a dictionary of words and phrases on the verge of extinction — updated daily — for the word obsessed!
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nostrum
NOS-truhm
noun
a panacea; a cure-all remedy; a secret recipe for medicine; snake-oil
1912G. K. ChestertonManaliveI must say that for a clergyman to countenance, even in jest, such discredited nostrums of dissipated demagogues as Socialism or Radicalism partakes of the character of the betrayal of a sacred trust.1982Frank HerbertThe White Plague...he dosed himself not only with specifics to which his medical standing gave him access but also with nostrums…2000Robert Ludlum and Galye LyndsThe Hades FactorIn Iraq, life for most people was basic, and this doctor, whose work had been published widely, who once had traveled the globe to address pediatric conferences, was reduced to nostrums and yogurt.

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zollverein
zawl-vuh-rayn
noun
a customs union; a free trade zone
1903John George BourinotLord Elgin...there was 'something captivating in the project of forming this vast British Empire into one huge Zollverein, with free interchange of commodities, and uniform duties against the world without…'1917Bertrand RussellProposed Roads to FreedomThis is the essential significance of the recent change in American foreign policy as illustrated by the Spanish War, the Philippine annexation, the Panama policy, and the new application of the Monroe doctrine to the South American States South America is needed as a preferential market for investment of trust 'profits'' and surplus trust products: if in time these states can be brought within a Zollverein under the suzerainty of the United States, the financial area of operations receives a notable accession.1918Christopher MorleyShandygaffUnnoted by Baedeker, unsung by poets, unrhapsodied by press agents—there lurks the little town of Strychnine in that far and untravelled corner where France, Russia, and Liberia meet in an unedifying Zollverein.

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quoad hoc
kwo-awd HOK
phrase
this far; to this extent
1862A. K. H. BoydThe Recreations of A Country ParsonBut having accidentally chanced to speak of a certain complicated political question, I found that quoad hoc my friend's intellect was that of a baby.

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hic jacet
heek JAY-set
noun
traditional beginning to an epitaph, usually on a tombstone; literally: here lies
1888Don Manoel GonzalesLondon in 1731Under the figure of the king. Hic jacet Henricus ejus nominis septimus, Anglicae quondam rex, Edmundi Richmondiae comitis filius, qui die 22 Aug.1900Henry StevensThomas HariotO eloquent, just and mightie Death ! whom none could advise, thou hast perswaded; what none hath dared, thou hast done; and whom all the world hath flattered, thou onely hast cast out of the world and despised: thou hast drawne together all the farre stretched greatnesse, all the pride, crueltie, and ambition, of man, and covered it all over with those two narrow words: Hic jacet.1900Gilbert ParkerEmbersA stone, 'Hic Jacet'—no more; Let the world wonder at will; You have the key to the door, I have the cenotaph still.1903John HayCastilian DaysPassing by a world of artistic beauties which never tire the eyes, but soon would tire the chronicler and reader, stepping over the broad bronze slab in the floor which covers the dust of the haughty primate Porto Carrero, but which bears neither name nor date, only this inscription of arrogant humility, hic jacet pulvis cinis et nihil, we walk into the verdurous and cheerful Gothic cloisters.

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nettlesome
NE-tul-suhm
adjective
irritating; annoying
1904Winston ChurchillThe CrossingIt so chanced that on the second day after my arrival a pack-train came along, guided by a nettlesome old man and a strong, black-haired lass of sixteen or thereabouts.1987Elizabeth ScarboroughSongs From the Seashell ArchivesNow you can do this nettlesome chore and I can stir up that batch for Betsy Baker.

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Moksha
mok-SHUH
noun
heaven; freedom from the cycle of life; Nirvana
1903Johann George BuehlerOn the Indian Sect of the JainasLike all religions of the Hindus founded on philosophical speculation, Jainism sees this highest goal in Nirvana or Moksha, the setting free of the individual from the Samsara—the revolution of birth and death.

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ineffable
i-NE-fuh-buhl
adjective
indescribable; inexpressible
1894W. W. JacobsMany CargoesThe eyes of all were turned upon their youthful deliverer, those of Mr. Smith being painfully prominent. It was a proud moment for Billy, and he sat silent for some time, with a look of ineffable wisdom and thought upon his face.1922Zane GreyTo The Last ManThe nest where she lay was warm and sweet. No eye save that of nature saw her in her abandonment. An ineffable and exquisite smile wreathed her lips, dreamy, sad, sensuous, the supremity of unconscious happiness.1943Ayn RandThe Fountainhead...he imagined a giant of a man, with a rich mane of hair, perhaps just turning gray, with bold, broad features of an ineffable benevolence…1947Cornell WoolrichWaltz Into DarknessHis head fell upon her breast in ineffable surrender.

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oppugn
aw-PYOON
verb
to resist; to challenge; to oppose; to question legitimacy
1805Samuel ButlerHudibrasIf nothing can oppugn love, | And virtue invious ways can prove, | What may he not confide to do | That brings both love and virtue too?1817Samuel Taylor ColeridgeBiographia LiterariaBut in promiscuous company no prudent man will oppugn the merits of a contemporary in his own supposed department; contenting himself with praising in his turn those whom he deems excellent.

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Mahayana
maw-huh-YAW-nuh
noun
a major branch of Buddhism
1886Fa HienRecord of Buddhistic KingdomsThere are in Buddhism the triyana, or 'three different means of salvation, i.e. of conveyance across the samsara, or sea of transmigration, to the shores of nirvana. Afterwards the term was used to designate the different phases of development through which the Buddhist dogma passed, known as the mahayana, hinayana, and madhyamayana.'1913Kaiten NukariyaThe Religion of the SamuraiThe Southern Buddhists never call their faith Hinayana, the name being an invention of later Buddhists, who call their doctrine Mahayana in contradistinction to the earlier form of Buddhism.1958Jack KerouacThe Dharma BumsHe's a great mysterious Bodhisattva I think maybe a reincarnation of Asagna the great Mahayana scholar of the old centuries.'1989Patrick O'BrianThe Thirteen Gun SaluteHe was of the utmost help to me when I was enquiring into the spread of Buddhism—the arrival of Mahayana Buddhism in Java.'

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yerk
yurhk
verb
to goad; to thrash; to attack; to beat
1836Michael ScottTom Cringle's LogPresently I heard the word given to take in the two gaff—topsails and flying jib, which was scarcely done, when the moaning sound roughened into a roar, and the little vessel began to yerk at the head seas…1906Rudyard KiplingPuck of Pook's HillYes; he would lie still awhile, and then rustle in the straw, and speak sometimes as though he were King William himself, and anon he would speak in parables and tales, and if at once we saw not his meaning he would yerk us in the ribs with his scabbarded sword.

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presentiment
pri-zen-tuh-muhnt
noun
a premonition; a foreboding that something, usually bad, is going to occur
1971Hermann HesseSiddharthaAlthough surprised, Govinda was compelled by a great love and presentiment to obey him…1997Bernard CornwellSharpe's TigerThe Tippoo had made his oath, and the oath meant that he would either sit on the tiger throne or else he would die, and the Tippoo's dreams had given him no presentiment of death.

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sophistry
SAW-fuh-stree
noun
subtle argument, which is often based on deceptive reasoning
1791James BoswellThe Life of JohnsonAfter we came out of the church, we stood talking for some time together of Bishop Berkeley's ingenious sophistry to prove the non-existence of matter, and that every thing in the universe is merely ideal. I observed, that though we are satisfied his doctrine is not true, it is impossible to refute it. I never shall forget the alacrity with which Johnson answered, striking his foot with mighty force against a large stone, till he rebounded from it, 'I refute it thus.'1934Robert E. HowardQueen of the Black CoastNaive as a child in many ways, unfamiliar with the sophistry of civilization, he was naturally intelligent, jealous of his rights, and dangerous as a hungry tiger.1934George Bernard ShawOn the RocksSIR DEXTER. Monstrous! I should give no quarter to such an outrageous piece of sophistry.1990Gregory BenfordMatter's EndWhen Dr. Samuel Johnson felt himself getting tied up in an argument over Bishop Berkeley's ingenious sophistry to prove the nonexistence of matter, and that everything in the universe is merely ideal, he kicked a large stone and answered, 'I refute it thus.'

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sui generis
soo-ee JE-nuh-ruhs
adjective
unique; in a class of its own
1976Gore Vidal1876Oh, maybe your first Romans were like us, but I doubt it. No, sir. We are sui generis—of our own kind.1979Tom WolfeThe Right StuffThe seven pilots and their wives thought they had seen every sort of parade there was, but this one was sui generis.1987Robert A. HeinleinTo Sail Beyond the SunsetRandom Numbers may have been the silliest cat I've ever lived with—although all cats are sui generis…

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brummagem
BRUH-ma-juhm
adjective
something cheap and flashy; something dazzling but inferior
1849J. Tyrwhitt BrooksCaliforniaCarts were passing to and fro; groups of Indians squatting on their haunches were chattering together, and displaying to one another the flaring red and yellow handkerchiefs, the scarlet blankets, and muskets of the most worthless Brummagem make, for which they had been exchanging their bits of gold, while their squaws looked on with the most perfect indifference.1918H. L. MenckenIn Defense of WomenThey know that they can get what they want without going to the actual polls for it; moreover, they are out of sympathy with most of the brummagem reforms advocated by the professional suffragists, male and female.1920F. Scott FitzgeraldThe Beautiful and DamnedThey name these brummagem cabarets after Pullman cars.

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ex nihilo nihil fit
eks NI-hi-lo ni-hil-FIT
phrase
from nothing, nothing comes
1879Rene DescartesThe Principles of PhilosophyWhen we apprehend that it is impossible a thing can arise from nothing, this proposition, ex nihilo nihil fit, is not considered as somewhat existing, or as the mode of a thing, but as an eternal truth having its seat in our mind, and is called a common notion or axiom.1888Joseph-Pierre ProudhonSystem of Economic Contradictions or The Philosophy of MiserySay that to a nation net product is the same thing as gross product by this consideration—that nations, no more than individuals of enterprise, can produce without advances, and that, if J. B. Say's formula were true, it would follow that the axiom, ex nihilo nihil fit, is not true.1931H. P. LovecraftThe Whisperer in DarknessIf you can account for it normally, very well; but there must be something behind it. Ex nihilo nihil fit, you know.

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reliquary
RE-la-kwaer-ee
noun
a place where relics are stored; a shrine used to store relics
1886Gustave FlaubertMadame BovaryShe saw amid the illusions of her hope a state of purity floating above the earth mingling with heaven, to which she aspired. She wanted to become a saint. She bought chaplets and wore amulets; she wished to have in her room, by the side of her bed, a reliquary set in emeralds that she might kiss it every evening.1886Georg EbersThe Bride of the NileOrion looked down greatly disappointed; the idea of seeing this splendid gem hidden away in a reliquary in some dim cupboard did not please him: He could have found a much more gratifying use for it.1921John BuchanThe Path of the KingThe little chin was firm, but the mouth was pettish. Her teeth bit on a gold chain, which encircled her neck and held a crystal reliquary.

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boustrophedon
boo-struh-FEE-dawn
noun, adjective
ancient Greek and Hittite method of writing lines in alternating directions, first left-to-right and then right-to-left, as fields are plowed by oxen
1831Victor HugoThe Hunchback of Notre DameWhat truth have you deduced, I will not say from medicine, which is too foolish a thing, but from astrology? Cite to me the virtues of the vertical boustrophedon, the treasures of the number ziruph and those of the number zephirod!'1972Lin CarterUnder the Green Star...the Laonese script is written boustrophedon, like Hittite: back and forth, as an ox plows a field.

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poetaster
PO-uh-tas-tur
noun
a lousy or inferior poet
1602Ben JonsonThe PoetasterRufus Laberius Crispinus, and Demetrius Fannius, hold up your hands. You are, before this time, jointly and severally indicted, and here presently to be arraigned upon the statute of calumny, or Lex Remmia, the one by the name of Rufus Laberius Crispinus, alias Crispinus, poetaster and plagiary, the other by the name of Demetrius Fannius, play-dresser and plagiary.1860Lord MacaulayThe Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord MacaulayThat knowledge he had derived partly from books, and partly from sources which had long been closed; from old Grub Street traditions; from the talk of forgotten poetasters and pamphleteers who had long been lying in parish vaults; from the recollections of such men as Gilbert Walmesley, who had conversed with the wits of Button; Cibber, who had mutilated the plays of two generations of dramatists; Orrery, who had been admitted to the society of Swift; and Savage, who had rendered services of no very honourable kind to Pope.1917Alice MeynellHearts of Controversy...Swinburne, who hailed a certain old friend, in a dedication, as 'poet and painter' when he was pleased with him, and declared him 'poetaster and dauber' when something in that dead man's posthumous autobiography offended his own self-love…

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lassitude
las-i-tyood
noun
the state of being extremely tired or listless
1883P. T. BarnumThe Art of Money GettingHow many important chances have been put off until tomorrow, and then forever, because the wine cup has thrown the system into a state of lassitude, neutralizing the energies so essential to success in business.1910Zane GreyThe Heritage of the DesertHare had a sensation of extreme lassitude, a deep drowsiness which permeated even to his bones.1920Talbot MundyFor The Salt He Had EatenEven the village goats seemed overcome with lassitude.

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libation
lai-BAY-shuhn
noun
an alcohol beverage; ceremonial drinking
1953Jim ThompsonSavage NightYou look like you might be able to use a small libation, Mr. Bigelow.1967Poul AndersonEutopiaSolemnly, they poured a libation before they drank.1990Piers AnthonyFirefly'Here—I have brought wherewithal for a libation.' He reached behind him and brought out a hip flask.1996Ann RuleA Fever in the HeartKenny Marino had invited three girls to come to his parents' home that night for Tequila Sunrises, a curious Christmas libation.

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tauromachy
taw-ROM-a-kee
noun
bullfighting
1846William Makepeace ThackerayNotes of a Journey from Cornhill to Grand CairoThe streets were plastered with placards of a bull-fight, to take place the next evening (there was no opera that season); but it was not a real Spanish tauromachy—only a theatrical combat, as you could see by the picture in which the horseman was cantering off at three miles an hour, the bull tripping after him with tips to his gentle horns.1903John HayCastilian DaysTAUROMACHY | The bull-fight is the national festival of Spain. The rigid Britons have had their fling at it for many years. The effeminate badaud of Paris has declaimed against its barbarity. Even the aristocracy of Spain has begun to suspect it of vulgarity and to withdraw from the arena the light of its noble countenance. But the Spanish people still hold it to their hearts and refuse to be weaned from it.

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vestige
VES-tij
noun
tangible evidence left by something; a smidgen of something; the remainder of something
1902Joseph ConradEnd of the TetherHe had long since parted with the last vestige of incredulity; of the original emotions, set into a tumult by the discovery, some trace of the first awe alone remained.1912Edgar Rice BurroughsTarzan of the ApesIn the middle of the floor lay a skeleton, every vestige of flesh gone from the bones to which still clung the mildewed and moldered remnants of what had once been clothing.1925F. Scott FitzgeraldThe Great GatsbyThey were sitting at either end of the couch, looking at each other as if some question had been asked, or was in the air, and every vestige of embarrassment was gone.1936Margaret MitchellGone With the WindHe went on speaking and there was a quality in his voice, a sadness, a resignation, that increased her fear until every vestige of anger and disappointment was blotted out.

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polemic
puh-LE-mik
noun
a rant or screed, written or verbal, characterized by an aggressive denunciation of opposing viewpoints
1886Gustave FlaubertMadame BovaryPolemics would ensue; he would have to answer in the papers.1887Karl MarxEighteenth Brumaire of Louis BonaparteThe polemic against the budget, which in France, was closely connected with the opposition to the aristocracy of finance, furnished too cheap a popularity and too rich a material for Puritanical leading articles, not to be exploited.1991Orson Scott Card XenocideAll she knew of rhetoric, polemic—yes, of demagoguery—she had learned from him…

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suborn
suh-BORN
verb
to encourage or trick a person into engaging in an illegal activity, including perjury
1931Talbot MundyJimgrimWhy should a polylinguistic princess by the name of Chalawan de Sitlab, occupying semi-regal suite in this hotel, suborn its servants to inform her instantly when visitors approach your honour?1934Erle Stanley GardnerThe Case of the Lucky Legs'Chief,' she said, 'why don't you do like the other lawyers do?' | 'You mean plant evidence, and suborn perjury?'2001Bernard CornwellSharpe's PreyRich, thick, gold coins, and the chest had enough to suborn a kingdom…

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hibernaculum
hai-bur-NA-kyuh-luhm
noun
a location for hibernation
1876John BurroughsWinter SunshineBy mid-October, most of the Rip Van Winkles among our brute creatures have lain down for their winter nap. The toads and turtles have buried themselves in the earth. The woodchuck is in his hibernaculum, the skunk in his, the mole in his; and the black bear has his selected, and will go in when the snow comes1968Arthur C. Clarke2001: A Space OdysseySometimes Bowman, as First Captain of Discovery, envied his three unconscious colleagues in the frozen peace of the Hibernaculum.1984Greg BearStar Trek: Corona...the probe floated from hibernaculum to hibernaculum, calculating the mass and complexity of each of the thirty frozen researchers.

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defalcate
di-FAL-kayt
verb
the embezzlement of money from a trust
1896Israel ZangwillWithout PrejudiceThe man with vagabond instincts becomes an explorer, Ishmael writes social dramas, the happier son of a defalcating cashier rises to be a minister of finance, the born liar turns novelist, the man with murder in his soul hunts big game in foreign lands or settles down at home as a critic.1919Robert LyndOld and New MastersEven when he is portraying human beings, like Flora de Barrel—the daughter of the defalcating financier and wife of the ship's captain, who is the heroine of Chance—he often permits us just such glimpses of them as we get of persons hurrying round a corner.

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hoc age
hok ayj
phrase
do this; in doing your duty let nothing hinder your zeal
1847John AubreyThe Natural History of WiltshireThe consistorie of this church (Salisbury) was as eminent for learning as any in England, and the choire had the best method; hence came the saying 'secundum usum Sarum'. Over every stall there was writt 'hoc age'. These old stalles were taken down about 1671, and now they sitt in the quire undistinguisht, without stalles.1873Charles Reade A Simpleton So to church they went; and Staines, whose motto was 'Hoc age,' minded his book. Rosa had intervals of attention to the words, but found plenty of time to study the costumes. 1877Michel de MontaigneThe Essays of MontaigneThe Romans, in their religious exercises, began with 'Hoc age' as we in ours do with 'Sursum corda'; these are so many words lost to me: I come already fully prepared from my chamber.

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Zeno of Citium
ZEE-no uhv SI-shee-uhm
noun
the ancient Greek founder of stoic philosophy which holds that virtue is good by definition
1862Marcus AureliusThe Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus AureliusThe doctrines of Zeno and his successors were well suited to the gravity and practical good sense of the Romans; and even in the Republican period we have an example of a man, M. Cato Uticensis, who lived the life of a Stoic and died consistently with the opinions which he professed.1926St. George StockA Guide to StoicismThe life span of Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, was from B.C. 347 to 275.

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djinn
jin
noun
a genie; a demon; a spirit with the power to negatively influence a person's life
1937Rudyard KiplingSomething of Myself For My Friends Known and UnknownUnder our united tobaccos it grew like the Djinn released from the brass bottle…1981Greg BearStrength of StonesShe had palmed three pieces of fruit and was looking for the best route to leave when the market square manager appeared in front of her like a djinn out of the dust.1991Wilbur SmithElephant SongThe helmsman was singing a soft repetitive refrain, an invocation to the spirits of the lake depths, the djinni who controlled the fickle winds that pushed the dhow across the dark waters.1996Neil GaimanNeverwhereOne stall was piled high with bottles, full bottles and empty bottles of every shape and every size, from bottles of booze to one huge glimmering bottle that could have contained nothing but a captive djinn…

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bejabers
bi-JAY-burhz
interjection
an exclamation of surprise
1917Ernest Thompson Seton Two Little Savages Bejabers, sometimes he scares me wid his knowin' ways, but I hev nothin' agin him except that he kills the wee burruds. 1965Rex Stout The Doorbell Rang'Bejabers,' I said. 1993Spider Robinson The Callahan TouchI've got it, bejabers!

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