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GOBBLEDYGOOK: obscure language which is difficult to de-cypher
When I first began thinking about using the word gobbledygook in a posting I thought I was dealing with a word that was so “made up” that it wouldn’t even appear in a dictionary. I was surprised to...
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OTIOSE [OH-shee-ohs]: unneeded, not useful
“I’ve never heard the word before.” If you just said that, welcome to the crowd. Admittedly, even the experts say that it is obscure and irrelevant. Bryan Garner, one of the linguistic experts I...
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HIGHFALUTIN [hahy-fuh-LOOT-n]: pretentious, pompous
There are debates about how to spell highfalutin, but this seems to be the preferred form. Its origin is sketchy, but seems to have something to do with the root word flute. Hifalutin, highfalutin or...
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BLOVIATE: to speak pompously
We’re not in an election season (officially), but it only takes the wink of an eye before the 2014 elections are upon us. Already, there are candidates announcing their intentions to run. Smart ones...
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DENIGRATE [DEN-i-greyt]: to speak damagingly about someone
It seems easy for some people to put down others without a lot of angst. It just comes naturally to them. Oh, there are comedians who rely upon denigration as their medium, but they just chalk it...
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INJUSTICE: violation of the rights of others
It is easy to romanticize the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. to a point that it loses its significance. That may seem like a harsh comment on this annual day of recognition of the civil rights...
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RED HERRING: a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to...
I was watching one of my favorite TV shows, NCIS-LA, the other night. It was an episode which took place in a fish market. At one point, Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) comes up holding a plastic bag...
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THE IDES OF MARCH: the 15th of March
This is the day. Beware of being in the presence of your political enemies. This is the day on which Julius Caeser was stabbed to death by his frenemies while attending a meeting of the Senate of...
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VOTE: to express or signify will or choice in a matter, as by casting a ballot
Finally, after millions of dollars and innumerable hours of television advertising, tons of lawn signs, phone calls from all over the country (even though it’s local elections this year,) and...
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VACCINE: preparation used as a preventive inoculation to confer immunity
My favorite NPR host pointed out today that Americans have the memory of gnats. His point of reference was that when Ebola was rampant and we in America were concerned about what would happen if...
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IMPETUOUS [im-PECH-oo-uh s] : impulsive, an action done without a lot of...
Yes, in case you recognize the torso of the cliff jumper in the photo, it is Justin Bieber. I didn’t have to search very far to find an article about him which fits today’s word, impetuous. In his...
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LOOPHOLE: an opening or aperture.
It’s almost boring to find that the real meaning for the term loophole has to do with holes in the wall of a castle wall, through which shots (or arrows) can be fired at the enemy. Ho-hum. It is a...
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