supplant

supplant - verb - to take the place of another, especially through intrigue or underhanded tactics; to take the place of and server as a substitute for

gregarious

gregarious - adj - tending to form a group with others of the same kind; seeking and enjoying the company of others

... or, as the saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together". Recently, however, this list has often felt like a list of one.

impugn

impugn - verb - to attack by words or arguments; to call in question; to make insinuations against; to oppose or challenge as false; to gainsay

I'm on a good pace for a word entry every-other-day. :-(

I'll try to do better, I've been real busy learning new stuff at work.

bedaub

bedaub - verb - to smudge over; to besmear or soil with anything thick and dirty; to overdecorate; to ornament showily or gaudily

Not something done to corn with butter. That would be daub. (get it! ;-)

condescend

condescend – v - To behave as if one is conscious of descending from a superior position, rank, or dignity; to stoop or deign to do something.

Wolf, one of your strengths as a teacher is that you were never condescending.

Today's Exquisite entry is my teenage dream girl Natalie Wood.

petit

petit - adj - small; petty; minor

I was on this kind of jury last week. We tried a case in which we found the defendant guilty on felony charges and sentenced him to a total of 11 years in prison. I promise the process felt anything but petit. Overall, it was a good experience though. I enjoyed being a part of the "system".

jingo

jingo – n - A person who professes his or her patriotism loudly and excessively, favoring vigilant preparedness for war and an aggressive foreign policy; bellicose chauvinist.

Sorry, I've been so busy lately I've had to neglect WoD. By the way, have you noticed there's never a Jeff around when you meed one?

anschluss

Anschluss – n - Union, esp. the political union of Austria with Germany in 1938.

From the German for 'annexation.' The Third Reich annexed Austria in 1938 followed by Czechoslavakia's mostly German-speaking Sudetenland in 1939. These were unintended consequences of the redrawing of the European map by the victors at Versailles, and were part of the buildup to the second world war that the 1919 treaty had, in my opinion, made inevitable.

And now, in honor of J B Wolf, I offer The Pasture, a favorite poem by Robert Frost (1874-1963).

I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;

I'll only stop to rake the leaves away

(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):

I sha'n't be gone long.

You come too.

I'm going out to fetch the little calf

That's standing by the mother.

It's so young, It totters when she licks it with her tongue.

I sha'n't be gone long.

You come too.

arriviste

arriviste - noun - a person who has recently attained success, wealth or high status but not general acceptance or respect; an upstart

tenet

tenet - noun - any opinion, principle, doctrine, dogma, etc., esp. one held as true by members of a profession, group or movement

tortillon

tortillon - noun - a stump made of paper twisted to a point, used in drawing

Inspired by the serendipity of finding the exquisite drawing posted yesterday, I went looking for more pencil art, specifically portraits of people. There are several sites which describe how to perform beautiful renditions, most of them refer to this tool as an indispensable blending tool. The exquisite post today is another pencil drawing, this time with colored pencils.

crescendo

crescendo - noun - A directive to a performer to smoothly increase the volume of a particular phrase or passage.

One of the cartoons my kids used to watch on the Discovery channel featured a musical rocket propelled by the cartoons encouraging the children to pat their legs in a dumming motion. To make the rocket go faster, they needed to be louder, so the cartoons would yell "CRESCENDO", as would my children.

Incidentally, this will conclude (at least temporarily) my foray into the music dictionary for entries. There are so many other words I feel like I've missed in reading recently, I'd like to go back to pick them up and add them.

I am including an exquisite pencil drawing of Natalie Portman. I wish I had the kind of talent this artist does. The ability to make the drawing so very life-like. Especially examine the integrity of each strand of hair.