Search found 1104 matches
- Fri Mar 08, 2024 6:52 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Lambaste
- Replies: 2
- Views: 317
Re: Lambaste
Very timely in view of the State of the Union speech. Almost as though you had it in your hip pocket.
- Mon Sep 18, 2023 6:57 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Amok
- Replies: 3
- Views: 7245
Re: Amok
You could write a book about “amok.” The word has even found its way into the psychiatric lexicon. I recommend the Wikipedia article as a starting place for those who would like to learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_amok
- Mon Sep 18, 2023 3:27 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Philosophunculist
- Replies: 3
- Views: 4849
Re: Philosophunculist
Philosophunculist reminds me of a group of words formed with the suffix “aster,” such as “poetaster.” According to Wikipedia: Used to form diminutive and pejorative nouns, labeling someone pretending to be what they are not. poet + -aster → poetaster (“unskilled poet”) critic + -aster → critic...
- Fri Aug 25, 2023 8:36 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Issue
- Replies: 1
- Views: 3556
Re: Issue
A good word to illustrate how words change meaning or add a new sense, in particular the sense of “problem.” Over my lifetime —with some irritation—I’ve heard the word increasingly used that way. Was the first use of the new “problem” sense intentional or negligent? Should we applaud an unnamed, unk...
- Fri Jul 07, 2023 5:10 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Chiliasm
- Replies: 7
- Views: 8096
Re: Chiliasm
When does the 1000 year period begin?
- Fri Apr 14, 2023 9:50 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Virtual
- Replies: 7
- Views: 10908
Re: Virtual
Quite surprised to see no reference to the virtual world and closely related A.I., especially after the ominous warning letter from tech titans like Musk and Wozniak. We have seen how virtual reality can be manipulated for propaganda purposes. This site badly needs a transfusion of engaged millennia...
- Thu Apr 13, 2023 4:41 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Caterpillar
- Replies: 5
- Views: 5431
Re: Caterpillar
I fondly think of the mushroom-pushing caterpillar in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and not-so-fondly of the stabbing pain which followed putting an especially spiny specimen in my pocket during first grade.
- Tue Jan 31, 2023 10:09 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Fabulist
- Replies: 1
- Views: 3914
Re: Fabulist
Baron von Munchausen holds the dubious distinction of being one of the most famous fabulists in history. So famous in fact a psychiatric condition was named after him: Munchausen's syndrome is a rare psychological and behavioural condition in which somebody fabricates or induces symptoms of illness ...
- Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:14 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Reticent
- Replies: 8
- Views: 8318
Re: Reticent
A strong opinion sparks a strong reaction. But, please don’t take it personally, Mr. Myer. No insult intended. As you and other well-educated Goodwordians will know, opinions about language change roughly divide into two opposing camps, prescriptivist and descriptivist. I found the following summary...
- Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:38 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Reticent
- Replies: 8
- Views: 8318
Re: Reticent
I’m with Dr. GoodWord on this one. (Always a safe bet.) That said, I see Merriam-Webster disagrees: 'Reticent' can be used to mean both “inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech” or “reluctant.” While some find the “reluctant” sense inelegant, it has been in widespread use for a number of ...
- Tue Dec 27, 2022 9:30 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Derogate
- Replies: 1
- Views: 3811
Re: Derogate
Derogate also has a special meaning in a legal context: Derogation, in civil law and common law, is the partial suppression of a law. In contrast, annulment is the total abolition of a law by explicit repeal, and obrogation is the partial or total modification or repeal of a law by the imposition of...
- Mon Dec 19, 2022 4:40 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Comport
- Replies: 1
- Views: 3808
Re: Comport
If you find time hang heavy on your hands, you might try
distinguishing “comportment” and “deportment.” It’s a lively exercise—not as exciting as the football final in Qatar, mind you, but interesting enough.
distinguishing “comportment” and “deportment.” It’s a lively exercise—not as exciting as the football final in Qatar, mind you, but interesting enough.
- Sat Dec 17, 2022 5:02 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Abscission
- Replies: 3
- Views: 4521
Re: Abscission
You may recall from your school days (possibly painfully:)
“In common usage, the abscissa refers to the (x) coordinate and the ordinate refers to the (y) coordinate of a standard two-dimensional graph.”
Wikipedia
“In common usage, the abscissa refers to the (x) coordinate and the ordinate refers to the (y) coordinate of a standard two-dimensional graph.”
Wikipedia
- Tue Nov 08, 2022 4:47 am
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Truth
- Replies: 5
- Views: 6521
Re: Truth
“truth:” the only word in the English language whose use
immediately impugns the speaker’s credibility; a noun mostly honored by its absence in human affairs.
immediately impugns the speaker’s credibility; a noun mostly honored by its absence in human affairs.
- Mon Oct 31, 2022 6:04 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Hightail
- Replies: 3
- Views: 4682
Re: Hightail
About the natural origins of “hightail,” I found the following from an 8-22-06 article by Kathy Kish in the 10-31-22 edition of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph: “If a deer sees or smell a predator, it raises its tail straight up in the air. This behavior is called “flagging.” A deer may then run away,...