Posted by Snoozy on May 20, 2003, at 10:33:58
In reply to Re: yet another quote...this is really good!! » Ritch, posted by fayeroe on May 19, 2003, at 14:04:43
I have used "defenestrate" in the past. Always in reference to the computer, when it's giving me a hard time. Especially when Windows is the problem!
One of my favorite words is "kerfuffle", a commotion or to-do. Mostly British use, but I think it should be used more often!
> British novelist Evelyn Waugh once said, "One forgets words as one forgets names. One's vocabulary needs constant fertilisation or it will die." Editors at MSN Learning & Research picked some of their favorite words to nourish your vocabulary. Some of them you may even use. (Tip: click to see the full definition and hear the word pronounced.)
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> 1. Defenestrate: "throw somebody or something out of window: to throw something or somebody out of a window (formal or humorous)"
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> It is quite entertaining to defenestrate paper airplanes.
> 2. Garbology: "study of waste materials: the study of a cultural group by an examination of what it discards"
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> Garbology might be a good career choice for dumpster divers. Recycling may make the job of future garbologists extremely difficult--they'll have less to study.
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> 3. Digerati: "computer experts: people who have or claim to have a sophisticated expertise in the area of computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web"
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> Not too long ago, computer expertise was considered nerdy. These days, many people strive to be among the digerati.
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> 4. Antipodes:
> 1. "places at opposite sides of world: places at opposite sides of the world from each other, or the areas at the side of the world opposite from a given place"
> 2. "opposites: two points, places, or things that are diametrically opposite each other"
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> One could say that Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli and Warren "Potsie" Weber are antipodes.
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> 5. Hallux: "first digit on the foot: the big toe on the human foot, or the first digit on the hind foot of some mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians (technical)"
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> The ballerina had her hallux insured for $10 million!
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> 6. Otiose:
> 1. "not effective: with no useful result or practical purpose"
> 2. "worthless: with little or no value"
> 3. "lazy: unwilling or uninterested in working or being active (archaic)"
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> Will e-mail render traditional letter writing otiose? Let's hope not.
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> 7. Cullet: "glass to be recycled: broken or waste glass returned for recycling"
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> Don't forget to take the cullet out to the curbside, and be sure to put it next to the trash, not in it.
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> 8. Pellucid:
> 1. "clear in meaning: easy to understand or clear in meaning (formal)"
> 2. "transparent: allowing all or most light to pass through (literary)"
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> The police officer's warning was pellucid: drivers must go the speed limit in the school zone.
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> 9. Borborygmus: "stomach rumble: the rumbling sounds made by the movement of gases in the stomach and intestine (technical)"
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> If you lay your head on someone's stomach, you are likely to hear borborygmus.
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> 10. Embrangle: "perplex somebody: to confuse, perplex, or entangle somebody or something (archaic)"
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> As Lord Needlebottom attempted to explain the rules of cricket, his American friends became more and more embrangled.
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poster:Snoozy
thread:225517
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/books/20030426/msgs/227868.html