Pecksniffian (pek SNIF ee un) adjective This wonderfully expressive word is applicable to any hypocrite endeavoring to impress upon his fellows that he is a person of great benevolence or high moral standards. It comes from a character named Seth Pecksniff, in Martin Chuzzlewit (another great name) by English novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870), who described [...]
Demit (dih MIT) verb This verb is used both transitively and intransitively and is found most commonly in Scotland, but used elsewhere as well. To demit a position is to resign it, to give it up or relinquish it, and it often refers to public office. Intransitively, to demit is simply to resign. It comes [...]
Cavil (KAV uhl) noun, verb To cavil is to carp or quibble, to raise picayune, inconsequential, and usually irritating objections, to offer gratuitious criticisms, to find fault for the sake of finding fault. As a noun, a cavil is that sort of annoying trivial objection, a bit of pointless carping, that adds nothing but irritation. [...]
Ballyrag (or Bullyrag) (BAL ee rag) (BOOL ee rag) verb To ballyrag or bullyrag someone is to harass or abuse him, in the more violent sense of the word, or less dramatically, to tease him. Fowler says that the derivation is unknown, and that ballyrag is the far more common and preferable form, but other [...]
Atticism (AT ih siz um) noun Atticism (often with a lowercase a) is concise, superior, polished discourse and diction. The adjective attic describes elegant, subtle, incisive expression and articulation, with a strong admixture of subtle wit. The English poet John Milton (1608 – 1674) wrote: What neat repast shall feast us, light and choice, of [...]
Petard (pi TARD) n. A petard was a heavy explosive engine of war, filled with gunpowder and fastened to gates to blow them in or to walls, barricades, etc., to smash them and form a breach. The soldier whose job it was to fire the device was always in danger of blowing himself up as [...]
Umbrageous (um BRAY just) adj. Umbrageous has two entirely distinct meanings. Its principal meaning is “shady,” in the sense of creating or providing shade, like the famus “…spreading chestnut tree…” (in the poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882) under which “…the village smithy stands…” An umbrageous tree, then, is a shade tree. [...]
Numinous (NOOH muh nus, NYOOH-) n. adj. Anything described as numinous is spiritual, has a sacred quality, is mysterious and awe-inspiring. Numen (NOOH mun) is literally, “nod” in Latin, related to the verb nutare (to nod, or keep nodding), and by extension came to mean “divine will” (as indicated by the nod of a god). [...]
Foofaraw (FOOH fuh raw) n. This bit of informal American, as well as its variant fofarraw (FOH fuh raw), has two distinct meanings; a big fuss about very little, i.e., much ado about nothing; or flashy finery, too many frills. Literary policeman’s question: “What’s going on here? What’s all the foofaraw about?” Or, in the [...]
Defenestration (dee fen ih STRAY shun) n. Defenestration is the act of throwing someone (yes, someone!) or something out of a window. To defenestrate a person or a thing is to engage in that activity — a strange one indeed, since these words are more commonly applied to situations where what is thrown out of [...]
