Palimpsest, n.A palimpsest is a manuscript page from a scroll or book from which the text has been scraped off and which can be used again. (Thanks, Wikipedia.)Just learned this word and about this type of object yesterday, but what I find most interesting is the way artists are reclaiming the word to apply it … Continue reading Word of the Day: Palimpsest

I can't wait to receive my lagniappe, coming in the mail, and from a Southern-speaking friend at that!

Desultory, adj.- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order; disconnected; fitful- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random- passing or jumping from one thing to another, especially in a fitful way; unmethodical- occurring in a random or incidental way; haphazardMy favorite part about these definitions? How they all begin with at least a … Continue reading Word of the Day: Desultory

Legit, non-slang word here!Fug, n.1. Stale air, especially the humid, warm, ill-smelling air of a crowded room2. Hot or suffocating atmosphere

Last slang word for a while, I promise, but I'd never read this one before.BallyBritish slang1. damned2. euphemism for the word bloody, as in "bloody hell"

Juggernaut, n.(not to be confused with the comic book character published by Marvel Comics)(also not to be confused with the 1974 movie, Juggernaut, starring, of all people, Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, and Anthony Hopkins)(though both of these are based on definition #1)1. any large, overpowering, destructive force or object2. anything requiring blind devotion or cruel … Continue reading Word of the Day: Juggernaut

Continuing to add to my collection of slang words from other English-speaking countries.Spruik, v.Australian slang1. to make or give an elaborate speech2. to speak in public like a used car salesman

This is one of my new favorite words. I love learning new slang expressions, especially if they aren't American English. It sounds so pompous when I use them in my head in a fake accent; I can't help but laugh.Swot, n.British Slang1. A student who studies assiduously, especially to the exclusion of other activities or … Continue reading Word of the Day: Swot

Abseil, n./v.1. to rappel2. rope down