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| a vault with niches for storing urns; a pigeon house |
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| having two or more colors, multicolored. The Pied Piper owes his monikor to his multicolored attire. "A pair of women came first, one strangely dressed in pied clothes of three or four different eras." |
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| a casual or unskilled laborer. |
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| a deliberately misleading story or hoax |
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| an ever-present threat, impending danger. "The threat of an audit looms like a sword of Damacles over the heads of taxpayers." |
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| tearful, reducing to tears |
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peripatetic (n)
peripatetic (a) |
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| itinerant; a follower of Aristotle; moving or travelling from place to place, of or relating to walking or travelling; of or relating to Aristotle, his philosophy or his teaching method of conducting methods while walking about. |
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| good form or style, high society, something regarded as fashionable right |
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| (o fay) being well-informed or skillful in something. "Some technology degree holders took a job for two years before they were au fait with the practical skills" |
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| (kloo) a major point of interest or central idea. "Penelope is the clou of the book" (Guide to Ulysses) |
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| a place of lodging for temporary or (pee-ay-duh-tare) secondary use. "These days Arthur Miller divides his time between his ample farmhouse in Roxbury and the pied-a-terre in New York" |
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| something that is not stated but understood. origin: ltn sub (below) + intelligere (to understand) |
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| the study of butterflies and moths. origin: grk lepido (scale) + pteron (wing) |
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| the ridge patterns of skin on the inner surface of hands and feet. origin: grk dermato (skin) glyphein (to carve) |
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| a subtle argument, especially on a theological or philosophical issue; a musical medley. origin: ltn quod + libet (what + it pleases) |
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| (shvehr-pungkt) the point of focus; an area of concentrated effort. "In the only arty shot, the Dalai Lama, seen in silhouette, sits at the schwerpunkt of a Mondrian-like composition." |
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| of or relating to grass. origin: ltn gramen (grass) |
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| to pass over someone in favor of another, as in promotion; to hinder |
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| a work o art on two hinged panels, such as a painting or carving. origin: grk di + ptyche (two + fold) |
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| a word coined by blending two or more words; a case opening in two parts used for carrying clothes while traveling. origin: fr porter + manteau (to carry + mantle). While explaining the poem Jabberwocky, Humpty Dumpty tells Alice "Well. 'slithy' means 'lithe and slimy'...You see it's like a portmanteau-- there are two meanings packed up into one word." (Lewis Carroll). ex. brunch, smog (smoke + fog), motel (motor + hotel) |
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| to work (such as study, write, discourse) laboriously or learnedly |
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| having the same age, contemporary. origin: ltn co + aetas (with + age) |
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| to deceive, to taunt, to flatter; to fit in or go together. insincere or deceptive. a jazz or swing dance; insincere, exaggerated or nonsense talk. "But what if they are jiving us? Surely, I am not the only cynic" or "The need for garden rooms and plants to jive with architecture and interiors" |
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| a swindle or confidence game, money obtained by fraud. "The real genius of the ever-evolving 419 scam is its ability to change with the times. Like Madonna or antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus, the money-advancing grift continuously reinvents itself to better infiltrate society's weaknesses." |
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| a heated dispute, brawl. "People should get their domestic rhubarbs, verbal fisticuffs, and emotional jugular-snatching completely out of the way before they show up for a house tour." |
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| alright, okay. "So far as the state is concerned, everything is jake." |
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| relating to charity. origin: grk eleemosyne (pity, charity) from eleemon (pitiful) from eleos (pity) |
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| After the senator's excoriation of the incumbent's policy on the war on poverty, the president palliated the situation by publicizing his own personal eleemosynary generosity, thereby countervailing the obloquy. |
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| After the senator's excoriation of the incumbent's policy on the war on poverty, the president palliated the situation by publicizing his own personal eleemosynary generosity, thereby countervailing the obloquy. |
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| to remove from a grave, exhume; to bring to light. origin: ltn dis + interrare (away, apart + to bury). "From underneath all this falsity he needs to disinter what's true." |
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| evenness of temper in all circumstances. origin: ltn aequanimitas from aequus + animitas (equal, even + mind, spirit). "Even as a young basketball star, she had no inflated opinion about herself nor did she ever take offense at the numerous teasing remarks or stares that her height drew. She met both celebrity status and silly remarks with equanimity." |
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| threatening or menacing. origin: ltn minari (to threaten). "France has seldom assumed a minatory posture towards India, being much less inclined than other major countries t o hector, or push and prod in an attempt to influence policy." |
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| to speak or write at length; to move about freely. origin: ltn exspatiari (to wander or digress). "I spend part of the day of the debate watching a parade of talking heads expatiate endlessly on how dire was the need for Obama to go macho." |
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| an isolated mountain or hill rising abruptly from its surroundings. origin: german insel + berg (island + mountain). "Perhaps the most terrifying storm I have ever been through was on Malawi's Nyika Plateau, a huge inselberg that rises out of almost nowhere." |
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| cheerfully optimistic or confident; having a healthy reddish color, blood-red. origin: ltn sanguineus (bloody). " As usual, Philips is sanguine: Michael is totally focused now, and the insurance wasn't a problem, it was just expensive." |
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| an elongated ridge formed by wind erosion, often resembling the keel of an upside down ship. "There are about 50 yardangs on Edwards Air Force Base, with the largest about 15 feet high and 150 feet long. Base biologist Mark Hagan described them as looking like upside-down ship hulls." |
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| a mound/hill of soil-covered ice. origin: inuit pingu. "Out on the Arctic coastal plain below the northern foot of the Brooks, the land is dotted with pingoes a foot or two tall." |
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| rock debris at the base or the side of a mountain. "The trail is well-defined, although there were a few spots where we had to scrabble up rocks and slide down scree." |
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| disgrace resulting from public condemnation; censure or abusive language towards someone, especially when expressed by many. origin: ltn obloquium (talking against, contradiction), from ob + loqui (against + to speak). "Jimmy Carter is a man wo is prepared to risk the obloquy and criticism of die-hard neocons and nervous fellow senior Democrats to break the chains of Washington's foolish Middle East peace policy." |
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| to throw someone or something out of a window. origin: ltn de + fenestra (out of + window). The Defenestration of Prague May 23, 1618 in which two imperial regents and their secretary were thrown out of a window of the Prague Castle in a fight over religion. The men landed on a dung heap and survived. |
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| the study of bodies of fresh water, such as lakes and ponds. origin: grk limne + logy (lake + study). |
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| turmoil, upheaval. "After the sturm und Drang of Revolutionary Road, director Sam Mendes opted for a looser, lighter story." |
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| to counterbalance or to neutralize. origin: ltn contra + valere (against + to be strong). "China is the unique case of a country among a neighbour with nuclear weapons to countervail a rival." |
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| extremely unpleasant, ill-natured, irritable, relating to bile. "The Sharia introduction in some states of the federation has been a victim of these groups of elites' unbridled intimidatory and bilious antics." |
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| able to adapt to only a small range of environmental conditions, ant eurytopic. origin: grk steno + topos (narrow/small + place). "Like any gathering of aged immigrants this was one helluva stenotopic congregation." |
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| the systematic undermining of a person's beliefs, attitudes and values. origin: ltn mens + cide (mind + killing) |
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| easily irritated or hot-tempered. "In every choleric outburst from Sir Alan, every lifted eyebrow and pursed lips from his lieutenants, the subtext is clear." |
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| evasive, reticent; shrewd, crafty. |
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"All over the US there are people whose lives are being destroyed for lack of proper health care provision, and there is no sight more odious than the rich, powerful, and arrogant trying to keep it that way."
Simon Hoggart; Why the American Right Make Me Sick; The Guardian (London, UK); Aug 15, 2009. |
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| excessively sentimental, esp. in a false or childish manner; having a nauseating taste or smell. origin: middle english mawke (maggot). "Diana's passing prompted a months-long orgy of mawkish and histrionic media coverage centering on the accomplishments of a woman best known for her romantic troubles and fashion prowess." |
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| the replacing of a obligation, contract, or party to an agreement with a new one. |
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| dark, drab, gloomy; dark, formal clothing worn at some universities for special occasions. "Belgian designer Raf Simons produced clothes for a cloudy summer in deep, subfusc shades." origin: ltn sub + fusc (slightly + dark) |
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periphrastic (a)
also used as (n) |
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1. Using a roundabout form of expression; wordy.
2. Formed by the use of two or more words instead of inflection.
Examples:
"daughter of John" (compared with "John's daughter)
"It did happen" (compared with "It happened")
"more stupid" (compared with "stupider")
"Do you have" (compared with "Have you")
"There is something frustratingly schematic about the characters ... periphrastic leader writer set against a reporter who speaks mostly in grunts and sighs."
Charles Spencer; Alphabetical Order, Hampstead Theatre; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Apr 22, 2009 |
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