Word of the day

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Sunday, August 9, 2009

métier \met-YAY; MET-yay\, noun:

1. An occupation; a profession.
2. An area in which one excels; an occupation for which one is especially well suited.
The pairing of Maynard and Salinger -- the writer whose métier is autobiography and the writer who's so private he won't even publish -- was an unlikely one.

-- Larissa MacFarquhar, "The Cult of Joyce Maynard", New York Times Magazine, September 6, 1998

[BM <3]

No problem

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Monday, August 10, 2009

peradventure \puhr-uhd-VEN-chuhr; pehr-\, adverb:

1. [Archaic] Possibly; perhaps.
2. Chance, uncertainty, or doubt.
It establishes beyond any peradventure of doubt that they were all wet and all wrong in their reports about the weapons of mass destruction, the chemical weapons, the biological weapons and the coming nuclear weapons as well.

-- Daniel Schorr, "interview Weekend Edition - Saturday, with Susan Stamberg", National Public Radio, July 10, 2004

[2jules7]

Maybe you could change your métier to a vet or peradventure a nurse?

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Tuesday, August 11, 2009

cynosure \SY-nuh-shoor; SIN-uh-shoor\, noun:

1. An object that serves as a focal point of attention and admiration.
2. That which serves to guide or direct.
3. [Capitalized]. The northern constellation Ursa Minor, which contains the North Star; also, the North Star itself.

The monarch, at the apex of court power and centre of its ritual, and the greatest patron of the arts, was the cynosure of this culture, standing (or, more usually, sitting) at the centre of a system of artistic practice intended to represent his or her sacred omnipotence and monopoly of power.
-- John Brewer, The Pleasures of the Imagination

[2jules7]

Birthday people get to be the cynosure, right?

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Wednesday, August 12, 2009

luminary \LOO-muh-nair-ee\, noun:

1. Any body that gives light, especially one of the heavenly bodies.
2. A person of eminence or brilliant achievement.

Example Quotes:
There's something comforting in those occasional lapses when a luminary lurches and trips over the humble stone his powerful torch somehow failed to reveal.
-- Brad Leithauser, "You Haven't Heard the Last of This", New York Times, August 30, 1998

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Thursday, August 13, 2009

furtive \FUR-tiv\, adjective:

1. Done by stealth; surreptitious; secret; as, a furtive look.
2. Expressive of stealth; sly; shifty; sneaky.
3. Stolen; obtained by stealth.
4. Given to stealing; thievish; pilfering.

He had always been more than willing to show me parts of [his notebook], whenever I asked him to; and naturally I had taken many furtive looks at its innermost pages when he wasn't around.
-- Michael Chabon, Werewolves in Their Youth

[2jules7]

Everyone here is so luminary. :]
If anyone asks, those furtive road signs are not mine.

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Friday, August 14, 2009

celerity \suh-LAIR-uh-tee\, noun:

Rapidity of motion or action; quickness; swiftness.

Though not in the best of physical form, he was capable of moving with celerity.
-- Malachy McCourt, A Monk Swimming: A Memoir

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Saturday, August 15, 2009

dalliance \DAL-ee-uhns, DAL-yuhns\, noun:

1. Frivolous spending of time; dawdling.
2. Playful flirtation.

Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven;
Whiles, like a puff’d and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own rede.
-- William Shakespeare, Hamlet

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Sunday, August 16, 2009

bowdlerize \BODE-luh-rise; BOWD-\, transitive verb:

1. To remove or modify the parts (of a book, for example) considered offensive.
2. To modify, as by shortening, simplifying, or distorting in style or content.

The president did not call for bowdlerizing all entertainment, but stressed keeping unsuitable material away from the eyes of children.
-- "Conference a start toward loosening grip of violence", Atlanta Journal, May 12, 1999

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Monday, August 17, 2009

undulation \uhn-juh-LEY-shuhn, uhn-dyuh-, -duh-\, noun:

1. A regular rising and falling or movement to alternating sides; movement in waves.
2. A wavelike form, outline, or appearance.
3. One of a series of waves or wavelike segments.

Considering the difficulty of the golf course, the severe undulation of the greens, the magnitude of the event and the quality of the competition, Inkster ranked it as her greatest victory, particularly because she turned 42 last month.
-- Clifton Brown, "GOLF; One for the Ages, As Inkster Wins U.S. Open at 42", New York Times, July 8, 2004

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Tuesday, August 18, 2009

propitious \pruh-PISH-uhs\, adjective:

1. Presenting favorable circumstances or conditions.
2. Favorably inclined; gracious; benevolent.

Example Quotes:

By the early 1500s rice was being planted on the Cape Verde island most propitious for agriculture, Santiago.
-- Judith A. Carney, Black Rice

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Wednesday, August 19, 2009

furbelow \FUR-buh-low\, noun:

1. A pleated or gathered flounce on a woman's garment; a ruffle.
2. Something showy or superfluous; a bit of showy ornamentation.

In a season of ruffles, frills and furbelows, simple cuts in neutral shades stand out.
-- "Designers Head for Neutral Territory", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 27, 1997

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Thursday, August 20, 2009

perorate \PUR-uh-rayt\, intransitive verb:

1. To conclude or sum up a long discourse.
2. To speak or expound at length; to declaim.

These people don't talk, they perorate, pontificate, bombast.
-- Jean Charbonneau, "Biographer's quest becomes self-searching journey", Denver Post, January 28, 2001

[2jules7]

These arent going to be too good, but I figured I should catch up.

The ball had a lot of celerity rolling down the hill.
Teenage girls dalliance is pretty funny.
Its not nice to bowdlerize other peoples work.
The ocean is a magnificent undulation.
Some colors are propitious to others.
Furbelow clothing isnt allowed in school.
I will use this word to perorate this list.

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Friday, August 21, 2009

stultify \STUHL-tuh-fahy\, verb:

1. To render useless or ineffectual; cripple.
2. To cause to appear stupid, inconsistent, or ridiculous.
3. Law To allege or prove insane and so not legally responsible.

The word "civilization" to my mind is coupled with death. When I use the word, I see civilization as a crippling, thwarting thing, a stultifying thing. For me it was always so. I don't believe in the golden ages, you see... civilization is the arteriosclerosis of culture.
-- Henry Miller

[Chy]

Originally Posted by 2jules7

These arent going to be too good, but I figured I should catch up.

The ball had a lot of celerity rolling down the hill.
Teenage girls dalliance is pretty funny.
Its not nice to bowdlerize other peoples work.
The ocean is a magnificent undulation.
Some colors are propitious to others.
Furbelow clothing isnt allowed in school.
I will use this word to perorate this list.

[BM <3]

Word of the Day for Saturday, August 22, 2009

vet \VET\, transitive verb:

1. To provide veterinary care for (an animal).
2. To provide (a person) with medical care.
3. To examine carefully; to subject to thorough appraisal; to evaluate.
4. To practice as a veterinarian.

She was the right age (in her fifties), and her personal background had been vetted during the Senate confirmation hearings.
-- Eleanor Clift and Tom Brazaitis, Madam President