A Word to the Wise
354 articles filed under A Word to the Wise.
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A Word to the Wise
Brutalism (noun)
Brutalism (BROODL-izm) is a style of architecture featuring massive, unadorned, block-like forms. The term was first used in the 1950s and 1960s to describe innovative buildings constructed primarily with raw…
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A Word to the Wise
Plasticity (noun)
Plasticity (plas-TIH-sih-tee) is the quality of being molded or shaped. As used by Jacob Bronowski: “Man is unique not because he does science, and is unique not because he does art, but because science and…
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A Word to the Wise
Lurid (adjective)
Lurid (adjective).- Lurid (LOOR-id) means shocking, causing horror or revulsion; glaringly vivid or sensational. As used by Edgar Allan Poe in The Pit and the Pendulum: “Demon eyes, of a wild and ghastly…
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A Word to the Wise
Nocuous (adjective)
Nocuous (adjective) .- Something that’s nocuous (NAHK-yoo-us) is harmful, likely to cause damage or injury. As used by the Indian spiritual leader Guru Nanak (1469-1539): “[The king] shall use his utmost…
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A Word to the Wise
Alacrity (noun)
Alacrity (uh-LAK-rih-tee) is cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness. As used by Jordan Salcito in The Daily Beast: “Down under, people endearingly call boxes of wine ‘goons,’ and they drink them with…
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A Word to the Wise
Frisson (noun)
Frisson (noun) – A frisson (free-SOHN) is a shudder of emotion; a sudden strong feeling of excitement. As used by Martin Amis: “A novel comes not from a decision but a frisson, a sort of shiver that goes…
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A Word to the Wise
Diffidence (noun)
Diffidence (noun) –Diffidence (DIF-ih-dunhs) is timidity; lacking confidence. As used by Golda Meir: “Ability hits the mark where presumption overshoots and diffidence falls short.”
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A Word to the Wise
Temporize (verb)
Temporize (verb) – To temporize (TEM-puh-rize) is to be evasive in order to gain time or delay acting. As used by Washington Post columnist Lloyd Grove: “I am still temporizing and twiddling on that [where he…
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A Word to the Wise
Cerebrate (verb)
Cerebrate (verb) – To cerebrate (SARE-uh-brate) isto use the mind; to think or think about. As used by Michael Innes in An Awkward Lie: “If you simply retire to your own room, shove your backside into an…
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A Word to the Wise
Imbroglio (noun)
Imbroglio (noun) – An imbroglio (im-BROHL-yoh) is an intricate and perplexing state of affairs; a complicated or difficult situation. As I used it today: “[Right now] I’m involved in an imbroglio over one of…
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A Word to the Wise
Milquetoast (noun, adjective)
Milquetoast (noun, adjective) – The word milquetoast (MILK-tohst) defines a very timid, unassertive, spineless person.As used in today’s journal entry: “Now I feel mired in a milquetoast existence that slowly…
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A Word to the Wise
Bamboozle (verb)
Bamboozle (verb) – To bamboozle (bam-BOO-zuhl) is to deceive by trickery, deception, flattery, etc. As used by Walter Lippman: “Successful politicians are insecure and intimidated men. They advance politically…
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A Word to the Wise
Crapulous (adjective)
Crapulous (adjective) – Crapulous (KRAP-yuh-lus) means intemperate; marked by gross excess in drinking or eating. As used by Jack Kerouac: “Oh little Cody Pomeray if there had been some way to send a cry to…
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A Word to the Wise
Evince (verb)
Evince (verb) – To evince (ih-VINS) is to show clearly; prove. As used by Samuel Adams: “Let us awaken then, and evince a different spirit, a spirit that shall inspire the people with confidence in themselves…
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A Word to the Wise
Sequester (verb)
Sequester (verb) – To sequester (sih-KWES-ter) is to segregate; set apart. As used by Paul Dini: “To overcome any form of adversity, to not give up, to not give up on yourself, your dreams, to not sequester…
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A Word to the Wise
Ubiquitous (adjective)
Ubiquitous (adjective) – Ubiquitous (yoo-BIK-wih-tus) means existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time. As I used it today: “Note to people worried about the end of American culture. It won’t…
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A Word to the Wise
Impedimenta (noun)
Impedimenta (noun) – Impedimenta (im-ped-uh-MEN-tuh) is baggage of any kind that impedes progress. As used by David Roberts: “When you sling a saddle atop a llama’s back, just after he’s rolled in the dirt to…
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A Word to the Wise
Word of the Day: Linguaphile
Linguaphile (noun) – A linguaphile (LING-wuh-file) is a language and word lover. As used by Judith Strauss: “I never met a linguaphile I didn’t like.”
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A Word to the Wise
Alexander Graham Bell's Vision For Vocal Telegraph Communication
Viva voce (adverb) –(vye-vuh VOH-see) means by word of mouth; orally rather than in writing. As used by Alexander Graham Bell: “Grand telegraphic discover today… Transmitted vocal sounds for the first time……
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A Word to the Wise
Evenfall (noun)
Evenfall (noun) – Evenfall (EE-vuhn fawl) is twilight; dusk. As used by George Allan England in Darkness and Dawn: “Haze drew its veils across the world, and the air grew brown with evenfall.”
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A Word to the Wise
Minion (noun)
Minion (noun) – A minion (MIN-yun) is a servile follower or subordinate of a person in power. As used by Ivanka Trump: “I am not a clone, and I am not a minion.”
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A Word to the Wise
Nemesis vs. enemy (nouns)
Nemesis vs. enemy (nouns) – An enemy (EN-uh-mee) is a foe that you can defeat or who can defeat you. A nemesis (NEM-us-sis) is unconquerable, a lifelong opponent or rival. Example for enemy: “The supreme art…
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A Word to the Wise
Sundoku (noun)
I got this from Tim Ferriss’s blog. It’s a great word. (I posted an essay about this recently: “Are You an Information Addict?”) Ferriss says: Japanese has wonderfully short words that can replace paragraphs…
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A Word to the Wise
Cozen (verb)
Cozen (verb) – To cozen (KUH-zuhn) is to cheat, deceive, trick. As used by William Bolitho: “The shortest way out of Manchester is notoriously a bottle of Gordon’s gin; out of any businessman’s life there is…
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A Word to the Wise
Vitiate (verb)
Vitiate (verb) – To vitiate (VISH-ee-ate) is to impair, debase, make ineffective. As used by George Orwell: “All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the…
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A Word to the Wise
Inculpate (verb)
Inculpate (verb) – To inculpate (in-KUHL-pate) is to blame or accuse. As used by Germaine Greer: “Guilt is one side of a nasty triangle; the other two are shame and stigma. This grim coalition combines to…
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A Word to the Wise
Cupidity (noun)
Cupidity (noun) – Cupidity (kyoo-PID-ih-tee) is greed or avarice; eager or excessive desire. As used by Théodore Guérin: “[The Americans’] cupidity renders them daring and indifferent to everything else.”
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A Word to the Wise
Demarcate (verb)
Demarcate (verb) – To demarcate (dih-MAR-kate) is to define the boundaries or limits of something. As used by Christopher Morley in Pipefuls: “Out at Hillside the stones that demarcate the territory of an…
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A Word to the Wise
Agglomeration (noun)
Agglomeration (noun) – An agglomeration (uh-glom-uh-RAY-shun) is a group of many (usually disparate) things that have been collected or brought together. As used by Voltaire: “This agglomeration which was…
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A Word to the Wise
Celtic (adjective)
Celtic (adjective) – Did you ever wonder why Celtic is sometimes pronounced KEL-tik and sometimes SEL-tik? The answer is very interesting… at least it was to me.
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A Word to the Wise
Bootstrap (noun, verb, adjective)
Bootstrap (noun, verb, adjective) – To bootstrap (BOOT-strap) is to rely entirely on your own efforts and resources, to help yourself succeed without the aid of others. As used by journalist David Sax: “Unlike…
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A Word to the Wise
Aspersion (noun)
Aspersion (noun) – An aspersion (uh-SPUR-zhun) is a damaging or derogatory remark. As used by George Santayana: “The philosophy of the common man is an old wife that gives him no pleasure, yet he cannot live…
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A Word to the Wise
Nebulous (adjective)
Nebulous (adjective) – Nebulous (NEB-yuh-lus) can mean hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused. As I used it in today’s essay: “When you think of investing as something as nebulous as putting money into stocks…
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A Word to the Wise
Scry (verb)
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…
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A Word to the Wise
Temerity (noun)
Temerity (noun) – Temerity (tuh-MARE-ih-tee) is rashness, recklessness, boldness. As used by Emile Zola in Therese Raquin: “There was a sort of brutal temerity in his prudence, the temerity of a man with big…
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A Word to the Wise
Feint (noun)
Feint (noun) – A feint (FEYNT) is a deceptive move. As used by Dani Shapiro: “Our minds have a tendency to wander. To duck and feint and keep us at a slight remove from the moment at hand.”
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A Word to the Wise
Balladmonger (noun)
Balladmonger (noun) – A balladmonger (BAL-uhd-mong-er) is an inferior poet. Shakespeare, the first known author to use the word, did it like this in King Henry IV, Part 1: “I had rather be a kitten, and cry…
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A Word to the Wise
Velitation (noun)
Velitation (noun) –A velitation (vel-ih-TAY-shun) is a minor dispute or contest. As used by Sir Walter Scott inSt. Ronan’s Well: “While the ladies in the tea-room of the Fox Hotel were engaged in the light…
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A Word to the Wise
Obdurate (adjective)
Obdurate (adjective) – Obdurate (OB-doo-rit or OB-dyoo-rit) means stubborn, persistent; unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings. As used by Charles Dickens in Barnaby Rudge: “Mrs. Varden was obdurate…
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A Word to the Wise
William Congreve On Life's Uncertain Joys
“Would anything but a madman complain about uncertainty? Uncertainty and expectation are the joys of life. Security is an insipid thing.” – William Congreve
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A Word to the Wise
Repartee (noun)
Repartee (noun) – Repartee (re-per-TEE or re-per-TAY) is a quick, witty reply or a conversation made up of such replies. As used by Louis Theroux: “It’s difficult to describe the weirdness of speaking to a man…
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A Word to the Wise
Lenitive (adjective or noun)
Lenitive (adjective or noun) – Something that is lenitive (LEN-ih-tiv) softens, soothes, or mitigates; alleviates pain or harshness. As used by Laurence Sterne: “There is one sweet lenitive at least for evils…
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A Word to the Wise
Degustation (noun)
Degustation (noun) – Degustation (dee-gus-TAY-shun) is the act of tasting or savoring, especially with care or relish. As used by Liane Moriarty in Nine Perfect Strangers: “There would be no alcohol, sugar…
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A Word to the Wise
Peripeteia (noun)
Peripeteia (noun) – Peripeteia (per-uh-pih-TAYE-uh) is a literary term that refers to a turning point in the plot; an unexpected reversal of fortune. Example: the sudden change in Oedipus Rex’s situation when…
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A Word to the Wise
Ratiocinate (verb)
Ratiocinate (verb) – To ratiocinate (rash-ee-AH-sih-nate) is to reason, to figure things out. As used by Robert Louis Stevenson: “But I give you warning – Stasie may weep and Henri ratiocinates – it will not…
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A Word to the Wise
Today’s Word: tergiversation (noun)
Today’s Word: tergiversation (noun) –Tergiversation(tur-jih-ver-SAY-shun) is equivocation; the act of being deliberately ambiguous. As used by Tobias Smollett in The Expedition of Humphry Clinker: “I must tell…
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A Word to the Wise
Coeval (adjective)
Coeval (adjective) – Coeval (koh-EE-vuhl) means of the same age or time period. As used by Henry David Thoreau in Walden: “Such an eye was not born when the bird was, but is coeval with the sky it reflects.”
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A Word to the Wise
Supplicate (verb)
Supplicate (verb) – To supplicate (SUP-lih-kate) is to make a humble and earnest entreaty or petition. As used by Gabriele D’Annunzio in The Child of Pleasure: “Andrea might writhe and supplicate and despair…
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A Word to the Wise
Word of the Day: Egalitarian
Egalitarian (adjective) – Egalitarian (ih-gal-ih-TAIR-ee-un) means asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people. As I used it today: “They were shy and I did my best to…
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A Word to the Wise
Today’s Word: roseate (adjective)
Today’s Word: roseate (adjective) Roseate (ROH-zee-it) is rose-colored, resembling a rose. It can also mean overly optimistic. As used by Oliver Wendell Holmes: “Speak not too well of one who scarce will know…
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