50 million a year on R&D.
It’s in the Genes
Megan McArdle
June 12, 2013
The local government, despite all the invective directed at its leadership, seems to be functioning normally for the moment.
Hong Kong Between Calm and Chaos
Ben Leung
October 2, 2014
Anagram
ice vine TV
civet vein
21 March 2016
scupper(1)
[skuhp-er]
noun
1. Nautical. a drain at the edge of a deck exposed to the weather, for allowing accumulated water to drain away into the sea or into the bilges.
Compare freeing port.
2. a drain, closed by one or two flaps, for allowing water from the sprinkler system of a factory or the like to run off a floor of the building to the exterior.
3. any opening in the side of a building, as in a parapet, for draining off rain water.
Origin of scupper(1)
1475-1485; earlier skoper. See scoop, -er1
scupper(2)
[skuhp-er]
verb (used with object), British.
1. Military. to overwhelm; surprise and destroy, disable, or massacre.
2. Informal. to prevent from happening or succeeding; ruin; wreck.
Origin
1880-85; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for scupper
Contemporary Examples
As the equality movement found a renewed focus and determination, so its opponents ratcheted up their efforts to scupper it.
How Robin Williams’ Mrs. Doubtfire Won the Culture Wars
Tim Teeman
August 12, 2014
The minister fears that now even lesser frictions could scupper the new agreement.
Taliban Slams Loya Jirga Bilateral Security Agreement
Ron Moreau & Sami Yousafzai
November 25, 2013
Historical Examples
Every port and scupper was working to ease the weight of North Atlantic that perpetually fell on board.
The Mutiny of the Elsinore
Jack London
“Here, all hands,” he ordered, and shoved his rifle out of the scupper.
Gold Out of Celebes
Aylward Edward Dingle
Anagram
per cusp
20 March 2016
sotto voce
[sot-oh voh-chee; Italian sawt-taw vaw-che]
adverb
1. in a low, soft voice so as not to be overheard.
Origin of sotto voce
1730-1740; < Italian: literally, under (the) voice
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for sotto voce
Contemporary Examples
One man I met in the city two weeks ago took me aside and told me, sotto voce, that 5,000 people had been killed in Homs alone.
Syrian Army Looks Poised to Attack Homs
James Harkin
December 13, 2011
Historical Examples
There were cheery responses to Bindle’s remarks, and sotto voce references to Mrs. Bindle as “a stuck-up cat.”
Adventures of Bindle
Herbert George Jenkins
“I shall soon have as great a horror of Gaza as Samson had,” said she, sotto voce.
The Bertrams
Anthony Trollope
Anagram
scoot vote
covets too
coot stove
18 March 2016
supine
[adjective soo-pahyn; noun soo-pahyn]
adjective
1. lying on the back, face or front upward.
2. inactive, passive, or inert, especially from indolence or indifference.
3. (of the hand) having the palm upward.
noun
4. (in Latin) a noun form derived from verbs, appearing only in the accusative and the dative-ablative, as dictū in mirābile dictū, “wonderful to say.”.
5. (in English) the simple infinitive of a verb preceded by to.
6. an analogous form in some other language.
Origin of supine
Latin
1490-1500; < Latin supīnus lying face up, inactive
Related forms
supinely, adverb
supineness, noun
unsupine, adjective
Can be confused
prone, prostate, prostrate, supine.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for supine
Contemporary Examples
In effect, an overreaching administration and a supine FISC are ginning up a secret constitution.
The Secret FISA Court Must Go
Jennifer Granick, Christopher Sprigman
July 23, 2013
On closer examination, this is not the hand of a supine victim.
The Crime of Kufr Qaddoum: An EmergencyStandWithDavidMonitor Animal Rights Division Expose
Eli Valley
March 28, 2012
Historical Examples
Is the assembly to be deemed indifferent or supine because it refuses to act on the testimony of a solitary witness?
Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy, Volume II
Charles Henry Mackintosh
Anagram
sun pie
pine us
17 March 2016
contemporaneous
[kuh n-tem-puh-rey-nee-uh s]
adjective
1. living or occurring during the same period of time; contemporary.
Origin of contemporaneous
Latin
1650-1660; < Latin contemporāneus, equivalent to con- con- + tempor- (stem of tempus time) + -āneus (-ān (us) -an + -eus -eous )
Related forms
contemporaneity [kuh n-tem-per-uh-nee-i-tee] (Show IPA), contemporaneousness, noun
contemporaneously, adverb
noncontemporaneous, adjective
noncontemporaneously, adverb
noncontemporaneousness, noun
Can be confused
contemporary, contemporaneous.
Synonyms
simultaneous, concurrent. See contemporary.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for contemporaneous
Contemporary Examples
And contemporaneous observers predicted that South Africa would fracture, that a civil war would roil for the next decade.
Nelson Mandela Was Undeniably Great But He Doesn’t Need a Halo
Michael Moynihan
December 5, 2013
In the end, any good reporting requires access to the most contemporaneous statements.
The Lost JFK Tapes and What We Now Know
Gerald Posner
November 22, 2009
Historical Examples
For contemporaneous mention of this meeting consult pp. 334-5 of Vol.
The Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume V, 1914
Various
contemporaneous history touched him as briefly, but not as gently.
In the Carquinez Woods
Bret Harte
Anagram
compose a neutron
ace promotes noun
rump to a nose cone
a centre moon opus
16 March 2016
hoopla
[hoop-lah]
noun, Informal.
1. bustling excitement or activity; commotion; hullabaloo; to-do.
2. sensational publicity; ballyhoo.
3. speech or writing intended to mislead or to obscure an issue.
Origin of hoopla
French
1865-1870; < French houp-là! command (as to a child) to move, take a step
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for hoopla
Contemporary Examples
“No ‘ hoopla ’ as Diane Sawyer takes over ABC World News” was a typical headline.
Diane vs. Katie: Round One
Rebecca Dana
December 20, 2009
After the Obama hoopla, it is still possible that Moustafa will be cleared on appeal.
Dubai’s Pop-Star Murder
Eric Pape
May 21, 2009
With all the hoopla swirling around out here, their attitude was refreshing.
Is Polanski the New O.J.?
Marcia Clark
October 5, 2009
Anagram
la pooh
ha pool
halo op
15 March 2016
peon(1)
[pee-uh n, pee-on]
noun
1. (in Spanish America) a farm worker or unskilled laborer; day laborer.
2. (formerly, especially in Mexico) a person held in servitude to work off debts or other obligations.
3. any person of low social status, especially one who does work regarded as menial or unskilled; drudge.
Origin of peon(1)
Spanish,Medieval Latin, Old French, Latin
1820-1830; < Spanish peón peasant, day laborer < Vulgar Latin *pedōn- (stem of *pedō) walker (whence Medieval Latin pedōnēs infantry, Old French peon pawn2), derivative of Latin ped- (stem of pēs) foot
Can be confused
paean, paeon, peon.
peon(2)
[pee-uh n, pee-on]
noun, (in India and Sri Lanka)
1. a messenger, attendant, or orderly.
2. a foot soldier or police officer.
Origin
1600-10; < Portuguese peão, French pion foot soldier, pedestrian, day laborer. See peon(1)
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for peon
Historical Examples
It is the staff of life of the Mexican peon, and the making of tortillas is the chief vocation in life of his wife and daughters.
On the Mexican Highlands
William Seymour Edwards
A boat had been lowered, and was towing astern—for what purpose the peon did not know.
The Call Of The South
Louis Becke
To the first worldly shelter you sought—the peon ‘s hut or the Alcalde’s casa—you would have thought it necessary to bring a story.
The Crusade of the Excelsior
Bret Harte
Anagram
nope
open
14 March 2016
kismet
[kiz-mit, -met, kis-]
noun
1. fate; destiny.
Also, kismat [kiz-muh t, kis-]
Origin of kismet
Turkish, Arabic, Persian
1840-1850; < Turkish < Persian qismat < Arabic qismah division, portion, lot, fate, akin to qasama to divide
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for kismet
Contemporary Examples
Being cast in a role like Llewyn was kismet for Isaac, providing an outlet for all of his passions.
‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ Star Oscar Isaac Is About to Be a Very Big Deal
Kevin Fallon
December 4, 2013
Historical Examples
Shall we build ships and keep a large army and erect fortresses, or simply say ‘ kismet ‘ when Germany comes?
Ten Years Near the German Frontier
Maurice Francis Egan
One told me the other day that he heard the steps of kismet.
The Secrets of a Kuttite
Edward O. Mousley
Anagram
kits me
met ski
12 March 2016
sigil
[sij-il]
noun
1. a seal or signet.
Origin of sigil
Latin
1600-1610; < Latin sigillum statuette, figure, stamped figure, diminutive of signum sign; see seal1
Related forms
sigillary [sij-uh-ler-ee], adjective
sigilistic, adjective
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for sigil
Contemporary Examples
As the sigil of House Tyrell is a rose, the sobriquet is a play on her cunning and prickliness.
‘Game of Thrones’ Season 3 for Dummies
Jace Lacob
March 26, 2013
11 March 2016
superfecundation
[soo-per-fee-kuh n-dey-shuh n, -fek-uh n-]
noun
The fertilisation of two or more ova discharged during the same ovulation, producing twins, triplets etc by different fathers.
Origin of superfecundation
1850-1855; super- + fecundation (producing or capable of producing off-spring).
Dictionary.com
Example
The occurrence, known as heteropaternal superfecundation, is rare with few publicly known about.
‘Vietnam twins found to have different fathers in rare case’
9 March 2016
BBC.com
10 March 2016
pastiche
[pa-steesh, pah-]
noun
1. a literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources.
2. an incongruous combination of materials, forms, motifs, etc., taken from different sources; hodgepodge.
Origin of pastiche
French, Italian
1700-1710; < French < Italian pasticcio pasticcio
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for pastiche
Contemporary Examples
He tentatively suggested that the text is a pastiche compiled by a modern forger with an elementary grasp of Coptic.
The ‘Gospel of Jesus’s Wife’ is Still as Big a Mystery as Ever
Candida Moss
April 12, 2014
Instead, we have irony, allusion, meta commentary, fragmentation, parody, and pastiche.
Not Much New in Douglas Rushkoff’s Reading of the Future
Jacob Silverman
March 25, 2013
Her self-produced videos as Grant—a pastiche of nostalgic Americana imagery—were remarkably similar to that of “Video Games.”
Lana Del Rey’s Hipster Problem: Plastic Surgery, ‘SNL,’ and Her Past as Lizzy Grant
Tricia Romano
January 30, 2012
And what brought her to the top of this zeitgeist pyramid were her unrivaled skills in the post-modern art of pastiche.
Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ Plagiarism Sin
Richard Rushfield
February 18, 2011
Anagram
each tips
this cape
9 March 2016
diel
PRONUNCIATION:
(DY-uhl, deel)
noun
A period of 24 hours.
adjective
Lasting 24 hours or having a 24-hour period.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin dies (day), which also gave us adjourn, diary, diet, circadian, journal, journey, quotidian, and sojourn. Earliest documented use: 1934.
USAGE:
“Composition of fishing labour, sites worked, gear used, and target species all vary during the diel cycle. For example, in American Samoa both men and women fish by day, but night-time fishing is primarily a male task.”
Nicholas V.C. Polunin and Callum M. Roberts; Reef Fisheries; Springer; 1996.
wordsmith.org
Anagram
lied
idle
8 March 2016
Maecenas
[mee-see-nuh s, mahy-]
noun
1. Gaius Cilnius [sil-nee-uh s], c70–8 b.c, Roman statesman: friend and patron of Horace and Vergil.
2. a generous patron or supporter, especially of art, music, or literature.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for Maecenas
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples
Maecenas was one of the first who built public baths at his own expense.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 4
Various
Anagram
ace names
mean aces
cane seam
7 March 2016
passel
[pas-uh l]
noun
1. a group or lot of indeterminate number:
a passel of dignitaries.
Origin of passel
1825-1835; alteration of parcel
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for passel
Contemporary Examples
Way back during the 2000 Bush-Gore smackdown, I dug around in the data, interviewed undecideds, and called up a passel of experts.
Undecided Voters Are a Menace
Michelle Cottle
September 22, 2012
Harold Ramis made a passel of great comedies, but he never made one better than Groundhog Day.
Harold Ramis’s ‘Groundhog Day’ Is About as Perfect as a Movie Gets
Malcolm Jones
February 24, 2014
After all, didn’t she figure out a way to “have it all”—a passel of children, a first dude, and a big job in the public sphere?
This Candidate Is Bad For Women
Linda Hirshman
June 8, 2010
Historical Examples
These June tenants was jist a passel of boys and I can tell you they pretty near ripped things wide open.
Vacation with the Tucker Twins
Nell Speed
Jest over the hill you’ll run into a passel of our fellers, but pay no ‘tention to ’em.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
I never knowed what a fool I could be till I undertook the managing of a passel of crazy boys off on a lark.
Harper’s Round Table, October 15, 1895
Various
De folks was pow’ful nice to us an’ we raised a passel er chullun out dar.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves
Work Projects Administration
They hung around her like a passel of gulls around a herring boat.
Cape Cod Stories
Joseph C. Lincoln
They was awake, all right, wonderin’ what in time an’ creation were turned loose on un, we yellin’ like a passel o’ Injuns.
The Gaunt Gray Wolf
Dillon Wallace
Anagram
lapses
6 March 2016
frontispiece
[fruhn-tis-pees, fron-]
noun
1. an illustrated leaf preceding the title page of a book.
2. Architecture. a façade, or a part or feature of a façade, often highlighted by ornamentation.
Origin of frontispiece
French, Medieval Latin
1590-1600; alteration (conformed to piece ) of earlier frontispice < French < Medieval Latin frontispicium, equivalent to Latin fronti- front + -spicium (combining form representing specere to look at)
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for frontispiece
Historical Examples
A final word of praise is due the excellent group photograph of the Woodbees which forms the frontispiece of the magazine.
Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922
Howard Phillips Lovecraft
The first plate in the book is dated 1893, and serves as a frontispiece.
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 30, June 1893
Various
Still, up to this day, the fixture of a nose upon the puppet-hero’s frontispiece has not been attempted.
Sandra Belloni, Complete
George Meredith
The portrait of Signorelli in the frontispiece is the half of this painting.
Luca Signorelli
Maud Cruttwell
First edition, on large paper, with frontispiece by M. Van der Gucht.
A Catalogue of Books in English Later than 1700 (Vol 2 of 3)
Various
Anagram
fierce piston
pi reflections
copier feints
poetic infers
profit nieces
5 March 2016
impiety
[im-pahy-i-tee]
noun, plural impieties.
1. lack of piety; lack of reverence for God or sacred things; irreverence.
2. lack of dutifulness or respect.
3. an impious act, practice, etc.
Origin of impiety
Middle English, Latin
1300-1350; Middle English impietie < Latin impietās, equivalent to impi (us) impious + -etās, variant, after vowels, of -itās -ity
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for impiety
Contemporary Examples
P.S. Bertrand Russell uses the word “ impiety ” in relation to luniks and further attempts and he is right.
Leonard Bernstein Asked About Hemingway, So Martha Gellhorn Set the Record Straight
Leonard Bernstein, Martha Gellhorn
October 26, 2013
Historical Examples
But to assert that even the most unguarded passages of the book made for impiety was a great mistake.
Expositor’s Bible: The Book of Job
Robert Watson
The impiety and the vices of the hero horrified the family and scandalized the island.
The Dead Command
Vicente Blasco Ibez
The King wished to say that the gods would not suffer the impiety of his sister to go unpunished.
Caesar and Cleopatra
George Bernard Shaw
To his young chivalry it was as an impiety to look upon her tears.
The History of Sir Richard Calmady
Lucas Malet
I would beg of you to be patient, and learn the truth of the legislator and others; in the mean time abstain from impiety.
Laws
Plato
But their tongues were confused as a punishment for their impiety.
Sketch of the Mythology of the North American Indians
John Wesley Powell
But the French have the art of rendering vice and impiety more agreeable than the English.
Dialogues of the Dead
Lord Lyttelton
Anagram
tie my pi
yeti imp
4 March 2016
camarilla
[kam-uh-ril-uh; Spanish kah-mah-ree-lyah, -ree-yah]
noun, plural camarillas [kam-uh-ril-uh z; Spanish kah-mah-ree-lyahs, -ree-yahs]
1. a group of unofficial or private advisers to a person of authority, especially a group much given to intrigues and secret plots; cabal; clique.
Origin of camarilla
1830-1840; < Spanish, equivalent to camar (a) room (< Latin camera; see chamber ) + -illa diminutive suffix < Latin
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for camarilla
Historical Examples
Truly the camarilla were supporting each other, and I, an onlooker, stood amazed and astounded.
The Minister of Evil
William Le Queux
Such were the methods of the camarilla who were ruling Russia!
The Minister of Evil
William Le Queux
Their creatures have worked their way even into the cabinet and the camarilla.
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 379, May, 1847
Various
In either case the sovereignty of Ireland relapses into the hands of the permanent officials, that camarilla of Olympians.
The Open Secret of Ireland
T. M. Kettle
Anagram
a calm liar
3 March 2016
apoplexy
[ap-uh-plek-see]
noun, Pathology.
1. stroke1(def 6).
2. a sudden, usually marked loss of bodily function due to rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel.
3. a hemorrhage into an organ cavity or tissue.
Origin of apoplexy
Middle English, Late Latin
1350-1400; Middle English apoplexie < Late Latin < Greek, equivalent to apóplēkt (os) (see apoplectic ) + -ia -y3
Related forms
apoplectiform [ap-uh-plek-tuh-fawrm] (Show IPA), apoplectoid, adjective
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for apoplexy
Historical Examples
On the day before his death from apoplexy he imagined to himself despatches in which his son’s name figured brilliantly.
Here and Hereafter
Barry Pain
He adds that the surgeon described death as due to apoplexy.
Critical Miscellanies (Vol. 2 of 3)
John Morley
Epilepsy and apoplexy were understood as spasms inside the head.
Our Legal Heritage, 5th Ed.
S. A. Reilly
They will find it apoplexy, or some such thing, I have no doubt of it.
The Hour and the Man
Harriet Martineau
I have no wish that he should die of an attack of apoplexy —that would be very embarrassing both to me and to my Government.
The Tragedy of St. Helena
Walter Runciman
apoplexy may be termed an universal palsy, or a permanent sleep.
Zoonomia, Vol. II
Erasmus Darwin
Two years later a stroke of apoplexy brought to a sudden end the convert’s life.
The Life of Blessed John B. Marie Vianney, Cur of Ars
Anonymous
It’s apoplexy,—I told you so,—don’t you see how red he is in the face?
Elsie Venner
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Anagram
play expo
2 March 2016
pastern
/ˈpæstən/
noun
1. the part of a horse’s foot between the fetlock and the hoof
2. Also called fetter bone. either of the two bones that constitute this part
Word Origin
C14: from Old French pasturon, from pasture a hobble, from Latin pāstōrius of a shepherd, from pastor
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for pastern
n.
late 13c., “shackle fixed on the foot of a horse or other beast,” from Old French pasturon (Modern French paturon), diminutive of pasture “shackle for a horse in pasture,” from Vulgar Latin *pastoria, noun use of fem. of Latin pastorius “of herdsmen,” from pastor “shepherd” (see pastor ). Metathesis of -r- and following vowel occurred 1500s. Sense extended (1520s) to part of the leg to which the tether was attached.
Online Etymology Dictionary
1 March 2016
apothegm or apophthegm
[ap-uh-them]
noun
1. a short, pithy, instructive saying; a terse remark or aphorism.
Origin of apothegm
Greek
1545-1555; earlier apothegma < Greek apóphthegma, equivalent to apophtheg- (variant stem of apophthéngesthai to speak out; apo- apo- + phthéngesthai to speak) + -ma noun suffix
Related forms
apothegmatic [ap-uh-theg-mat-ik] (Show IPA), apothegmatical, adjective
apothegmatically, adverb
Can be confused
adage, aphorism, apothegm, axiom, maxim, proverb.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for apothegm
Historical Examples
It has been an apothegm these five thousand years, that toil sweetens the bread it earns.
The Old Manse (From “Mosses From An Old Manse”)
Nathaniel Hawthorne
That a style of this kind should be rich in apothegm is not surprising.
Francis Beaumont: Dramatist
Charles Mills Gayley
The great poet Mutanebbi has given us an apothegm of great power on this very subject.
The Women of the Arabs
Henry Harris Jessup
But the truth of this apothegm was not sustained in the present instance.
Hansford: A Tale of Bacon’s Rebellion
St. George Tucker
Anagram
moth gape
hag tempo
ah gem pot
he got map
