June 2011
“Don’t cry for a man who’s left you—the next one may fall for your smile.”
– Mae West (via kari-shma)
May 2011
NECROLOGY
necrology
PRONUNCIATION:(nuh-KROL-uh-jee, neh-) MEANING:noun: 1. A list of those who have died during a specific period. 2. An obituary. ETYMOLOGY:From Greek necro- (dead) + -logy (account). Earliest documented use: 1728. USAGE:”The fare structure is one reason Independence Air has joined a necrology of low-cost carriers that stretches over four decades.” Marc Fisher; We Loved That...
VERTIGINOUS
vertiginous \vur-TIJ-uh-nuhs, adjective:
1. Affected with vertigo; giddy; dizzy. 2. Causing or tending to cause dizziness. 3. Turning round; whirling; revolving. 4. Inclined to change quickly or frequently; inconstant.
But up close the building is impossibly steep, vertiginous, hostile. — Neil Baldwln, Legends of the Plumed Serpent
He did us no good when, without permission, he...
TOOTHSOME
toothsome \TOOTH-suhm, adjective:
1. Pleasing to the taste; delicious; as, “a toothsome pie.” 2. Agreeable; attractive; as, “a toothsome offer.” 3. Sexually attractive.
Fleming was impressed not only by its taste but by its astonishing durability: Caudle’s apple, after ten months in storage, was stilltoothsome and fragrant. — David Guterson, “The...
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -Aristotle, philosopher (384-322 BCE)
LOGORRHEA
logorrhea
PRONUNCIATION:(log-uh-REE-uh) MEANING:noun: Excessive flow of words, especially when incoherent. ETYMOLOGY:From Greek logo- (word) + -rrhea (flow), from rhoia (flow). Also see rhinorrhea. Earliest documented use: 1902. USAGE:”Dumas suffers from logorrhea, induced by the simple formula that the more he wrote, the more money he made.” Erik Spanberg; The Count of Monte...
AVOIRDUPOIS
avoirdupois \av-uhr-duh-POIZ; AV-uhr-duh-poiz, noun:
1. Avoirdupois weight, a system of weights based on a pound containing 16 ounces or 7,000 grains (453.59 grams). 2. Weight; heaviness; as, a person of much avoirdupois.
Claydon … was happy to admit that he has shed some avoirdupois. — Mel Webb, “Claydon’s loss leads to net gain”, Times (London), February 18,...
“Keep in mind that people change, but the past doesn’t.”
– Becca Fitzpatrick (via kari-shma)
narcosis:
the knife - heartbeats (live)
“It takes strength to remember, it takes another kind of strength to forget.”
– Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin (via Confuzzzled)
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or...”
– Jim Jarmusch (via skinnygirlsloveskinnyboys)
Watchfilmme-fatale:
A gorgeous mixed-media animation about a tragic robot
KURZSCHLUSS (2009) by Miriam Frank, Georg Utz and Xaver Xylophon Sound by Daniel Hatvani
Dad ist gut
DUDGEON
dudgeon \DUH-juhn, noun:
A state or fit of intense indignation; resentment; ill humor — often used in the phrase “in high dudgeon.”
Higgins was so frustrated by such a basic error that he stormed out of the arena for the mid-session interval in high dudgeon. — Phil Yates, “Stevens begins to feel pressure as Swail stages customary revival”, Times (London),...
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Why is it that one can look at a lion or a planet or an owl or at someone’s finger as long as one pleases, but looking into the eyes of another person is, if prolonged past a second, a perilous affair? -Walker Percy, author (1916-1990)
PANJANDRUM
panjandrum
PRONUNCIATION:(pan-JAN-druhm) MEANING:noun: An important or self-important person. ETYMOLOGY:The word is said to have been coined by dramatist and actor Samuel Foote (1720-1777) as part of a nonsensical passage to test the memory of his fellow actor Charles Macklin who claimed to be able to repeat anything after hearing it once. Earliest documented use: 1825, in the novel “Harry...
“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the...”
– The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho (via jeansandsneakers)
“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.”
– Dorothy Parker
CALLOW
callow
PRONUNCIATION:(KAL-oh) MEANING:adjective: Inexperienced or immature. ETYMOLOGY:From Old English calu (bald, featherless). Earliest documented use: before 1000. USAGE:”Belva Davis was a young and callow rookie from a tiny black radio station in Oakland.” Jerry Roberts; California Pioneer; The Santa Barbara Independent (California); Apr 21, 2011. Explore “callow”...
CLINQUANT
clinquant \KLING-kunt, adjective:
1. Glittering with gold or silver; tinseled.
noun: 1. Tinsel; imitation gold leaf.
Leaves flicker celadon in the spring, viridian in summer, clinquant in fall, tallying the sovereign seasons, graying and greening to reiterate the message of snow and sun. — Ann Zwinger, Beyond the Aspen Grove
The room had a twelve-foot high ceiling: hanging from it,...
“I was never really insane except upon occasions when my heart was touched.”
– Edgar Allan Poe (via skinnygirlsloveskinnyboys)
“Suffering is the substance of life and the root of personality, for it is only...”
– Miguel de Unamuno (via fuckyeahexistentialism)
orkwut:
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien Edith Piaf
I...