1 : to give an omen or anticipatory sign of
2 : indicate, signify
Synonym(s): predict, foreshadow
Antonym(s): postdict, aftershadow
Spanish For: The niño.
Used in a Sentence: Though Becca was a staunch anti-Semite…portend.
“Bears Can’t Vote”
- courtesy of alert reader Ted Beidler
Today, I thought that I’d been the first person on the planet to combine a Latin apology and the word “media” into a clever portmanteau of sorts, such as:
“Media Culpa”
After a quick Google search, it turns out that I was wrong.
“Periodic Table of Elephants”
- courtesy of alert reader Mike Smith
“Movie”
Diminutive of the term, “moving picture,” this one may top them all; prior to film, there were only still pictures and audio, usually transmitted through radio waves. However, with the advent of talking and moving pictures and their ensuing popularity, the general public deemed, “moving picture,” too cumbersome and shortened it to, “movie”.
It’s a “movie” because it moves. The suffix “ie” just makes it cutesy. BS.
Circumlocution
1 : the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea
2 : evasion in speech
— cir·cum·loc·u·to·ry \-ˈlä-kyə-ˌtȯr-ē\ adjective
Synonym(s): circumduction, periphrasis
Antonym(s): justtheonephrasis
Used in a Sentence: Circumlocution is the tops.
Used in a Better Sentence: Barry used his cunning skills of circumlocution in an effort to satisfy the angry Chief of Medicine ’s curiosity regarding the patient’s inability to produce the name of the doctor who unwittingly filled Mr. Johnson’s IV with Lucky Charms instead of the standard saline solution as Barry didn’t have the name of the doctor in question because in reality it was he who wittingly filled the patient’s IV with Lucky Charms; he was curious as to what would happen in such an event but he did not want to soil his squeaky clean reputation as the resident hospital prankster.
"You'll never comandeer me small shiny objects which have brought me fortune in the past but it is yet to be seen whether they will continue to do so on subsequent events in the future!"
Sangfroid
: self-possession or imperturbability especially under strain
Ride then Die.
After this post, no more BS prefaces to the WOTD…you’ll just click on the link and POW! right in the kisser. So here it is, your moment of zen:
Prestidigitation
: sleight of hand, legerdemain
Synonym(s): magicitude; awesome
Antonym(s): unmagical; lame
Used in a Sentence: Prestidigitation cannot be a real word.
Used in a Better Sentence: Heather used her unbelievable skills of prestidigitation to sway the audience into thinking that she had produced a dove from the palm of her hand; in reality, what she had done was a lot of drugs. C’mon, Heather’s no magician.
Prestidigi...what?
Thanks for reading!
Hitherto referred to as “WOTD”, in an effort to hold myself more accountable for updating this blog daily I will be posting a favorite word of mine from the English language each and every day, copied and pasted straight from meriam-webster.com (suck it, dictionary.com), until I miss a day. Which will be often. Enjoy!
* * * *
Today’s exciting bit of English verbiage:
Recalcitrant
1 : obstinately defiant of authority or restraint
2 a : difficult to manage or operate b : not responsive to treatment c : resistant
Synonym: Unruly
Antonym: Ruly
Used in a sentence: Jared was very recalcitrant.
Better Example: Jared’s attempts at suppressing the demands of the recalcitrant babies were in vain as Jared has a family history of poor babysitting skills. Can’t fight genetics, man.
The Recalcitrantest
Stay tuned tomorrow for another exciting edition to this exciting, etc., etc.!
The human race is a collective creature of habit. Despite the fact that things are continually changing and evolving in the world around us, for whatever reason we still tend to hold onto archaic or even defunct expressions because we just can’t seem to let go, even if said phrase didn’t originate in our own generation. In this series, I will discuss a handful of these expressions and explore their practical utility in today’s world. Or something very similar.
* * * *
In this edition, I wish to address the general population’s insistence and ignorant fixation on using the term “tin foil”. Tin foil was first produced and distributed in the late 19th-early 20th century for packaging and storing purposes. While a useful and somewhat malleable substance, it unfortunately left behind a curiously tin-like taste on the food that was not terribly pleasing to the tongue.
Fall Foilage
In an effort to cut back on this undesirable aftertaste, aluminum slowly came into the picture. It was more malleable, cheaper to produce, and best of all…didn’t leave consumers with a bad taste in their respective mouths . Still today, we use this to wrap our left-overs and other sundry perishable items to keep them fresh and contained.
People have found many uses for aluminum foil in modern times.
The moral of the story? Tin foil hasn’t existed since the early 1900’s…what we are using now is aluminum foil. So why do people still insist on using “tin” when nobody in this or any living generation has actually used it? The world may never know.
