Word of the Day for Sunday, April 27, 2008
posit \POZ-it\, transitive verb:
1. To assume as real or conceded.
2. To propose as an explanation; to suggest.
3. To dispose or set firmly or fixedly.
GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Word of the Day Monday April 28, 2008
maelstrom \MAYL-struhm\, noun: 1. A large, powerful, or destructive whirlpool. 2. Something resembling a maelstrom; a violent, disordered, or turbulent state of affairs.
The murk became thicker as Zachareesi fishtailed his canoe through a swirling maelstrom of currents pouring past, and over, unseen rocks.
-- Farley Mowat, The Farfarers
Suddenly, the Serb cause was thrust into the maelstrom of the Napoleonic Wars.
-- Misha Glenny, The Balkans
Always at the center of a maelstrom of activity and contention, he provided good columns for the press.
-- Arthur Lennig, Stroheim
Like Captain Ahab, the monomaniacal Harmon draws everyone around him into a maelstrom of trouble.
-- John Motyka, review of The Dogs of Winter, by Kem Nunn, New York Times, March 23, 1997
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Maelstrom comes from obsolete Dutch maelstroom, from malen, "to grind, hence to whirl round," + stroom, "stream."
maelstrom \MAYL-struhm\, noun: 1. A large, powerful, or destructive whirlpool. 2. Something resembling a maelstrom; a violent, disordered, or turbulent state of affairs.
The murk became thicker as Zachareesi fishtailed his canoe through a swirling maelstrom of currents pouring past, and over, unseen rocks.
-- Farley Mowat, The Farfarers
Suddenly, the Serb cause was thrust into the maelstrom of the Napoleonic Wars.
-- Misha Glenny, The Balkans
Always at the center of a maelstrom of activity and contention, he provided good columns for the press.
-- Arthur Lennig, Stroheim
Like Captain Ahab, the monomaniacal Harmon draws everyone around him into a maelstrom of trouble.
-- John Motyka, review of The Dogs of Winter, by Kem Nunn, New York Times, March 23, 1997
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Maelstrom comes from obsolete Dutch maelstroom, from malen, "to grind, hence to whirl round," + stroom, "stream."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Tuesday April 29, 2008
gimcrack \JIM-krak\, noun: 1. A showy but useless or worthless object; a gewgaw.
adjective: 1. Tastelessly showy; cheap; gaudy.
Yet the set is more than a collection of pretty gimcracks.
-- Frank Rich, Hot Seat
In those cities most self-conscious about their claim to be part of English history, like Oxford or Bath, the shops where you could have bought a dozen nails, home-made cakes or had a suit run up, have shut down and been replaced with places selling teddy bears, T-shirts and gimcrack souvenirs.
-- Jeremy Paxman, The English: A Portrait of a People
And as for coincidences in books -- there's something cheap and sentimental about the device; it can't help always seeming aesthetically gimcrack.
-- Peter Brooks, "Obsessed with the Hermit of Croisset", New York Times, March 10, 1985
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The origin of gimcrack is uncertain. It is perhaps an alteration of Middle English gibecrake, "a slight or flimsy ornament."
gimcrack \JIM-krak\, noun: 1. A showy but useless or worthless object; a gewgaw.
adjective: 1. Tastelessly showy; cheap; gaudy.
Yet the set is more than a collection of pretty gimcracks.
-- Frank Rich, Hot Seat
In those cities most self-conscious about their claim to be part of English history, like Oxford or Bath, the shops where you could have bought a dozen nails, home-made cakes or had a suit run up, have shut down and been replaced with places selling teddy bears, T-shirts and gimcrack souvenirs.
-- Jeremy Paxman, The English: A Portrait of a People
And as for coincidences in books -- there's something cheap and sentimental about the device; it can't help always seeming aesthetically gimcrack.
-- Peter Brooks, "Obsessed with the Hermit of Croisset", New York Times, March 10, 1985
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The origin of gimcrack is uncertain. It is perhaps an alteration of Middle English gibecrake, "a slight or flimsy ornament."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Wednesday April 30, 2008
lenity \LEN-uh-tee\, noun: The state or quality of being lenient; mildness; gentleness of treatment; leniency.
The criminal suspect is pressured by remorse or hope of lenity or sheer despair to fess up.
-- Richard A. Posner, "Let Them Talk", The New Republic, August 21, 2000
In this context, severity is justice, lenity injustice.
-- Dr Anthony Daniels, "It's no way to treat a lunatic", Sunday Telegraph, December 13, 1998
. . .an excessive lenity toward criminals, which encourages crime.
-- Richard A. Posner, "The Moral Minority", New York Times, December 19, 1999
And what makes robbers bold but too much lenity?
-- William Shakespeare, Henry VI, part III
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Lenity comes from Latin lenitas, from lenis, "soft, mild."
lenity \LEN-uh-tee\, noun: The state or quality of being lenient; mildness; gentleness of treatment; leniency.
The criminal suspect is pressured by remorse or hope of lenity or sheer despair to fess up.
-- Richard A. Posner, "Let Them Talk", The New Republic, August 21, 2000
In this context, severity is justice, lenity injustice.
-- Dr Anthony Daniels, "It's no way to treat a lunatic", Sunday Telegraph, December 13, 1998
. . .an excessive lenity toward criminals, which encourages crime.
-- Richard A. Posner, "The Moral Minority", New York Times, December 19, 1999
And what makes robbers bold but too much lenity?
-- William Shakespeare, Henry VI, part III
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Lenity comes from Latin lenitas, from lenis, "soft, mild."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Thursday May 1, 2008
cloy \KLOY\, transitive verb: 1. To weary by excess, especially of sweetness, richness, pleasure, etc.
intransitive verb: 1. To become distasteful through an excess usually of something originally pleasing.
The opulence, the music, the gouty food -- all start to cloy my senses.
-- Jeffrey Tayler, "The Moscow Rave part two: I Have Payments to Make on My Mink", Atlantic, December 31, 1997
I use orange and lemon zest in the recipe and a drizzle of soured cream at the table to take away its tendency to cloy.
-- Nigel Slater, "Cream tease", The Observer, December 14, 2003
The soft Orvieto Abboccato has just enough sweetness to please but not to cloy, a friendly character that tempts one to linger over a second glass.
-- George Pandi, "Orvieto's pleasures deserve to be savored like its wine", Boston Herald, July 18, 2004
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Cloy is short for obsolete accloy, "to clog," alteration of Middle English acloien, "to lame," from Middle French encloer, "to drive a nail into," from Medieval Latin inclavare, from Latin in, "in" + clavus, "nail."
cloy \KLOY\, transitive verb: 1. To weary by excess, especially of sweetness, richness, pleasure, etc.
intransitive verb: 1. To become distasteful through an excess usually of something originally pleasing.
The opulence, the music, the gouty food -- all start to cloy my senses.
-- Jeffrey Tayler, "The Moscow Rave part two: I Have Payments to Make on My Mink", Atlantic, December 31, 1997
I use orange and lemon zest in the recipe and a drizzle of soured cream at the table to take away its tendency to cloy.
-- Nigel Slater, "Cream tease", The Observer, December 14, 2003
The soft Orvieto Abboccato has just enough sweetness to please but not to cloy, a friendly character that tempts one to linger over a second glass.
-- George Pandi, "Orvieto's pleasures deserve to be savored like its wine", Boston Herald, July 18, 2004
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Cloy is short for obsolete accloy, "to clog," alteration of Middle English acloien, "to lame," from Middle French encloer, "to drive a nail into," from Medieval Latin inclavare, from Latin in, "in" + clavus, "nail."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Friday May 2, 2008
halcyon \HAL-see-uhn\, noun: 1. A kingfisher. 2. A mythical bird, identified with the kingfisher, that was fabled to nest at sea about the time of the winter solstice and to calm the waves during incubation.
adjective: 1. Calm; quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy; as, "deep, halcyon repose." 2. Marked by peace and prosperity; as, "halcyon years."
It seems to be that my boyhood days in the Edwardian era were halcyon days.
-- Mel Gussow, "At Home With John Gielgud: His Own Brideshead, His Fifth 'Lear'", New York Times, October 28, 1993
It is a common lament that children today grow up too fast, that society is conspiring to deprive them of the halcyon childhood they deserve.
-- Keith Bradsher, "Fear of Crime Trumps the Fear of Lost Youth", New York Times, November 21, 1999
It was a halcyon life, cocktails and bridge at sunset, white jackets and long gowns at dinner, good gin and Gershwin under the stars.
-- Elizabeth M. Norman, We Band of Angels
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Halcyon derives from Latin (h)alcyon, from Greek halkuon, a mythical bird, kingfisher. This bird was fabled by the Greeks to nest at sea, about the time of the winter solstice, and, during incubation, to calm the waves.
halcyon \HAL-see-uhn\, noun: 1. A kingfisher. 2. A mythical bird, identified with the kingfisher, that was fabled to nest at sea about the time of the winter solstice and to calm the waves during incubation.
adjective: 1. Calm; quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy; as, "deep, halcyon repose." 2. Marked by peace and prosperity; as, "halcyon years."
It seems to be that my boyhood days in the Edwardian era were halcyon days.
-- Mel Gussow, "At Home With John Gielgud: His Own Brideshead, His Fifth 'Lear'", New York Times, October 28, 1993
It is a common lament that children today grow up too fast, that society is conspiring to deprive them of the halcyon childhood they deserve.
-- Keith Bradsher, "Fear of Crime Trumps the Fear of Lost Youth", New York Times, November 21, 1999
It was a halcyon life, cocktails and bridge at sunset, white jackets and long gowns at dinner, good gin and Gershwin under the stars.
-- Elizabeth M. Norman, We Band of Angels
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Halcyon derives from Latin (h)alcyon, from Greek halkuon, a mythical bird, kingfisher. This bird was fabled by the Greeks to nest at sea, about the time of the winter solstice, and, during incubation, to calm the waves.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Monday May 5, 2008
fustian \FUHS-chuhn\, noun: 1. A kind of coarse twilled cotton or cotton and linen stuff, including corduroy, velveteen, etc. 2. An inflated style of writing or speech; pompous or pretentious language.
adjective: 1. Made of fustian. 2. Pompous; ridiculously inflated; bombastic.
Don't squander the court's patience puffing your cheeks up on stately bombast and lofty fustian. Speak plainly!
-- Richard Dooling, Brain Storm
His stated motive is to meet "the flood of cant, fustian and emotional nonsense which pollutes the intellectual atmosphere."
-- Walter H. Waggoner, "Joseph W. Bishop Jr., Law Professor and Author", New York Times, May 21, 1985
It would take a stout heart to read through all the loyal effusions and fustian birthday odes of the 18th-century laureates -- Nahum Tate, Colley Cibber and the rest.
-- John Gross, "In Search of a Laureate: Making Book on Britain's Next Official Poet", New York Times, July 15, 1984
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Fustian derives from Old French fustaigne, from Medieval Latin fustaneum, but its precise roots beyond that point are uncertain.
fustian \FUHS-chuhn\, noun: 1. A kind of coarse twilled cotton or cotton and linen stuff, including corduroy, velveteen, etc. 2. An inflated style of writing or speech; pompous or pretentious language.
adjective: 1. Made of fustian. 2. Pompous; ridiculously inflated; bombastic.
Don't squander the court's patience puffing your cheeks up on stately bombast and lofty fustian. Speak plainly!
-- Richard Dooling, Brain Storm
His stated motive is to meet "the flood of cant, fustian and emotional nonsense which pollutes the intellectual atmosphere."
-- Walter H. Waggoner, "Joseph W. Bishop Jr., Law Professor and Author", New York Times, May 21, 1985
It would take a stout heart to read through all the loyal effusions and fustian birthday odes of the 18th-century laureates -- Nahum Tate, Colley Cibber and the rest.
-- John Gross, "In Search of a Laureate: Making Book on Britain's Next Official Poet", New York Times, July 15, 1984
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Fustian derives from Old French fustaigne, from Medieval Latin fustaneum, but its precise roots beyond that point are uncertain.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Tuesday May 6, 2008
amalgam \uh-MAL-guhm\, noun: 1. An alloy of mercury with another metal or metals; used especially (with silver) as a dental filling. 2. A mixture or compound of different things.
In that year, Zola struck back at the novelist and critic Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, that curious amalgam of religious conservative and blasphemous melodramatist -- Zola called him a"hysterical Catholic" -- whom he had long detested for his superior bearing and his unfortunate sallies against writers Zola admired.
-- Gary B. Nash, History on Trial
The so-called "protest" literature of the thirties was often an amalgam of the private rebellion of youth with social revolt.
-- Nona Balakian, The World of William Saroyan
The governing body of college athletics is gradually extruding a regulatory text that reads like some crazed amalgam of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and the Uniform Commercial Code.
-- Paul F. Campos, Jurismania
Her vocabulary was an amalgam of slang, especially the show-business jargon of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley, and a requisite amount of cultivated English.
-- James A. Drake, Rosa Ponselle: A Centenary Biography
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Amalgam comes from Old French amalgame, from Medieval Latin amalgama, probably from Greek malagma, "emollient," from malassein, "to soften," from malakos, "soft."
amalgam \uh-MAL-guhm\, noun: 1. An alloy of mercury with another metal or metals; used especially (with silver) as a dental filling. 2. A mixture or compound of different things.
In that year, Zola struck back at the novelist and critic Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, that curious amalgam of religious conservative and blasphemous melodramatist -- Zola called him a"hysterical Catholic" -- whom he had long detested for his superior bearing and his unfortunate sallies against writers Zola admired.
-- Gary B. Nash, History on Trial
The so-called "protest" literature of the thirties was often an amalgam of the private rebellion of youth with social revolt.
-- Nona Balakian, The World of William Saroyan
The governing body of college athletics is gradually extruding a regulatory text that reads like some crazed amalgam of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and the Uniform Commercial Code.
-- Paul F. Campos, Jurismania
Her vocabulary was an amalgam of slang, especially the show-business jargon of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley, and a requisite amount of cultivated English.
-- James A. Drake, Rosa Ponselle: A Centenary Biography
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amalgam comes from Old French amalgame, from Medieval Latin amalgama, probably from Greek malagma, "emollient," from malassein, "to soften," from malakos, "soft."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Would you believe my colleague actually managed to use the word nefarious while writing up a research paper we are doing together?
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
Word of the Day Wednesday May 7, 2008
contrite \KON-tryt; kuhn-TRYT\, adjective: 1. Deeply affected with grief and regret for having done wrong; penitent; as, "a contrite sinner." 2. Expressing or arising from contrition; as, "contrite words."
Contrite sinners forgiven, yes.
-- Richard de Mille, My Secret Mother
Within days, a contrite Clarence Arthur was sending her roses and violets, even a bad poem.
-- Paul Mariani, The Broken Tower
Often he'd look contrite and even apologize.
-- Rafer Johnson with Philip Goldberg, The Best That I Can Be
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Contrite derives from Latin conterere, "to rub away, to grind," hence "to obliterate, to abase," from con- + terere, "to rub, to rub away."
contrite \KON-tryt; kuhn-TRYT\, adjective: 1. Deeply affected with grief and regret for having done wrong; penitent; as, "a contrite sinner." 2. Expressing or arising from contrition; as, "contrite words."
Contrite sinners forgiven, yes.
-- Richard de Mille, My Secret Mother
Within days, a contrite Clarence Arthur was sending her roses and violets, even a bad poem.
-- Paul Mariani, The Broken Tower
Often he'd look contrite and even apologize.
-- Rafer Johnson with Philip Goldberg, The Best That I Can Be
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Contrite derives from Latin conterere, "to rub away, to grind," hence "to obliterate, to abase," from con- + terere, "to rub, to rub away."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Thursday May 8, 2008
moiety \MOY-uh-tee\, noun: 1. One of two equal parts; a half. 2. An indefinite part; a small portion or share. 3. One of two basic tribal subdivisions.
Tom divided the cake and Becky ate with good appetite, while Tom nibbled at his moiety.
-- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Cut off from news at home, fearful of a blood bath, anxious to salvage a moiety of the reform program, the Prague leadership accepted Moscow's diktat.
-- Karl E. Meyer, "Pangloss in Prague", New York Times, June 27, 1993
Barunga society is sharply divided into two complementary, descent-based branches (a structure anthropologists call "moiety"), which permeate relationships, spirituality, and many other aspects of life.
-- Claire Smith, "Art of The Dreaming", Discovering Archaeology, March/April 2000
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Moiety comes from Old French meitiet, from Late Latin medietas, from Latin medius, "middle."
moiety \MOY-uh-tee\, noun: 1. One of two equal parts; a half. 2. An indefinite part; a small portion or share. 3. One of two basic tribal subdivisions.
Tom divided the cake and Becky ate with good appetite, while Tom nibbled at his moiety.
-- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Cut off from news at home, fearful of a blood bath, anxious to salvage a moiety of the reform program, the Prague leadership accepted Moscow's diktat.
-- Karl E. Meyer, "Pangloss in Prague", New York Times, June 27, 1993
Barunga society is sharply divided into two complementary, descent-based branches (a structure anthropologists call "moiety"), which permeate relationships, spirituality, and many other aspects of life.
-- Claire Smith, "Art of The Dreaming", Discovering Archaeology, March/April 2000
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Moiety comes from Old French meitiet, from Late Latin medietas, from Latin medius, "middle."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
-
CodeBlower
- Shakespearean Groupie
- Posts: 1760
- Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 12:27 am
- Location: IL, USA
- Contact:
So, is the choice of definition dependent upon whether you were the one cutting the cake, or the one receiving the severed portion?Ghost wrote:moiety \MOY-uh-tee\, noun: 1. One of two equal parts; a half. 2. An indefinite part; a small portion or share.
"Budge up, yeh great lump." -- Hagrid, HP:SS
-=-
The gelding is what the gelding is, unlike people who change in response to their perceptions of events that may benefit or threaten their power. -- Lorn, Chapter LXXXII, Magi'i of Cyador
-=-
The gelding is what the gelding is, unlike people who change in response to their perceptions of events that may benefit or threaten their power. -- Lorn, Chapter LXXXII, Magi'i of Cyador
My parents upset with my brother and I fighting over the "bigger" piece would have one of us would cut the pieces and the other would get first choice. We got pretty good at slicing even pieces.CodeBlower wrote: So, is the choice of definition dependent upon whether you were the one cutting the cake, or the one receiving the severed portion?
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
-
laurie
- Spelling Mistress
- Posts: 8164
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:52 am
- Location: The part of New York where "flurries" means 2 feet of snow to shovel
My parents did the same thing. It also worked for bowls of ice-cream, jello or popcorn, and for splitting 16 oz. bottles of Coca Cola.Ghost wrote:My parents upset with my brother and I fighting over the "bigger" piece would have one of us would cut the pieces and the other would get first choice. We got pretty good at slicing even pieces.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." -- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
"So where the hell is he?" -- Laurie
"So where the hell is he?" -- Laurie
Word of the Day Monday May 12, 2008
cavil \KAV-uhl\, intransitive verb: 1. To raise trivial or frivolous objections; to find fault without good reason.
transitive verb: 1. To raise trivial objections to.
noun: 1. A trivial or frivolous objection.
Insiders with their own strong views, after all, tend to cavil about competing ideas and stories they consider less than comprehensive.
-- Laurence I. Barrett, "Dog-Bites-Dog", Time, October 30, 1989
It may seem churlish, amid the selection of so much glory, to cavil at a single omission, but I do think a great opportunity has been missed.
-- Tom Rosenthal, "Rome sweet Rome", New Statesman, February 5, 2001
He was determined not to be diverted from his main pursuit by cavils or trifles.
-- William Safire, Scandalmonger
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Cavil comes from Latin cavillari, "to jeer, to quibble," from cavilla, "scoffing."
cavil \KAV-uhl\, intransitive verb: 1. To raise trivial or frivolous objections; to find fault without good reason.
transitive verb: 1. To raise trivial objections to.
noun: 1. A trivial or frivolous objection.
Insiders with their own strong views, after all, tend to cavil about competing ideas and stories they consider less than comprehensive.
-- Laurence I. Barrett, "Dog-Bites-Dog", Time, October 30, 1989
It may seem churlish, amid the selection of so much glory, to cavil at a single omission, but I do think a great opportunity has been missed.
-- Tom Rosenthal, "Rome sweet Rome", New Statesman, February 5, 2001
He was determined not to be diverted from his main pursuit by cavils or trifles.
-- William Safire, Scandalmonger
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Cavil comes from Latin cavillari, "to jeer, to quibble," from cavilla, "scoffing."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Tuesday May 13, 2008
umbrage \UHM-brij\, noun: 1. Shade; shadow; hence, something that affords a shade, as a screen of trees or foliage. 2. a. A vague or indistinct indication or suggestion; a hint. 3. b. Reason for doubt; suspicion. 4. Suspicion of injury or wrong; offense; resentment.
Burr finally took umbrage, and challenged him to a duel.
-- Richard A. Samuelson, "Alexander Hamilton: American", Commentary, June 1999
In almost all the walks of his life, he appears to have been both astoundingly rude and genuinely astonished that anyone should take umbrage.
-- Robert Winder, "A dying game", New Statesman, June 19, 2000
He had a devastating smile, which could wipe away the slightest umbrage.
-- Alec Guinness, A Positively Final Appearance
The river tumbling green and white, far below me; the dark high banks, the plentiful umbrage, many bronze cedars, in shadow; and tempering and arching all the immense materiality, a clear sky overhead, with a few white clouds, limpid, spiritual, silent.
-- Walt Whitman, Specimen Days & Collect
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Umbrage is derived from Latin umbra, "shade."
umbrage \UHM-brij\, noun: 1. Shade; shadow; hence, something that affords a shade, as a screen of trees or foliage. 2. a. A vague or indistinct indication or suggestion; a hint. 3. b. Reason for doubt; suspicion. 4. Suspicion of injury or wrong; offense; resentment.
Burr finally took umbrage, and challenged him to a duel.
-- Richard A. Samuelson, "Alexander Hamilton: American", Commentary, June 1999
In almost all the walks of his life, he appears to have been both astoundingly rude and genuinely astonished that anyone should take umbrage.
-- Robert Winder, "A dying game", New Statesman, June 19, 2000
He had a devastating smile, which could wipe away the slightest umbrage.
-- Alec Guinness, A Positively Final Appearance
The river tumbling green and white, far below me; the dark high banks, the plentiful umbrage, many bronze cedars, in shadow; and tempering and arching all the immense materiality, a clear sky overhead, with a few white clouds, limpid, spiritual, silent.
-- Walt Whitman, Specimen Days & Collect
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Umbrage is derived from Latin umbra, "shade."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Thursday May 15, 2008
paean \PEE-uhn\, noun: 1. A joyous song of praise, triumph, or thanksgiving. 2. An expression of praise or joy.
Bud Guthrie had written a paean to the grizzly, calling it the "living, snorting incarnation of the wildness and grandeur of America."
-- David Whitman, "The Return of the Grizzly", The Atlantic, September 2000
If you look at what British writers were saying about England before and after the war, you read for the most part a seamless paean to the virtues of the nation's strength and identity.
-- Hugo Young, This Blessed Plot
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Paean comes from Latin paean, "a hymn of thanksgiving, often addressed to god Apollo," from Greek paian, from Paia, a title of Apollo.
paean \PEE-uhn\, noun: 1. A joyous song of praise, triumph, or thanksgiving. 2. An expression of praise or joy.
Bud Guthrie had written a paean to the grizzly, calling it the "living, snorting incarnation of the wildness and grandeur of America."
-- David Whitman, "The Return of the Grizzly", The Atlantic, September 2000
If you look at what British writers were saying about England before and after the war, you read for the most part a seamless paean to the virtues of the nation's strength and identity.
-- Hugo Young, This Blessed Plot
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paean comes from Latin paean, "a hymn of thanksgiving, often addressed to god Apollo," from Greek paian, from Paia, a title of Apollo.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Friday May 16, 2008
subfusc \sub-FUHSK\, adjective: Dark or dull in color; drab, dusky.
The tea-cosy, property of one Edmund Gravel -- "known as the Recluse of Lower Spigot to everybody there and elsewhere," as the book's first page informs us -- is haunted by a six-legged emcee for various "subfusc but transparent" ghosts.
-- Emily Gordon, "The Doubtful Host", Newsday, November 8, 1998
Her inscrutable figure -- imposing in designer subfusc, slightly donnish, reminiscent of Vita Sackville-West, to whom she was distantly related -- baffled and intrigued some.
-- Yvonne Whiteman, "Obituary: Frances Lincoln", Independent, March 6, 2001
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Subfusc comes from Latin subfuscus, "brownish, dark," from sub-, "under" + fuscus, "dark-colored."
subfusc \sub-FUHSK\, adjective: Dark or dull in color; drab, dusky.
The tea-cosy, property of one Edmund Gravel -- "known as the Recluse of Lower Spigot to everybody there and elsewhere," as the book's first page informs us -- is haunted by a six-legged emcee for various "subfusc but transparent" ghosts.
-- Emily Gordon, "The Doubtful Host", Newsday, November 8, 1998
Her inscrutable figure -- imposing in designer subfusc, slightly donnish, reminiscent of Vita Sackville-West, to whom she was distantly related -- baffled and intrigued some.
-- Yvonne Whiteman, "Obituary: Frances Lincoln", Independent, March 6, 2001
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Subfusc comes from Latin subfuscus, "brownish, dark," from sub-, "under" + fuscus, "dark-colored."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
From his avatar, I can see that Ghost is indeed subfusc, but what is an emcee? Same as an MC, probably, but that does not help me.Ghost wrote: -- is haunted by a six-legged emcee for various "subfusc but transparent" ghosts.
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
Word of the Day Monday May 19, 2008
obtrude \uhb-TROOD; ob-\, transitive verb: 1. To thrust out; to push out. 2. To force or impose (one's self, remarks, opinions, etc.) on others with undue insistence or without solicitation.
intransitive verb: 1. To thrust upon a group or upon attention; to intrude.
Moreover, crime is something which the citizen is happy to forget when it does not obtrude itself into public consciousness.
-- "Voting On Crime", Irish Times, May 30, 1997
For the next few months, Polidori continued to obtrude himself on Byron's attention in every possible way -- popping into every conversation, sulking when he was ignored, challenging Percy Bysshe Shelley to a duel, attacking an apothecary and getting arrested "accidentally" banging his employer on the knee with an oar and saying he wasn't sorry -- until finally Byron dismissed him.
-- Angeline Goreau, "Physician, Behave Thyself", New York Times, September 3, 1989
He was, in his relationships with his few close friends, a considerate, delightful, sensitive, helpful, unpretentious person who did not obtrude his social and political views, nor make agreeing with them a condition of steadfast friendship.
-- Alden Whitman, "Daring Lindbergh Attained the Unattainable With Historic Flight Across Atlantic", New York Times, August 27, 1974
And, as is common in books sewn together from previously published essays, certain redundancies obtrude.
-- Maxine Kumin, "First, Perfect Fear; Then, Universal Love", New York Times, October 17, 1993
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Obtrude is from Latin obtrudere, "to thrust upon, to force," from ob, "in front of, before" + trudere, "to push, to thrust."
obtrude \uhb-TROOD; ob-\, transitive verb: 1. To thrust out; to push out. 2. To force or impose (one's self, remarks, opinions, etc.) on others with undue insistence or without solicitation.
intransitive verb: 1. To thrust upon a group or upon attention; to intrude.
Moreover, crime is something which the citizen is happy to forget when it does not obtrude itself into public consciousness.
-- "Voting On Crime", Irish Times, May 30, 1997
For the next few months, Polidori continued to obtrude himself on Byron's attention in every possible way -- popping into every conversation, sulking when he was ignored, challenging Percy Bysshe Shelley to a duel, attacking an apothecary and getting arrested "accidentally" banging his employer on the knee with an oar and saying he wasn't sorry -- until finally Byron dismissed him.
-- Angeline Goreau, "Physician, Behave Thyself", New York Times, September 3, 1989
He was, in his relationships with his few close friends, a considerate, delightful, sensitive, helpful, unpretentious person who did not obtrude his social and political views, nor make agreeing with them a condition of steadfast friendship.
-- Alden Whitman, "Daring Lindbergh Attained the Unattainable With Historic Flight Across Atlantic", New York Times, August 27, 1974
And, as is common in books sewn together from previously published essays, certain redundancies obtrude.
-- Maxine Kumin, "First, Perfect Fear; Then, Universal Love", New York Times, October 17, 1993
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obtrude is from Latin obtrudere, "to thrust upon, to force," from ob, "in front of, before" + trudere, "to push, to thrust."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Wednesday May 21, 2008
boulevardier \boo-luh-var-DYAY; bul-uh-\, noun: 1. A frequenter of city boulevards, especially in Paris. 2. A sophisticated, worldly, and socially active man; a man who frequents fashionable places; a man-about-town.
Oswald, whose idea of excitement is breakfasting with a penguin, is a boulevardier: Hat cocked precariously on his head, he saunters out into the sunny city.
-- Tom Gliatto, "Tube", People, July 22, 2002
Bratton had been running about town, having his picture taken in trendy restaurants, seeking and getting headlines -- a regular gay boulevardier from the Roaring Twenties.
-- Sydney H. Schanberg, "Cops' D.C. Spree Calls for Outside Watchdog", Newsday, May 30, 1995
The "Night Mayor of New York" was, Mitgang writes, "a hometown boy, part Kilkenny sentimentalist, part Greenwich Village boulevardier."
-- David Walton, "Go Fight City Hall", New York Times, January 9, 2000
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Boulevardier is from French, from boulevard, from Old French bollevart, "rampart converted to a promenade," from Middle Low German bolwerk, "bulwark."
boulevardier \boo-luh-var-DYAY; bul-uh-\, noun: 1. A frequenter of city boulevards, especially in Paris. 2. A sophisticated, worldly, and socially active man; a man who frequents fashionable places; a man-about-town.
Oswald, whose idea of excitement is breakfasting with a penguin, is a boulevardier: Hat cocked precariously on his head, he saunters out into the sunny city.
-- Tom Gliatto, "Tube", People, July 22, 2002
Bratton had been running about town, having his picture taken in trendy restaurants, seeking and getting headlines -- a regular gay boulevardier from the Roaring Twenties.
-- Sydney H. Schanberg, "Cops' D.C. Spree Calls for Outside Watchdog", Newsday, May 30, 1995
The "Night Mayor of New York" was, Mitgang writes, "a hometown boy, part Kilkenny sentimentalist, part Greenwich Village boulevardier."
-- David Walton, "Go Fight City Hall", New York Times, January 9, 2000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boulevardier is from French, from boulevard, from Old French bollevart, "rampart converted to a promenade," from Middle Low German bolwerk, "bulwark."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Thursday May 22, 2008
cadge \KAJ\, transitive verb: 1. To beg or obtain by begging; to sponge.
intransitive verb: 1. To beg; to sponge.
Another . . . complains of the hard work involved in cadging an invitation to a fancy dinner.
-- James N. Davidson, Courtesans & Fishcakes
Imagine the Tom his fellow students saw at the University of Iowa -- a slovenly, self-absorbed young man with a high, braying laugh, a tendency to cadge money and a habit of blushing -- and you can see why one remembered him as "a rather unpleasant little person" and another later said that he would have bet on "anyone but Tom" to become a successful playwright.
-- Benedict Nightingale, "The Bard of Failure", New York Times, November 19, 1995
John D. Rockefeller came to him regularly now to beg for dimes and to cadge free rides.
-- William H. Pritchard, "Yossarian Redux", New York Times, September 25, 1994
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Cadge derives from Middle English cadgear, "a peddler, a huckster."
cadge \KAJ\, transitive verb: 1. To beg or obtain by begging; to sponge.
intransitive verb: 1. To beg; to sponge.
Another . . . complains of the hard work involved in cadging an invitation to a fancy dinner.
-- James N. Davidson, Courtesans & Fishcakes
Imagine the Tom his fellow students saw at the University of Iowa -- a slovenly, self-absorbed young man with a high, braying laugh, a tendency to cadge money and a habit of blushing -- and you can see why one remembered him as "a rather unpleasant little person" and another later said that he would have bet on "anyone but Tom" to become a successful playwright.
-- Benedict Nightingale, "The Bard of Failure", New York Times, November 19, 1995
John D. Rockefeller came to him regularly now to beg for dimes and to cadge free rides.
-- William H. Pritchard, "Yossarian Redux", New York Times, September 25, 1994
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Cadge derives from Middle English cadgear, "a peddler, a huckster."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Friday May 23, 2008
aright \uh-RYT\, adverb: Rightly; correctly; properly; in a right way or manner.
The worldview of a people, though normally left unspoken in the daily business of buying and selling and counting shekels, is to be found in a culture's stories, myths, and rituals, which, if studied aright, inevitably yield insight into the deepest concerns of a people by unveiling the invisible fears and desires inscribed on human hearts.
-- Thomas Cahill, The Gifts of the Jews
I think all theories are suspect, that the finest principles may have to be modified, or may even be pulverized by the demands of life, and that one must find, therefore, one's own moral center and move through the world hoping that this center will guide one aright.
-- James Baldwin, Collected Essays
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Aright comes from Middle English, from Old English ariht, from a-, "on" + riht, "right."
aright \uh-RYT\, adverb: Rightly; correctly; properly; in a right way or manner.
The worldview of a people, though normally left unspoken in the daily business of buying and selling and counting shekels, is to be found in a culture's stories, myths, and rituals, which, if studied aright, inevitably yield insight into the deepest concerns of a people by unveiling the invisible fears and desires inscribed on human hearts.
-- Thomas Cahill, The Gifts of the Jews
I think all theories are suspect, that the finest principles may have to be modified, or may even be pulverized by the demands of life, and that one must find, therefore, one's own moral center and move through the world hoping that this center will guide one aright.
-- James Baldwin, Collected Essays
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aright comes from Middle English, from Old English ariht, from a-, "on" + riht, "right."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Tuesday May 27, 2008
ribald \RIB-uhld; RY-bawld\, adjective: 1. Characterized by or given to vulgar humor; coarse.
noun: 1. A ribald person; a lewd fellow.
Mr. Plummer's Barrymore delights you with his own delight in his silly, ribald jokes (most of which are unprintable here).
-- Ben Brantley, "A Dazzler of a Drunk, Full of Gab and Grief", New York Times, March 26, 1997
The blues took form in the late nineteenth century as a musical synthesis that combined "worksongs, group seculars, field hollers, sacred harmonies, proverbial wisdom, folk philosophy, political commentary, ribald humor and elegiac lament."
-- Constance Valis Hill, Brotherhood in Rhythm
Their contrasting habits and preoccupations are telling and endearing: Piccard, the fussy one, sleeps in pajamas, Jones in the nude. Piccard scribbles homages in his journal to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, while Jones tosses off ribald limericks.
-- Louise Jarvis, "Are We There Yet?", New York Times, November 14, 1999
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Ribald derives from Old French ribaud, from riber, "to be wanton," from Old High German riban, "to be amorous" (originally, "to rub").
ribald \RIB-uhld; RY-bawld\, adjective: 1. Characterized by or given to vulgar humor; coarse.
noun: 1. A ribald person; a lewd fellow.
Mr. Plummer's Barrymore delights you with his own delight in his silly, ribald jokes (most of which are unprintable here).
-- Ben Brantley, "A Dazzler of a Drunk, Full of Gab and Grief", New York Times, March 26, 1997
The blues took form in the late nineteenth century as a musical synthesis that combined "worksongs, group seculars, field hollers, sacred harmonies, proverbial wisdom, folk philosophy, political commentary, ribald humor and elegiac lament."
-- Constance Valis Hill, Brotherhood in Rhythm
Their contrasting habits and preoccupations are telling and endearing: Piccard, the fussy one, sleeps in pajamas, Jones in the nude. Piccard scribbles homages in his journal to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, while Jones tosses off ribald limericks.
-- Louise Jarvis, "Are We There Yet?", New York Times, November 14, 1999
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ribald derives from Old French ribaud, from riber, "to be wanton," from Old High German riban, "to be amorous" (originally, "to rub").
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams