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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