Short & Sweet Treats discussion

pilgarlic

PRONUNCIATION:
(pil-GAHR-lik)

MEANING:
noun: A bald-headed person.

ETYMOLOGY:
Literally peeled garlic, from pill (to peel) + garlic. Earliest documented use: 1529.

USAGE:
"With his cherubic face, big blue eyes, pilgarlic pate, steel-rimmed glasses, and shuffling gait, Horace Greeley looked more like a character out of a Dickens novel than a presidential hopeful."
Paul F. Boller Jr.; Presidential Campaigns; Oxford University Press; 2004.

haha. interesting! I can remember it by picturing Phil Collins bc he is bald

LaLaLa Laura wrote: "haha. interesting! I can remember it by picturing Phil Collins bc he is bald"

Good mnemonic!

fustilugs

PRONUNCIATION:
(FUS-ti-lugs)

MEANING:
noun: A fat and slovenly person.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Middle English fusty (smelly, moldy) + lug (to carry something heavy). Earliest documented use: 1607.

USAGE:
"'Come on, you old fustilugs,' he called, for she wheezed and blew and mounted with difficulty."
Julian Rathbone; Joseph; Little Brown; 2001.

Hubris: excessive pride; The Empire’s
vanity and hubris in its exaggerated
military were the reason for its downfall

measly

PRONUNCIATION:
(MEE-zlee, MEEZ-lee)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Ridiculously small or bad.
2. Infected with measles.

ETYMOLOGY:
Initially, the word measly was used to describe a pig infected with measles, which is probably derived from Middle Dutch masel (blemish) and its spelling influenced by Middle English mesel (leprous, leprosy). Earliest documented use: 1598.

USAGE:
"This summer inmates in Argentina decided they would no longer accept measly payment for the jobs they do in prison."
Gilding the Cage; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 17, 2013.

se·pul·chral
səˈpəlkrəl/
adjective
1.
of or relating to a tomb or interment.
"sepulchral monuments"
antonyms: cheerful

nice one Tammy! thanks!

Tammy wrote: "se·pul·chral
səˈpəlkrəl/
adjective
1.
of or relating to a tomb or interment.
"sepulchral monuments"
antonyms: cheerful"

Good one!

sclerotic

PRONUNCIATION:
(skluh-ROT-ik)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Hard, rigid, slow to adapt or respond.
2. Relating to or affected with sclerosis, an abnormal hardening of a tissue or part.
3. Of or relating to the sclera, the white fibrous outer layer of the eyeball.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek skleros (hard). Earliest documented use: 1543.

USAGE:
"It was getting to be late in the afternoon, and the traffic was crabby and sclerotic."
Miss Wyoming; Douglas Coupland; Random House; 2000.

"This group decided that if the government bureaucracy had grown so sclerotic, it was time for a small, professional group of private citizens to give attention to delicate problems of the world."
Gene Coyle; Diamonds and Deceit; AuthorHouse; 2011.

Jen ƸӜƷ wrote: "sclerotic

PRONUNCIATION:
(skluh-ROT-ik)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Hard, rigid, slow to adapt or respond.
2. Relating to or affected with sclerosis, an abnormal hardening of a tissue or part.
3. Of ..."

Sounds like some people I know!!! and it's very frustrating!

LaLaLa Laura wrote: "Jen ƸӜƷ wrote: "sclerotic

PRONUNCIATION:
(skluh-ROT-ik)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Hard, rigid, slow to adapt or respond.
2. Relating to or affected with sclerosis, an abnormal hardening of a tissue..."

Reminded me of the US government at the moment.

ahhh true Jen. good point.

Crèches: a place where babies are
looked after while their parents work, shop,
etc.; Go down the Green Avenue and you
will find a string of crèches and day-care
centres

tumid

PRONUNCIATION:
(TOO-mid, TYOO-)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Swollen.
2. Bulging.
3. Pompous, bombastic.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin tumere (to swell). Earliest documented use: 1541.

USAGE:
"Her tumid eyes filled with tears and she began to cry."
Joseph Heller; Catch-22; Simon & Schuster; 1961.

"Think of all the suits in marketing, communications, and public relations who clog up the institutional arteries with their tumid prose and clichéd sound bites."
Blaise Cronin; Bloomington Days; AuthorHouse; 2012.

autochthonous

PRONUNCIATION:
(o-TOK-thuh-nuhs)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Aboriginal; indigenous.
2. Formed or originating in the place where found.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek autochthon (of the land itself), from auto- (self) + chthon (earth, land). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dhghem- (earth), which also sprouted human, homicide, humble, homage, chamomile, exhume, inhume, chthonic, disinter, chameleonic, and Persian zamindar (landholder). Earliest documented use: 1804. The opposite of this term is allochthonous.

USAGE:
"As if this were a holy place, a shrine where the autochthonous tribes had gathered to worship."
T.C. Boyle; The Women; Viking; 2009.

noun: saudade; plural noun: saudades

PRONUNCIATION:
/souˈdädə/

MEANING:
a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia that is supposedly characteristic of the Portuguese temperament.

EXAMPLE:
from In Portugal of 1912, A. F. G. Bell

"The famous saudade of the Portuguese is a vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist, for something other than the present, a turning towards the past or towards the future; not an active discontent or poignant sadness but an indolent dreaming wistfulness."

Mirabile Dictu: wonderful to relate;
Randy’s winning putt remained mirabile
dictu in the golf club gossip for many years.

pecksniffian

PRONUNCIATION:
(pek-SNIF-ee-uhn)

MEANING:
adjective: Pretending to have high moral principles; sanctimonious, hypocritical.

ETYMOLOGY:
After Seth Pecksniff, a character in Charles Dickens's novel Martin Chuzzlewit. Earliest documented use: 1844.

NOTES:
Charles Dickens describes Pecksniff like this: "Some people likened him to a direction-post, which is always telling the way to a place, and never goes there."

USAGE:
"She said, 'Davis, stop being such a Pecksniffian stuffed shirt.'"
Jay Inman; Sunigin; WestBow Press; 2012.

I know many Pecksniffian people!

LaLaLa Laura wrote: "I know many Pecksniffian people!"

:)

Sanguine: hopeful, optimistic; She
remained sanguine about our chances of
success in the raffle draw

bumbledom

PRONUNCIATION:
(BUHM-buhl-duhm)

MEANING:
noun: Behavior characteristic of a pompous and self-important petty official.

ETYMOLOGY:
After Mr. Bumble in Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist. Bumble was a fussy, self-important beadle (a minor parish officer) of the workhouse where Oliver Twist was born. Earliest documented use: 1856.

USAGE:
"We regret to record the death of Albury-Wodonga with a hyphen. ... Bumbledom in the two councils has decreed the hyphen must go from stationery and signs."
Howard Jones; Political Doublespeak is Sad Legacy for Border Folk; The Border Mail (Wodonga, Australia); Aug 23, 2007.

good morning all. here's a word of the day :)

Apoplectic: sudden loss of the ability to
feel or move; adj: suffering from apoplexy;
easily made angry; His son’s antics on the
playground left him apoplectic with rage.

bupkis

PRONUNCIATION:
(BUHP-kis)

MEANING:
noun: Absolutely nothing; worthless.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Yiddish, short for kozebubkes (goat droppings), from bub/bob (bean). Earliest documented use: 1937.

NOTES:
The word is also spelled as bobkes, bubkes, bopkes, bupkes, bupkus, bubkis, bubkes, etc. The English equivalent of the term is beans, as in: He doesn't know beans about computers.

USAGE:
"Sorry, your stock options are worth bupkis."
Nancy Davidson; The Secrets of Lost Cats; St. Martin's Press; 2013.

Obstreperous: very noisy or difficult to
control; Andy’s obstreperous behavior just
after a few drinks generally caused his
early exit from most parties.

schnozzle

PRONUNCIATION:
(SHNOZ-ul)

MEANING:
noun: A nose, especially a large one.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Yiddish shnoytsl, diminutive of shnoyts (snout), from German Schnauze (snout), which also gave us the name of the dog breed schnauzer. Earliest documented use: 1930.

USAGE:
"I sneak one long sideways peek at Philip Roth's nose: the sort of schnozzle that put the rhino in rhinoplasty."
Scott Raab; Philip Roth Goes Home Again; Esquire (New York); Oct 7, 2010.

Glad I don't have a schnozzle!

ohhh. that's a good thing definitely Jen! haha

Jen, I'm old enough that this word brings one man to mind: Jimmy Durante!

LOL

lol!

schmo or schmoe or shmo

PRONUNCIATION:
(shmo)

MEANING:
noun: A stupid, boring, or obnoxious person.

ETYMOLOGY:
A truncated form of schmuck (an idiot), from Yiddish schmok (penis). Earliest documented use: 1948.

NOTES:
The word is also used in the phrase Joe Schmo, as a more colorful synonym for John Doe.

USAGE:
"Just because I work at a bar does not mean I want to date every schmo that walks in here."
Joey Guerra; Bartender Confessions: Jodi Minear; Houston Chronicle (Texas); Dec 9, 2010.

Jen ƸӜƷ wrote: "schmo or schmoe or shmo

PRONUNCIATION:
(shmo)

MEANING:
noun: A stupid, boring, or obnoxious person.

ETYMOLOGY:
A truncated form of schmuck (an idiot), from Yiddish schmok (penis). Earliest docu..."

Love the Yiddish phrases! :)

:)

Omertà: rule or code that prohibits
speaking or revealing information,
generally relates to activities of organized
crime; sub; the Mafia; Henry was vowed to
the code of Omertà and sealed his lips
during the police interrogation

LaLaLa Laura wrote: "Omertà: rule or code that prohibits
speaking or revealing information,
generally relates to activities of organized
crime; sub; the Mafia; Henry was vowed to
the code of Omertà and sealed his lips
..."

Interesting, wonder it was ever used in the mobster movies...

hmmm good point Jen. idk!

dreck or drek

PRONUNCIATION:
(drek)

MEANING:
noun: Rubbish; trash.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Yiddish drek (filth, dirt, dung). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sker- (excrement) that is also the source of scoria and scatology. Earliest documented use: 1922.

USAGE:
"Using boot-sale dreck and found rubbish, Michael Landy has created kinetic, three-dimensional versions of saints portrayed in the National Gallery's collection."
Adrian Searle; The Best Art Exhibitions; The Guardian (London, UK); Mar 31, 2013.

I need to clean my house of a lot of dreck!

Snicklefritz
noun. (Sh-nick-L . Frit-z)

"Snicklefritz was originally used in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, where Snicklefritz is an affectionate name for a mischievous or overly talkative child."
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define...

My daughter named one of my cats "Snicklefritz", which certainly fit his personality! :-)

oh how cute Julia! I'm going to incorporate this one in my vocabulary now :)

Just found out that the word has ANOTHER definition as well! Dang, why did they have to co-opt my kitty's name :-(

snicklefritz

First used in the 2008 super-comedy Pineapple Express, this word was used to refer to any random strain of marijuana the drug dealer is selling, namely a low-potent strain.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define...

Ersatz: used as a poor-quality substitute
for something else, inferior to an original
item; The DJ’s ersatz musical numbers were
a poor rendition of Celina’s work.

Overhaul: to examine carefully and
thoroughly and make any necessary
changes or repairs; to come from behind
and pass them; Michael’s faster car easily
overhauled the leading drivers in the F1
Championship

Some very fun words!

biddy

PRONUNCIATION:
(BID-ee)

MEANING:
noun:
1. A young chicken.
2. A woman, especially an elderly one, who is talkative, interfering, or annoying.
3. A cleaning woman.

ETYMOLOGY:
For 1: Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1616.
For 2, 3: Short for the name Bridget. Sense 3 is from Irish maid-servants in the US. Earliest documented use: 1785.

USAGE:
"Les Dawson's most lasting legacy is probably Cissie and Ada, the gossiping old biddies whose innuendo-laden sketches graced his television shows for many years."
Andrew White; Cissie & Ada: An Hysterical Rectomy; Northern Echo (Darlington, UK); Oct 4, 2013.

RANKLE
verb \ˈraŋ-kəl\

to cause (someone) to feel angry or irritated especially for a long time

Examples of RANKLE

The joke about her family rankled her.

Origin of RANKLE

Middle English ranclen to fester, from Anglo-French rancler, from Old French draoncler, raoncler, from draoncle, raoncle festering sore, from Medieval Latin dracunculus, from Latin, diminutive of draco serpent — more at dragon First Known Use: 1606

Chimera: an imaginary creäture
composed of the parts of several different
animals, wild or impossible idea; Harry
gazed awestruck at the monstrous chimera,
a gigantic beast with the head of a lion and
the body of a winged horse

harry

PRONUNCIATION:
(HAR-ee)

MEANING:
verb tr., intr.:
1. To harass, attack, or annoy, especially repeatedly.
2. To raid or pillage.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Old English hergian. Ultimately from the Indo-European root koro- (war, host, army) which also gave us harbor, harbinger, herald, harness, hurry, and harangue. Earliest documented use: 1330.

USAGE:
"A campaign backed by the Polish government harries media outlets that carelessly say 'Polish death camps' (instead of 'Nazi German death camps in occupied Poland')."
Spit and Polish; The Economist (London, UK); Jun 16, 2012.