DOOLALLY [DOO-lol-lee] (adjective)
Insane, mad, eccentric
"I love talking to people who are a little bit doolally," said Lisa. "Not a lot crazy, just a little bit."
TWITO, page 42
Monday, May 25, 2020
Is the pandemic driving you DOOLALLY?
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today (tonight) it's...
DOOLALLY [DOO-lol-lee] (adjective)
Insane, mad, eccentric
"I love talking to people who are a little bit doolally," said Lisa. "Not a lot crazy, just a little bit."
TWITO, page 42
DOOLALLY [DOO-lol-lee] (adjective)
Insane, mad, eccentric
"I love talking to people who are a little bit doolally," said Lisa. "Not a lot crazy, just a little bit."
TWITO, page 42
Sunday, May 10, 2020
It's so FULGENT that it's hurting my eyes!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today (tonight) it's...
FULGENT [FUL-jent] (adjective)
Shining brilliantly, radiant
"Unable to sleep, he wandered the hills that night, under the fulgent moon."
TWITO, page 58
FULGENT [FUL-jent] (adjective)
Shining brilliantly, radiant
"Unable to sleep, he wandered the hills that night, under the fulgent moon."
TWITO, page 58
Sunday, April 19, 2020
You're talking nothing but BLATHERSKITE!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today it's...
BLATHERSKITE [BLAT-er-skite] (noun)
1. A babbling, foolish person
2. Absurd and foolish talk
"Oh, that's nothing but blatherskite!" cried Miranda when Viola suggested that Mr. Crave might only be interested in her fortune."
TWITO, page 22
BLATHERSKITE [BLAT-er-skite] (noun)
1. A babbling, foolish person
2. Absurd and foolish talk
"Oh, that's nothing but blatherskite!" cried Miranda when Viola suggested that Mr. Crave might only be interested in her fortune."
TWITO, page 22
Sunday, April 05, 2020
A time for LACRIMATION...stay safe
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...
LACRIMATION [lack·ri·MAY·shun] (noun)
Secretion of tears, especially in excess
"Once again, Billy's team lost, and the whole city was filled with lacrimation."
TWITO, page 82
LACRIMATION [lack·ri·MAY·shun] (noun)
Secretion of tears, especially in excess
"Once again, Billy's team lost, and the whole city was filled with lacrimation."
TWITO, page 82
Saturday, March 28, 2020
The longer this lasts, the more PHILOCOMAL I'll be
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
PHILOCOMAL [FI-lo-cohm-al] (adjective)
Characterized by excessive concern with one's hair
"There were ladies present too; and after some pleasant little discourse, all tending to the glorification of hair-dressing, an eminent professor of the philocomal art there present proceeded to a series of practical and illustrative experiments on the heads of some of the young ladies...."
--George Augustus Sala, Twice 'Round the Clock (1858) (TWITO, page 112)
As I isolate at home and practice social distancing during the pandemic, and as all barber shops and hair salons are closed, I have a frustrating problem.
I need a haircut. "We'll see what happens," as you-know-who keeps saying, ad nauseam. You'll likely see a shaggier me (if you see me at all), unless I get too tempted by the scissors -- probably not a good idea.
PHILOCOMAL [FI-lo-cohm-al] (adjective)
Characterized by excessive concern with one's hair
"There were ladies present too; and after some pleasant little discourse, all tending to the glorification of hair-dressing, an eminent professor of the philocomal art there present proceeded to a series of practical and illustrative experiments on the heads of some of the young ladies...."
--George Augustus Sala, Twice 'Round the Clock (1858) (TWITO, page 112)
As I isolate at home and practice social distancing during the pandemic, and as all barber shops and hair salons are closed, I have a frustrating problem.
I need a haircut. "We'll see what happens," as you-know-who keeps saying, ad nauseam. You'll likely see a shaggier me (if you see me at all), unless I get too tempted by the scissors -- probably not a good idea.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
'Tis most vexing to issue forth in antique GODWOTTERY!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
GODWOTTERY (noun)
1. Elaborate gardening
2. The use of archaic language
"Verily, I say, 'tis most vexing to issue forth in antique jottings, as if from the honeyed pen of Shakespeare. One feels like an artless fly-bitten coxcomb! Or a lumpish doghearted wagtail! Or even an impertinent flap-mouthed dewberry! Fie on it! Methinks I must leave off with this gleeking, sheep-biting godwottery! Art thou in agreement?" (TWITO, page 62)
GODWOTTERY (noun)
1. Elaborate gardening
2. The use of archaic language
"Verily, I say, 'tis most vexing to issue forth in antique jottings, as if from the honeyed pen of Shakespeare. One feels like an artless fly-bitten coxcomb! Or a lumpish doghearted wagtail! Or even an impertinent flap-mouthed dewberry! Fie on it! Methinks I must leave off with this gleeking, sheep-biting godwottery! Art thou in agreement?" (TWITO, page 62)
Friday, March 06, 2020
How dare you call my face CABALLINE!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
CABALLINE (adjective)
Suitable for or pertaining to a horse
"How do you expect me to swallow such a caballine tablet?" Mr. Hargreaves asked the bewildered pharmacist. (TWITO, page 26)
CABALLINE (adjective)
Suitable for or pertaining to a horse
"How do you expect me to swallow such a caballine tablet?" Mr. Hargreaves asked the bewildered pharmacist. (TWITO, page 26)
Friday, February 28, 2020
Your ANFRACTUOSITY is confusing me!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
ANFRACTUOSITY (noun)
The quality of having many many twists and turns
"There are chance anfractuosities of ruin in the upper portions of the Coliseum which offer a very fair imitation of the rugged face of an Alpine cliff."
--Henry James, Italian Hours (1909)
Speaking of Henry James, he's a pretty anfractuous writer, in my reading experience. Even the title of perhaps his most famous work, The Turn of the Screw, is twisty. And here's a typically anfractuous Jamesian sentence: "He fairly caught himself shooting rueful glances, shy looks of pursuit, toward the embodied influence, the definite adversary, who had, by a stroke of her own, failed him, and on a fond theory of whose palpable presence he had, under Mrs. Newsome's inspiration, altogether proceeded." If you can parse that, you’re a better ex-English major than I am. (TWITO, page 14)
ANFRACTUOSITY (noun)
The quality of having many many twists and turns
"There are chance anfractuosities of ruin in the upper portions of the Coliseum which offer a very fair imitation of the rugged face of an Alpine cliff."
--Henry James, Italian Hours (1909)
Speaking of Henry James, he's a pretty anfractuous writer, in my reading experience. Even the title of perhaps his most famous work, The Turn of the Screw, is twisty. And here's a typically anfractuous Jamesian sentence: "He fairly caught himself shooting rueful glances, shy looks of pursuit, toward the embodied influence, the definite adversary, who had, by a stroke of her own, failed him, and on a fond theory of whose palpable presence he had, under Mrs. Newsome's inspiration, altogether proceeded." If you can parse that, you’re a better ex-English major than I am. (TWITO, page 14)
Friday, February 21, 2020
Are we keeping you up? Don't OSCITATE!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...
OSCITATE [OSS-it-ayt] (verb)
To yawn or gape
"There are persons whose physical constitutions are so delicate that mere thoughts of taking snuff (and medicines generally) produce the same effect as inhaling the powder itself: now, if the imagination of the reader has a similar influence over his system, he can have no disposition to oscitate while finishing the chapter; on the contrary, the greatest obstacle to his progress will arise from a disposition to sneeze."
--Thomas Ewbank, The Spoon (1844) (TWITO, page 104)
OSCITATE [OSS-it-ayt] (verb)
To yawn or gape
"There are persons whose physical constitutions are so delicate that mere thoughts of taking snuff (and medicines generally) produce the same effect as inhaling the powder itself: now, if the imagination of the reader has a similar influence over his system, he can have no disposition to oscitate while finishing the chapter; on the contrary, the greatest obstacle to his progress will arise from a disposition to sneeze."
--Thomas Ewbank, The Spoon (1844) (TWITO, page 104)
Saturday, February 08, 2020
Ahh! Don't make me SPANGHEW like that!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...
SPANGHEW [SPANG-hyoo] (verb)
To throw or jerk violently, to cause to fly into the air, to jump like a toad or frog
"Damien enjoyed sneaking up behind Mildred, tapping her on the shoulder, and watching her spanghew." (TWITO, page 139)
SPANGHEW [SPANG-hyoo] (verb)
To throw or jerk violently, to cause to fly into the air, to jump like a toad or frog
"Damien enjoyed sneaking up behind Mildred, tapping her on the shoulder, and watching her spanghew." (TWITO, page 139)
Friday, January 31, 2020
Feeling ACEPHALIC today? It's Friday!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
acephalia (noun) acephalic (adjective)
The absence of a head or the absence of a brain
"Comparative anatomy, and acephalic monstrosities among the mammalia and man, furnish incontrovertible proofs of the brain not being the origin of the nervous system at large."
--Johann Gaspar Spurzheim, The Anatomy of the Brain (1826)
Yoko Ono once said, "Consider if it is such a catastrophe to live without your head." She added that it might make it easier to move around, since one's body would be so much lighter. Zen humor aside, I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a state of acephalia. I often live in my head -- the curse or blessing of the introvert, depending on how you look at it. I do have a rich interior life that would be hard to give up.
I wouldn't mind getting rid of the nattering jukebox of stuck records that is sometimes set to forte in my head, though.
TWITO, page 10
acephalia (noun) acephalic (adjective)
The absence of a head or the absence of a brain
"Comparative anatomy, and acephalic monstrosities among the mammalia and man, furnish incontrovertible proofs of the brain not being the origin of the nervous system at large."
--Johann Gaspar Spurzheim, The Anatomy of the Brain (1826)
Yoko Ono once said, "Consider if it is such a catastrophe to live without your head." She added that it might make it easier to move around, since one's body would be so much lighter. Zen humor aside, I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a state of acephalia. I often live in my head -- the curse or blessing of the introvert, depending on how you look at it. I do have a rich interior life that would be hard to give up.
I wouldn't mind getting rid of the nattering jukebox of stuck records that is sometimes set to forte in my head, though.
TWITO, page 10
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Would you like GHOTI for dinner?
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today it's...
GHOTI (noun)
Alternate spelling of "fish"
"What’s this on the menu?" Jordan asked. "It says 'Ghoti'."
"I think they mean fish," Sheila replied. "The chef is a bit pretentious."
Ghoti can be pronounced like "fish":
gh, pronounced like "f" as in tough;
o, pronounced like "i" as in women; and
ti, pronounced like "sh" as in nation
TWITO, page 60
GHOTI (noun)
Alternate spelling of "fish"
"What’s this on the menu?" Jordan asked. "It says 'Ghoti'."
"I think they mean fish," Sheila replied. "The chef is a bit pretentious."
Ghoti can be pronounced like "fish":
gh, pronounced like "f" as in tough;
o, pronounced like "i" as in women; and
ti, pronounced like "sh" as in nation
TWITO, page 60
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
