"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx
It is vocabulary time again. Here is part one and part two.
Jack·pud·ding
n.A merry-andrew; a buffoon.
Job·ber·nowl
n.[OE. jobbernoule, fr. jobarde a stupid fellow; cf. E. noll.]
A blockhead.[fr. Nike, the Greek goddess of victory + hedoné, pleasure] the pleasure derived from anticipating success
[fr. L. quid nunc, what now] nonce-word curiosity, love of news or gossip (also quid-nunc-ism)
It is Vocabulary Time Part II. The First edition can be found here.
de·fal·cate (dÄ-făl‘kÄt‘, -fôl‘-, dÄ•f‘É™l-)
intr.v., -cat·ed, -cat·ing, -cates.To misuse funds; embezzle.
Dac·tyl·on·o·my
n.[Gr. da`ktylos finger + no`mos law, distribution.]
The art of numbering or counting by the fingers.re·cru·desce (rÄ“‘krÅ«-dÄ•s‘)
intr.v., -desced, -desc·ing, -desc·es.To break out anew or come into renewed activity, as after a period of quiescence.
vi·del·i·cet (vÄ-dÄ•l’Ä-sÄ•t’, vÄ«-, wÄ-dÄ’lÄ-kÄ•t’) pronunciation
adv. (Abbr. viz.)That is; namely. Used to introduce examples, lists, or items.
It is time for more obscure words for our enjoyment. My pal Robert Avrech usually asks his readers to use the words he provides in a sentence. Not me, I want you to go and sprinkle them in comments on other blogs. Don’t forget to tell them where you received such a fine education.
If this works out, in no time at all we’ll have a roomful of Ivy Leaguers fighting to comment here. And then again, maybe not.
One more note, if you should ever find yourself using any of these words on a game show I must ask a favor. I want 10 percent of your winnings, or at least mention the name of the blog because you know that Trebek wishes that he could be part of a fine blog like The Shack.
[Port.] yearning or longing, but more than that…
[L. scaturiens, p. pr. of scaturire gush out, from scatere to bubble, gush.]
Gushing forth; full to overflowing; effusive. [R.]
A pen so scaturient and unretentive.
1) the eve of May Day on which witches are held to ride to an appointed rendezvous
2) something (as an event or situation) having a nightmarish quality
[fr. parley, call for truce + ?] Scot. obs.
a call for a truce by one who has fallen in fighting or play; a request for a time out
the remorse of conscience
[G.] making something worse through an attempt to make things better
I enjoy language and I enjoy learning new words. Here are some that are not used in every day conversation.
re·vanche (rÉ™-vänch‘, -väNsh‘)
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.
[French, from Old French revancher, to revenge : re-, re- + vengier, vencher, to avenge; see revenge.]
revanchism re·vanch‘ism (-vän‘chÄz-É™m, -väN‘shÄz-) n.
revanchist re·vanch‘ist adj. & n.
revanchistic re·vanch·is‘tic adj.
Ri·so·ri·al
a.[L. ridere, risum, to laugh.]
Pertaining to, or producing, laughter; as, the risorial muscles.
pa·ron·y·mous (pÉ™-rÅn‘É™-mÉ™s)
adj.Allied by derivation from the same root; having the same stem; for example, beautiful and beauteous.
Ru·gate
a.[L. rugatus, p. p. of rugare to wrinkle, fr. ruga a wrinkle.]
Having alternate ridges and depressions; wrinkled. Dana.
