Intransigent

Word of the Day for Saturday April 30, 2005

intransigent \in-TRAN-suh-juhnt; -zuh-\, adjective:
Refusing to compromise; uncompromising.

He was intransigent at times, and almost playfully yielding at others.
--"The Decline and Fall of a Sure Thing," New York Times, September 10, 1989

Sometimes I was intransigent, and proud of it. At other times I seemed to myself to be nearly devoid of any character at all, timid, uncertain, without will.
--Edward W. Said, Out of Place: A Memoir

The dispute brewed through the summer as Nehru remained intransigent and U.S. officials confronted an unbending legal mandate.
--George Perkovich, India's Nuclear Bomb


Intransigent is from French intransigeant, from Spanish intransigente, from in-, "not" (from Latin) + transigente, present participle of transigir, "to compromise," from Latin transigere, "to come to an agreement," from trans-, "across" + agere, "to drive."
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Extol

Word of the Day for Friday April 29, 2005

extol \ik-STOHL\, transitive verb:
To praise highly; to glorify; to [1]exalt.

The processes of nature, which most writers extol as
symbols of renewal and eternal life, were always seen
darkly by Kerouac.
--Ellis Amburn, [2]Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of
Jack Kerouac

Let your deeds themselves praise you, for here I leave them
in all their glory, lacking words to extol them.
--Cervantes, Don Quixote de la Mancha

Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the Free,
How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee?
--Arthur Christopher Benson, Song from Pomp and
Circumstance by Sir Edward Elgar
_________________________________________________________

Extol derives from Latin extollere, "to lift up, praise," from
ex-, "up from" + tollere, "to lift up, elevate."
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Epitome:


singing the praises of our heros:


Used in advertising, accolades and exalting an accomplishment to sell


Origin, to elevate

Pusillanimous

Word of the Day for Thursday April 28, 2005

pusillanimous \pyoo-suh-LAN-uh-muhs\, adjective:
Lacking in courage and resolution; contemptibly fearful;
cowardly.

Evil, unspeakable evil, rose in our midst, and we as a
people were too weak, too indecisive, too pusillanimous to
deal with it.
--Kevin Myers, "An Irishman's Diary," [1]Irish Times,
October 20, 1999

Under the hypnosis of war hysteria, with a pusillanimous
Congress rubber-stamping every whim of the White House, we
passed the withholding tax.
--Vivien Kellems, Toil, Taxes and Trouble

You are now anxious to form excuses to yourself for a
conduct so pusillanimous.
--Ann Radcliffe, The Italian
_________________________________________________________

Pusillanimous comes from Late Latin pusillanimis, from Latin
pusillus, "very small, tiny, puny" + animus, "soul, mind."
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Headshot of the cowardly lion I found:


I took this earlier this year of a Macy's window, Fonzi Bear as the cowardly lion


Small brained organism/soul:


this morning, a taxi cut off a biker. the biker got pissed and used his radio to get lots of messengers to confont this taxi. To me that's cowardly, if you have a beef, go mano-a-mano. don't call in reinforcements dude:

Detritus

Word of the Day for Wednesday April 27, 2005

detritus \dih-TRY-tuhs\, noun;
plural detritus:
1. Loose material that is worn away from rocks.
2. Hence, any fragments separated from the body to which they
belonged; any product of disintegration; debris.

The water was smooth and brown, with detritus swirling in
the eddies from the increasing current.
--Gordon Chaplin, [1]Dark Wind: A Survivor's Tale of Love
and Loss

If they [flying cars] were easy to produce, we'd be walking
around wearing helmets to protect us from the detritus of
flying car crashes.
--Gail Collins, "Grounded for 2000," [2]New York Times,
December 7, 1999

The loose detritus of thought, washed down to us through
long ages.
--H. Rogers, Essays
_________________________________________________________

Detritus derives from the past participle of Latin deterere,
"to rub away, to wear out," from de-, "from" + terere, "to
rub." It is related to detriment, at root "a rubbing away, a
wearing away," hence "damage, harm."
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This was the word of the day for April 13th, excactly two weeks ago. Now dictionary.com is really starting to make me cross. Here is my post on detritus from April 13th.

Matutinal

Word of the Day for Tuesday April 26, 2005

matutinal \muh-TOOT-n-uhl\, adjective:
Relating to or occurring in the morning; early.

Get up early and wash your face in the matutinal May Day
dew; it will make your skin beautiful and your heart pure.
--Ray Murphy, "Hurray, Hurray the Month of May," [1]Boston
Globe, April 28, 1988

We had to rehearse at an hour at which no actor or actress
has been out of bed within the memory of man; and we
sardonically congratulated one another every morning on our
rosy matutinal looks and the improvement wrought by our
early rising in our health and characters.
--George Bernard Shaw, "The Author's Apology," [2]Mrs.
Warren's Profession

Harry Truman, was -- like Winston Churchill -- known to
take a matutinal shot of whisky. He did it after his
regular very vigorous early-morning walk.
--R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr., "Plainly presidential," [3]The
Washington Times, January 18, 2002
_________________________________________________________

Matutinal is from Late Latin matutinalis, from Latin
matutinus, "early in the morning; pertaining to the morning."

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And an older pic i took. I wanted to take a similar picture today, but given that I didn't get the word until 1PM thanks to dictionary.com not updating their site...this will have to do:

Scintilla

Word of the Day for Monday April 25, 2005

scintilla \sin-TIL-uh\, noun:
A tiny or scarcely detectable amount; the slightest particle;
a trace; a spark.

In victory, they must hold on to at least a scintilla of
humility, lest they get too cocky -- and ripe for a
takedown.
--Bill Breen, "'We are literally trying to stop time,'"
[1]Fast Company, May 2000

"I bear her not one scintilla of ill will," he said.
--Sarah Lyall, "That Harriman Book," [2]New York Times, May
4, 1994

There was never a scintilla of doubt, or a hint of
equivocation, in Michael about his commitment to the party.
--"Ferris's decency and sense of fun recalled," [3]Irish
Times, March 23, 2000
_________________________________________________________

Scintilla is from Latin scintilla, "a spark, a glimmer, a
faint trace." Also from scintilla is the verb scintillate, "to
sparkle."
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A scintilla of light filters through the buildings


A tiny sparkle of light on the street as it got dark in midtown


a small amount of diet dr. pepper, the essence of it


a scintilla of cookie crumbs

Euphonious

Word of the Day for Sunday April 24, 2005

euphonious \yoo-FOH-nee-uhs\, adjective:
Pleasing or sweet in sound; smooth-sounding.

She combines alliteration and deft word choices with the
grace of an oral storyteller, creating euphonious and
precise sentences that are perfect for reading aloud.
--Amy L. Cohn, "Children's Books," [1]New York Times, March
10, 1991

Einstein originally proposed the more appropriate (but less
euphonious) title of "theory of invariants" for his work,
but gave up pushing for it when "relativity" caught the
public's imagination.
--James Trefil, "The Most Beautiful Theories Are The
Truest," [2]New York Times, October 5, 1986

In the first draft, their names had been alphabetized, but
during a speech session Rosenman and Sherwood suddenly
perceived the more euphonious sequence of Martin, Barton,
and Fish.
--Carol Gelderman, [3]All the Presidents' Words

Early in life, on the basis of my easy grasp of biological
nomenclature and what I consider aesthetic reasons -- all
those euphonious names -- I resolved to be a medical
doctor.
--Paul Theroux, [4]Fresh Air Fiend: Travel Writings,
1985-2000
_________________________________________________________

Euphonious comes from Greek euphonos, "sweet-voiced," from
eu-, "well" (hence "sweetly") + phonos, from phone, "voice,
sound." The noun form is euphony.
==================================





Sweet sound of getting paid


antonym-the sound of karaoke

Rara Avis

Word of the Day for Saturday April 23, 2005

rara avis \RAIR-uh-AY-vis\, noun;
plural rara avises \RAIR-uh-AY-vuh-suhz\ or rarae aves \RAIR-ee-AY-veez\:
A rare or unique person or thing.

He was, after all, that rara avis, a Jewish Catholic priest with a wife and children.
--Jeremy Sams, "Lorenzo the magnificent," Independent, May 16, 2000

"First of all," Arthur said, "Jack is that rara avis among Ivy League radicals, a birthright member of the proletariat."
--Charles McCarry, Lucky Bastard

Rara avis. You'd have to go far and wide to find someone like that, especially in these times.
--Andrew Holleran, In September, the Light Changes


Rara avis is Latin for "rare bird."
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Castings for pregnant women for sesame street


A 1940 quarter-all silver


A multicolored dragon


A sign for a paint shop. Not your usual take on it.


Someone unstringing tape and papers out a 10th floor window...lovers quarrel perhaps?


I would post a picture of me dressed up as my mascot job, but since I didn't take the picture of it today. I'll refrain. but actually knowing who the person is behind the mask is pretty rare.

Atavism

Word of the Day for Friday April 22, 2005

atavism \AT-uh-viz-uhm\, noun:
1. The reappearance in an organism of characteristics of some remote ancestor after several generations of absence.
2. One that exhibits atavism; a throwback.
3. Reversion to an earlier behavior, outlook, or approach.

Occasionally a modern whale is born having sprouted a leg or two -- a genetic throwback known as an atavism.
--Douglas H. Chadwick, "Evolution of whales," National Geographic, November 2001

Read avidly in Europe and the United States in the 1890s, The Female Offender argues that women criminals are atavisms or throwbacks to earlier evolutionary stages, marked by physical anomalies such as coarse features.
--Nicole Rafter, "Breaking the Codes: Female Criminality in Fin-de-Siecle Paris," The Women's Review of Books, October 1, 1997

The Enlightenment was the movement of thought, starting in the late 17th century and extending as far as the 19th century with political economists such as David Hume, Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, which self-consciously set out to liberate human reason from mediaeval atavism, superstition and error.
-- Melanie Phillips, All Must Have Prizes

Nairn rejected the view of nationalist movements, purveyed by many thinkers on the liberal and Marxist left, as residues of tribal atavism.
--John Gray, "Little Scotlander," New Statesman, January 24, 2000

At best, atavism is a harmless fantasy, not sustainable with any degree of persistent realism under skies crisscrossed by satellites and jet aircraft.
--Shiva Naipaul, "Aborigines: primitive chic in Australia," New Republic, April 22, 1985

Milton obviously invokes vassalage for its suggestion of atavism, back-stepping toward feudal obligation and subjugation of individual liberty.
--Mary C. Fenton, "Hope, land ownership, and Milton's 'Paradise within,'" Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, January 2003


Atavism comes from French atavisme, from Latin atavus, "ancestor," from atta, "daddy" + avus, "grandfather." The adjective form is atavistic /at-uh-VIS-tik/.
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Retro vintage store has mannequins looking like they stepped straight out of the fifties:


Pharmacy down the street uses old pharmaceutical goods in their window and prefer to teach older methods like phrenology and homeopathy rather than fill your prescriptions.



antique furniture store specializes in rediscovering lost pieces from older generations, plus their sign looks like a throwback to the 60s the way it aged:


this guy usually yells the headlines. Unfortunately today he was silent....
and as much as you hate the post, you can't beat the price, seems sort of oldschool.

Enervate

Word of the Day for Thursday April 21, 2005

enervate \EN-ur-vayt\, transitive verb:
1. To deprive of vigor, force, or strength; to render feeble; to weaken.
2. To reduce the moral or mental vigor of.

Main Entry: en·er·vate
Pronunciation: 'en-&r-"vAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -vat·ed; -vat·ing
1 obsolete : to cut the nerves or tendons of
2 : to lessen the vitality or strength of —en·er·va·tion /"en-&r-'vA-sh&n/ noun

1. To weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: “the luxury which enervates and destroys nations” (Henry David Thoreau). See Synonyms at deplete.
2. Medicine. To remove a nerve or part of a nerve.

Beatriz de Ahumada soldiered on to produce nine more children, a tour of duty that left her enervated and worn.
--Cathleen Medwick, Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul

In countries like India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ghana I have always felt enervated by the slightest physical or mental exertion, whereas in the UK, France, Germany or the US I have always felt reinforced and stimulated by the temperate climate, not only during long stays, but even during brief travels.
--David S. Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations

The tendency of abstract thought . . . to enervate the will is one of the real dangers of the highest education.
--Mark Pattison, Suggestions on Academical Organisation

The conquerors were enervated by luxury.
--Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire


Enervate is from the past participle of Latin enervare, "to remove the sinews from, to weaken," from e-, ex-, "out of, from" + nervus, "sinew."
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To cut nerves, to render feeble- Martin had nerves and tendons cut rendering him feeble


Rendered weak by old age:


Weakened by poverty, hunger, and want, reduced of moral vigor:


Weight and force have lessened the structure of these objects:

Cavalcade

Word of the Day for Wednesday April 20, 2005

cavalcade \kav-uhl-KAYD; KAV-uhl-kayd\, noun:
1. A procession of riders or horse-drawn carriages.
2. Any procession.
3. A sequence; a series.

Behind him he sensed the progress of the cavalcade as one
by one the carriages wheeled off the Dublin road.
--Stella Tillyard, [1]Citizen Lord: The Life of Edward
Fitzgerald, Irish Revolutionary

Last week, Seoul pleaded for immediate financial assistance
from the United States and Japan, following a cavalcade of
bad economic news.
--Steven Butler and Jack Egan, "No magic won for Korea,"
[2]U.S. News, December 22, 1997
_________________________________________________________

Cavalcade derives from Old Italian cavalcata, from cavalcare,
"to go on horseback," from Late Latin caballicare, from Latin
caballus, "horse."
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I'm dissapointed, this has already been the word of the day. Please see my post from February 20, 2005.

Fettle

Word of the Day for Tuesday April 19, 2005

fettle \FET-l\, noun:
A state or condition of fitness or order; state of mind; spirits -- often used in the phrase "in fine fettle."

Aside from the problems with her voice . . . Miss Garland was in fine fettle last night.
--Vincent Canby, "Judy Garland Sets the Palace Alight," New York Times, August 1, 1967

Back in 1987, the Conservatives won a thumping majority in a June general election, primarily because the economy was seen by grateful voters to be in fine fettle.
--Larry Elliott, "Danger of a recurring nightmare," The Guardian, June 18, 2001

Many of the nuns were in fine fettle, even into their 80s and 90s.
--John McCrone, "Sisters of mercy," The Guardian, August 18, 2001

He seems in fine fettle when we meet, and happy to discuss the film that gave him his break.
--Charlotte O'Sullivan, "Naked ambition," The Guardian, February 7, 1999


Fettle is from Middle English fetlen, "to set in order," originally "to gird up," from Old English fetel, "a girdle."
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Fitness of the body:


fitness body and spirit (at least when i run):


Fitness of the mind-happy in creation:


Antonym-disgruntled puppeteer. Not of a good mind or spirit.

Masticate

Word of the Day for Monday April 18, 2005

masticate \MAS-tih-kayt\, transitive verb:
1. To grind or crush with or as if with the teeth in preparation for swallowing and digestion; to chew; as, "to masticate food."
2. To crush or knead (rubber, for example) into a pulp.

intransitive verb:
To chew food.

Honestly, folks, the people at the next table ordered the same dish, and I watched as a young couple tried in vain to masticate those fossilized pieces of "toast."
--Pat Bruno, "Hits and misses," Chicago Sun-Times, June 2002

Their powerful jaws allow hyenas to masticate not only flesh and entrails, but bones, horns, and even the teeth of their prey.
--Sam Tauschek, "A Hyena is no laughing matter," Sports Afield, May 2001

In 1820, Thomas Hancock invented a machine that could masticate, mix and soften rubber.
--Rikki Lamba, "Effect of carbon black on dynamic properties," Rubber World, April 1, 2000

At restaurants the Hamnelier (swine server) would bring out your entree, cut your first bite using special tongs and a pig sticker (sorry) and proffer it to your lips. You would sniff, suck, masticate, savor and swallow.
--Baxter Black, "'The Other White Meat' Develops Snob Appeal," Denver Rocky Mountain News, September 20, 1998


Masticate comes from the past participle of Late Latin masticare, "to chew," from Greek mastichan, "to gnash the teeth." The noun form is mastication.
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To knead:


to chew: