The word for today is… gargantuan (adjective): : tremendous in size, volume, or degree Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Gargantua is the name of a giant king in François Rabelais’s 16th-century satiric novel Gargantua, the second part of a five-volume series about the giant and his son Pantagruel. All
The word for today is… expiditious (adjective): : marked by or acting with prompt efficiency Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Expeditious has had quite the journey through the English language. It comes to us from the related noun expedition, which in turn comes from the Latin verb expedire (“to set free” or
Ryan McKay Shiri Lev-Ari Royal Holloway University of London “Skalk,” I cursed in Kelvak. It’s my favourite language to curse in – there is nothing as satisfying as the harsh consonants and default imperatives of the primary Kelvaki language. This quote is by the main character in the sci-
The word for today is… atone (verb): : to make amends : to provide or serve as reparation or compensation for something bad or unwelcome —usually + for Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Atone has its roots in the idea of reconciliation and harmony. It grew out of the Middle English phrase at on
The word for today is… languid (adjective): 1 : drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion 2 : sluggish in character or disposition 3 : lacking force or quickness of movement Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Depending on its context, languid can suggest a lack of strength, lack of energy, or lack
The word for today is… emblazon (verb): 1a : to inscribe or adorn with or as if with heraldic bearings or devices b : to inscribe (something, such as heraldic bearings) on a surface 2 : celebrate, extol Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Blazon is a less commonly used synonym of the more familiar
The word for today is… critique (noun, verb): noun : an act of criticizing verb : to examine critically, review Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :What’s the difference between criticism and critique? There’s some overlap in meaning, but they’re not the same in every situation. Criticism is most often used
The word for today is… proselytise (verb): 1 : to induce someone to convert to one’s faith 2 : to recruit someone to join one’s party, institution, or cause Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Proselytise comes from the noun proselyte, meaning “a new convert,” which in turn ultimately comes from the
The word for today is… ritzy (adjective): 1 : snobbish 2 : impressively or ostentatiously fancy or stylish Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :César Ritz (1850-1918) earned worldwide renown for the luxurious hotels bearing his name in London and Paris. (The Ritz-Carlton hotel company is a contemporary descendant of these enterprises.
Rob Perez Honolulu Star-Advertiser This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Series: Promised Land A Failed Housing Pledge to Native Hawaiians For the better part
Patrick Carroll Patrick Carroll has a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Waterloo and is an editorial fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education. If someone were to ask you how you know Australia exists, what would you say? If you haven’t been there yourself, it can
The word for today is… kerfuffle (noun): : a disturbance or commotion typically caused by a dispute or conflict Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :Fuffle is an old Scottish verb that means “to muss” or “to throw into disarray”—in other words, to (literally) ruffle someone’s (figurative) feathers. The addition of
Omar Khaled Abdelrahman University of Huddersfield Claire McCamley University of Huddersfield Christmas is a period for celebrating our relationships with family and friends – a time filled with nostalgia and sentimentality. Of course, for many people, it’s also a time of conspicuous consumption, even if this year in the face
The word for today is… sporadic (adjective): : occurring occasionally, singly, or in irregular or random instances Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :You never know where or when the occasion to use sporadic will pop up, but when it does, sporadic is the perfect choice to describe something that happens randomly or
The word for today is… caucus (noun, verb): noun 1: a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usually to select candidates or to decide on policy 2: a group of people united to promote an agreed-upon cause verb : to meet
I have a love-hate relationship with cockies — that’s sulphur-crested cockatoos, to you. The birds are an Aussie icon. So ubiquitous that graziers are commonly called “cockies” in this wide, brown land. The sobriquet supposedly emerged because, in the squatter days, farmers would crowd around a waterhole like
