April 2010
CEREBRATE
cerebrate
PRONUNCIATION:
(SER-uh-brayt)
MEANING:
verb tr., intr.: To use the mind: to think, reason.
ETYMOLOGY:
Back-formation from cerebration (act of thinking), from cerebrum (brain). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ker- (horn or head) that is also the source of words such as unicorn, horn, hornet, rhinoceros, reindeer, migraine, carrot, carat, and Hindi sirdar (leader, from...
“There will be a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the...”
– Louis L’Amour (via julie911) (via quote-book)
VALETUDINARIAN
valetudinarian \val-uh-too-din-AIR-ee-un; -tyoo-, noun:
1. A weak or sickly person, especially one morbidly concerned with his or her health.
adjective: 1. Sickly; weak; infirm. 2. Morbidly concerned with one’s health.
He is the querulous bedridden valetudinarian complaining of his asthma or his hay fever, remarking with characteristic hyperbole that “every speck of dust...
“Time takes it all whether you want it to or not, time takes it all. Time bares...”
– Stephen King (via reluctantbuddha) (via quote-book)
“If only closed minds came with closed mouths.”
– Nicole Aitoro (via kari-shma) (via quote-book)
“You can’t be gay for one person. Unless you’re a lady. And you meet Ellen.”
– Liz Lemon (via soy) (via fuckyeahlizlemon)
or Tina Fey (Gay For Fey)
Iceland: World's Most Feminist Country →
longlivethequeen:
tulletulle:
lipstick-feminists:
missworld:
chateaux:
Wow! It’s great to see what is happening over there.
CALLITHUMP
callithump
PRONUNCIATION:
(KAL-uh-thump)
MEANING:
noun: 1. A noisy, boisterous celebration or parade. 2. A mock serenade with pots, pans, kettles, etc., given for a newly married couple. Also known as charivari or shivaree.
ETYMOLOGY:
Back-formation from callithumpian, alteration of English dialect word gallithumpian (disturber of order at Parliamentary elections in 18th century)....
QUASH
quash \KWOSH, transitive verb:
1. (Law) To abate, annul, overthrow, or make void; as, “to quash an indictment.” 2. To crush; to subdue; to suppress or extinguish summarily and completely; as, “to quash a rebellion.”
The Shelby Globe attributed her death to acute heart failure and yellow jaundice and did its best to quash a curious town rumor that had her being poisoned...
SASS
sass
PRONUNCIATION:
(sas)
MEANING:
noun: Impudent talk; back talk. verb tr.: To talk disrespectfully, especially to someone older or in authority.
ETYMOLOGY:
Back-formation from sassy, alteration of saucy, from sauce, from Latin salsa, from sallere (to salt), from sal (salt). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sal- (salt) that is also the source of silt, sausage, salad, salami,...
“I didn’t know why I was going to cry, but I knew that if anybody spoke to me or...”
– The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (via quote-book)
“If you love something set it free, but don’t be surprised if it comes back with...”
– Chuck Palahniuk (via allthis-beauty) (via quote-book)
PERFORCE
perforce \pur-FORS, adverb:
By necessity; by force of circumstance.
It will be an astonishing sight, should it come to pass, and even those of us who have followed every twist and turn of this process will perforce rub our eyes. — “Unionists sit tight as the poker game nears its climax”, Irish Times, July 10, 1999
…the error of supposing that, because everything...
SOUGH
sough \SAU; SUHF, intransitive verb:
1. To make a soft, low sighing or rustling sound, as the wind.
noun: 1. A soft, low rustling or sighing sound.
At a recent visit to Marsha’s grave in Rathdrum, as the wind soughed through the towering pines nearby, Marsha’s brother Pat left a silk bluebird by her headstone to honor her love of the outdoors. — David Whitman,...
QUISLING
quisling \KWIZ-ling, noun:
Someone who collaborates with an enemy occupying his or her country; a traitor.
I strung around rope and hoped to deter the deer from leaping but they sent in their quisling minions under the cover of darkness. — Chapel Hill Treehouse, May 1, 2006
This circle had already closed ranks around Tito in the prewar period of illegal struggle, and our ensuing...
CATHECT
cathect
PRONUNCIATION:
(kuh-THEKT)
MEANING:
verb tr.: To invest mental or emotional energy in an idea, object, or person.
ETYMOLOGY:
Back-formation from Greek kathexis (the investment of emotional energy in something). Ultimately from the Indo-European root segh- (to hold) that is also the source of words such as victory (to hold in a battle), hectic, scheme, and scholar.
USAGE:
...
“Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.”
– Shirley MacLaine (via bitchville)
That’s why I have no friends?
“Never confuse the size of your paycheck with the size of your talent.”
– Marlon Brando (via kari-shma) (via quote-book)
They should at least be close.
“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes...”
– Vincent Van Gogh (via theanimalinme) (via styleandsubstance)
“I’m often silent when I am screaming inside.”
– Unknown (via brokenmachine)
Watchfuckyeahlizlemon:
thischerokee:
themusingsof:
the-girlieshow:
04x18 Khonani (I’m just abusing this feature now)
Just watch this. It will make your day.
I want to go to there.
“I refuse to settle for something less than great. And if it takes a lifetime,...”
– Dolly Parton (via quote-book)
me too
“In heaven, all the interesting people are missing.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche (via 500daysofkissingmypillow) (via quote-book)
“Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.”
– Robert Frost (via quote-book)
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in...”
– Booker T. Washington (via kari-shma) (via quote-book)
“Happiness consists more in the small conveniences of pleasures that occur every...”
– Benjamin Franklin (via weallseekthetruth) (via quote-book)
MOIL
moil \MOYL, intransitive verb:
1. To work with painful effort; to labor; to toil; to drudge. 2. To churn or swirl about continuously.
noun: 1. Toil; hard work; drudgery. 2. Confusion; turmoil.
Why should he toil and moil, and be at so much trouble to pick himself up out the mud, when, in a little while hence, the strong arm of his Uncle will raise and support him? — Nathaniel...
Captain Mo: Existentialism Vs. Nihilism: A... →
fuckyeahexistentialism:
Existentialism is a branch of philosophy born out of Metaphysics. Where Metaphysics is concerned with what is beyond the physical realm, Existentialism focuses on existence itself, existence of the individual and from the individual’s point of view, as opposed to the more wide-scale approach to…
just because you feel it, doesn't mean it's there.
♥ Radiohead
(via brokenmachine, switchingoff)
THERE AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE A LIZ LEMON PARTY...
fuckyeahlizlemon:
(via vitamia)
“It is impossible to love and be wise.”
– Francis Bacon | Submitted by beyoutifulllx (via quote-book)
I always choose wise. 