A flâneur (flah-NUR) is an idle man-about-town; a casual wanderer and observer of street life. Example from the Norton Museum of Art website: “From the 19th-century flâneur… to today’s social media networkers, the need to get a glimpse of famous or notorious personalities and the compulsion to be seen within an aura of celebrity and influence has driven – and been driven by – the graphic arts.”
The provenance (PRAH-vuh-nuntz) of a work of art – from the French for “to come from” – is a record of its ownership. It is used to confirm the piece’s authenticity and value. As I used it today: “Suzanne…
To bamboozle (bam-BOO-zuhl) is to deceive by trickery, flattery, etc. As used by Bill Bonner, above: “The president and his advisors assure us that the Dow will hit 30,000. Warren, Sanders, et al. have their…
To prophesy (PRAH-fuh-say) is to foretell or predict. As used by Winston Churchill: “I always avoid prophesying beforehand because it is a much better policy to prophesy after the event has already taken place…
Scry (verb) – To scry (SKRAYE) is to divine the future or discover secrets, primarily with a crystal ball. As used by Andrew Lang in Cock Lane and Common-Sense: “The antiquity and world-wide diffusion of…
describes someone who is lively, determined, and courageous. The word was originally applied to scrappy little hunting dogs. It also, oddly, seems to have something to do with farting. As I used it in my…
