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!!!).

intelligentsia

intelligentsia – n - Intellectuals considered as a group or class, esp. as a cultural, social, or political elite.

Today's word came up in Richard Pipes's Concise History of the Russian Revolution. Pipes says - and I agree - that intelligentsia are needed to produce revolutions (as opposed to reforms) because they regard the mass of humanity as mere abstractions, imperfect life forms in need of the molding only the intellectual elite can provide. Historical examples would be France in 1789, Russia in 1917, and the United States today.

William F. Buckley once said that he would rather be governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston telephone directory than by the combined faculties of Harvard and MIT. Agreed.

in totu

in toto - In all; completely; entirely; wholly.

I came across this term last night in Jacque Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence, which I strongly recommend. (I take exception to some of his conclusions, but he's worth disagreeing with.)

By the way, I'm still recuperating from your beating me on the draw re reductio ad absurdum. ;^D

embonpoint

embonpoint - noun - (ahn-bohn-PWAN) plumpness of person; stoutness

I found this quote on wikipedia, "The Western ideal considers a slim and slender body mass as optimal while many historic cultures consider an embonpoint or plump body-mass as appealing". The article went on to talk about how US women failed to recognize what men find attractive, believing a slimmer than average appearance was more attractive. In reality, most men found women of average build to be more attractive.

isthmus

isthmus – n - A narrow strip of land, bordered on both sides by water, connecting two larger bodies of land.

I know most people consider the whole subject tiresome, just something to be gotten past in school, but my interest in history is life-long. I may have been the only five-year-old in the Western hemisphere who could have named all the US presidents and told you something about them (admittedly, nothing very penetrating - I was five!). Anyone interested in history is going to develop some knowledge of geography, and I thought I'd devote a few entries to the subject.

That's the isthmus of Corinth shown above, separating the Pelloponese (home of the Spartans) from what may still be called Attica (home of the Athenians).

cavil

cavil – v - To raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault with unnecessarily; to oppose by inconsequential, frivolous, or sham objections; a trivial and annoying objection; the raising of such objections.

petabyte

petabyte - noun - One quadrillion (10 to the 15th power) bytes

I found this word in this wonderful email signature:

"Peta" is Greek for fifth; a petabyte is 10 to the fifth power, as
well as fifth in line after kilo, mega, giga, and tera.

However notice the mistake: 10^5 is 100000 which is less than mega, quite a bit less than giga and a huge amount less than tera. The correct reference should have been 1000^5. Interestingly, since we deal in powers of 2 (binary) for digital computers, the actual number of a petabyte is 1024^5 (2^50) or 1,125,899,906,842,624. Given the discrepancy between 1000^5 and 2^50, it has been suggested that petabyte be equal to 1000^5 while pebibyte be equal to 2^50, but this isn't widely used. In reality, most people probably don't know what comes after terabyte anyway.

Here is some extra history about the prefix 'Peta' which is interesting:
Adopted in 1975, it comes from the Greek πέντε, meaning five, because it is equal to 1000^5. It is based on the model of tera- (from Greek τέρας = 'monster', but looking like tetra- from the Greek for "four" with a letter missing, and so peta-, coming from penta-, omits the third letter, n.

cavort

cavort – v - To prance or caper about; to behave in a high-spirited, festive manner; make merry.

I've been getting precious little of this done lately.

via media

via media – n - A middle way; a mean between two extremes.

C. S. Lewis believed Anglicanism to be the via media between Catholicism and more standard forms of Protestantism. Today, Anglicanism (and its American offshoot Episcopalianism) seems to be the via media between Unitarianism and paganism.

About ten years ago I read an article by Christopher Buckley in which he fielded the question, "Is sex still sexy?" Back when today's featured exquisite, Yvette Mimieux, was making the rounds it was. Here she is with Rod Taylor in George Pal's Time Machine (1960), where she played Weena. (Some time we'll have to discuss the ways in which movie-makers keep getting H. G. Wells wrong. Pal missed the point too, but he gave us an entertaining movie.)

edgewise

edgewise - adv - with the edge forward; in the direction of the edge; sideways

Exactly how I'm trying to get my words in these days. I've been fairly busy.

unconscionable

unconscionable – adj - Not guided by conscience; unscrupulous; not in accordance with what is just or reasonable; excessive; extortionate.

I'd write more but I'm too blinded with rage after squirting away 22 irreplacable minutes on our daily time-waster, scrum.

plebiscite

plebiscite - n - A direct vote in which the entire electorate is invited to accept or refuse a proposal: a vote in which a population exercises the right of national self-determination.

Natalie beat me to the punch on "plebian," so here's a derived word.

rake

rake - noun - an agricultural implement with teeth or tines for gathering cut grass, hay or the like or for smoothing the surface of the ground; a dissolute or profligate person, esp. a man who is licentious

I received an email with an attachment from a friend which was a movie clip of a particular Jeopardy game in which the contestant used the word rake in the context of the second definition presented here.

culpable

culpable - adj - Deserving blame or censure; blameworthy.

From my Latin mass days:

Mea culpa!
Mea culpa!
Mea maxima culpa!

(Through my fault! Through my fault! Through my most grievous fault!) The reference is to Christ's atonement for the sins of mankind through his death on the cross.

Today's example shows yet again how even a little knowledge of Latin (and Greek) helps build our English vocabulary. Wolf, you already knew that, but will you deny that most English speakers would benefit greatly by taking a page from our book?

corpus delicti

corpus delicti – n - The basic element or fact of a crime, as, in murder, the death of the murdered person; the object, as the body of a murdered person, upon which a crime has been committed and that serves as evidence proving that the crime was committed.

Playing catch-up. Busy, busy, busy.

forage

forage - noun - the act of searching for provisions of any kind

I use this word frequently when I don't bring my lunch from home and have to go looking for it.

reductio ad absurdum

reductio ad absurdum - noun - a reduction to an absurdity; the refutation of a proposition by demonstrating the inevitably absurd conclusion to which it would logically lead


At some level, this word (phrase) seems appropriate given the post to the youtube video about the answer why most Americans can't find their own country on a map. However, this word was inspired by this item on: reddit. If you read the article referred to by the comment, make sure not to miss the point of the article - which isn't to call Java programmers stupid.

supererogatory

supererogatory – adj - Going beyond the requirements of duty; greater than that required or needed; superfluous.

No, this is not a useless word; I've often seen it in print.

And now, here's a product of our public schools favoring us with her opinion. (I almost hate to post this. She really is a beautiful girl, and her smile lights up every room she enters. She long ago learned that a guy will do just about anything for her, but now she's a worldwide figure of fun. That's her on the right.)

manumit

manumit - verb - to free from slavery or servitude

A mandate during the year of jubilee.

pukka

pukka - adj - authentic; genuine; good of its kind; first-class

mulct

mulct - verb - to punish for an offense or misdemeanor by imposing a fine or demanding forfeiture; to defraud; to swindle

So, if you have been punished by having to pay a fine, you have been swindled. Remember that the next time you have to pay a traffic ticket.

melodrama

melodrama – n - A dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and that exaggerates emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization.

Very popular, especially in Victorian England - but not only there by any means, and not only then either. Still, I grow nostalgic for a time I never knew when I think of Varney the Vampire, Sweeney Todd (the demon barber of Fleet Street), Sawney Beane and his cannibal family, etc.

tout court

tout court - adv - Briefly: without qualification or additional information.

A foreign term for the reading vocabulary.

And now - humor a middle-aged fat man with trifocals - another modern who strikes my fancy, Charlize Theron. She does a great Georgia accent, and she gave one of the gutsiest answers I've ever heard in an interview. When asked why she left South Africa (she's a Boer!), she replied, "It was no place for a pretty white girl." Her one defect, which I find easy to overlook, is that she's only an inch shorter than I am; in heels, she'd be a little taller.

bill of attainder

bill of attainder - n - A legislative act pronouncing a person guilty of a crime, usually treason, without trial and subjecting that person to capital punishment and attainder. Such acts are prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.

I ran into this term while reading the debates on the Constitution (in 2,000+ surprisingly interesting pages). I'm trying to figure out where we went wrong, and I'm starting my search at the beginning.

Today's exquisite is Connie Nielsen. One of the things I like about her is that she looks like a grownup.

impudent

impudent – adj - Of, pertaining to, or characterized by impertinence or effrontery: The student was kept late for impudent behavior.

A favorite saying of adults in the days of my youth was, "Of all the impudent tricks, that one beats all!"

leave

leave - noun - permission to be absent, as from work or military duty

Yes, I'm going to leave (the verb) so I'll not be updating words that frequently. It's time for my annual two week military duty - so I'm taking (somewhat) leave of this list for perhaps that long. I'll still have internet access, so you may still see words appear here.

verily

verily – adv - In truth; really; indeed.

Inspired by my reading of John's Gospel.

jeremiad

jeremiad - noun - A tale of sorrow, disappointment or complaint; a doleful story; a dolorous or angry tirade

parse

parse - verb - To resolve into its component parts; to examine closely or critically; to make sense of; to comprehend; to analyze or separate into more easily processed components


Something we do everyday. What is interesting is that (I'm guessing here) most people probably associate this word with computer science.

chattel

chattel – n - A movable article of personal property; any article of tangible property other than land, buildings, and other things annexed to land; a slave.

Slaves were a prime example in our history, but the issue was never quite so cut and dried as many moderns now see it. A Northern factory worker worked - if he was lucky - five 12-hour days a week and eight on Saturday for bare-subsistence wages; a slave may have worked from dawn to dusk but he got free room, board, and medical attention. If the factory worker was unable to work for any reason, age,injury, or illness, he was out of luck; a slave had full retirement benefits until death. George Washington made an inventory of his assets in 1795 and discovered that he owned 317 slaves, only 104 of whom were actually working; the rest were either too old, too young, or too sick. In other words, better than two-thirds of his work force called in sick every day.

Of course, slavery had its down side, starting with the fact that a slave couldn't quit his job. My point is only that the issue is not quite so black-and-white as may appear on first glance. (And - No! - I am not defending slavery.)

rusticate

rusticate - verb - to go into or reside in the country; to pursue a rustic life

Not for me! I'm all about technology (got to have my high-bandwidth internet), which is usually more available in the city than the country. Still, I enjoy visiting the country; it's beautiful out there.

wax

wax – v - To grow or become.

We all know what wax is, but I want to call attention to its verb form. For example, I have a marked tendency to wax nostalgic, to wax sentimental, etc.

And now, here's today's exquisite female (men are many things, but exquisite is an adjective I'd hate to have applied to me). We tend to think of Elizabeth Taylor as an aged fat woman, but here's what she looked like in her youth. At age eight I saw her in Raintree County and fell in love for the first time in my life.

august

august – adj - Inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur; majestic.

Playing catch-up. One word leads to another.

venerable

venerable – adj - Commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity; worthy of veneration or reverence, as because of high office or noble character.

I can't believe this hasn't already been used. Anyway, what brought it to mind is I was doing some reading on Augustus Caesar (63 BC - AD 14), which made me think of the title he was awarded by the Senate: Augustus, i.e., 'venerable one.'

stasis

stasis - noun - a state of balance, equilibrium or stagnation; stoppage of the normal flow of a bodily fluid or semifluid

punctilious

punctilious - adj - Strictly attentive to the details of form in action or conduct; precise; exact in the smallest particulars

It helps to be described this way when involved in computer programming. As with other things, 'The devil is in the details'.

coruscate

coruscate - verb - To give off or reflect beams or flashes of light; to sparkle; to exhibit brilliant, sparkling technique or style

Just what might 'sparkling technique' mean? If I'm writing a program, how would I demonstrate 'sparkling technique'?

uphold

uphold – v To support or defend, as against opposition or criticism.

The reason I've picked such a common word is to illustrate one of the hazards of reading old documents. The specific example I have in mind comes from the debates over the proposed constitution for the United States (1787-88). A supporter of the constitution accused one of his opponents of "upholding ratification" in their state, which sounds funny until you realize that his use of "uphold" was synonymous with "hold up." Let the modern reader - me included - beware!

confabulation

confabulation - noun - Familiar talk; easy, unrestrained, unceremonious conversation; a plausible but imagined memory that fills in gaps in what is remembered


You'd think there would be a more common word for common conversation. I guess the closest I can think of would be 'small talk'.

revanche

revanche - n - The act of retaliating; revenge; A usually political policy, as of a nation or an ethnic group, intended to regain lost territory or standing.

The United States is now how to anywhere from 12 to 35 million revanchists. The beauty shown at left, Gina Lollobrigida, is not one of them.

tortuous

tortuous - adj - Marked by repeated turns and bends; not straight forward; devious; highly involved or intricate


Well, today is my 14th wedding anniversary, and it should be noted that this word only applies to that fact in-so-far as it is used in the repeated turns and bends sense (as opposed to devious!). It has been a fun 14 years (with all those turns and bends), and I'm looking forward to many more of them (turns and bends included).

expostulate

expostulate – v - To reason earnestly with someone against something that person intends to do or has done; remonstrate.

Today's "beauty" is Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), shown here at age 28. I have always been amazed that many people consider here one of the great beauties of all time. She's not unattractive by any means, but she's not exactly in the Helen of Troy class either.

gallimaufry

gallimaufry - noun - A medley; a hodgepodge.

This is a fun word! I have been terribly busy with a veritable gallimaufry of tasks. I have also been pair-programming quite a bit, so I haven't been at my desk to submit my words. I have a few to submit though, so I'll try to be more attentive.

lex talionis

lex talionis – n - The principle or law of retaliation that a punishment inflicted should correspond in degree and kind to the offense of the wrongdoer, as an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; retributive justice.

And now, for no better reason than that I like looking at pretty girls, here's Grace Kelly, whose Hollywood career ended when she married Prince Ranier of Monaco and started a new life as Princess Grace.

simoleon

simoleon – n - A dollar.

A slang word for today, and, to make up for it, an exquisite from yesteryear: Sandra Dee (sadly, the late Sandra Dee).

trepidation

trepidation - noun - tremulous fear, alarm or agitation; perturbation

My son left for church camp today with a bit of trepidation. I told him not to worry, he was going to have more fun than he could handle. I'm not sure if my reassurances helped.

triskaidekaphobia

triskaidekaphobia - noun - a morbid fear of then number thirteen or Friday the 13th


Say that word three times fast! Extra bonus points today if you can find a way to get this word into normal conversation and actually pronounce it correctly.

elephantine

elephantine - adj - Of great mass; huge and bulky.

If Porthos was portly, Nero Wolfe was elephantine.

I go back to the 14th Century B.C. for today's exquisite: Queen Nefertiti.

portly

portly - adj - rather heavy or fat; stout; corpulent; (archaic) stately, dignified or imposing

Porthos is described thus in The Three Musketeers, maybe there is a relation to his name?? (probably not).

sere

sere - adj - dry; withered

And in unrelated news, here is an exquisite entry, which we haven't had in a while, from my favorite source, domai.com that is neither dry nor withered.

tendentious

tendentious - adj - Marked by a strong implicit point of view; partisan.

heterodox

heterodox - adj - Contrary to or differing from some acknowledged standard, especially in church doctrine or dogma; unorthodox; holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines

deduction

deduction – n -A process of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the premises presented, so that the conclusion cannot be false if the premises are true.

I'm back and very glad to be back.

Today's word was inspired by yesterday's 'rationication' and by the much earlier entry 'induction.' Wolf, it may be time for us to dive yet again into that Sherlock Holmes omnibus we have on our shelves, an enjoyable exercise I've undertaken periodically since that glorious winter of 1959, when I was first introduced to that greatest of all fictional detectives. (Sorry Auguste, Jane, Nero, Hercule, Perry, and Philip, but he's still the man to beat after better than a century.)

ratiocination

ratiocination - noun - the process of reasoning

agglomerate

agglomerate - verb - to collect or gather into a collection or mass

I found this word while reading about Unix System Administration. The author was referring to the various admin tips and techniques usually found in such a book.

collude

collude - verb - to act in concert; to conspire; to plot


I'm surprised I haven't used this one before since it is such a cool word. In this case I'm thinking of the behavior on the part of Cardinal R. in The Three Musketeers who plots to subvert the Queen. The other primary participants are the Count Rochefort and Milady Clark.

clamber

clamber - verb - to climb with difficulty, or on all fours; to scramble

revenant

revenant – n - A person who returns; a person who returns as a spirit after death; ghost.

Examples would be Jesus Christ, Napoleon Bonaparte, and one other whose anonymity on this blog will be respected.

agon

agon - noun - a struggle or contest; conflict; especially between the protagonist and antagonist in a literary work.

For example, D'Artagnan's man of Meung, the Count Rochfort, a cardinalist, who seems always to be just one step of the hero. I'm speaking, of course, of the conflict, not the characters.

risible

risible – adj - Causing or capable of causing laughter; laughable; ludicrous.

"Fool me once, shame on - shame on you - fool me - eh - can't get fooled again!" -

Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1800

rejoinder

rejoinder - noun - An answer to a reply; or, in general, an answer or reply

I don't know if this one has been used yet, I'll check later when I get the chance.

rejoinder

rejoinder - noun - An answer to a reply; or, in general, an answer or reply

I don't know if this one has been used yet, I'll check later when I get the chance.

xenophobia

xenophobia – n - An unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.

Cultural Marxism, popularly known as political correctness, is a real vocabulary builder. My objections to the ongoing barbarian invasion of my favorite country are popularly attributed to xenophobia (when they're not dismissed as racism). If that's the case, I can offer at least one strong argument in favor of both those unmentionables.

palliate

palliate - verb - to reduce in violence (said of diseases); to lessen or abate; to cover by excuses and apologies; to extenuate; to reduce in severity; to make less intense


I was talking with a friend of mine today who hatched a plan to stop his 15 year-old brother-in-law from surfing porn on his computer while he (my friend) was at work. Of course, my friend runs Linux, so the matter is simple. He installed appropriate software and setup what appeared to be an FBI notification of illegal behavior, then sprung the trap on the unsuspecting adolescent last night. After capturing logs containing every site he had been to, my friend confronted the youth with fabricated story (which actually isn't that far from what could actually happen) about losing his job, house, etc. Let's just say the effect was dramatic.

leitmotif

leitmotif - noun - In music drama, a marked melodic phrase or short passage which always accompanies the reappearance of a certain person, situation, abstract idea, or allusion in the course of the play; a sort of musical label; a dominant and recurring theme.

I'm sitting here listening, as I frequently do while working, to the musical soundtracks from the StarWars movies. I'm a huge fan of John Williams' scores. He really seems to have a knack for emotionally charging a particular scene, or getting your to feel a certain dread, animation, excitement, or other emotional connection to the action or characters on-screen.

I'm sure just about anyone can hear the theme titled "A New Hope" and know it pertains to Luke Skywalker, or to certian other themes and know Jar Jar Binks is about to be on screen and do something ridiculous. The most famous, and probably most recognizable theme, is "Lord Vader's March".

The concept of musical labels goes back a long time (especially in movies) to early themes in which the music was played by the organist or some other player in the theater as the movie was run. The particular sounds emitted were cues the bad guy (or good guy, or beautiful damsel - possibly in distress) were about to be or were indeed on the screen. This particular idiom has become such a part of our current concept of entertainment - it makes it into tv shows, and children playing make their own music (humming tunes or singing in various voices) to indicate a particular suspensful or action packed time of their play. I can say I am guilty of having played in this fashion while I was a child - often with some comic interpretation by my parents who happened to overhear such renditions.

concomitant

concomitant – adj - Existing or occurring with something else, often in a lesser way; accompanying; concurrent.

What follows has nothing to do with today's word, but I found it so interesting I had to pass it on.

As you know, women outnumber men in the developed world, and they've outnumbered them since about the 12th Century. Based on the available - and admittedly spotty and largely anecdotal - evidence, the situation was reversed right up until the High Middle Ages. What happened? It seems that women of child-bearing age need twice as much iron in their diets as men; pregnant women need three times as much. The typical diet in, for example, ancient Rome was heavy on grains, fruits, green vegetables, olives, and fish, with the result that most women were severely anemic by the time they were in their 20s, which in turn made them easy prey to any virus or bacterial infection that was making the rounds. Starting in the 11th Century West, beans and peas were introduced, rabbits were brought to France and England from Spain, and the supply of meat in general increased. Result: women at all levels were getting an iron-rich diet and living longer; in fact, they started outliving men.

One point is that women weren't being starved or worked to death by an oppressive, sexist patriarchy, and the drivel being promoted by the Womyns' Studies types is just that - drivel. Men and women were subsisting on the same diets; the effect on women was catastrophic, on men negligible. To drive the point a little further home, it wasn't until the 20th Century that anyone would have known what you were talking about if you had mentioned vitamins and minerals as they pertained to diet.

epicene

epicene - adj - having the characteristics of both sexes; effeminate; unmasculine; sexless; neuter; having but one form of the noun for both the male and female

lumpen

lumpen - adj - of or pertaining to dispossessed and displaced individuals, especially those who have lost social status; common; vulgar;

Jumping on a similar concept with the comments Jack posted today.

porcine

porcine – adj - Of or pertaining to swine; resembling swine; hoggish; piggish.

Today's word was inspired by the photograph on my new state ID. I was sufficiently horrified to go on a diet, and this time I'm going all the way. (Now if I could only get more exercise. . .)

To tell the truth, I reminded myself of Charles Laughton as Quasimodo in the 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame. I might consider a career change if I found a cathedral in the market for a bell-ringer.

incipient

incipient - adj - beginning to exist or appear


In my last post I mentioned the drudgery of work and how the winds of change were beginning to blow. They have certainly gusted recently and this word is in honor of my new position, beginning in two weeks.

nymphomania

nymphomania - n - Abnormally excessive and uncontrollable sexual desire in women.

I was going to make 'satyriasis' my word for today, but - lo and behold! - it's already been used - and by me, no less! (I can't remember if I remarked that, when I was younger, I was "heterosexual to the threshhold of satyriasis," but if I didn't then, I will now. Absurd as it may seem, much of that remains as I pass from middle- to old-age. Of the Seven Deadly Sins, Lust has always been deadliest to me.)

I must have considered using today's word before, but no doubt refrained out of respect for that "rare and radiant maiden(?) whom the angels named" Natalie. Well, Nat's gone, and our daily institution need no longer be rated PG-13.

Check out one of my favorite sculptures, Gianlorenzo Bernini's Apollo and Daphne (completed 1625).

perfunctory

perfunctory - adj - done merely to carry out a duty; performed mechanically or routinely; lacking interest, care, enthusiasm; indifferent


I'm am largely surprised I (or someone) have not submitted this word already. Although, at this point it largely describes my approach to work. Have you ever seen the movie, "Office Space"? It is largely a satirical treatise on the "normal" office environment. Largely (I think) inspired by the Dilbert comic strip. In one particular scene, the "contractors" are there to evaluate where cuts can be made and are interviewing each employee. The hero (antihero?) of the movie sits before these gentlemen and describes his approach to the day. "First I sit and stare at my computer. I do that for about an hour ..." and so on. He doesn't really like his work, his work environment, the company for which he works, etc. I relate to this particular character. However, the winds of change are blowing and a new day may be dawning...

aspirant

aspirant - n - One who aspires, as to advancement, honors, or a high position.

I myself am an aspirant - aren't we all? Unfortunately, "Time is the bridge that burns behinds us." The traditional three-score-and-ten just isn't enough time to achieve all my aspirations. If I attain salvation, as I hope to, I'm sure there will be a great library in Heaven; Hell's library will no doubt be packed to the rafters with Stephen King and Danielle Steele - yet another incentive (if one were needed) to live a Christian life.

Do I ramble? Very well then, I ramble! "I am infinite, I contain multitudes!" ;^D

Come to think of it, it's been a while since I posted one of my exquisite women. Today's example won't be to everyone's taste, but I think she's irresistible. She's the Vicomtess Othenin d'Haussonville, formerly Louise-Albertine de Broglie, painted by Jean August Dominique Ingres in 1845. In the days of my youth, I'd have followed those eyes anywhere.

kitsch

kitsch – n - Something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste.

Personally, I like Milan Kundera's definition, that kitsch is "the translation of the stupidity of received ideas into the language of beauty and feeling."

It grieves me to admit it, but there's a lot of kitsch (along with much that is brilliant) in Charles Dickens's fiction. For example, in Bleak House, I nearly went into a diabetic coma reading Esther Summerson's gushy prattle about her "darlings, Richard and Ada." On the other hand, the same novel's Mr. Lawrence Boythorne mad me laugh out loud.

polyglot

polyglot - adj - able to speak or write several languages; multilingual; containing, composed of, or written in several languages

Somehow I missed submitting this one after polymath, but it seems appropriate today after yet more examples written in comments on yesterdays word by Jack.

fiat

fiat - noun - an arbitrary or authoritative command or order; formal or official authorization or sanction

Arbitrary -or- authoritative? That combination seems odd. Besides, isn't this just a small red car? -wink-

fib

fib – n - A small or trivial lie; minor falsehood.

A simple word for today. I don't think I've heard it anywhere but New York. Is it used elsewhere?

appellation

appellation - noun - the word by which a particular person or thing is called and known; name; title; designation; the act of naming


Why is the name of the color blue? And how is it so universally understood? My son, recently asked (again) why certain things are named the way they are. Of course, he picked the simple and universal ones. Those are always the hardest to answer, if they can indeed be answered.

lacuna

lacuna - n - A gap or missing part, as in a manuscript, series, or logical argument; hiatus.

A particularly frustrating example of lacunae is the Annals of Tacitus (A.D 55-117), which has large gaps, especially in his lives of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula. It's enough to make stones weep and turnips bleed.

polymath

polymath - noun - a person of great or varied learning; one acquainted with various subjects of study


Earlier in the list appears the word Autodidact describing a person who is self-taught. This word seems to go hand-in-hand with it. Good examples from history: Leonardo da Vinci, Julius Ceaser, Benjamin Franklin, Jack....

transubstantiation

transubstantiation - n - The changing of one substance into another; the changing of the elements of the bread and wine, when they are consecrated in the Eucharist, into the body and blood of Christ (a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church).

I can't believe this hasn't already been used. The Catholic doctrine in question has been controversial since before the Reformation. John Wycliffe, to mention a prominent example, denied the real prescence of Christ in the bread and wine. In the 17th Century, Thomas Hobbes derided "transubstantiation" as a nonsense word promulgated by "deceived and deceiving Schoolmen." The Catholics, Orthodox, and some Protestant denominations maintain the doctrine today.

delectation

delectation - noun - great pleasure, delight, enjoyment

Something I wish I could get out of my job, and which I hope everyone else is getting. I have a couple of opportunities which may offer more in the way of this word, but I haven't heard when I can present myself for consideration for them yet.

avuncular

avuncular - adj - Of or having to do with an uncle; regarded as characteristic of an uncle, especially in benevolence or tolerance.

insuperable

insuperable - adj - incapable of being passed over, surmounted or overcome; unsurmountable


Related to my current job, I am (unfortunately) no longer programming. The company has purchased what is (I think) a wonderful piece of software to allow non-technical users to develop fully working business plans (BPM). However, from the developer perspective, there isn't much to keep the interest. So, I'm sure I'll be in the job market again since I insist on being either a programmer or a manager of programmers.

Junoesque

Junoesque - adj - Having the stately bearing and imposing beauty of the goddess Juno.

andante

andante – adj, adv - Moderately slow and even.

Jeff, you missed this one, so I'm muscling in on your musical turf.

vitiate

vitiate - verb - to make faulty or imperfect; to render defective; to impair; to corrupt morally; to debase; to render ineffective

Is this inline with your opinion mentioned in your word today John?

demography

demography - n - The science of vital and social statistics, as of the births, deaths, diseases, marriages, etc., of populations.

I wish I could remember who first said that demography is destiny. It's one of those propositions that's so obviously true that it becomes a full-time job pretending it's not. Diversity, as the word is currently understood, has never been any nations greatest strength ever, anywhere or anytime. If the Bush-Kennedy amnesty passes congress, it will be the end of what's left of the United States.

flagitious

flagitious - adj - disgracefully or shamefully criminal; wicked; guilty of enormous crimes; corrupt; profligate

internecine

internecine - adj - Of or relating to conflict within a nation, an organization or a group; mutually destructive; involving or accompanied by mutual slaughter; deadly; destructive

Armageddon comes to mind.

I was reading this article (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033867/index.htm) today which talks about patent Armageddon, a situation in which companies sue each other into oblivion over patent infringement issues.

In some ways the precipitation of hostilities during the Cold War could have been described in the same way.

Dire, no matter how you cut this one.

cui bono

cui bono - n - Utility, advantage, or self-interest considered as the determinant of value or motivation.

I couldn't find a really satisfactory definition. This is generally seen as a question and might best be translated as, "Who benefits?" or "Who profits?"

I'm campaigning for a new holiday: Siete de Junio, commemorating the French army's occupation of Mexico City in 1863.

doughty

doughty - adj - Marked by fearless resolution; valiant; brave

Back to the words.

redound

redound - verb - to have a consequence or effect; to return; to rebound; to reflect; to become added or transferred; to accrue


This word seems appropriate in light of the news of Natalie's impending departure for Houston as her husbands career moves to the next stage. Congratulations to both of them!

termagant

termagant - noun - a scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman; a shrew

Can't think of anyone who would actually qualify, but a certain movie adapted from a play by Wm. Shakespeare does come to mind.

A 17th Century Exquisite

This just in from the art world: today's painting was long thought to show King Charles II's mistress Nell Gwynne. New evidence suggests that the woman portrayed was an earlier mistress, Barbara Villiers, justly considered one of the great beauties of the day.

dirndl

dirndl – n - A woman's dress with a close-fitting bodice and full skirt, commonly of colorful and strikingly patterned material, fashioned after Tyrolean peasant wear.

I'm back.

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.