A Word to the Wise
354 articles filed under A Word to the Wise.
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A Word to the Wise
languish (verb)
To languish (LANG-wish) is to grow weak or feeble; to lose or lack vitality. As I used it today: “Cultures that embrace these values grow rich and prosper. Cultures that ignore them languish at the bottom of…
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A Word to the Wise
Gaelic vs. Celtic
Irish. Gaelic. Celtic. What’s the difference? And do you pronounce Celtic with a hard or soft C? Celtic refers to the Celtic people, a group of Indo-Europeans that spoke some early version of the Celtic…
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A Word to the Wise
self-effacing (adjective)
People who are self-effacing (self uh-FAY-sing ) do not like to draw attention to themselves. As I used it today: “In most respects, Bernard is a modest, self-effacing guy. He’s humble. He never boasts. He has…
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A Word to the Wise
obsolete (adjective)
Something that’s obsolete (ahb-suh-LEET) is no longer in general use; discarded or outmoded. As I used it today: “Two or 3 million bus drivers could lose their jobs. And that’s not to mention the millions of…
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A Word to the Wise
bedrock (noun)
Bedrock (BED-rahk) is the solid layer of rock underlying loose rocks and soil. The word is also used to refer to the fundamental principles upon which something is based. As I used it today: “Today, let’s talk…
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A Word to the Wise
numeracy (noun)
Numeracy (NOO-mer-uh-see) is the ability to understand and work with numbers. As I used it today: “I’m sure you are 100% agreed that putting my reforms into practice will have an immediate and immensely…
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A Word to the Wise
nefarious (adjective)
Nefarious (nuh-FARE-ee-us) refers to something (typically an action or activity) that is wicked or criminal. As I used it today: “There’s a lot of chatter going on about a nefarious plot by the administration…
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A Word to the Wise
mitigate (verb)
To mitigate (MIH-duh-gate) is to make less severe, serious, or painful. As I used it today: “[Sweden has] a national 25% sales tax that is built into the price of almost everything. To mitigate the effect on…
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A Word to the Wise
exemplum (noun)
An exemplum (ig-ZEM-plum) is an example, especially one used to illustrate or support a point. As I used it today: “So, what, exactly, is the Nordic Model? And if Sweden is an exemplum of it, how, exactly…
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A Word to the Wise
senescence (noun)
Senescence (suh-NEH-suhns) is the condition or process of deterioration with age. As I used it today: “In my experience, [businesses are like] organisms that grow in organic ways. In infancy and childhood…
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A Word to the Wise
Draconian (adjective)
Draconian (dray-KOH-nee-un) means harsh or severe. The word refers to Draco, a 7th century BC Athenian legislator who created an extremely cruel code of law. (Even minor offenses were punishable by death.) As…
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A Word to the Wise
fawn (verb)
To fawn (FAWN) is to display exaggerated flattery or affection, typically in order to gain favor or advantage. As I used it today: “[Maya] Angelou felt that she might not be the greatest American poet of the…
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A Word to the Wise
civility (noun)
Civility (suh-VIL-uh-dee) is formal politeness and courtesy. As I used it today: “Instead of relying on a traffic light to direct their stop-and-go decisions, [drivers] were using common sense and civility…
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A Word to the Wise
egregious (adjective)
Egregious (uh-GREE-jus) describes something that is obviously and shockingly bad. As I used it today: “And on top of that are the problems with the way workers are classified. The most egregious: Those on…
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A Word to the Wise
phenomenology (noun)
Phenomenology (fuh-nah-muh-NAHL-uh-jee) is the branch of philosophy that deals with consciousness, thought, and experience. As I used it today: “[John Updike] takes a phenomenological approach to criticism.”
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A Word to the Wise
annus mirabilis (noun)
Annus mirabilis (AH-nus muh-RAH-bih-lus) is a Latin phrase that means miraculous or amazing year. As I used it today: “My record in the years that followed my annus mirabilis was piebald.”
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A Word to the Wise
derivative (adjective)
Something that’s derivative (duh-RIH-vuh-tiv) is not the result of new ideas, but has been developed from or imitates something else. As I used it today: “What is beautiful to the inexperienced eye often looks…
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A Word to the Wise
tyro (noun)
A tyro (TIE-roh) is a beginner or novice. As I used it today: “To answer all the questions I’ve been getting on gold, I’ve put together the following Q&A. It’s meant for tyros, but there may be information…
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A Word to the Wise
filial (adjective)
Filial (FIL-yul) describes something that is due to a parent from a child. As I used it today: “Filial piety is an important element in Buddhism, Korean Confucianism, Taoism, and in Japanese and Vietnamese…
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A Word to the Wise
prebuttal (noun)
A prebuttal (pree-BUD’l) is an argument constructed in anticipation of a criticism. (Coinage of the word has been attributed to Al Gore.) As used by US News & World Report’s Roger Simon: “There’s rebuttal…
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A Word to the Wise
prognosticate (verb)
To prognosticate (prahg-NAH-stih-kate) is to predict something about the future based on present indications or signs. As I used it today: “Thousands of small and medium businesses, employing millions of…
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A Word to the Wise
chicanery (noun)
Chicanery (shuh-KAY-nuh-ree) is the use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose. As I used it today: "We cannot accept this sort of chicanery. We need to do something serious to end the…
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A Word to the Wise
imbroglio (noun) — July 20, 2020
As I used it today: “The hydroxychloroquine imbroglio is just one of a dozen confusions that have emerged from the political and media exploitation of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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A Word to the Wise
righteous (adjective)
Righteous (RITE-chus) means correct or justifiable according to the code of behavior of a particular society. As I used it today: “[If you advocate for a new standard of equality], you will likely feel…
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A Word to the Wise
grok (verb)
To grok (GRAHK) is to understand something profoundly and intuitively. As I used it today: “I don’t remember exactly when I first read about the Pareto Principle, but I’m certain I did not grok it early in my…
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A Word to the Wise
longeur (noun)
Longeur (lahn-GUR) is a tedious passage in a book or other work. As I used it today: “As you can surmise from that introduction, I have a lot to say on this subject. And lest you think it’s going to be episode…
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A Word to the Wise
proffer (verb)
To proffer (PRAH-fur) is to offer; to hold out something to someone for acceptance. As I used it today: “He proffered a few unconvincing answers. Finally. he told me the truth.”
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A Word to the Wise
proliferate (verb)
To proliferate (pruh-LIH-fuh-rate) is to multiply; to increase or spread rapidly and excessively. As I used it today: “Viruses don’t extinguish themselves. They proliferate until their basic reproductive rate…
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A Word to the Wise
clarion (adjective)
Clarion (KLARE-ee-un) means loud and clear. As used by Martin Dempsey: “Sometimes we wait for thunderclaps, drumrolls, and clarion calls to alert us to what’s important when, actually, it’s most often the…
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A Word to the Wise
portentous (adjective)
Portentous (por-TEN-tus) means serious; ominous. As used by Francine Prose: “What makes [Hillary Mantel’s] novels seem at once breezy and substantial is Mantel's knack for leavening her weighty themes with…
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A Word to the Wise
fugacious (adjective)
Something that’s fugacious (fyoo-GAY-shus) is fleeting; transitory. As used by Hannah More: “Honours and dignities are transient, beauty and riches frail and fugacious.”
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A Word to the Wise
hospitality (noun)
Hospitality (hos-pih-TAL-ih-tee) is the cordial and generous welcoming and treatment of guests. Interesting that it comes from the same Latin root as hospital (“hospitalis,” which means “of a guest”). As used…
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A Word to the Wise
lethological (adjective)
Lethological (leh-thuh-LAH-juh-kuhl) refers to the inability to remember the exact word you want. Example: “It’s on the tip of my tongue… um… um… Oh, no! I’m having another lethological moment!”
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A Word to the Wise
prescind (verb)
To prescind (prih-SIND) is to withdraw attention. As used by Nicanor G. Tiongson: “Those who subscribe to the theory of art for art’s sake believe that they can prescind from the realities of their society and…
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A Word to the Wise
strident (adjective)
Strident (STRY-duhnt) means harsh, insistent; excessively and unpleasantly forceful. As I used it today: “It does seem that an imbalance in the testosterone/estrogen ratio in favor of testosterone stirs up…
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A Word to the Wise
deference (noun)
Deference (DEF-er-uhns) is humble submission and respect. As I used it today: “The social privileges white Americans enjoyed, [W.E.B. Du Bois] contended, included courtesy and deference, unimpeded admittance…
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A Word to the Wise
proxemics (noun)
Yes, there’s a word for all the social distancing we’ve been doing: proxemics (prahk-SEE-miks). Basically, it’s the study of how people use space when they’re communicating. The term was coined in 1963 by the…
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A Word to the Wise
feign (verb)
To feign (FAYN) is to represent fictitiously or deceptively; to put on the appearance of . As I used it today: “I opened and shut my desk drawer loudly to feign some sort of activity in my office. ”
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A Word to the Wise
acumen (noun)
Acumen (uh-KYOO-mun) is the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions. As I used it today: “Why is it that some art lovers – even those who have… no financial acumen at all – often make gobs of money…
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A Word to the Wise
cursory (adjective)
Cursory (KER-suh-ree) describes something that is rapidly and often superficially performed or produced. As I used it today: “When you use search engines and social media to shape your thoughts on topical…
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A Word to the Wise
anagnorisis (noun)
Anagnorisis (a-nag-NOR-ih-sis) is the point in a play, novel, etc. in which a principal character recognizes or discovers another character’s true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances. As I…
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A Word to the Wise
insouciant (adjective)
Insouciant (in-SOO-see-uhnt) describes a casual lack of concern; indifference. As I used it today: “There was something about the insouciant way in which [George Floyd] was killed… that made this killing…
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A Word to the Wise
bromide (noun)
A bromide (BROH-mide) is a commonplace or hackneyed statement or notion. As I used it today: “That entrepreneurs (and the CEOs that run entrepreneurial companies) must be risk takers may be a bromide that is…
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A Word to the Wise
ephemeral (adjective)
Something that’s ephemeral (ih-FEH-mer-uhl) is fleeting or short-lived. As I used it today: “You may have heard the argument that people generally get more long-term pleasure out of spending money on…
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A Word to the Wise
reproach (noun)
Reproach (ruh-PROHTCH) is an expression of disapproval or disappointment. As I used it today: “The copywriter believes – or desperately wants to believe (which is sometimes worse) – that his/her writing is…
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A Word to the Wise
serendipitous (adjective)
Something that is serendipitous (ser-un-DIP-ih-tus) occurs or is discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way. As I used it today: “As they moved into their mid-teens, I wanted my children to be…
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A Word to the Wise
fractious (adjective)
Fractious (FRAK-shus) means quarrelsome; irritable. As used in a recent article in The Economist about the debate, in China, over whether a 14-year-old girl was a victim of rape by her wealthy guardian or a…
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A Word to the Wise
insinuate (verb)
To insinuate(in-SIN-yoo-ate) is to slide (oneself or a thing) slowly and smoothly into a position. As I used it today: “I like a loud argument as much as any Irish American, but I don’t like an intellectual…
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A Word to the Wise
cosset (verb)
To cosset (KAH-sit) is to pamper; to care for and protect in an overindulgent way. As used by Mark Gatiss: “Fear is an underrated emotion. And that’s why I think it’s very dangerous to try to cosset children…
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A Word to the Wise
eschew (verb)
To eschew (es-CHEW) is to deliberately avoid using; to abstain from. As I used it today: “I learned the lesson above in the mid to late 1980s. After that, I eschewed freebie campaigns and even highly…
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