Word of the Day for Monday December 12, 2005
tmesis \TMEE-sis\, noun: In grammar and rhetoric, the separation of the parts of a compound word, now generally done for humorous effect; for example, "what place soever" instead of "whatsoever place," or "abso-bloody-lutely."
If on the first, how heinous e'er it be,
To win thy after-love I pardon thee.
--Shakespeare, Richard II
His income-tax return, he remarked, was the "most rigged-up marole" he'd ever seen.
--Frederic Packard
In two words, im possible.
--Samuel Goldwyn
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Tmesis is from Greek tmesis, "a cutting," from temnein, "to cut."
GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
"The pipe?" Jack was indignant. "I quit long ago. It's not my fault. My sister always wants to share her stuff. It doesn't matter that she has a kid. When she wants to get high, she gets high...and preferably with friends." Jack talked at his feet, feeling rather guilty of his admission of his sister's faults. But he hated to lie, though he wished he had the ability at this moment. Sally was under too much pressure by the Police, her beauty so enticing, though she was five years his senior. But he continued to lust after her despite that...
(fixed indignant... Lynne)
(fixed indignant... Lynne)
"A writer's chosen task is to write well and professionally. If you can't keep doing it, then you're no longer a professional, but a gifted amateur." L. E. Modessit, jr.
Word of the Day for Tuesday December 13, 2005
carapace \KAIR-uh-pace\, noun: 1. The thick shell that covers the back of the turtle, the crab, and other animals. 2. Something likened to a shell that serves to protect or isolate from external influence.
. . . a gauge for measuring the length of a lobster's carapace from the thorax to the eye socket.
--Richard Adams Carey, Against the Tide
Hannah Jelkes, . . . who wears an air of cool reserve like a carapace.
--Howard Taubman, "Theatre: 'Night of the Iguana' Opens," New York Times, December 29, 1961
Desperate to win his father's attention and respect, Kennedy became a hard man for a long while, covering over his sensitivity and capacity for empathy with a carapace of arrogance.
--Evan Thomas, Robert Kennedy: His Life
Eisenman, who is Meier's second cousin, was so neurotically insecure about his abilities that he sought to hide them within the dense carapace of arcane theory.
--Martin Filler, "The Spirit of '76," New Republic, July 9, 2001
Almost all the vivid, eyewitness accounts we have . . . date from a quarter of a century later, when Degas, celebrated and successful, had developed a crusty, cantankerous carapace, from which he emerged occasionally to deliver his famously caustic and enigmatic mots.
--Christopher E. G. Benfey, Degas in New Orleans
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Carapace comes from French, from Spanish carapacho.
carapace \KAIR-uh-pace\, noun: 1. The thick shell that covers the back of the turtle, the crab, and other animals. 2. Something likened to a shell that serves to protect or isolate from external influence.
. . . a gauge for measuring the length of a lobster's carapace from the thorax to the eye socket.
--Richard Adams Carey, Against the Tide
Hannah Jelkes, . . . who wears an air of cool reserve like a carapace.
--Howard Taubman, "Theatre: 'Night of the Iguana' Opens," New York Times, December 29, 1961
Desperate to win his father's attention and respect, Kennedy became a hard man for a long while, covering over his sensitivity and capacity for empathy with a carapace of arrogance.
--Evan Thomas, Robert Kennedy: His Life
Eisenman, who is Meier's second cousin, was so neurotically insecure about his abilities that he sought to hide them within the dense carapace of arcane theory.
--Martin Filler, "The Spirit of '76," New Republic, July 9, 2001
Almost all the vivid, eyewitness accounts we have . . . date from a quarter of a century later, when Degas, celebrated and successful, had developed a crusty, cantankerous carapace, from which he emerged occasionally to deliver his famously caustic and enigmatic mots.
--Christopher E. G. Benfey, Degas in New Orleans
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Carapace comes from French, from Spanish carapacho.
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
Though a voluptuary at heart - indeed, where else could one be a voluptuary? - Poindexter had struggled long and hard to cultivate a fortified carapace of restraint over his various hedonistic appetites, at present contenting himself only with an occasional bellowed tmesis of approval when attractive women passed him on the street.
It goes without saying he was something of a celebrity in his community. Thoughts of public office had already crossed his mind.
It goes without saying he was something of a celebrity in his community. Thoughts of public office had already crossed his mind.
Colourless green ideas sleep furiously
Word of the Day for Wednesday December 14, 2005
paladin \PAL-uh-din\, noun: 1. A knight-errant; a distinguished champion of a medieval king or prince; as, the paladins of Charlemagne. 2. A champion of a cause.
Once in power, though, Clinton stumbled repeatedly over obstacles created by the schizoid campaign he had conducted, in which he had cast himself simultaneously as the champion of a more conservative Democratic credo and as a paladin of the party's traditional activism.
--Robert Shogan, The Fate of the Union
Even Columbia University economist Jagdisch Baghwati, the paladin of free trade, calls for controls on capital flow.
--"Terrors in the Sun," The Nation, June 29, 1998
Matisse, paladin of modernism, is a long way from us now.
--Robert Hughes, "The Color of Genius," Time, September 28, 1992
. . . the celebrated but distrusted paladin of imperialism and the romantic conception of life, the swashbuckling militarist, the vehement orator and journalist, the most public of public personalities in a world dedicated to the cultivation of private virtues, the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Conservative Government then in power, Mr. Winston Churchill.
--Isaiah Berlin, "Mr. Churchill," The Atlantic, September 1949
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Paladin derives from Late Latin palatinus, "an officer of the palace," from Latin palatium, "royal residence, palace," from Palatium, one of the seven hills of Rome, on which Augustus had his residence.
paladin \PAL-uh-din\, noun: 1. A knight-errant; a distinguished champion of a medieval king or prince; as, the paladins of Charlemagne. 2. A champion of a cause.
Once in power, though, Clinton stumbled repeatedly over obstacles created by the schizoid campaign he had conducted, in which he had cast himself simultaneously as the champion of a more conservative Democratic credo and as a paladin of the party's traditional activism.
--Robert Shogan, The Fate of the Union
Even Columbia University economist Jagdisch Baghwati, the paladin of free trade, calls for controls on capital flow.
--"Terrors in the Sun," The Nation, June 29, 1998
Matisse, paladin of modernism, is a long way from us now.
--Robert Hughes, "The Color of Genius," Time, September 28, 1992
. . . the celebrated but distrusted paladin of imperialism and the romantic conception of life, the swashbuckling militarist, the vehement orator and journalist, the most public of public personalities in a world dedicated to the cultivation of private virtues, the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Conservative Government then in power, Mr. Winston Churchill.
--Isaiah Berlin, "Mr. Churchill," The Atlantic, September 1949
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Paladin derives from Late Latin palatinus, "an officer of the palace," from Latin palatium, "royal residence, palace," from Palatium, one of the seven hills of Rome, on which Augustus had his residence.
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
He saw himself as a stealth-paladin, slowly creating a Utopian society based on the premise "Anything Goes!".felonius wrote:Though a voluptuary at heart - indeed, where else could one be a voluptuary? - Poindexter had struggled long and hard to cultivate a fortified carapace of restraint over his various hedonistic appetites, at present contenting himself only with an occasional bellowed tmesis of approval when attractive women passed him on the street.
It goes without saying he was something of a celebrity in his community. Thoughts of public office had already crossed his mind.
"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 for Thursday December 15, 2005
hale \HAYL\, adjective: Free from disease and weakening conditions; healthy.
Uncle Charles was a hale old man with a well tanned skin, rugged features and white side whiskers.
--James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
The person whom the traveller had so abruptly encountered was of this kind: bluff, hale, hearty, and in a green old age: at peace with himself, and evidently disposed to be so with all the world.
--Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge
Joseph was an elderly, nay, an old man: very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy.
--Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
With his florid cheek, his compact figure smartly arrayed in a bright-buttoned blue coat, his brisk and vigorous step, and his hale and hearty aspect, altogether he seemed--not young, indeed--but a kind of new contrivance of Mother Nature in the shape of man, whom age and infirmity had no business to touch.
--Nathanial Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
Does not everyone, including the hale and hearty, have the right to choose the timing and manner of their own death?
--"Let death be my dominion," The Economist, October 14, 1999
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Hale comes from Middle English hal, related to whole. The alliterative phrase hale and hearty is often applied to older persons who retain the health and vigor of youth.
hale \HAYL\, adjective: Free from disease and weakening conditions; healthy.
Uncle Charles was a hale old man with a well tanned skin, rugged features and white side whiskers.
--James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
The person whom the traveller had so abruptly encountered was of this kind: bluff, hale, hearty, and in a green old age: at peace with himself, and evidently disposed to be so with all the world.
--Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge
Joseph was an elderly, nay, an old man: very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy.
--Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
With his florid cheek, his compact figure smartly arrayed in a bright-buttoned blue coat, his brisk and vigorous step, and his hale and hearty aspect, altogether he seemed--not young, indeed--but a kind of new contrivance of Mother Nature in the shape of man, whom age and infirmity had no business to touch.
--Nathanial Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
Does not everyone, including the hale and hearty, have the right to choose the timing and manner of their own death?
--"Let death be my dominion," The Economist, October 14, 1999
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hale comes from Middle English hal, related to whole. The alliterative phrase hale and hearty is often applied to older persons who retain the health and vigor of youth.
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 for Friday December 16, 2005
sacrosanct \SAK-roh-sankt\, adjective: Sacred; inviolable.
The family was viewed as sacrosanct: divorce was highly unusual and children were expected to be grateful for the sacrifices that parents, who postponed their own gratifications in forming a family, made on their behalf.
--Alan Wolfe, One Nation, After All
Espionage is about redefining Good and Evil, the violable and the sacrosanct.
--Edward Shirley, Know Thine Enemy
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Sacrosanct comes from Latin sacrosanctus, "consecrated with religious ceremonies, hence holy, sacred," from sacrum, "religious rite" (from sacer, "holy") + sanctus, "consecrated," from sancire, "to make sacred by a religious act."
sacrosanct \SAK-roh-sankt\, adjective: Sacred; inviolable.
The family was viewed as sacrosanct: divorce was highly unusual and children were expected to be grateful for the sacrifices that parents, who postponed their own gratifications in forming a family, made on their behalf.
--Alan Wolfe, One Nation, After All
Espionage is about redefining Good and Evil, the violable and the sacrosanct.
--Edward Shirley, Know Thine Enemy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacrosanct comes from Latin sacrosanctus, "consecrated with religious ceremonies, hence holy, sacred," from sacrum, "religious rite" (from sacer, "holy") + sanctus, "consecrated," from sancire, "to make sacred by a religious act."
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 for Tuesday December 20, 2005
digerati \dij-uh-RAH-tee\, plural noun: Persons knowledgeable about computers and technology.
As high tech spreads outward from Silicon Valley to American society at large and people spend more and more time in cyberspace, the journalist Paulina Borsook steps back to look at the digerati and their view of the world.
--Michiko Kakutani, "Silicon Valley Views the Economy as a Rain Forest," New York Times, July 25, 2000
[T]his week, over 3,000 digerati will converge at a swank theater where chef Julia Child and pundit Arianna Huffington, among others, will judge 135 Web sites.
--David Whitman, "The calm before the storms," U.S.News & World Report, May 15, 2000
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Digerati was formed by analogy with literati, "persons knowledgeable about literature."
digerati \dij-uh-RAH-tee\, plural noun: Persons knowledgeable about computers and technology.
As high tech spreads outward from Silicon Valley to American society at large and people spend more and more time in cyberspace, the journalist Paulina Borsook steps back to look at the digerati and their view of the world.
--Michiko Kakutani, "Silicon Valley Views the Economy as a Rain Forest," New York Times, July 25, 2000
[T]his week, over 3,000 digerati will converge at a swank theater where chef Julia Child and pundit Arianna Huffington, among others, will judge 135 Web sites.
--David Whitman, "The calm before the storms," U.S.News & World Report, May 15, 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digerati was formed by analogy with literati, "persons knowledgeable about literature."
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 for Wednesday December 21, 2005
confrere \KON-frair\, noun: A fellow member of a fraternity or profession; a colleague; a comrade; an intimate associate.
At Father Kilmartin's death the book was left unfinished (a sign of the times: not in manuscript, but on his laptop); and the arduous but also extremely delicate task of putting it into publishable condition was carried out by his Jesuit confrere, Robert J. Daly.
--Jaroslav Pelikan, "The Eucharist as Puzzle," Commonweal, May 7, 1999
The reason for this was that our government, out of the weaknesses Kissinger himself describes, was treating that adversary as a confrere whose hideous character flaws could not be discussed.
--Gabriel Schoenfeld, "Was Kissinger Right?" Commentary, May 1999
Baudelaire knew that this brave defense of the much derided middle class, offered without a touch of sarcasm, put him at odds with his confreres; to them, after all,"that inoffensive being" the bourgeois,"who would like nothing better than to love good painting," had long been anathema.
--Peter Gay, Pleasure Wars
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Confrere comes from Old French, from Medieval Latin confrater, from Latin com-, "with, together" + frater, "brother."
confrere \KON-frair\, noun: A fellow member of a fraternity or profession; a colleague; a comrade; an intimate associate.
At Father Kilmartin's death the book was left unfinished (a sign of the times: not in manuscript, but on his laptop); and the arduous but also extremely delicate task of putting it into publishable condition was carried out by his Jesuit confrere, Robert J. Daly.
--Jaroslav Pelikan, "The Eucharist as Puzzle," Commonweal, May 7, 1999
The reason for this was that our government, out of the weaknesses Kissinger himself describes, was treating that adversary as a confrere whose hideous character flaws could not be discussed.
--Gabriel Schoenfeld, "Was Kissinger Right?" Commentary, May 1999
Baudelaire knew that this brave defense of the much derided middle class, offered without a touch of sarcasm, put him at odds with his confreres; to them, after all,"that inoffensive being" the bourgeois,"who would like nothing better than to love good painting," had long been anathema.
--Peter Gay, Pleasure Wars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Confrere comes from Old French, from Medieval Latin confrater, from Latin com-, "with, together" + frater, "brother."
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 for Thursday December 22, 2005
querulous \KWER-uh-luhs; -yuh\, adjective: 1. Apt to find fault; habitually complaining. 2. Expressing complaint; fretful; whining.
Querulous Oscar rattles on, never more or less than himself, but never much more than the content of his grumpy rattling.
--Sven Birkerts, "A Frolic of His Own," New Republic, February 7, 1994
Mam is a tragic figure when transported to New York by her successful sons -- querulous, unable to get a decent cup of tea.
--Maureen Howard, "McCourt's New World," New York Times, September 19, 1999
Men who feel strong in the justice of their cause, or confident in their powers, do not waste breath in childish boasts of their own superiority and querulous depreciation of their antagonists.
--James Russell Lowell, "The Pickens-and-Stealin's Rebellion," The Atlantic, June 1861
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Querulous comes from Latin querulus, from queri, "to complain."
/would you like some cheese with that?
querulous \KWER-uh-luhs; -yuh\, adjective: 1. Apt to find fault; habitually complaining. 2. Expressing complaint; fretful; whining.
Querulous Oscar rattles on, never more or less than himself, but never much more than the content of his grumpy rattling.
--Sven Birkerts, "A Frolic of His Own," New Republic, February 7, 1994
Mam is a tragic figure when transported to New York by her successful sons -- querulous, unable to get a decent cup of tea.
--Maureen Howard, "McCourt's New World," New York Times, September 19, 1999
Men who feel strong in the justice of their cause, or confident in their powers, do not waste breath in childish boasts of their own superiority and querulous depreciation of their antagonists.
--James Russell Lowell, "The Pickens-and-Stealin's Rebellion," The Atlantic, June 1861
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Querulous comes from Latin querulus, from queri, "to complain."
/would you like some cheese with that?
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 for Friday December 23, 2005
vociferous \voh-SIF-uhr-uhs\, adjective: Making a loud outcry; clamorous; noisy.
Claudio has work to do and I have a vociferous son demanding a story.
--Ariel Dorfman, Heading South, Looking North: A Bilingual Journey
The local heroes received meals, heard speeches, were presented with flags, and were accompanied to railroad stations by vociferous crowds.
--Jeffry D. Wert, A Brotherhood of Valor
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Vociferous derives from Latin vociferari, "to shout, to cry out" from vox, "voice" + ferre, "to carry."
vociferous \voh-SIF-uhr-uhs\, adjective: Making a loud outcry; clamorous; noisy.
Claudio has work to do and I have a vociferous son demanding a story.
--Ariel Dorfman, Heading South, Looking North: A Bilingual Journey
The local heroes received meals, heard speeches, were presented with flags, and were accompanied to railroad stations by vociferous crowds.
--Jeffry D. Wert, A Brotherhood of Valor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vociferous derives from Latin vociferari, "to shout, to cry out" from vox, "voice" + ferre, "to carry."
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 for Thursday January 5, 2005
exegete \EK-suh-jeet\, noun: A person who explains or interprets difficult parts of written works.
All the things said in this passage are clear and should be paid attention to, without an exegete interpreting.
--Galen, Commentary on Hippocrates' On the Nature of Man
He is far more a man of prayer, a witness, a confessor and a prophet, than a learned exegete and close thinking scholastic.
--Adolf Deissmann, St. Paul, A Study in Social and Religious History
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Exegete is from Greek exegetes, from exegeisthai, "to interpret," and is related to exegesis.
exegete \EK-suh-jeet\, noun: A person who explains or interprets difficult parts of written works.
All the things said in this passage are clear and should be paid attention to, without an exegete interpreting.
--Galen, Commentary on Hippocrates' On the Nature of Man
He is far more a man of prayer, a witness, a confessor and a prophet, than a learned exegete and close thinking scholastic.
--Adolf Deissmann, St. Paul, A Study in Social and Religious History
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exegete is from Greek exegetes, from exegeisthai, "to interpret," and is related to exegesis.
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 for Friday January 6, 2006
recondite \REK-uhn-dyt\, adjective: 1. Difficult to understand; abstruse. 2. Concerned with obscure subject matter.
And his fondness for stopping his readers short in their tracks with evidence of his recondite vocabulary is wonderfully irritating.
--"Books of the Times," New York Times, February 23, 1951
Among his playmates he counts the Italian novelist and semiotics professor Umberto Eco, whom he befriended 15 years ago when they engaged in a fierce ottava rima competition that lasted for weeks. They still trade complicated riddles and recondite guessing games by mail.
--"Roberto Benigni: The Funniest Italian You've Probably Never Heard Of," New York Times, October 11, 1998
He is a poet's poet, says another admirer, sometimes recondite and always deeply aware of the formal tradition of poetry.
--"Crown prince of puns to give the past new life," Irish Times, Saturday, May 22, 1999
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Recondite is from Latin reconditus, past participle of recondere, "to store back," i.e., "out of the way," hence "to hide"; itself from re-, "back, again" + condere, "to put away, to store." Thus, recondite knowledge is "hidden" (because of obscurity or difficulty) from the understanding of the average person.
/The King William's Quiz anyone!
recondite \REK-uhn-dyt\, adjective: 1. Difficult to understand; abstruse. 2. Concerned with obscure subject matter.
And his fondness for stopping his readers short in their tracks with evidence of his recondite vocabulary is wonderfully irritating.
--"Books of the Times," New York Times, February 23, 1951
Among his playmates he counts the Italian novelist and semiotics professor Umberto Eco, whom he befriended 15 years ago when they engaged in a fierce ottava rima competition that lasted for weeks. They still trade complicated riddles and recondite guessing games by mail.
--"Roberto Benigni: The Funniest Italian You've Probably Never Heard Of," New York Times, October 11, 1998
He is a poet's poet, says another admirer, sometimes recondite and always deeply aware of the formal tradition of poetry.
--"Crown prince of puns to give the past new life," Irish Times, Saturday, May 22, 1999
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recondite is from Latin reconditus, past participle of recondere, "to store back," i.e., "out of the way," hence "to hide"; itself from re-, "back, again" + condere, "to put away, to store." Thus, recondite knowledge is "hidden" (because of obscurity or difficulty) from the understanding of the average person.
/The King William's Quiz anyone!
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 for Monday January 9, 2006
ineffable \in-EF-uh-buhl\, adjective: 1. Incapable of being expressed in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable. 2. Not to be uttered; taboo.
. . . the tension inherent in human language when it attempts to relate the ineffable, see the invisible, understand the incomprehensible.
--Jeffrey Burton Russell, A History of Heaven
Pope John Paul II notes that people are drawn to religion to answer the really big questions--for example, "What is the ultimate ineffable mystery which is the origin and destiny of our existence?"
--William A. Sherden, The Fortune Sellers
One cannot blame them very much; explaining the ineffable is difficult.
--Edward O. Wilson, "The Biological Basis of Morality," The Atlantic, April 1998
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Ineffable is from Latin ineffabilis, from in-, "not" + effabilis, "utterable," from effari, "to utter," from ex-, "out" + fari, "to speak."
/me can't respond to this - it's just freaking in F-able!
ineffable \in-EF-uh-buhl\, adjective: 1. Incapable of being expressed in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable. 2. Not to be uttered; taboo.
. . . the tension inherent in human language when it attempts to relate the ineffable, see the invisible, understand the incomprehensible.
--Jeffrey Burton Russell, A History of Heaven
Pope John Paul II notes that people are drawn to religion to answer the really big questions--for example, "What is the ultimate ineffable mystery which is the origin and destiny of our existence?"
--William A. Sherden, The Fortune Sellers
One cannot blame them very much; explaining the ineffable is difficult.
--Edward O. Wilson, "The Biological Basis of Morality," The Atlantic, April 1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ineffable is from Latin ineffabilis, from in-, "not" + effabilis, "utterable," from effari, "to utter," from ex-, "out" + fari, "to speak."
/me can't respond to this - it's just freaking in F-able!
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 for Tuesday January 10, 2006
dubiety \doo-BY-uh-tee; dyoo-\, noun: 1. The condition or quality of being doubtful or skeptical. 2. A matter of doubt
Kennedy and O'Connor may think that Title 3 has been violated, but O'Connor and the chief justice are not convinced that the Supreme Court was meant to litigate challenges under that federal statute, and their dubiety here is shared by Justices Scalia and Souter.
--Hadley Arkes, "A Morning at the Court," National Review, December 2, 2000
Despite a lack of forensic evidence, dubiety among the police themselves and inaccuracies in Raymond's confession, he was finally found guilty.
--Maggie Barry, "I've been a screen for the person who killed Pamela," The Mirror, August 10, 2002
Here, the historical evidence would seem to be tricky but free from all dubieties.
--Paul Taylor, "A mechanical science lesson," Independent, November 21, 2001
I want every inconsistency, every dubiety, every ambiguity left in.
--David Maclean, quoted in David Hencke, "Tories plot hunt bill dirty tricks," The Guardian, January 17, 2001
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dubiety is from Late Latin dubietas, from Latin dubius, "doubtful, uncertain."
dubiety \doo-BY-uh-tee; dyoo-\, noun: 1. The condition or quality of being doubtful or skeptical. 2. A matter of doubt
Kennedy and O'Connor may think that Title 3 has been violated, but O'Connor and the chief justice are not convinced that the Supreme Court was meant to litigate challenges under that federal statute, and their dubiety here is shared by Justices Scalia and Souter.
--Hadley Arkes, "A Morning at the Court," National Review, December 2, 2000
Despite a lack of forensic evidence, dubiety among the police themselves and inaccuracies in Raymond's confession, he was finally found guilty.
--Maggie Barry, "I've been a screen for the person who killed Pamela," The Mirror, August 10, 2002
Here, the historical evidence would seem to be tricky but free from all dubieties.
--Paul Taylor, "A mechanical science lesson," Independent, November 21, 2001
I want every inconsistency, every dubiety, every ambiguity left in.
--David Maclean, quoted in David Hencke, "Tories plot hunt bill dirty tricks," The Guardian, January 17, 2001
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dubiety is from Late Latin dubietas, from Latin dubius, "doubtful, 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 for Friday January 13, 2006
sesquipedalian \ses-kwuh-puh-DAYL-yuhn\, adjective: 1. Given to or characterized by the use of long words. 2. Long and ponderous; having many syllables.
noun: A long word.
As a sesquipedalian stylist, he can throw a word like 'eponymous" into a sentence without missing a beat.
--Campbell, Patty, "The sand in the oyster," The Horn Book Magazine, May 15, 1996
Plus he has a weakness for what we can mischievously call sesquipedalian excess: Look out for such terms as "epiphenomenal," "diegetic" and "proprioceptive."
--Jabari Asim, "Reel Pioneer," Washington Post, November 19, 2000
They walk and speak with disdain for common folk, and never miss a chance to belittle the crowd in sesquipedalian put-downs or to declare that their raucous and uncouth behavior calls for nothing less than a letter to the Times, to inform proper Englishmen of the deplorable state of manners in the Colonies.
--William C. Martin, "Friday Night in the Coliseum," The Atlantic, March 1972
. . . her eccentric family's addiction to sesquipedalians (that big word for "big words"), and her furtive passion for flossy mail-order-catalog prose.
--David Browne, "Books/The Week," Entertainment Weekly, October 23, 1998
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Sesquipedalian comes from Latin sesquipedalis, "a foot and a half long, hence inordinately long," from sesqui, "one half more, half as much again" + pes, ped-, "a foot."
sesquipedalian \ses-kwuh-puh-DAYL-yuhn\, adjective: 1. Given to or characterized by the use of long words. 2. Long and ponderous; having many syllables.
noun: A long word.
As a sesquipedalian stylist, he can throw a word like 'eponymous" into a sentence without missing a beat.
--Campbell, Patty, "The sand in the oyster," The Horn Book Magazine, May 15, 1996
Plus he has a weakness for what we can mischievously call sesquipedalian excess: Look out for such terms as "epiphenomenal," "diegetic" and "proprioceptive."
--Jabari Asim, "Reel Pioneer," Washington Post, November 19, 2000
They walk and speak with disdain for common folk, and never miss a chance to belittle the crowd in sesquipedalian put-downs or to declare that their raucous and uncouth behavior calls for nothing less than a letter to the Times, to inform proper Englishmen of the deplorable state of manners in the Colonies.
--William C. Martin, "Friday Night in the Coliseum," The Atlantic, March 1972
. . . her eccentric family's addiction to sesquipedalians (that big word for "big words"), and her furtive passion for flossy mail-order-catalog prose.
--David Browne, "Books/The Week," Entertainment Weekly, October 23, 1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sesquipedalian comes from Latin sesquipedalis, "a foot and a half long, hence inordinately long," from sesqui, "one half more, half as much again" + pes, ped-, "a foot."
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
And excellently accomplished!
Aaaaaaa . . . I'm blind . . . I'm blind . . .Brad wrote:Ok, done ... and I even managed to slip in visual pun. I guess we could call that a sight gag ?
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
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Kvetch
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Ostentatiously, Dr Drachmapetros quaffed his drink, a farrago of deliquescing body parts, evanescent embalming fluid, unctous green-bubbling-ooze(TM) and other aberrant gewgaws, in an attempt to crack the hauteur of the officious demagogue who was threatening to trammel his afflatus and immure his greatest creation based on a mere cavil about the venial damage done by his creation's capacious footprints and the jocund claim that his mob constituted a legal quorum.
"I am adamant that will not capitulate to your adventitious demands" he blustered, as day segued into night, the lambent alpenglow of the nearby mountains fading to dappled subfusc sepia, and the rubicund effulgence of the burning torches casting the nearby conurbation into harsh backlighting. "I am a paladin, a votary of what is a truly recondite, indeed, almost ineffable area of study."
Holding a nosegay to his face to stave off the maelstrom of scents from Drachmapetros' drink, the loquacious confrere leading the deputation replied. "We tire of your querulous and mawkish yet vociferous claims to be an exegete among the digerati - claims of great palpable dubiety to say the least. Not to mention your assiduous and sempiternal denial of the benefits of tmisis and the beneficence of laconic language. Indeed, your logorrhea has been bruited as offensive enough to our mores to allow your immediate and propitious immolation to appease the puissant goddess of linguistics, who is a real virago. Thus the onus is upon you to demonstrate that your subterfuges were laudable and that you are not just a twisted voluptuary who occupies himself writing billets-doux to corpses.
And please provide that defense _without_ calling upon your sesquipedalian lexicon - we are not overcome by such oneiric lassitude that we would not venture to provide some form of tocsin, where your person will no longer remain sacrosanct"
Summoning what aplomb he could, Dr Drachmapetros smiled with panache while he used his prestidigititive skills to press the button that would summon his kobold redivivus from it's alfresco sylvan lair. If he could not wheedle his way out of a mobbing, or at a pinch offer pelf as a dissuador, at least his carapaced creation was hale enough to put his opponents to flight.
"I am adamant that will not capitulate to your adventitious demands" he blustered, as day segued into night, the lambent alpenglow of the nearby mountains fading to dappled subfusc sepia, and the rubicund effulgence of the burning torches casting the nearby conurbation into harsh backlighting. "I am a paladin, a votary of what is a truly recondite, indeed, almost ineffable area of study."
Holding a nosegay to his face to stave off the maelstrom of scents from Drachmapetros' drink, the loquacious confrere leading the deputation replied. "We tire of your querulous and mawkish yet vociferous claims to be an exegete among the digerati - claims of great palpable dubiety to say the least. Not to mention your assiduous and sempiternal denial of the benefits of tmisis and the beneficence of laconic language. Indeed, your logorrhea has been bruited as offensive enough to our mores to allow your immediate and propitious immolation to appease the puissant goddess of linguistics, who is a real virago. Thus the onus is upon you to demonstrate that your subterfuges were laudable and that you are not just a twisted voluptuary who occupies himself writing billets-doux to corpses.
And please provide that defense _without_ calling upon your sesquipedalian lexicon - we are not overcome by such oneiric lassitude that we would not venture to provide some form of tocsin, where your person will no longer remain sacrosanct"
Summoning what aplomb he could, Dr Drachmapetros smiled with panache while he used his prestidigititive skills to press the button that would summon his kobold redivivus from it's alfresco sylvan lair. If he could not wheedle his way out of a mobbing, or at a pinch offer pelf as a dissuador, at least his carapaced creation was hale enough to put his opponents to flight.
"I'm the family radical. The rest are terribly stuffy. Aside from Aunt - she's just odd."
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raptor_bob
- Shakespearean Groupie
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