QUANDARY

I am having a Facebook quandary: to accept or not accept the friendship request of someone I know but don't much care for and am no longer in contact with. Facebook can easily facilitate connections between people -- good AND bad.

DEF:

noun
1.	a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one; "finds himself in a most awkward predicament"; "the woeful plight of homeless people" [syn: predicament]
2.	state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options [syn: dilemma]

(WordNet)

1579, "state of perplexity," of unknown origin, perhaps a quasi-Latinism based on L. quando "when."

(Online Etymology Dictionary)

QUAFF

At Joaquin's birthday party there was little quaffing. It is clear that age reduces quaff-age. Also, for my part, the traumatization from viewing older middle-aged drunkenness has greatly reduced my desire to quaff with gusto. DEF:

–verb (used without object)

1.	to drink a beverage, esp. an intoxicating one, copiously and with hearty enjoyment.

–verb (used with object)

2.	to drink (a beverage) copiously and heartily: We spent the whole evening quaffing ale.

–noun

3.	an act or instance of quaffing.

4.	a beverage quaffed.

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Origin:
1515–25; orig. uncert.

Related forms:

quaffer, noun

Synonyms: 1. swallow, gulp, swig, guzzle. PS: Quaff-age is not a real word.

PELLUCID

The pellucid atmosphere is one of the things I enjoy about Tucson, but due to the windiness this afternoon there is a serious lack of pellucidity. The Tucson mountains are looking very hazy from my office window.

DEF:
adj.

1. Admitting the passage of light; transparent or translucent. See Synonyms at clear.
2. Transparently clear in style or meaning: pellucid prose.

[Latin pellūcidus, from pellūcēre, to shine through : per-, through; see per- + lūcēre, to shine; see leuk- in Indo-European roots.]
pel·lu·cid'i·ty, pel·lu'cid·ness n., pel·lu'cid·ly adv.
(American Heritage)

TWEE

During my late, great return to youthfulness, I saw a rather twee singer whose music I liked but whose personality not so much.

DEF:

–adjective Chiefly British.

affectedly dainty or quaint: twee writing about furry little creatures.

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Origin:
1900–05; appar. reduced from tweet (perh. via pron. twiʔ), mimicking child's pron. of sweet

Dictionary.com Unabridged

QUISLING

After being invited to serve on a committee, Joe Schmoe wondered whether others would consider him to be a quisling or a stooge to the administration if he did serve on the committee.

DEF:
n. A traitor who serves as the puppet of the enemy occupying his or her country.

[After Vidkun Quisling (1887-1945), head of Norway's government during the Nazi occupation (1940-1945).]

DROSS

Due to the materialistic insecurity these days everyone is desperate for free stuff. You think you are accumulating booty, but once the free frenzy has subsided you realize that you have just accumulated dross. I say, "Let us embrace our materialistic insecurity and lead dross-free lives."

DEF:
n.

1. Waste or impure matter: discarded the dross after recycling the wood pulp.
2. The scum that forms on the surface of molten metal as a result of oxidation.
3. Worthless, commonplace, or trivial matter: "He was wide-awake and his mind worked clearly, purged of all dross" (Vladimir Nabokov).

[Middle English dros, from Old English drōs, dregs.]
dross'y adj.

MISCEGENATION

A special Friday posting. woo hoo!

Thanks to Henry Oyama and others like him, there is little need to use the word miscegenation.

DEF:
n.
The interbreeding of different races or of persons of different racial backgrounds.
Cohabitation, sexual relations, or marriage involving persons of different races.
A mixture or hybridization: "There was musical miscegenation at a time when segregation was the common rule" (Don McLeese).
//-->[Latin miscēre, to mix; see meik- in Indo-European roots + genus, race; see genə- in Indo-European roots + -ation.]
//--> mis·ceg'e·na'tion·al adj.

MALAISE + MORIBUND

A mundane malaise is weighing me down. Moreover, my macrocosm is malodorous with a malaise, that we can only wish were on the verge of being moribund.


MALAISE DEF:
n.

1. A vague feeling of bodily discomfort, as at the beginning of an illness.
2. A general sense of depression or unease: "One year after the crash, the markets remain mired in a deep malaise" (New York Times).

[French, from Old French : mal-, mal- + aise, ease; see ease.]

MORIBUND DEF:
adj.

1. Approaching death; about to die.
2. On the verge of becoming obsolete: moribund customs; a moribund way of life.

[Latin moribundus, from morī, to die; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]
mor'i·bun'di·ty (-bŭn'dĭ-tē) n., mor'i·bund'ly adv.
(American Heritage)

BONUS DEF - MUNDANE:
adj.

1. Of, relating to, or typical of this world; secular.
2. Relating to, characteristic of, or concerned with commonplaces; ordinary.

[Middle English mondeine, from Old French mondain, from Latin mundānus, from mundus, world.]
mun·dane'ly adv., mun·dane'ness, mun·dan'i·ty (-dān'ĭ-tē) n.

Here is my maundering M day full of M words. Not as amusing as the P alliterative day, but the malaise is making me morose. Perhaps, you all thought I was relinquishing my word of the day throne, but you get several words for the price of one posting.

Bonus Bonus DEF:
maun·der

(môn'dər, män'-) Pronunciation Key intr.v. maun·dered, maun·der·ing, maun·ders To talk incoherently or aimlessly. To move or act aimlessly or vaguely; wander. [Probably dialectal variant of meander (probably influenced by wander).]

UNKEMPT

Only unkempt musicians can participate in the West by Southwest music festival. That is the rule.

DEF: adj.
Not combed: unkempt hair.
Not properly maintained; disorderly or untidy: an unkempt garden. See Synonyms at sloppy.
Unpolished; rude.
//-->[Middle English unkemd : un-, not; see un-1 + kembed, past participle of kemben, to comb (from Old English cemban; see gembh- in Indo-European roots).]
//-->
( American Heritage)

OGLE

I think the reason the 36 hour ride bicyclists on the Mall are there is because they have a yen to be ogled in their tight, little bike outfits.

DEF:
v. tr.

1. To stare at.
2. To stare at impertinently, flirtatiously, or amorously.

v. intr.
To stare in an impertinent, flirtatious, or amorous manner.
n. An impertinent, flirtatious, or amorous stare.

[Perhaps from Low German oghelen, oegeln, frequentative of oegen, to eye, from oghe, oge, eye; see ok^w- in Indo-European roots.]
o'gler n.

Bonus definition:
Yen-n. A strong desire or inclination; a yearning or craving.
intr.v. yenned, yen·ning, yens
To have a strong desire or inclination; yearn.

[Chinese (Cantonese) uên, hope, wish, equivalent to Chinese (Mandarin) yuàn.]

For two days now I have ridden my bicycle through the Mall on campus and seen these super-fit guys riding their cycles with their back wheels in the stand that allows them to do a stationary ride trying to figure out what they are doing there and, of course, noticing their fitness. This morning noticing that I was noticing their fitness, I figured that they should be my inspiration for the word of the day? week?

PURLOIN

I'm baaackkk!!!

Purloining purple paper is a particularly passionate perpetration.

DEF:
v. tr.
To steal, often in a violation of trust. See Synonyms at steal.
v. intr.
To commit theft.

[Middle English purloinen, to remove, from Anglo-Norman purloigner : pur-, away (from Latin prō-; see pro-¹) + loign, far (from Latin longē, from longus, long; see del-¹ in Indo-European roots).]
pur·loin'er n.

Thank you to Angela for starting the chain of events that led to the purloining and to Zaid, my lovely nephew, who at one point started most of his words with "p" which led to my love of sentences full of "p" words.

LURID

I realize that publishers think lurid covers to draw in readers, but do they ever think that they are, also, scaring away readers who are horrified by the luridness of the cover or simply too embarrassed to walk around with such a book.

DEF: adj.

1. Causing shock or horror; gruesome.
2. Marked by sensationalism: a lurid account of the crime. See Synonyms at ghastly.
3. Glowing or shining with the glare of fire through a haze: lurid flames.
4. Sallow or pallid in color.

[Latin lūridus, pale, from lūror, paleness.] (American Heritage)

VILLAINY

If I were a Zoroastrian -- according to what I learned in class today -- I would believe that good would triumph over villainy. However, Tuesday's miscreant has not left me in such a hopeful and positive frame of mind.

DEF:

1.	the actions or conduct of a villain; outrageous wickedness.

2.	a villainous act or deed.

3.	Obsolete. villeinage.

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Origin:
1175–1225; ME vile(i)nie, vilainie <>See villain, -y ³

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

MISCREANT

Some miscreant stole the lovely and puffy and warm down jacket lent to me by the kind Heba out of my suitcase, when I was flying back to Tucson. Freeze, scumbag, freeze!

DEF:

Main Entry:	miscreant1
Part of Speech:	adj
Definition:	disbelieving; heretical
Etymology:	Middle French mes- 'mis-' + croire 'to believe'

Main Entry:	miscreant1
Part of Speech:	n
Definition:	a disbeliever; heretic
Etymology:	Middle French mes- 'mis-' + croire 'to believe'

Main Entry:	miscreant2
Part of Speech:	adj
Definition:	depraved; behaving badly
Etymology:	Middle French mes- 'mis-' + croire 'to believe'

Main Entry:	miscreant2
Part of Speech:	n
Definition:	a scoundrel; reprobate
Etymology:	Middle French mes- 'mis-' + croire 'to believe'

Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)
Copyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC

Contemporary synonym: SCUMBAG

LAME

Lame is not have a word of the day daily.

DEF:

	just plain stupid, un-original, or lifeless. barbed wire tattoos, butterflies, and tribal tattoos are lame, they say a lot about the person who gets them. sarah got a butterfly tattoo on her lower back. that's so lame, i'd rather get a dick on mine, at least i'll be more original.

(urbandictionary.com)


I am so guilty. Sorry!

PROCLIVITIES

We all know Allison's proclivities -- watching pretty young girls.

Also, my proclivity to procrastination has become glaringly obvious in that I have posted the word of the day only once in a month. Bad me.

DEF:
–noun, plural -ties.

natural or habitual inclination or tendency; propensity; predisposition: a proclivity to meticulousness.

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Origin:
1585–95; < class="ital-inline">prōclīvitās tendency, lit., a steep descent, steepness, equiv. to prōclīv(is) sloping forward, steep (prō- pro- ¹ + clīv(us) slope + -is adj. suffix) + -itās -ity

Dictionary.com Unabridged

TRANSGRESSION

Upon seeing Christian juicing blood oranges, his landlady acted as if he had committed a transgression, while it was a mere solecism.

Apparently, juicing blood oranges is not the done thing in Tunisia.

DEF:
n.

1. A violation of a law, command, or duty: "The same transgressions should be visited with equal severity on both man and woman" (Elizabeth Cady Stanton). See Synonyms at breach.
2. The exceeding of due bounds or limits.
3. A relative rise in sea level resulting in deposition of marine strata over terrestrial strata.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME <>trānsgressiōn- (s. of trānsgressiō) a stepping across.
(American Heritage)

Sorry for the tardy postings. A two week break makes on lazy.

EFFULGENT

The effulgent sanctuary of the University Closure is rapidly approaching.

DEF:
adj. Shining brilliantly; resplendent. See Synonyms at bright.

[Latin effulgēns, effulgent-, present participle of effulgēre, to shine out : ex-, ex- + fulgēre, to shine; see bhel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]
(American Heritage)

"Effulgent rays of light." --Cowper.

OK a serious usage of effulgent:
It is a rare day in Arizona that there are no effulgent rays of light.

TASSEOMANCY

Would tasseomancy be considered more or less scientific than astrology?

[;-) JC, you know I don't love you less -- and perhaps more -- because you are interested in astrology.]

Tasseography (also known as tasseomancy or tassology) is a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments.

The terms derive from the French word tasse (cup), which in turn derives from the Arabic tassa (cup), and the Greek suffixes -graph, -logy, and -mancy (divination).

(Wikipedia)

We love obscure words that we can use to confound others. *evil, self-aggrandizing laugh echoes hollowly in mad business manager's office* OK. Really how often can one use such words that you read in historical novels.

SOLECISM

When my parents' arrival in town is imminent, worries about solecisms move to the forefront of my mind (and possibly, my sister's though she says she doesn't care).

That is not to say that I don't enjoy either noticing or pointing out the solecisms others utter.

DEF:
n.

1. A nonstandard usage or grammatical construction.
2. A violation of etiquette.
3. An impropriety, mistake, or incongruity.

[Latin soloecismus, from Greek soloikismos, from soloikizein, to speak incorrectly, from soloikos, speaking incorrectly, after Soloi (Soli), an Athenian colony in Cilicia where a dialect regarded as substandard was spoken.]
(American Heritage)