You might think that poor old Tim “Soupy” Soutphommasane would be at a bit of a loose end these days, ever since he was finally prised, shrieking and wailing, from the taxapayer teat. But, never fear, the nomeklatura look out for themselves. Soupy now revels in the gloriously Marxist title
The word for today is… redux (adj) – Brought back; returned. Used postpositively. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In Latin, redux (from the verb reducere, meaning “to lead back”) can mean “brought back” or “bringing back.” The Romans used redux as an epithet for the goddess Fortuna with its “bringing back”
The word for today is… punctilio (noun) – 1. A fine point of etiquette. 2. Precise observance of formalities. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : We’ll get straight to the point: there are a number of English words that come from Latin pungere, meaning “to prick” or “to sting.” Punctilio is
The word for today is… persnickety (adj) – 1. (a) Overparticular about trivial details; fastidious. (b) Snobbish; pretentious. 2. Requiring strict attention to detail; demanding. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : 1889, alteration of pernickety. pernickety, 1808 (pernicktie, in Jamieson), “precise, fastidious,” extended form of Scottish pernicky, of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow
The word for today is… permutation (noun) – 1. (a) The process of altering the order of a given set of objects in a group. (b) The result of such a process; a rearrangement or recombination of elements. (c) (Mathematics) A rearrangement of the elements of a set. 2. A complete
The word for today is… penultimate (adj) – 1. Next to last. 2. (Linguistics) Of or relating to the penult of a word. (noun) – The next to the last. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Penultimate isn’t the last word in words for things that are next to last. There is
Christian Jarrett is a senior editor at Aeon, working on the forthcoming Psyche website that will take a multidisciplinary approach to the age-old question of how to live. A cognitive neuroscientist by training, his writing has appeared in BBC Future, WIRED and New York Magazine, among others. His books
The word for today is… mendacious (adj) – 1. Lying; untruthful. 2. False; untrue. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Mendacious and lying have very similar meanings, but the two are not interchangeable. Mendacious is more formal and literary, suggesting a deception harmless enough to be considered somewhat bland. Lying is more
The word for today is… luminaria (noun) – 1. A votive candle set into a small, decorative paper bag weighted with sand and placed in a row with others along a walkway, driveway, or rooftop as a holiday decoration. Also called regionally farolito. 2. (New Mexico) A bonfire built in front
The word for today is… impervious (adj) – 1. Incapable of being penetrated. 2. Incapable of being affected. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : The English language is far from impervious, and, of course, a great many Latinate terms have entered it throughout its history. Impervious is one of the many that
The word for today is… gallivant (verb) – 1. To roam about in search of pleasure or amusement. 2. To play around amorously; flirt. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Back in the 14th century, gallant, a noun borrowed from the French galant, denoted a young man of fashion. By the middle
The word for today is… fulgent (adj) – Shining brilliantly; radiant. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “The weary Sun betook himself to rest; — / Then issued Vesper from the fulgent west.” That’s how the appearance of the evening star in the glowing western sky at sunset looked to 19th-century poet
Ideologues live in perpetual terror of children becoming susceptible to “undesirable messages”. Whether it’s the religious right fretting over the “Satanic” influence of Dungeons and Dragons, Muslims offended by Winnie-the-Pooh, or the Cultural Marxist left horrified by Enid Blyton and C. S. Lewis. The latest children’s
The word for today is… foible (noun) – 1. A minor weakness or failing of character. 2. The weaker section of a sword blade, from the middle to the tip. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In the 1600s, English speakers borrowed the French word foible to refer to the weakest part
You can understand the temptation. There they are, natural show-offs, suddenly with a live audience of millions and a rare chance to benefit us poor non-showbiz types with their superior wisdom. That special wisdom not gained by serious study or lived experience but by, ahem…playing dress-ups.
