Good Words

a dictionary curated by Cassandra McLean, keeper also of this art/poetry tumblr: imaginationstimulation.tumblr.com

[wordgoods]

bloviate | /ˈblōvēˌāt/

verb

talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way.

example: "tRump's malignant, narcissitic bloviation." – Robert Reich

[wordgoods]

acolyte | ˈakəˌlīt

noun 1 : one who assists a member of the clergy in a liturgical service by performing minor duties. 2 : one who attends or assists a leader : a follower. "she runs the department through a small group of acolytes"

[wordgoods]

eldritch | ˈeldriCH 

adj. weird and sinister or ghostly. "an eldritch screech"

Thread from @ ian_quell :

Has anyone done a compare and contrast between Kafka and Lovecraft? Both wrote of the unspeakable and inhuman horrors infiltrating the lives of common people, but where the bureaucracy is totally arid, the eldritch is quite moist.

[wordgoods]

Atentamente [Spanish]

Atentamente in Spanish translates to "sincerely" or "yours faithfully" in English, used as a polite closing in formal letters and emails.

Atentamente literally means "attentively" or "carefully," used to describe how someone is listening, reading, or observing.

Querido Andrés, Te quiero. Atentamente, Cassandra

[wordgoods]

Dusk vs. Twilight

In common usage, dusk and twilight are often used interchangeably, referring to the period between sunset and nightfall. 

However, technically: Twilight refers to the period when the sun is below the horizon but the sky is still somewhat light due to atmospheric refraction. Dusk, on the other hand, marks the end of twilight, when the sky becomes fully dark. 

[wordgoods]

The Seven Factors of Awakening

The seven factors of awakening (bojjhaṅga):

Mindfulness (sati)

Investigation (dhamma-vicaya)

Energy (vīriya)

Rapture (pīti)

Tranquility (passaddhi)

Concentration (samādhi)

Equanimity (upekkhā)

They are traditionally thought of in three groups:

One balancing factor: Mindfulness

Three energizing factors: Investigation, Energy, and Rapture

Three calming factors: Tranquility, Concentration, and Equanimity

Because Awakening is divided into balancing, energizing, and calming factors, it is a practical support for working with the fluctuating energies of our body, nervous system, and mind.

>> Read more about these 7 factors here. <<

In the fourth foundation of mindfulness described in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10), the five hindrances are the obstructive qualities we work to diminish in our practice, while the seven factors is the list of skillful qualities to develop.

The five hindrances (nīvaraṇa) are:

Sensual desire (kāmacchanda)

Ill will (vyāpāda)

Sloth and torpor (thīna-middha)

Restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkucca)

Skeptical doubt (vicikicchā)

[wordgoods]

Synecdoche

a rhetorical device where a part of something is used to refer to the whole, or the whole to refer to a part. 

Examples: Part for whole: • "She has a new set of wheels" (wheels represent the car).  • "All hands on deck" (hands represent the entire crew).  • "The city came out to celebrate the victory" (city refers to the people living in it).  Whole for part: • "Germany won the match" (Germany refers to the German soccer team).  • "The White House announced a new policy" (referring to the President or administration). 

Relationship to Metonymy: Synecdoche is a type of metonymy, where one thing is used to stand for something else that is closely associated with it, but in synecdoche, the associated thing is a part of the whole. 

[wordgoods]

A warren is a network of underground tunnels and burrows that rabbits live in. Rabbits are social animals that live in groups called colonies, and warrens are where these colonies live.

Most passages in a warren are interconnected and have side pockets where individual families live.

As heard on Modern Family S11E7: "A warren of starving rabbits wouldn't eat these carrots."

[wordgoods]

obsequious | əbˈsēkwēəs

obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.

"they were served by obsequious waiters"

[wordgoods]

malapropism

noun

the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect, as in, for example, “dance a flamingo” (instead of flamenco). 

[wordgoods]

[wordgoods]

1. -ote, -ota 

Type: Appreciative, augmentative.

Examples:

perro (dog) – perrote (big dog)

lengua (tongue) – lenguota (big tongue)

Example sentence:

¡Vaya perrote! Parece una vaca. What a dog! It looks like a cow.

2. -azo, -aza

Type: Appreciative, augmentative.

Examples:

coche (car) – cochazo (great car)

mujer (woman) – mujeraza (great woman)

Example sentence:

Este Tesla es un cochazo. This Tesla is a great car.

[wordgoods]

orthogonal | ôrˈTHäɡən(ə)l

of or involving right angles; at right angles.

STATISTICS (of variates) statistically independent • (of an experiment) having variates which can be treated as statistically independent.

[wordgoods]

phlebotomist | fləˈbädəməst

Phlebotomists primarily draw blood, which is then used for different kinds of medical laboratory testing or for procedures, such as transfusions. In medical and diagnostic laboratories, patients sometimes interact only with the phlebotomist.

[wordgoods]

bruin | ˈbro͞oən

noun

a bear, especially in children's fables. 

i.e. That autumn day while Cummings and three other college wrestling teammates were on a hike near Cody was when the angry bruin first attacked his teammate Brady Lowry. But instead of running, Cummings pulled the bear off, grabbing it by its ear.

[wordgoods]

The Difference Between Chambray & Denim

Your days of mixing up chambray and denim are over. We break down what makes the standout fabrics so unique―and classically cool.

Chambray and denim share some fundamental commonalities: They’re made by weaving cotton fabrics together.

Denim is heavier and more rugged, because its construction uses a twill weave, which doubles the strands of thread and weaves them into more of a diagonal pattern.

Chambray uses what’s called a plain weave, which involves single strands of colored and white thread being woven together. This gives it a lighter touch and makes chambray more versatile.

[wordgoods]

The origin of "OK" / "okay"

On March 23, 1839, the initials “O.K.” were first published in The Boston Morning Post. Meant as an abbreviation for “oll korrect,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct” at the time.

During the late 1830s, it was a favorite practice among younger, educated circles to misspell words intentionally, then abbreviate them and use them as slang when talking to one another. Just as teenagers today have their own slang based on distortions of common words, such as [“rizz” for “charisma”], the “in crowd” of the 1830s had a whole host of slang terms they abbreviated. Popular abbreviations included “KY” for “No use” (“know yuse”), “KG” for “No go” (“Know go”), and “OW” for all right (“oll wright”).

[via History.]