GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

sangfroid

I'm often bracing myself with utmost sangfroid in advance of voralfred's repartee.

[Algot Runeman]

E.P.S.,

Somehow I would have expected a different kind of bracing...

MONICA

[Algot Runeman]

vaunt

Pronunciation: /vɔːnt /
verb
[with object] (usually as adjective vaunted)
Boast about or praise (something), especially excessively: the much vaunted information superhighway
noun
archaic
A boast.

Origin
late Middle English: the noun a shortening of obsolete avaunt 'boasting, a boast'; the verb (originally in the sense 'use boastful language') from Old French vanter, from late Latin vantare, based on Latin vanus 'vain, empty'.



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Greta Garbo was misunderstood. She didn't seek solitude. She actually said, "I vaunt to be alone." which she intended to mean that she could praise her work and others would simply turn away. She didn't seek an entourage.

[Algot Runeman]

coolth

Pronunciation: /kuːlθ /
noun
[mass noun]
1 Pleasantly low temperature: the coolth of the evening
2 informal The quality of being fashionable: the pinnacle of 1960s coolth

Origin
mid 16th century (but rare before the 20th century): from cool + -th2.

-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?

"In the coolth, coolth, coolth of the evening
Tell 'em I'll be there.
In the coolth, coolth, coolth of the evening
Better have a chair."

"Oh, wait, that isn't the way the song goes."

"Well, why doesn't the song go that way?"

"I don't know; it just doesn't."


Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael via SheetMusicPlus

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

vaunt

coolth

Herr Müller vaunted to prodject coolth.

Put wiz his Gestapo costume, it vas an idle vish.

He just appeared icy and full of sh*t zreat.

[Algot Runeman]

reticent

Pronunciation: /ˈrɛtɪs(ə)nt /
adjective
Not revealing one’s thoughts or feelings readily: she was extremely reticent about her personal affairs

Origin
mid 19th century: from Latin reticent- 'remaining silent', from the verb reticere, from re- (expressing intensive force) + tacere 'be silent'.



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Rachel is never reticent. She babbles on about everything, all the time. She's also known for her Facebook "contributions." It does not seem to matter to her fans that Rachel's information is consistently incomplete, regularly inaccurate and frequently pointless.

[Then, again, some of the sample sentences submitted here are similarly silly. ]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

reticent

What with all the -scent words we've had, somehow I feel a letter was dropped from reticent.

(though I suspect this could be a "shopped" picture)

[Algot Runeman]

What with all the -scent words we've had, somehow I feel a letter was dropped from reticent.

There you go, E.P.S., raising a "stink" again.

Stinky Rhyme

The -scent was meant
To to have intent
When the post
Was recently sent.

Some read it straight
As E.P.S. planned.
One twisted hard
To make it bent.

[Algot Runeman]

timorous

Pronunciation: /ˈtɪm(ə)rəs /
adjective
Showing or suffering from nervousness or a lack of confidence: a timorous voice

Origin
late Middle English (in the sense 'feeling fear'): from Old French temoreus, from medieval Latin timorosus, from Latin timor 'fear', from timere 'to fear'.


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Tommy was never timorous. He stood bravely at the bow in any kind of weather. He stared haughtily at the crashing waves, not like his brother Tim or us. No, we all cowered and cringed at any sluce of sea foam along the yacht's deck.

[Algot Runeman]

toboggan

Pronunciation: /təˈbɒɡ(ə)n /
noun
A long, light, narrow vehicle, typically on runners, used for sliding downhill over snow or ice.
verb
[no object] (usually as noun tobogganing) Back to top
Ride on a toboggan: he thought he would enjoy the tobogganing

Origin
early 19th century: from Canadian French tabaganne, from Micmac topaĝan 'sled'.


The Forest History Society

==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==

The toboggan was hidden in the attic, waiting for Christmas day. The family would also have to wait for some snow to go sliding. This year, it was not looking good for a white Christmas.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

toboggan

I shall let this toboggan slide right by me ...

[voralfred]

toboggan

I shall let this toboggan slide right by me ...

Strange !
You are not so reticent, usually.
Has your coolth melted away ? Are you becoming timorous

In the series: "faux amis", toboggan in present-day continental french is very rarely used to mean a sled (in fact I never heard it used this way, but apparently Google Translate does mention the meaning "sled" though other dictionaries do not). The normal meaning is the chute, the slide, along which one goes down, sometimes riding a sled (in sky resorts, but on a few special slopes carefully separated from the skiers) but mostly just "bodily" (children's toboggans in playgrounds, water toboggans in waterparks...) Whether the Quebequois use it mostly to mean the sled itself, even now, I cannot vouch.

[Algot Runeman]

bourgeoisie

Pronunciation: /ˌbʊəʒwɑːˈziː /
noun
[treated as singular or plural]
1 The middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes: the rise of the bourgeoisie at the end of the eighteenth century the landed gentry were replaced by a local bourgeoisie
1.1 (In Marxist contexts) the capitalist class who own most of society’s wealth and means of production: the conflict of interest between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

Origin
early 18th century: French, from bourgeois.


MsEmma

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Robert wanted nothing more than to be seen as part of the bourgeoisie. Of course, working as a burger flipper at a fast food establishment didn't give him much social leg up, nor did his minimum wage earnings.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Better lose any timorousness but keep your sangfroid for these stunts:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/trave ... tions.html

BTW.
Also check out my remark about viewtopic.php?f=63&t=121661#p1893103

[Algot Runeman]

Childe

Pronunciation: /tʃʌɪld /
noun
[in names] archaic or literary
A youth of noble birth: Childe Harold

Origin
late Old English, variant of child.


A Lady Dressmaker

While noble children may formerly have been called "Childe Harold", it is fairly common today to identify an unborn child as "Baby Jones", using the surname instead of the given name. Nobility isn't in question, either, as far as I know.

[Algot Runeman]

orthoepy

Pronunciation: /ˈɔːθəʊɛpi , -iːpi, ɔːˈθəʊɪpi /
noun
[mass noun]
1 The correct or accepted pronunciation of words.
1.1 The study of correct or accepted pronunciation.

Origin
mid 17th century: from Greek orthoepeia 'correct speech', from orthos 'right or straight' + epos, epe- 'word'.


See OED for "orthoepy" pronounciations


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If you look closely to the definition above, you might see that orthoepy illustrates the challenges of the word itself. There appear to be TWO accepted pronunciations. To me, that smacks of the absurd. Then again, look to the way English speakers cling to the notion that even the names of capitols of foreign nations need not be pronounced as the locals do. Just think "Paris" and how it is said.

[Algot Runeman]

terpsichorean

Pronunciation: /ˌtəːpsɪkəˈriːən /
formal or humorous
adjective
Relating to dancing: ‘the twist’ was a revolutionary terpsichorean innovation
noun
A dancer.

Origin
early 19th century: from Terpsichore (used in the 18th century to denote a female dancer or the art of dance) + -an.


Benjamin Jakabek

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Though there was no rushin' to judgement, Betty and Bob enjoyed the ballet performed by the Korean terpsichoreans.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

terpsichorean

I googled for 'dance styles'. I got a page about terpsichorean styles which is truly impressive:

Wikipedia's list

One of the most magically enchanting is the "Dance Of The Thousand Arms":

http://youtu.be/EAL9hkDQ7IE?t=3m10s

[Algot Runeman]

I wonder if that the foot-played keyboard in the movie "Big" with Tom Hanks might be called a terpsichord in reminicence of the harpsichord.


via New York Daily News

[Algot Runeman]

cumbersome

Pronunciation: /ˈkʌmbəs(ə)m /
adjective
1 Large or heavy and therefore difficult to carry or use; unwieldy: cumbersome diving suits
1.1 Slow or complicated and therefore inefficient: organizations with cumbersome hierarchical structures

Origin
late Middle English (in the sense 'difficult to get through'): from cumber + -some1.


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Carl, the new building superintendent, carried the cumbersome screwdriver up two flights from the basement. Then he examined the screw head and decided he might do better with a slightly smaller tool.

[Algot Runeman]

emulous

Pronunciation: /ˈɛmjʊləs /
adjective
formal
1 Seeking to emulate someone or something.
1.1 Motivated by a spirit of rivalry: emulous young writers

Origin
late Middle English (in the sense 'imitating'): from Latin aemulus 'rival'. Current senses date from the mid 16th century.


Todd Jordan

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The bookstore was his haven,
His source of King and Poe.
On the window drawn a raven.
Black contrast to Maine's snow.

Charlie there stood tremulous
At King's signing table.
Wanting to be emulous,
Doubting he was able.

After the signing, King spent an extra hour talking in the back room with the employees and a few super-regular customers like Charlie. King revealed himself as a regular guy and encouraged Charlie to write, write, write. It was obvious that Charlie also was willing to read, read, read.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

emulous

Though Pyrite Amos's mule was normally very sure-footed, this time his pack animal skidded, lost its balance and fell to its death in the ravine.

He found a way to climb down to the ravine's floor to retrieve his gear.

Stubborn as he was, he wanted to continue his prospecting, but he would be emulous henceforth.

Pyrite Amos wisely decided he had better return to town to get a new mule first.

[Algot Runeman]

tenebrous

Pronunciation: /ˈtɛnɪbrəs /
adjective
literary
Dark; shadowy or obscure: the tenebrous spiral staircase of the self

Origin
late Middle English: via Old French from Latin tenebrosus, from tenebrae 'darkness'.


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Hiding in the secluded, tenebrous corner, Jake hoped he would not be seen. Because it was dark and his mood matched, he decided to get tenebriated with his usual bottle of rum. He did not want to share.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

tenebrous

The Inverness constable replied:
"Look laddie, that you got inebriated and in this pea soup lost your way in the docklands, I can understand.
But it's entirely tenebrous to me how you managed to lose three teeth without remembering it.
Perhaps our ME, Dr. Bell, can explain it, but I myself or even Mr. Holmes haven't the foggiest idea."

[Algot Runeman]

labrum

Pronunciation: /ˈleɪbrəm /
noun (plural labra /-brə/)
Zoology
A structure corresponding to a lip, especially the upper border of the mouthparts of a crustacean or insect.

Origin
early 18th century: from Latin, literally 'lip'; related to labium.


Sam Droege

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Considering that crustaceans and insects have exoskeletons, it is very clear that they would show strong resolve because of having a stiff upper labrum. Tut, tut, old bean, and all that rot.

[E.P.S. Just how does a dentist deal with a patient with a stiff upper lip? It must be difficult to get at the front teeth!]

[[A side note, interesting if only to me, ODO showed me yesterday's WotD when I went to the website. Undaunted, this intrepid purveyor of words selected another. Just after the job was done, though, ODO bounced right back with a new word: resilient. You may feel free to plafully palaver at will. (Er, does one who talks too much get called a palaverer?)]]