squamous

squamous - adj - Covered with or formed of scales; scaly.

Another word from H. P. Lovecraft. I've never much cared for his writing, yet from time to time I find myself drawn to it. I'd call it a guilty pleasure, but one story is usually enough to put me off his stories for another year or two. (But try his good story Pickman's Model.)

Meanwhile, my fascination with the non-exquisite Lindsay Lohan continues. I can't accept that a girl can be such severly damaged goods at age 21.

(Word of the Week indeed!)

terminus

terminus - noun - the finishing point; the end; a boundary, border or limit; the post or stone marking a boundary; the end of a railroad or other transportation line

cognoscenti

cognoscenti – n - Persons who have superior knowledge and understanding of a particular field, esp. in the fine arts, literature, and world of fashion.

Yes, I'm still here, but I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger lately.

oblation

oblation - noun - the act of offering something, such as worship or thanks; the act of offering the bread and wine of Eucharist; something offered in a religious rite or as a charitable gift

trend

trend - noun - the general course or prevailing tendency; drift


It seem we have all become too busy to continue the 'Word of the Day'. Perhaps this is better titled 'Word of the Week'.

canard

canard – n - A false or baseless, usually derogatory story, report, or rumor.

How could we have missed this wonderful word for so long? I am now awaiting an opportunity to say, "That is a vile canard, Sir!" and challenge somebody to a duel. Do you have a flintlock pistol I can borrow?

A publicist recently said of Lindsey Lohan, "She can't sing, she can't act, and she's got the face of a weasel in heat." Well, here she is after 63 days of rehab.

maladroit

maladroit - adj - clumsy; awkward

One reference said "not adroit", to which I responded "no kidding!". Somehow adding part of the word to the definition seems wrong

arrogant

arrogant – adj - Making claims or pretensions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming; insolently proud.

We all know I have a problem with the Deadly Sin of Lust. It's less well-known that Pride sometimes gets the best of me, which is why I have to be constantly on my guard lest I find people using today's word to describe me.

imprudent

imprudent - adj - lacking discretion; incautious; rash

Something in the same vein as misspeak.

misspeak

misspeak – v - To speak, utter, or pronounce incorrectly; to speak inaccurately, inappropriately, or too hastily.

When a politician or other public figure claims to have misspoken what he means is:
1) I inadvertently told the truth.
2) I forgot myself and said what I really believed.
Keep this in mind as you watch the carefully scripted, poll-driven, focus-group-tested mouthing of sound-bites laughingly called presidential debates.

roue

roue - noun - a man devoted to a life of sensual pleasure; a debauchee; a rake

Caligula comes to mind as a prominent example of this word. He is well known as the emperor who would invite his friends and their wives to dinner then, in the middle of the meal, take a friends wife and have sex with her. After having sex with her, Caligula would return to the table to finish his meal and extol or deride the woman's sexual behaviors to her husband.

bouleversement

bouleversement (bool-vair-suh-MAWN) - noun - complete overthrow; a reversal; a turning upside down

I have had to put my laptop in the shop to get the latch fixed so I could open the lid. This has left me bereft of my ability to keep track of what words have been entered temporarily. I do have a backup which I'll be using in the interim, and there is no date on when I'll be getting the computer back from the shop since it hasn't even been shipped off to get fixed yet (GAH!!!).