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.