noun:
A worn-out strumpet; a vixenish woman; a hag.
As the vulgar, scornful, desperate Martha, Miss Hagen makes a tormented harridan horrifyingly believable.
– Howard Taubman, “The Theater: Albee’s ‘Who’s Afraid’”, New York Times, October 15, 1962
Harridan probably comes from French haridelle, “a worn-out horse, a gaunt woman.”
Seems like I should have known this word. Do you? [...]
blackguard \BLAG-uhrd\, noun:
1. A rude or unscrupulous person; a scoundrel.
2. A person who uses foul or abusive language.
3. Scurrilous; abusive; low; worthless; vicious; as, “blackguard language.”
4. To revile or abuse in scurrilous language.
Monroe wondered, but did not ask, what could have driven a young lady of such fine bearing and aristocratic attraction to leave home [...]
noun:
Loss or impairment of the ability to act or to make decisions.
I was suffering from an aboulia, you know. I couldn’t seem to make decisions.
– Anatole Broyard, “Reading and Writing; (Enter Pound and Eliot)”, New York Times, May 30, 1982
Abulia derives from Greek a-, “without” + boule, “will.” The adjective form is abulic.
Kid started full-day [...]
noun:
1. A secret, conspiratorial association of plotters or intriguers whose purpose is usually to bring about an overturn especially in public affairs.
2. The schemes or plots of such an association.
3. To form a cabal; to conspire; to intrigue; to plot.
But the new world of toys is by no means simply the product of a profit-mad [...]
adjective:
Having been formerly; former; sometime.
A quondam flower child, she spent seven years at the Royal College of Art, before becoming a lecturer at Edinburgh School of Art.
– “Interview: Cool, calm collector”, Independent, December 13, 1997
Quondam comes from the Latin quondam, “formerly,” from quom, “when.”
Seems like I shoulda known this word. After all, I am [...]
adjective:
1. Beset or overwhelmed with woe; immersed in grief or sorrow; woeful.
2. Being in a sorry condition; dismal-looking; dilapidated; run-down.
Socrates, condemned to death by the people of Athens, prepares to drink a cup of hemlock, surrounded by woebegone friends.
– Alain De Botton, The Consolations of Philosophy
Woebegone is from Middle English wo begon, from wo (from [...]
noun:
Frivolous or bantering talk; a frivolous manner of treating any subject, whether serious or otherwise; light raillery.
Persiflage comes from French, from persifler, “to banter,” from per-, “thoroughly” (from Latin) + siffler, “to hiss, to whistle,” ultimately from Latin sibilare, “to hiss (at), to whistle.”
Good name for a blog, eh? www.persiflage.com Yep. [...]
