August 2017 WOTDs

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August 2017

31 August 2017

birling

[bur-ling]

noun, Chiefly Northern U.S.

1. a game played by lumberjacks, in which each tries to balance longest on a floating log while rotating the log with the feet.

Origin of birling

birl + -ing1
birl
[burl]

Spell Syllables

verb (used with object)

1. Chiefly Northern U.S. Lumbering. to cause (a floating log) to rotate rapidly by treading upon it.
2. British. to spin or cause to rotate.
verb (used without object)
3. Chiefly Northern U.S. Lumbering. to cause a floating log to rotate rapidly by treading on it.
4. British.
to move or rotate rapidly.
Informal. to spend money freely.
Informal. to gamble.
noun
5. British Informal. an attempt; a gamble.

Origin

1715-25; perhaps blend of birr1and whirl, influenced, in some senses, by birle

Related forms

birler, noun
birle
[burl; Scot. birl] Chiefly Scot.

verb (used with object), birled, birling.

1. to pour (a drink) or pour a drink for.
verb (used without object), birled, birling.
2. to drink deeply; carouse.

Origin

before 1000; Middle English birlen, Old English byrelian, derivative of byrele butler; akin to bear1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for birling

Historical Examples

By the way, did you fellows ever square up on that birling match?
Blazed Trail Stories
Stewart Edward White

Why was the sympathy of the crowd with Jimmy Powers in the birling match?
Americans All
Various

birling the brown bowl wi’ the fowler and the falconer, and some o’ the serving folk.
Old Mortality, Complete, Illustrated
Sir Walter Scott

Anagram

girl bin
rib ling

30 August 2017

Athazagoraphobia

[ey-thaz-ag-or-uh-foh-bee-uh]

noun

– fear of being forgotten or ignored and fear of forgetting. Athazagoraphobia is considered to be a specific phobia and as with any phobia, the symptoms vary by person depending on their level of fear. The symptoms typically include extreme anxiety, dread and anything associated with panic such as shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, nausea, inability to articulate words or sentences, dry mouth and shaking

http://common-phobias.com/athazagora/phobia.htm

Example

Sitting, waiting day after day with shaking hands and dry mouth for her reply in Messenger … has she forgotten me … I never thought I suffered athazagoraphobia until I felt panic from her delayed responses.

Anagram

Arabia Hath Zap Goo
Bazaar Hag Patio Oh
Airbag Aha Zap Hoot

29 August 2017

querulous

[kwer-uh-luh s, kwer-yuh-]

adjective

1. full of complaints; complaining.
2. characterized by or uttered in complaint; peevish:
a querulous tone; constant querulous reminders of things to be done.

Origin of querulous

Latin

1490-1500; Latin querulus, equivalent to quer(ī) to complain + -ulus -ulous

Related forms

querulously, adverb
querulousness, noun
unquerulous, adjective
unquerulously, adverb
unquerulousness, noun

Synonyms

1, 2. petulant, testy; caviling, carping, discontented.

Antonyms

1. contented.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for querulous

Contemporary Examples

The querulous, interconnected pamphlets printed in seventeenth-century Europe prefigure the culture of modern blogging.
Social Media is So Old Even the Romans Had It
Nick Romeo
October 25, 2013

Calasso reconstruction is, in Mounts’ judgment, a superbly ambitious, quirky, querulous, lyrical, and finally persuasive essay.
The Best of Brit Lit
Peter Stothard
April 7, 2010

Historical Examples

And on his countenance there was a sour, querulous, resentful expression.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

A querulous, high-pitched voice, quavering with the palsy of extreme age.
The Slave Of The Lamp
Henry Seton Merriman

But the children had no awe of the gambler, and their protests were many and querulous.
The Twins of Suffering Creek
Ridgwell Cullum

For the moment, however, Mr. Mix was querulous rather than defensive.
Rope
Holworthy Hall
At this moment a querulous, broken voice comes to them from some inner room.
Molly Bawn
Margaret Wolfe Hamilton

I have also heard from James; he too, talks of success, but in a querulous strain.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Elizabeth Robins Pennell

“I have been down to the village looking for you,” he said, in a querulous tone.
The Hand in the Dark
Arthur J. Rees

On his face was an expression of querulous surprise as he reeled to the fall.
The House of Pride
Jack London

28 August 2017

dishevel

[dih-shev-uh l]

verb (used with object), disheveled, disheveling or (especially British) dishevelled, dishevelling.

1. to let down, as hair, or wear or let hang in loose disorder, as clothing.
2. to cause untidiness and disarray in:
The wind disheveled the papers on the desk.

Origin of dishevel

1590-1600 First recorded in 1590-1600; back formation from disheveled
Related forms

dishevelment, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for dishevel

Historical Examples

I never can get them there girls of mine to dishevel themselves in time.
Manners, Vol 1 of 3
Frances Brooke

I find it clear and very clarifying, after the innumerable hours I have spent in trying to dishevel him.
The Letters of William James, Vol. II
William James

Rich chaplets these were, that the winds might not dishevel their comely hair, and this is true i’ faith.
The Nibelungenlied
Unknown

Anagram

I shelved
shed evil
she devil
she lived
hid elves

27 August 2017

popinjay

[pop-in-jey]

noun

1. a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter; coxcomb; fop.
2. British Dialect. a woodpecker, especially the green woodpecker.
3. Archaic. the figure of a parrot usually fixed on a pole and used as a target in archery and gun shooting.
4. Archaic. a parrot.

Origin of popinjay

Middle English, Middle French, Spanish, Arabic
1275-1325; Middle English papejay, popingay, papinjai(e) < Middle French papegai, papingay parrot < Spanish papagayo < Arabic bab(ba)ghā’

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for popinjay

Historical Examples

Yes, I was thinking what a popinjay I should look in a cocked hat.
Syd Belton
George Manville Fenn

That it has given a peacock’s strut to the popinjay Anthony Woodville.
The Last Of The Barons, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

“Then will they miss seeing a man, and not a popinjay,” I retorted.
To Have and To Hold
Mary Johnston

Am I to be shot at like a popinjay at a fair, by any reaver or outlaw that seeks a mark for his bow?
Sir Nigel
Arthur Conan Doyle

You should see the figure you cut with that popinjay in your arms.
The Shadow of Life
Anne Douglas Sedgwick

I’ll be shot if you shall have an invitation to Lancaster Park, you popinjay !
Lancaster’s Choice
Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller

Then will they miss seeing a man, and not a popinjay, I retorted.
By order of the company
Mary Johnston

Taylor, the water poet, mentions the popinjay at Ewell, in 1636.
The History of Signboards
Jacob Larwood

Two only of those who followed in order succeeded in hitting the popinjay.
Old Mortality, Complete, Illustrated
Sir Walter Scott

But the popinjay could not sing, and had no invitation to stay.
Dorothy and other Italian Stories
Constance Fenimore Woolson

Anagram

pip yo Jan

26 August 2017

indecorous

[in-dek-er-uh s, in-di-kawr-uh s, -kohr-]

adjective

1. not decorous; violating generally accepted standards of good taste or propriety; unseemly.

Origin of indecorous

Latin

1670-1680 From the Latin word indecōrus, dating back to 1670-80. See in-3, decorous

Related forms

indecorously, adverb
indecorousness, noun

Synonyms

indecent, improper, inappropriate.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for indecorous

Historical Examples

The indecorous Elizabethans regarded this custom almost entirely from the point of view of decorum and morality.
Oxford Lectures on Poetry
Andrew Cecil Bradley

We cannot follow them and listen to their conversation—that would be indecorous.
The Youth of Jefferson
J. E. Cooke.

The sight struck him as indecorous in the extreme, and he turned his eyes away.
The Damnation of Theron Ware
Harold Frederic

To make such a fuss, also, about your religion seemed to her indecorous and absurd.
The Coryston Family
Mrs. Humphry Ward

The legal gentlemen, I suspect, were responsible for this indecorous zeal, which I never afterwards remarked in a similar party.
Our Old Home, Vol. 2
Nathaniel Hawthorne

A 65 very good showing, in these relaxed and indecorous days.
An Idyll of All Fools’ Day
Josephine Daskam Bacon

I supposed so only, for it would have been indecorous to inquire into the meaning of what I saw.
The American Indians
Henry R. Schoolcraft

It would have been horrible, it would have been indecorous, to ask Kamarowsky for money.
Marie Tarnowska
Annie Vivanti

Wouldn’t it be considered scandalous, or at least indecorous, if it were to leak out now?
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 105, September 30th 1893
Various

You may be thankful it was my indecorous, unfeminine self, and not any of the proprieties.
Merkland
Mrs. Oliphant

Anagram

coined ours
sourced ion
since odour
curios done
or so induce

 

25 August 2017

capitulate

[kuh-pich-uh-leyt]

verb (used without object), capitulated, capitulating.

1. to surrender unconditionally or on stipulated terms.
2. to give up resistance:
He finally capitulated and agreed to do the job my way.

Origin of capitulate

Medieval Latin

1570-1580; < Medieval Latin capitulātus (past participle of capitulāre to draw up in sections), equivalent to capitul(um) section (literally, small head; see capitulum ) + -ātus -ate1

Related forms

capitulant, noun
capitulator, noun
uncapitulated, adjective
uncapitulating, adjective

Can be confused

capitulate, recapitulate.

Synonyms

2. yield, acquiesce, accede, give in.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for capitulate

Contemporary Examples

This meant that even if Saddam sought to capitulate, it would not suffice.
Sanctions Make War More Likely
Trita Parsi
March 22, 2012

Nor is the stubborn, shrewd prime minsiter known to capitulate easily, or to misread public sentiment.
Why Did Netanyahu Release Palestinian Prisoners?
Abraham Katsman
August 5, 2013

As he is walking out the door, the Japanese call him back, capitulate, and a happy medium is agreed on.
‘A Hijacking,’ the Somali Pirate Movie Without Tom Hanks, Is Fantastic
Tom Sykes
July 14, 2013

Anagram

teacup tail
up a lattice
at tulip ace

24 August 2017

millenary

[mil-uh-ner-ee]

adjective

1. consisting of or pertaining to a thousand, especially a thousand years.
2. pertaining to the millennium.
noun, plural millenaries.
3. an aggregate of a thousand.
4. millennium.
5. millenarian.

Origin of millenary

Late Latin

1540-1550; < Late Latin millēnārius consisting of a thousand, equivalent to millēn(ī) a thousand each ( Latin mill(e) thousand + -ēnī distributive suffix) + -ārius -ary

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for millenary

Historical Examples

Many legends illustrate the incapacity of the first millenary to realise the relationship between the sexes in any other sense.
The Evolution of Love
Emil Lucka

At Hertford, a pageant began in commemoration of the millenary of the town.
The Annual Register 1914
Anonymous

The millenary Petition asked only some changes in the ritual of the Church and certain moderate reforms.
An Outline of the Relations between England and Scotland (500-1707)
Robert S. Rait

Least of all is any mysterious virtue to be attached to the millenary date with which I begin.
The Ancient East
D. G. Hogarh

The fourth is the Jaik or Rhymnus, on each bank of which a millenary commands.
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. I
Robert Kerr

In the millenary year he presented a magnificent silver-mounted horn to the Mayor and Corporation, as guardians of the city.
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 25, January 1893
Various

Anagram

learn limy
early limn
rally mine
manly rile

23 August 2017

deign

[deyn]

verb (used without object)

1. to think fit or in accordance with one’s dignity; condescend:
He would not deign to discuss the matter with us.
verb (used with object)
2. to condescend to give or grant:
He deigned no reply.
3. Obsolete. to condescend to accept.

Origin of deign

Middle English Old French Latin

1250-1300; Middle English deinen < Old French deignier < Latin dignārī to judge worthy, equivalent to dign(us) worthy + -ārī infinitive suffix

Can be confused

deign, dine.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for deign

Contemporary Examples

Should we be grateful for whatever music they deign to release and grade them on a curve because of it?
‘High Hopes’ Review: Bruce Springsteen Lowers the Bar
Andrew Romano
January 6, 2014

Historical Examples

The khan, however, did not deign to interfere in a strife which caused him no trouble.
The Empire of Russia
John S. C. Abbott

Yet deign, white Queen of Beauty, thy fair eyes On our souls’ sacrifice.
Endymion
John Keats

Nor does she deign to look at you until you are back in the city street where you met.
Seductio Ad Absurdum
Emily Hahn

Riviere smiled sadly, but consented to deign to eat a morsel in the porch.
White Lies
Charles Reade

22 August 2017

taciturn

[tas-i-turn]

adjective

1. inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation.
2. dour, stern, and silent in expression and manner.

Origin of taciturn

Latin

1765-1775; Latin taciturnus, quiet, maintaining silence, equivalent to tacit(us) silent (see tacit ) + -urnus adj. suffix of time

Related forms

taciturnly, adverb
untaciturn, adjective
untaciturnly, adverb

Synonyms

1. silent, uncommunicative, reticent, quiet.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for taciturn

Contemporary Examples

Tall and taciturn, he exuded the easy authority of a young man used to money and the deference that came with it.
Doug Kenney: The Odd Comic Genius Behind ‘Animal House’ and National Lampoon
Robert Sam Anson
February 28, 2014

No one would confuse him the taciturn, forgetful and vengeful Senate Majority Leader.
Nevada Guv Faces Fans and Foes in Reelection
Lloyd Green
March 17, 2014

The exuberant, indefatigable Democrat from Oregon and the dour, taciturn Republican from New Hampshire made an odd couple.
The Senate’s New Taxman Won’t Be Controlled By His Own Party
Linda Killian
February 17, 2014

I became irrational and flunked the tough-guy test, the show-me-the-evidence test, the taciturn Gary Cooper test.
Warren Buffett’s Cancer Decoded
Kent Sepkowitz
April 18, 2012

But he was also taciturn, rarely betraying his inner thoughts, his friends have said.
Moon Men: The Private Lives of Neil Armstrong and Pals in “Togethersville”
Lily Koppel
August 31, 2012

Historical Examples

Sometimes Master Tommy is obstinate, as well as taciturn, and his “won’t” is as strong as his will.
Manners and Rules of Good Society
Anonymous

Don Saturnino was taciturn and of violent temper, but very industrious.
An Eagle Flight
Jos Rizal

This was the hope which had produced his taciturn resignation and brought that savage smile on his lips.
The Collection of Antiquities
Honore de Balzac

A loquacious advocate is more likely to gain his case than a taciturn one.
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop

Little by little, one word at a time, he gained from the taciturn negro an idea of what had taken place while he slept.
“Forward, March”
Kirk Munroe

Anagram

titan cur
attic run
tunic art

21 August 2017

skelp (1) or scelp

[skelp] Scot. and North England

noun

1. a slap, smack, or blow, especially one given with the open hand.
2. the sound of such a slap or smack.
verb (used with object)
3. to slap, smack, or strike (someone), especially on the buttocks; spank.
4. to drive (animals) by slapping or goading them.

Origin of skelp(1)

Middle English

1350-1400; Middle English; probably imitative

skelp(2)

[skelp]

noun

1. metal in strip form that is fed into various rolls and welded to form tubing.

Origin

First recorded in 1805-15; perhaps special use of skelp(1)

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for skelp

Historical Examples

In making tubes of an inch of internal diameter, a skelp four inches and a half broad is employed.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines
Andrew Ure

Hed admire to take a skelp, that Tomcat would, but hes shy the sand.
The Sunset Trail
Alfred Henry Lewis

Kilt yer coats, ye cutty, and skelp at it withouten fear or dread!
Wilson’s Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Vol. 9

Anagram

kelps

20 August 2017

delusive

[dih-loo-siv]

adjective

1. tending to delude; misleading; deceptive:
a delusive reply.
2. of the nature of a delusion; false; unreal:
a delusive belief.

Also, delusory [dih-loo-suh-ree]

Origin of delusive

1595-1605 First recorded in 1595-1605; delus(ion) + -ive

Related forms

delusively, adverb
delusiveness, noun
nondelusive, adjective
undelusive, adjective
undelusively, adverb

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for delusive

Contemporary Examples

It would be delusory to take the MB’s democratic protestations at face value.
Beware Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood
Leslie H. Gelb
January 28, 2011

Historical Examples

Such are often given over to woeful hard-heartedness or despair; for God will not be mocked with delusory words.
A Christian Directory (Volume 1 of 4)
Richard Baxter

Anagram

us veiled
Sue lived

19 August 2017

braw

[braw, brah]

adjective, Scot. and North England.

1. fine or fine-looking; excellent.
2. finely dressed; dressed in a splendid or gaudy fashion.

Origin of braw

1555-1565 First recorded in 1555-65; variant of brave

Related forms

brawly, brawlie, brawlis, brawlys [braw-lis, brah-] (Show IPA), adverb

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for braw

Historical Examples

They rade on braw wee white naigs, wi’ unco lang swooping tails, an’ manes hung wi’ whustles that the win’ played on.
The Fairy Mythology
Thomas Keightley

They’re a braw set of men, and there’s many a gude Scotchman among them.
Ben Comee
M. J. (Michael Joseph) Canavan

His lairdship wrote a braw note of acknowledgements to my maister, and gie it me to take away.
The Lost Lady of Lone
E.D.E.N. Southworth

Ye’re as braw as Bink’s wife,—like the sun on shairney water.
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop

Well, it was no such a braw thing to me that night, as it had seemed on the previous day.
The Record of Nicholas Freydon
A. J. (Alec John) Dawson

After all, this braw wooer was bearing himself with manly dignity.
Lover or Friend
Rosa Nouchette Carey

“He’s a braw lad,” he rumbled, as he busied himself about the stove.
Connie Morgan in Alaska
James B. Hendryx

The children had left off their mourning, and Gabrielle was braw with sashes and trinkets.
Missy
Miriam Coles Harris

He’s sending in a cart by a groom, and I’m to tak’ Bobby out and fetch him hame after a braw dinner on gowd plate.
Greyfriars Bobby
Eleanor Atkinson

It’s a braw thing that ye are no’ to meet wi’ her the nicht.
The Men of the Moss-Hags
S. R. Crockett

18 August 2017

couchant

[kou-chuh nt]

adjective

1. lying down; crouching.
2. Heraldry. (of an animal) represented as lying on its stomach with its hind legs and forelegs pointed forward.

Origin of couchant

late Middle English

1400-1450; late Middle English; Middle French, present participle of coucher to lay or lie. See couch, -ant

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for couchant

Historical Examples

She began to picture herself traveling with Ralph in a land where these monsters were couchant in the sand.
Night and Day
Virginia Woolf

Sordello, that noble and disdainful Lombard, eyes us from afar like a couchant lion.
Intentions
Oscar Wilde

The carving of one pair of arms might be couchant lions; on the next, leopards; on the next, hounds, and so on.
In the Days of the Guild
Louise Lamprey

Anagram

coach nut
tan couch
cut nacho

17 August 2017

jouk or jook

[jook] Scot.

noun

1. a sudden, elusive movement.
verb (used with or without object)
2. to dodge or duck.

Origin of jouk

1510-1520 First recorded in 1510-20; apparently variant of duck2

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for jouk

Historical Examples

Do not now jouk, or bow, or yield to your adversaries in a hair-breadth.
Letters of Samuel Rutherford
Samuel Rutherford

It was blithe and heartsome to go birling to Skeighan in the train; it was grand to jouk round Barbie on the nichts at e’en!
The House with the Green Shutters
George Douglas Brownjoukor jook
[jook] Scot.

Word Origin

noun

1. a sudden, elusive movement.

verb (used with or without object)

2. to dodge or duck.

Origin of jouk

1510-1520 First recorded in 1510-20; apparently variant of duck2

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for jouk

Historical Examples

Do not now jouk, or bow, or yield to your adversaries in a hair-breadth.
Letters of Samuel Rutherford
Samuel Rutherford

It was blithe and heartsome to go birling to Skeighan in the train; it was grand to jouk round Barbie on the nichts at e’en!
The House with the Green Shutters
George Douglas Brown

16 August 2017

costive

[kos-tiv, kaw-stiv]

adjective

1. suffering from constipation; constipated.
2. slow in action or in expressing ideas, opinions, etc.
3. Obsolete. stingy; tight-fisted.

Origin of costive

Middle English, Anglo-French, Middle French, Latin

1350-1400; Middle English < Anglo-French *costif, for Middle French costivé, past participle of costiver to constipate < Latin constīpāre (see constipate )

Related forms

costively, adverb
costiveness, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for costive

Historical Examples

Anything that tends to make her costive, such as fruits or green vegetables, should be partaken of with discrimination.
Practical Suggestions for Mother and Housewife
Marion Mills Miller

He took no other medicine, except a little rhubarb when costive.
An Account of the Foxglove and some of its Medical Uses
William Withering

Sometimes the patient is costive, and has been so for several days, the dysentery coming on without being preceded by looseness.
An Epitome of Homeopathic Healing Art
B. L. Hill

I finds un fine to hunt with, and ’tis not so costive as the others.
Left on the Labrador
Dillon Wallace

This gruel is proper for children, or persons of a costive habit.
The Cook and Housekeeper’s Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton

I was of a costive, dyspeptic habit, which has been entirely removed.
Vegetable Diet: As Sanctioned by Medical Men, and by Experience in All Ages
William Andrus Alcott

The stool may be normal or costive, but is very often diarrhoetic.
Prof. Koch’s Method to Cure Tuberculosis Popularly Treated
Max Birnbaum

A costive reserve on these subjects might have procured me more esteem from some people, but less from myself.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson

An egg may be taken at this meal by those luxuriously inclined, and if not of a costive habit.
The Allinson Vegetarian Cookery Book
Thomas R. Allinson

To relieve the bowels when costive, take a dose of Nux Vomica at night, and Podophyllin in the morning.
An Epitome of Homeopathic Healing Art
B. L. Hill

Anagram

so evict
covet is

15 August 2017

gomerel or gomeral, gomeril

[gom-er-uh l]

noun, Scot. and North England.

1. a fool.

Origin of gomerel

Old English

1805-1815; obsolete gome man ( Old English guma; cognate with Gothic guma, Latin homō) + -rel

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for gomerel

Historical Examples

Eden stared at her friend with the astonishment of a gomeril at a contortionist.
Eden
Edgar Saltus

Wasn’t she the jewel of the world altogether, an’ how could he ever have been such a gomeril as to doubt her?
North, South and Over the Sea
M.E. Francis (Mrs. Francis Blundell)

Anagram

mere log
more leg
gem lore

14 August 2017

ken

[ken]

noun

1. knowledge, understanding, or cognizance; mental perception:
an idea beyond one’s ken.
2. range of sight or vision.
verb (used with object), kenned or kent, kenning.
3. Chiefly Scot.
to know, have knowledge of or about, or be acquainted with (a person or thing).
to understand or perceive (an idea or situation).
4. Scots Law. to acknowledge as heir; recognize by a judicial act.
5. Archaic. to see; descry; recognize.
6. British Dialect Archaic.
to declare, acknowledge, or confess (something).
to teach, direct, or guide (someone).

verb (used without object), kenned or kent, kenning.

7. British Dialect.
to have knowledge of something.
to understand.

before 900; Middle English kennen to make known, see, know, Old English cennan to make known, declare; cognate with Old Norse kenna, German kennen; akin to can

Example

But if you think so poorly of me, ye’ll be pleased to ken I’ll soon be returning to my home at Lallybroch.

– Outlander TV series

13 August 2017

nom de guerre

[nom duh gair; French nawn duh ger]

noun, plural noms de guerre [nomz duh gair; French nawn duh ger] (Show IPA)

1. n assumed name, as one under which a person fights, paints, writes, etc.; pseudonym.

Origin of nom de guerre

< French: literally, war name

Examples from the Web for nom de guerre

Contemporary Examples

A former military man, Molina had served under Rios Montt, reportedly under the nom de guerre Major Tito.
Guatemala’s Trial of the Century
Mac Margolis
May 5, 2013

It is headed by another shadowy figure using the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al Golani.
Al Qaeda’s Most Dangerous Stronghold
Bruce Riedel
November 10, 2013

Anagram

mourn degree
rodgered menu
demure goner
ruder genome
Mr dengue roe

12 August 2017

laird

[laird; Scot. leyrd]

noun, Scot.

1. a landed proprietor.

Origin of laird Expan

late Middle English Scots

1400-1450; late Middle English laverd, northern and Scots form of loverd lord

Related forms

lairdly, adjective
lairdship, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for laird

Contemporary Examples

Excerpted from The Cocktail Dress by laird Borelli-Persson © 2009.
A Short History of the Cocktail Dress
Laird Borrelli-Persson
April 4, 2009

“Sometimes people shoot Marc in a sensational way,” laird says.
Lady Gaga, Marc Jacobs, Olsen Twins and More at 2011 CFDA Awards
Isabel Wilkinson
June 5, 2011

laird Borrelli-Persson is the senior features editor at Style.com, the online home of Vogue and W magazines.
A Short History of the Cocktail Dress
Laird Borrelli-Persson
April 4, 2009

When I get on the phone with Georgie, I ask her who told her the story of the cook, the laird, his wife and the Queen Mother.
The Cook, the Laird, his Wife and the Queen Mother
Tom Sykes
May 14, 2012

Historical Examples

What said your landlord, the laird of Saint Ronan’s, to all this?
St. Ronan’s Well
Sir Walter Scott

We meant to carry on the deception next morning, but the laird was too happy for concealment.
Spare Hours
John Brown

He was the cleverest man I ever knew, and the best—except Taffy and the laird and your dear son!
Trilby
George Du Maurier

There’s an act in the laird o’ Grant’s court, that no abune eleven speak at ance.
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop

“You would be much more foolish throwing it backwards and forwards and not catching anything,” remarked the laird.
Norman Vallery
W.H.G. Kingston

Ye’re ower het and ower fu’, sib to some o’ the laird ‘s tenants.
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop

11 August 2017

scut(1)

[skuht]

noun

1. a short tail, especially that of a hare, rabbit, or deer.

Origin of scut(1)

Old Norse

1400-1450; late Middle English: hare < Old Norse skutr stern

scut(2)

[skuht]

noun, Slang.

1. a worthless, contemptible person.

Origin

1870-75; origin uncertain; perhaps continuation of Scots and dial. scout, scoot, Middle English scoute in same sense; perhaps noun use of Scots scout to spurt, squirt out, scoot

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for scut

Historical Examples

Im a free sailor of Queen Bess and fear no scut of a Spaniard as ever twisted a thumb-screw.
In Search of Mademoiselle
George Gibbs

Pinch its scut or bite its ears, and when it exclaims, “Miauw!”
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 102, May 21, 1892
Various

On his head is a little round cap, with a tuft made out of a hare’s or rabbit’s scut.
The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the first
Count Carlo Gozzi

The white napkin whisked like the scut of a rabbit, and he bounded to my side.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, February 25th, 1920
Various

Anagram

cuts

9 August 2017

fabulist

[fab-yuh-list]

noun

1. a person who invents or relates fables.
2. a liar.

Origin of fabulist

Middle French

1585-1595; Middle French fabuliste, equivalent to; fābul(a) fable + -iste -ist

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for fabulist

Contemporary Examples

The fabulist seems to want only to rant in his new monologue.
Mike Daisey’s Monologue ‘Journalism’: This Is Not an Apology Tour
Winston Ross
May 21, 2013

From there stemmed the idea of a fabulist, a man who lives in this alternate reality.
Rebecca Miller on Broadway’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ Revival
Rebecca Miller
May 31, 2012

It is subtitled a “family fable” because there is a moral attached, and because Mac was a fabulist.
The Best of Brit Lit
Peter Stothard
March 17, 2010

To some I will always be a fabulist, a scoundrel, and a liar.
Mike Daisey Remembers Steve Jobs a Year After His Death
Mike Daisey
October 4, 2012

Historical Examples

The fabulist had not in him sufficient hypocrisy of which to manufacture the commonplace politeness of society.
The Fables of La Fontaine
Jean de la Fontaine

Gay the fabulist is only interesting in a certain sense and to a small extent.
Views and Reviews
William Ernest Henley

The born poet still talks that way, he is naturally a fabulist and cannot help himself.
Homer’s Odyssey
Denton J. Snider

The fabulist is to create a laugh, but yet, under a merry guise, to convey instruction.
Aesop’s Fables
Aesop

In 1664 La Fontaine published his first collection of fables, and it gave him immediately the very highest rank as a fabulist.
Paris: With Pen and Pencil
David W. Bartlett

That is the fabulist ‘s opinion—Harriet Shelley’s is not reported.
In Defense of Harriet Shelley
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

Anagram

flab suit
flu baits

8 August 2017

ambergris

[am-ber-grees, -gris]

noun

1. an opaque, ash-colored secretion of the sperm whale intestine, usually found floating on the ocean or cast ashore: used in perfumery.

Origin of ambergris

late Middle English Middle French

1375-1425; < Middle French ambre gris gray amber (see amber ); replacing late Middle English imbergres

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for ambergris

Historical Examples

These Portuguese exchanged a lump of ambergris, or what was supposed to be ambergris, for old clothes.
History of the Buccaneers of America
James Burney

The hatches were off her hold and our sealskins and our ambergris gone from below.
Sonnie-Boy’s People
James B. Connolly

A drop or two (not more) of essence of ambergris or vanilla improves it.
Cooley’s Practical Receipts, Volume II
Arnold Cooley

Anagram

barge rims
Ambers rig
miser brag

7 August 2017

peruke

[puh-rook]

noun

1. a man’s wig of the 17th and 18th centuries, usually powdered and gathered at the back of the neck with a ribbon; periwig.

Origin of peruke

Middle French

1540-1550 First recorded in 1540-50, peruke is from the Middle French word perruque head of hair, wig, of disputed orig.

Related forms

peruked, adjective
perukeless, adjective
unperuked, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for peruke

Historical Examples

Daniel’s head is covered with a peruke of considerable magnitude.
Notes and Queries, Number 80, May 10, 1851
Various

The peruke, and, as it were, all that the peruke symbolized.
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Volume IV. (of XXI.)
Thomas Carlyle

He found his peruke a model of perfection; tight, yet easy; not an inch more on one side than on the other.
Imaginary Conversations and Poems
Walter Savage Landor

Anagram

reek up

6 August 2017

wiseacre

[wahyz-ey-ker]

noun

1. a person who possesses or affects to possess great wisdom.
2. wise guy.

Origin of wiseacre

Middle Dutch, Middle High German late Old High German
1585-1595; < Middle Dutch wijssager prophet, translation of Middle High German wīssage, late Old High German wīssago, by popular etymology equivalent to wīs wise + sago sayer, from earlier wīzzago wise person; cognate with Old English wītega, akin to wit2

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for wiseacre

Contemporary Examples

Yes, as some wiseacre will point out in the comments, this is the hometown of the Chiefs.
Dan Snyder’s Indian Chief Is Neither
Michael Tomasky
June 27, 2013

Historical Examples
The learned ignorance of the wiseacre always compels him to laugh at the man with an idea that is new.
The Common Sense of Socialism
John Spargo

A barrel may sound hollow, but not a bird–this wiseacre acquaints us.
De Libris: Prose and Verse
Austin Dobson

Anagram

wiser ace
I we cares

5 August 2017

lachrymose

[lak-ruh-mohs]

adjective

1. suggestive of or tending to cause tears; mournful.
2. given to shedding tears readily; tearful.

Origin of lachrymose

Latin

1655-1665; Latin lacrimōsus, equivalent to lacrim(a) tear (see lachrymal ) + -ōsus -ose1

Related forms

lachrymosely, adverb
lachrymosity [lak-ruh-mos-i-tee], noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for lachrymose

Historical Examples

The gills are notched, rather distant, pallid, then cinnamon; lachrymose.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard

Then it had cried out once, and so remained ever lachrymose and in agony.
The Fifth Queen Crowned
Ford Madox Ford

I am as limp, lachrymose, and lamentable, a young woman as you would find between the three seas.
Nancy
Rhoda Broughton

The too lachrymose Madonna in terra-cotta, 256, already ushers in the decadence.
The Story of Paris
Thomas Okey

He is the only one who has attempted the lachrymose, the sentimental novel.
The History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century
Leo Wiener

But women must beware of sham emotion and lachrymose sentimentality.
The Truth About Woman
C. Gasquoine Hartley

Nor did any lachrymose letter in the Times predict a speedy downfall of the Empire140 for this apathy of its local guardians.
My Reminiscences
Rabindranath Tagore

For Servius, who is timid and lachrymose, everything has gone astray.
The Life of Cicero
Anthony Trollope

And now Luisa also was vexed, and went to fetch Maria, whom she presently brought back in a lachrymose but mute state.
The Patriot
Antonio Fogazzaro

Besides, the expression of her face was lachrymose in the extreme.
The Girls of Central High in Camp
Gertrude W. Morrison

Anagram

horsy camel
holy creams
cola rhymes

4 August 2017

ramble

[ram-buh l]

verb (used without object), rambled, rambling.

1. to wander around in a leisurely, aimless manner:
They rambled through the shops until closing time.
2. to take a course with many turns or windings, as a stream or path.
3. to grow in a random, unsystematic fashion:
The vine rambled over the walls and tree trunks.
4. to talk or write in a discursive, aimless way (usually followed by on):
The speaker rambled on with anecdote after anecdote.
verb (used with object), rambled, rambling.
5. to walk aimlessly or idly over or through:
They spent the spring afternoon rambling woodland paths.
noun
6. a walk without a definite route, taken merely for pleasure.

Origin of ramble

1610-1620 First recorded in 1610-20; origin uncertain

Synonyms

1. stroll, saunter, amble, stray, straggle. See roam.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

Examples from the Web for ramble

Contemporary Examples

The result is a long narrative that can ramble, as conversations do, but is an essential contribution all the same.
The Unguarded Bill Clinton
Ted Widmer
October 4, 2009

Now, the judges, while passionate as always, seem to have more time than ever to ramble.
The Reality Makeover That Failed
Andy Dehnart
August 9, 2010

So he started alone for a ramble among the Channel Islands, and I went back to Paris.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show
Robert W. Chambers
February 19, 2014

Historical Examples

A Devonshire botanist told me he had identified nearly three hundred different mosses in a two days’ ramble in that county.
Gairloch In North-West Ross-Shire
John H. Dixon, F.S.A. Scot

They ramble up and down, and Eugene allows himself to sup of delight.
Floyd Grandon’s Honor
Amanda Minnie Douglas

I had now time to ramble round, and examine various things of interest.
Q.6.a and Other places
Francis Buckley

From its top it was five miles to ramble Valley by the main road.
Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1904
Lucy Maud Montgomery

And so anybody can write a decent dialogue if you allow326 him to ramble as we all do in actual talk.
Hours in a Library
Leslie Stephen

There is a point on that road where we could get down and have an hour’s ramble on the hillside.
A Room With A View
E. M. Forster

Something in the stolid way he did so caused Flambeau’s fierce black eyes to ramble over his companion afresh.
The Wisdom of Father Brown
G. K. Chesterton

Anagram

elm bar
Mr Able

2 August 2017

Nissen hut

[nis-uh n]

noun

1. a prefabricated, tunnel-shaped shelter made of corrugated metal and having a concrete floor; Quonset hut: first used by the British army in World War I.

Origin of Nissen hut

1915-1920; after Lieutenant Colonel Peter N. Nissen (1871-1930), Canadian military engineer who invented it

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Nissen hut

Historical Examples

Our first discovery was a Nissen hut in a dank field on the eastern outskirts.
Pushed and the Return Push
George Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)

In fact, the room was very much of the shape and size of a Nissen hut.
The Escaping Club
A. J. Evans

Camblain l’Abb was not a large place, so we were cramped for room, and a Nissen hut had to be built for “C” mess.
The Great War As I Saw It
Frederick George Scott

Anagram

nuns heist
tune shins
ninth uses

1 August 2017

cony or coney

[koh-nee, kuhn-ee]

noun, plural conies.

1. the fur of a rabbit, especially when dyed to simulate Hudson seal.
2. the daman or other hyrax of the same genus.
3. the pika.
4. a rabbit.
5. Obsolete. a person who is easily tricked; gull; dupe.

Origin of cony

Old French, Latin

1150-1200; Middle English, back formation from conyes < Old French conis, plural of conil < Latin cunīculus rabbit, burrow, a word said to be of Iberian orig., according with evidence that the rabbit spread through Europe from NW Africa and the Iberian Peninsula

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for cony

Historical Examples

Upon the mountain tops the cony, or Little Chief Hare, stacks hay each autumn.
Watched by Wild Animals
Enos A. Mills

The American cony lives on top of the world—on the crest of the continent.
Watched by Wild Animals
Enos A. Mills

A merchant named cony did more to wreck the Protectorate by a suit at law than did the Cavaliers by their armed insurrection.
The Life of John Milton, Volume 5 (of 7), 1654-1660
David Masson

The cony is found over a belt that extends from this altitude down to 9,500.
Watched by Wild Animals
Enos A. Mills

One probably was the owner of the little haystack—the other the cony from the wrecked home.
Watched by Wild Animals
Enos A. Mills

About all the cony has to do is to find the den and take possession.
Watched by Wild Animals
Enos A. Mills

Far up the mountainside I found and saw an account of a cony adventure written in the snow.
Watched by Wild Animals
Enos A. Mills

The cony appears something of a traveller, something of an explorer.
Watched by Wild Animals
Enos A. Mills

The weasel is agile, powerful, slender bodied, and can follow a cony into the smaller hiding places of the den and capture him.
Watched by Wild Animals
Enos A. Mills

But he clung to the cony and dragged it out of reach beneath a boulder.
Watched by Wild Animals
Enos A. Mills

 

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