Is your drone VOLITANT?

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VOLITANT (adj)

1. Flying, or capable of flying.
2. Moving about rapidly.

"When Mother gets violent, frying pans get volitant." (TWITO, page 157)

A variant is VOLITATION (TWITO, page 158) = the act of flying; flight. "Dreams of volitation led Professor Spillings to invent many crash-prone flying machines."

Is your Xmas tree CLINQUANT?

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CLINQUANT (adj)

Glittering, but usually in a false or cheap way, like tinsel

"No, there are too many of these fine sparks you talk of who perhaps may be very clinquant, slight, and bright and make a very pretty show at first, but the tinsel-gentlemen do so tarnish in the wearing, there's no enduring them."
--Thomas Shadwell, The Virtuoso (1676)

I once had a cat that liked to eat the tinsel (of the "icicle" type) off the Christmas tree. Maybe he had an iron deficiency. Anyway, he always threw it up later, in a sort of shiny hairball, which was both pretty from a distance and disgusting close up -- like many things, I guess. (TWITO, page 32)

Would you like a TANTARA when you enter the room?

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TANTARA (noun)

A trumpet or horn fanfare

“Augusta always made quite an impression. Whenever she entered a room, I could almost hear a tantara.” (TWITO, page 145)

Sleepy? Solve your problems the HYPNOETIC way

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HYPNOETIC (adjective)

Pertaining to logical but unconscious mental processes

"When Horace said he would 'sleep on it,' we knew the problem was about to be solved, thanks to his hypnoetic talents." (TWITO, page 68)

Are CARRIWITCHETS the lowest form of humor?

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Carriwitchet (noun)

An absurd question, a pun, a quibble, a conundrum; a jocular or facetious comment

So this hydrogen atom walks into a bar. He goes up to the bartender and orders a beer. He says to the bartender, "I think I've lost an electron." The bartender says, "Are you sure?" The electron says, "Yes, I’m positive." So this carton of yogurt walks into a bar. He goes up to the bartender and orders a beer. The bartender says, "Hey, buddy, we don’t serve yogurt in here." The yogurt says, "Why not? I’m a cultured individual." Etcetera, etcetera. Those are carriwitchets. (TWITO, page 29)

I heard you! Stop battologizing!

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Battologize (verb) (TWITO, page 20)

To repeat oneself excessively

"But when we pray, let us not battologize (i.e., use vain repetitions), but theologize."
--Samuel Miller (quoting the early Christian theologian Origen), "Thoughts on Public Prayer" (1849)

It can be annoying when someone keeps repeating himself, but it can be amusing, too. Whenever you hear the word or catchphrase elsewhere, you think of that person. The verbal tic becomes symbolic of him or her, like a sonic monogram or an aural coat of arms. As the Beatles said, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Here are some words and phrases I hear from battologizers (who shall be nameless) all the time:

circle back
close the loop
have a conversation about....
pretty much
exactly!
What's interesting is....
Can I ask you a question?
over to you
okay, okay, okay
Here's the thing...
whatcha got?

Please, no GD entheomania!

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ENTHEOMANIA (noun)

Abnormal belief that one is divinely inspired

"The king's entheomania was the root cause of his subjects’ general woe."

This is why we don't have a king. Right?

DESIDERATUM? With cream and sugar?

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DESIDERATUM (noun) TWITO, page 16

= something considered necessary or highly desirable

"He was a man of simple tastes, and a cup of coffee--hot and black--was his only morning desideratum. Hers was a mocha coconut frappuccino."

You're no fun -- you're ANTITHALIAN

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ANTITHALIAN (adjective) TWITO, page 16

= Opposed to fun

"Mr. Toobad described her as being fully impressed with the truth of his Ahrimanic philosophy, and being altogether as gloomy and antithalian a young lady as Mr. Glowry himself could desire for the future mistress of Nightmare Abbey."
--Thomas Love Peacock, Nightmare Abbey (1818)

"Ahrimanic" refers to Ahriman, which in Zoroastrianism is the name for a devil or Satan. Would you describe Satan as antithalian? It depends on what kind of fun you’re into, I guess.

Have you heard enough rodomontades, lately?

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rodomontade (noun)

Bragging or bluster, or a rant

"I put down the phone long before Donald finished his rodomontade." (TWITO, page 126)

Too many rodomontades in the news. Strange days indeed.

Heard any psithurism lately?

Psithurism (noun) = the sound of rustling leaves or the wind in the trees

It's that time of year.

Somewhither?

"We wanted to get somewhither away from the furious winds blowing anywhither, but my bicycle was clearly going nowhither with two flat tires. 'Whither those cabins we heard about?' Elias asked. 'Those are elsewither,' I sighed."

That's five underused adverbs I just used!

You may find my sample sentences withering.