Vocabulary list--#8

October goodies from POSP stringer Tim. Good ones as usual.

aesopian\ee

SOH-pee-uhn

adjective

1. Conveying meaning by hint, euphemism, innuendo, or the like.
2. Pertaining to, or characteristic of Aesop or his fables.


Annie Oakley

an-ee-OH-klee

noun

A free ticket.


bandersnatch

BAN-der-snach

noun

1. An imaginary wild animal of fierce disposition.
2. A person of uncouth or unconventional habits, attitudes, etc., especially one considered a menace, nuisance, or the like.


bezoar

bee-zor

noun

1. A hard stone-like object (calculus) composed of indigestible materials such as hair, vegetable fibers, and various other objects that form in the stomachs of some animals, especially ruminants and occasionally in humans.
2. Because bezoars in the past have been considered an antitoxin for poisons, today's Good Word may also refer to an antidote for poison or magical elixir.


bioturbation

bye-oh-ter-BAY-shun

noun

The restructuring of sedimentary deposits (as in a lake bottom or seabed) by moving organisms (as worms and burrowing clams).


braird

BRAIRD

verb

To sprout; appear above the ground.

noun

The first sprouts or shoots of grass, corn, or other crops; new growth.


chichi

SHEE-shee

adjective

Affectedly trendy.


colloquial

kuh-LOH-kwee-ul

adjective

1. Of or relating to conversation; conversational.
2a. Used in or characteristic of familiar and informal conversation; also, unacceptably informal.
2b. Using conversational style.


contumacious

kahn-too-MAY-shus

adjective

Stubbornly disobedient; rebellious.


corrade

kuh-RAYD

verb

To wear or crumble away through abrasion.


coruscate

KOR-uh-skayt

verb

1. To give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes; sparkle.
2. To be brilliant or showy in technique or style.


darkle

DAHR-kuhl

verb

1. To grow dark, gloomy, etc.
2. To appear dark; show indistinctly.


elegiac

el-i-JAHY-uhk

adjective

1. Relating to the mourning or remembering of the dead.
2. Used in, suitable for, or resembling an elegy.
3. Expressing sorrow.


endemic

en-DEM-ik

adjective

1. Belonging exclusively or confined to a particular place.
2. Natural to or characteristic of a specific people or place; native; indigenous.


footle

FOOT-l

verb

To act or talk in a foolish or silly way.

noun

Nonsense; silliness.


haruspex

huh-RUSS-peks

noun

A diviner in ancient Rome basing his predictions on inspection of the entrails of sacrificial animals.


hobson jobson

HOB-suhn-JOB-suhn

noun

The alteration of a word borrowed from a foreign language to accord more closely with the linguistic patterns of the borrowing language.


homiletic

hah-muh-LET-ik

adjective

1. Of, relating to, or resembling a homily.
2. Of or relating to the art of preaching; also, preachy.


homologate

huh-MOL-uh-geyt

verb

1. To approve; confirm or ratify.
2. To register (a specific make of automobile in general production) so as to make it eligible for international racing competition.


inculcate

in-KUHL-kayt; IN-kuhl-kayt

transitive verb

To teach and impress by frequent repetition or instruction.


indite

in-DYTE

verb

1. Make up, compose.
2. To give literary or formal expression to.
3. To put down in writing.


irrefragable

ih-REF-ruh-guh-bul

adjective

1. Impossible to refute.
2. Impossible to break or alter.


MacGuffin

me-gef-in

noun

1. A member of the MacGuffin family.
2. An otherwise meaningless object in a film or book that provides the motivation for the action; a flimsy excuse for an action.


megrim

MEE-grim

noun

1a. Migraine.
1b. Vertigo, dizziness.
2a. Fancy, whim.
2b. Plural; low spirits.


mendacity

men-DAS-i-tee

noun

1. A tendency to lie; untruthfulness.
2. An instance of lying; falsehood.


metaphrastic

met-uh-FRAST-ik

adjective

Having the quality of a literary work that has been translated or changed from one form to another, as prose into verse.


mnemonic

nih-MAH-nik

adjective

Assisting or designed to assist memory.


opsimath

ahp-si-maeth

noun

(Literary) A person who undertakes study late in life, a person who learns late in life (an old dog that can learn new tricks).


palliate

PAL-ee-ayt

verb

1. To reduce the violence of (a disease); also : to ease (symptoms) without curing the underlying disease.
2. To cover by excuses and apologies.
3. To moderate the intensity of.


paralipsis

par-uh-LIP-sis

noun

The suggestion, by deliberately brief treatment of a topic, that much of significance is being omitted, as in "not to mention other faults."


philomathy

fi-lah-me-thee

noun

The love of learning.


perspicacious

per-spuh-KAY-shus

adjective

Of acute mental vision or discernment; keen.


pleonasm

PLEE-uh-naz-uhm

noun

1. The use of more words than are necessary to express an idea; as, "I saw it with my own eyes."
2. An instance or example of pleonasm.
3. A superfluous word or expression.


precatory

PREK-uh-tor-ee

adjective

Expressing a wish.


parergon

pa-RUR-gon

noun

1. Work undertaken in addition to one's principal work.
2. Something that is an accessory to a main work or subject; embellishment.


quid pro quo

kwid-proh-KWOH

noun

Something given or received for something else; also : a deal arranging a quid pro quo.


schlimazel

shli-mah-zel

noun

A person with no luck at all, a sort of loser who magnetically attracts misfortune. A schlimazel could be hired as a "cooler" in a casino.


stridulate

STRIJ-uh-layt

verb

To make a shrill creaking noise by rubbing together special bodily structures -- used especially of male insects (as crickets or grasshoppers).


synecdoche

suh-NEK-duh-kee

noun

A figure of speech by which a less encompassing term is put for a more encompassing term or vice versa.


titubant

TICH-oo-buhnt

noun

A disturbance of body equilibrium in standing or walking, resulting in an uncertain gait and trembling.


torpor

TOR-per

noun

1a. A state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility.
1b. A state of lowered physiological activity typically characterized by reduced metabolism, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature that occurs in varying degrees especially in hibernating and estivating animals.
2. Apathy, dullness.


tutoyer

tew-twah-YAY

verb

To address familiarly.


weltschmerz

VELT-shmerts

noun

Sentimental pessimism; sorrow that one feels and accepts as one's necessary portion in life.


widdershins

WID-er-shinz

adverb

In a left-handed, wrong, or contrary direction : counterclockwise.


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