Bloviating

Bloviate

Pronunciation: \ˈblō-vē-ˌāt\

Function: intransitive verb

Inflected Form(s): blo·vi·at·ed; blo·vi·at·ing

Etymology: perhaps irregular from blow
Date: circa 1879

: to speak or write verbosely and windily

Word of the Day: Osculation

What a scientific and boring sounding word …for something, one would hope, is not scientific and boring. (At least from one I can vaguely remember).

Word of the day:

osculation \os-kyuh-LAY-shuhn\, noun:

The act of kissing; also: a kiss.

He had engaged in nervous osculation with all three of Lord Flamborough's daughters.

-- Thomas Sutcliffe, "The art of seduction, the skill of the tackle", Independent, June 13, 1994

Their incessant onstage osculations during her last concert tour seemed to offer public proof of their passion.

-- "The Big Boom in Breakups", People, November 13, 1995

Osculation comes from osculatio, "a kissing," from osculari, "to kiss," from osculum, "a little mouth, a kiss," diminutive of os, "mouth."

word of the day: Propinquity

propinquity \pruh-PING-kwih-tee\, noun:

1. Nearness in place; proximity.
2. Nearness in time.
3. Nearness of relation; kinship.

Following the race he took umbrage at Stewart's rough driving so early in the day, and the propinquity of the two drivers' haulers allowed the Kid to express his displeasure up close and personal.
-- Mark Bechtel, "Getting Hot", Sports Illustrated, December 6, 2000

Technologically it is the top service among the women's fighting forces, and it also has the appeal of propinquity to gallant young airmen.
-- "After Boadicea -- Women at War", Time Europe, October 9, 1939

I was stunned by the propinquity of the events: I had never been in the same room with anyone who was later murdered.
-- Karla Jay, Tales of the Lavender Menace

Schultz came by her position through propinquity: her husband, older by 12 years, used to play music with De Maiziere and afterward chat about politics.
-- Johanna McGeary, "Challenge In the East", Time, November 8, 1990

Word of the Day: Eclectic

¹eclec·tic

Pronunciation:

\e-ˈklek-tik, i-\

Function:

adjective

Etymology:

Greek eklektikos, from eklegein to select, from ex- out + legein to gather — more at legend

Date:

1683

1: selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles

2: composed of elements drawn from various sources ; also
:
heterogeneous

— eclec·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Word of the Day

It was pointed out the me last night that all the vowels are all in order. I also like this word because I'm a smart ass(ie. facetious) Also, it sounds like feces. Really, I am a grown up. Sometimes.

Facetious
Main Entry:
fa·ce·tious
Pronunciation:
\fə-ˈsē-shəs\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Middle French facetieux, from facetie jest, from Latin facetia
Date:
1599

1 : joking or jesting often inappropriately : waggish 2 : meant to be humorous or funny : not serious
synonyms see witty
— fa·ce·tious·ly adverb
— fa·ce·tious·ness noun

Word of The Day

Time with my family made me think of this word. Can't imagine why:

Wisenheimer

Main Entry:

wi·sen·hei·mer

Variant(s):

also wei·sen·hei·mer \ˈwī-z^ən-ˌhī-mər\

Function:

noun

Smart Aleck

Etymology:

²wise + -enheimer (as in family names such as Guggenheimer, Oppenheimer)

Date:

1904

Word of The Day

While the stories I write are short, the stories I tell are long. I've been called chatty and loquacious. My conversations have been described as elliptical (lots of tangents and extraneous details but EVENTUALLY I get to the point). I now have a new word for my wordy speak:

Prolix

Main Entry:

pro·lix

Pronunciation:

\prō-ˈliks, ˈprō-(ˌ)\

Function:

adjective

Etymology:

Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French prolix, from Latin prolixus extended, from pro- forward + liquēre to be fluid — more at liquid

Date:

15th century

1 : unduly prolonged or drawn out : too long 2 : marked by or using an excess of words

synonyms see wordy

— pro·lix·i·ty \prō-ˈlik-sə-tē\ noun

— pro·lix·ly adverb

Word of the Day for Friday, April 13, 2007

spoonerism \SPOO-nuh-riz-uhm\, noun:

The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words.

Some examples:

• We all know what it is to have a half-warmed fish ["half-formed wish"] inside us.

· The Lord is a shoving leopard ["loving shepherd"].

· It is kisstomary to cuss ["customary to kiss"] the bride.

· Is the bean dizzy ["dean busy"]?

· When the boys come back from France, we'll have the hags flung out ["flags hung out"]!

· Let me sew you to your sheet ["show you to your seat"].

Spoonerism comes from the name of the Rev. William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930), a kindly but nervous Anglican clergyman and educationalist. All the above examples were committed by (or attributed to) him.

words are fun to say

i spent the afternoon babysitting a charming 1 1/2 yr old girl.

at lunch time I served her mac & cheese, peas, cantaloupe, tofu and milk.

it's fun to say cantaloupe-cantaloupe-cantaloupe-cantaloupe-loupe-loupe-loupe.

and toe-foooo. go on, say it...toe-fooooo.

and then peas - peas - peas peas.

and mmm-mmmm Milk.

cantaloupe-cantaloupe-cantaloupe-cantaloupe-loupe-loupe-loupe

Word of the Day... idee fixe

This is what happens to me sometimes when I’m writing a story….

idee fixe \ee-day-FEEKS\, noun:

An idea that dominates the mind; a fixed idea; an obsession.

The reality of obsession -- its incessant return to the same few themes, scenarios and questions; its meticulous examination and re-examination of banal minutiae for hidden meanings that simply aren't there; the cancerous way an idee fixe usurps other, more interesting thoughts -- is that it is confining, not rebellious, and not fascinating but maddeningly dull.
-- Laura Miller, "The Streetwalkers of San Francisco", New York Times, August 20, 2000

It became an idee fixe that he stubbornly adhered to in spite of the plain evidence . . . that obviously contradicts it.
-- Edwin G. Pulleyblank, "Prosody or pharyngealization in old Chinese?", The Journal of the American Oriental Society, January 12, 1996

Getting back to the idee fixe, let me say that it's what produces strong men and madmen.
-- Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas (translated by Gregory Rabassa)

Idee fixe is from the French idée, "idea" + fixe, "fixed."

words...glorious words

Imprecation:

~noun

1. act of imprecating; cursing
2. a curse; malediction

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006

Oxymoron

The Word of the Day for January 09 is:

oxymoron \ahk-sih-MOR-ahn\ noun

: a combination of contradictory or incongruous words

Example sentence:
"That's an oxymoron!" said Joanne, when she heard the DJ describe the song as an "instant classic."

Did you know?
The Greeks exhaustively classified the elements of rhetoric, or effective speech and writing, and gave the name "oxymoron," literally "pointed foolishness," to the deliberate juxtaposing of seemingly contradictory words. The roots of "oxymoron" "oxys," meaning "sharp" or "keen," and "moros," meaning "foolish" — are nearly antonyms themselves, making "oxymoron" nicely self-descriptive. "Oxymoron" originally applied to a meaningful paradox condensed into a couple of words, as in "precious bane," "lonely crowd," or "sweet sorrow." Today, however, "oxymoron" can also refer to unintentional contradictions, like "a plastic glass."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Craic

Definitions of craic on the Web:

• (CRACK) conversation, chat
  www.erinhart.com/glossary.htm
• Craic, is a pseudo-Gaelic spelling of the English slang term crack, meaning good fun. Most commonly this word is associated with Ireland and its slang.
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic

Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/transmogrify

This sounds like a made up word:

Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/transmogrify

transmogrify \trans-MOG-ruh-fy\, transitive verb:
To change into a different shape or to transform, often with bizarre or humorous effect.

A washing machine transmogrified into a guitar.
-- Adrian Searle, "Come, friendly pigeons", The Guardian, March 16, 2000

For the impulsive sin of turning to look back at the funereal pyre of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's wife is transmogrified into a pillar of salt as she flees the inferno.
-- Elizabeth Wurtzel, Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women

Roast chicken is still roast chicken whether you label it haute cuisine, bourgeois cuisine or country cooking; even calling it "poulet roti" will not transmogrify this simple bird.
-- Jacques Pepin, "The Chicken Dinner, Both Humble and Noble", New York Times, January 4, 1989

hortative

hortative \HOR-tuh-tiv\ adjective

: giving exhortation : advisory

Example sentence:
Amy suspected that her hortative letter to her son about the values of hard work and education would be ignored in the swirl of freshman partying, but she sent it anyway.

entropy

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.
- AA Milne

Turgid

I mean really ... what a word:


Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/turgid: "Word of the Day for Wednesday May 10, 2006

turgid \TUR-jid\, adjective:
1. Swollen, bloated, puffed up; as, 'a turgid limb.'
2. Swelling in style or language; bombastic, pompous; as, 'a turgid style of speaking.'"

Word of the day

panoply \PAN-uh-plee\, noun:
1. A splendid or impressive array.
2. Ceremonial attire.
3. A full suit of armor; a complete defense or covering.

The Word of the Day for March 27 is:

What a crazy word ....

Götterdämmerung \gher-ter-DEM-uh-roong\ noun

: a collapse (as of a society or regime) marked by catastrophic violence and disorder; broadly : downfall

Example sentence:
Although we all hoped for a peaceful transfer of power, we feared the conflict would instead end in a chaotic Götterdämmerung.

Did you know?
Norse mythology specified that the destruction of the world would be preceded by a cataclysmic final battle between the good and evil gods, resulting in the heroic deaths of all the "good guys." The German word for this earth-shattering last battle was "Götterdämmerung." Literally, "Götterdämmerung" means "twilight of the gods." ("Götter" is the plural of "Gott," meaning "god," and "Dämmerung" means "twilight.") Figuratively, the term is extended to situations of world-altering destruction marked by extreme chaos and violence. In the 19th century, the German composer Richard Wagner brought attention to the word "Götterdämmerung" when he chose it as the title of the last opera of his cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, and by the early 20th century, the word had entered English.

In the end it IS about words

In a previous post, I incorrectly described my friend as talking through a moment of anguish. That was writer's embellishment. It was the word that I liked in the sentence, but she pointed out to me last night that Anguish was a little too intense a word. She's right. That was lazy writing. So below are some better word choices:

Disappointment n.

1. 
   
1. The act of disappointing.
2. The condition or feeling of being disappointed.
2. One that disappoints.

Frustration n.

1. 
   
1. The act of frustrating or an instance of being frustrated.
2. The state of being frustrated.
2. Something that serves to frustrate.

Vexation n.

1. The act of annoying, irritating, or vexing.
2. The quality or condition of being vexed; annoyance.
3. A source of irritation or annoyance.

Exasperation n.

1. The act or an instance of exasperating.
2. The state of being exasperated; frustrated annoyance.

Aggravation n.

1. The act of aggravating or the state of being aggravated.
2. A source of continuing, increasing irritation or trouble.
3. Exasperation.