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koiné gloaming Rabelaisian zakuska prestidigitation Jesuitic sententious Malthusian quagga oubliette jalousie feague Brigadoon darraign yegg nullifidian coiner zuppa dilatory Grundyism ne plus ultra boreen crambe repetita nautch younker yellow journalism pinguid triptych soubrette sycophantic MORE ARCHIVES koiné koi-NAY noun the common dialect of ancient Greece; a common dialect that is adopted by a larger region 1921Language: An Introduction to the Study of SpeechAs the cultural supremacy of Athens grew, its dialect, the Attic, spread at the expense of the rest, until, in the so-called Hellenistic period following the Macedonian conquest, the Attic dialect, in the vulgarized form known as the 'Koine,' became the standard speech of all Greece.1965The Source...for the next seven hundred years everyone from Sparta to India experienced Greek culture and most spoke the Koine, a Greek dialect common to all countries…2003The First Book of FactoidsThe Bible contains words in Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek.Labels: Edward Sapir, James A. Michener, Sam Vaknin
gloaming GLO-ming noun dusk; twilight 1901Ben HurAt the very moment he was most inclined to yield to the allurement, a hand very fair even in the moonless gloaming was laid softly upon his shoulder.1962King RatMoments later the native appeared from the gloaming and walked the path unconcerned.1986Dinosaur BeachThe stars were glittering through the gloaming…Labels: James Clavell, Keith Laumer, Lew Wallace
Rabelaisian ra-buh-LAY-zee-uhn adjective racy or outrageous humor; relating to French satirist François Rabelais (1490–1553) or his works 1897A Book of ScoundrelsHe told his monstrous story with a cynical contempt, which has scarce its equal in the history of crime; and priest, as he was, he proved that he did not yield to the Marquis himself in the Rabelaisian amplitude of his vocabulary1897Recollections of My YouthThe racy humour which prevailed during the reign of Henri IV. was anything but favourable to mysticism. There was a good side to the outspoken Rabelaisian gaiety which was not deemed, in that day, incompatible with the priestly calling.Labels: Charles Whibley, Ernest Renan
zakuska za-KOOS-ka noun snack food; hors d'oeuvre 1902The Vultures'Only one,' replied Deulin—'the waiter who serves the Zakuska counter down-stairs.1915The Research Magnificent In January, in an outbreak of enquiry, he had gone with Lionel Maxim to St. Petersburg and had eaten zakuska, brightened his eyes with vodka, talked with a number of charming people of the war that was then imminent, listened to gipsy singers until dawn, careered in sledges about the most silent and stately of capitals, and returned with Lionel, discoursing upon autocracy and assassination, Japan, the Russian destiny, and the government of Peter the Great. 1919The Secret CityThen with a sigh he drew a chair up to the table and began eating zakuska, putting salt-fish and radishes and sausage on to his place and eating them with a fork.Labels: H. G. Wells, Henry Seton Merriman, Hugh Walpole
prestidigitation pres-ti-dij-i-TAY-shuhn noun sleight of hand; the cleverness or skills of a conman or deceiver; magic tricks 1878Dick Sand: A Captain at Fifteen'That was the whole secret,' replied Mrs. Weldon. 'It is very simple, like all that is done in the matter of prestidigitation.2000A Hymn Before Battle I will shock and amaze you with my powers of prestidigitation and psychic abilities!Labels: John Ringo, Jules Verne
Jesuitic JE-zoo-uht-ik adjective related to the Catholic Jesuit order; a person characterized by their cunning 1884Against The Grain'There is no doubt about it,' Des Esseintes mused, as he reasoned the matter and followed the progress of this introduction of the Jesuitic spirit into Fontenay.1903The Souls of Black FolkOn the other hand, another type of mind, shrewder and keener and more tortuous too, sees in the very strength of the anti-Negro movement its patent weaknesses, and with Jesuitic casuistry is deterred by no ethical considerations in the endeavor to turn this weakness to the black man's strength.1962The Man in the High CastleIdeological orientation suggesting medieval Jesuitic viewpoint exacerbated by post-Romantic Germanic nihilism.Labels: Joris-Karl Huysmans, Philip K. Dick, W. E. B. Du Bois
sententious sen-TEN-shuhs adjective given to smug and arrogant moralizing; given to uttering aphorism 1849The Sea Lions'Ay, ay,' answered Roswell Gardiner, in the sententious manner of a seaman.1888ShenandoahThen came Tom Robertson with his so-called 'tea-cup and saucer' school, which consisted of sententious dialogue, simple situations, conventional characterizations, and threads of plots, until Pinero and Jones put a stop to the Robertson fad.1926Lud in the Mist...some personal touch of the old scribe's, such as a sententious or facetious insertion of his own…Labels: Bronson Howard, Hope Mirrlees, James Fenimore Cooper
Malthusian mal-THOO-zhuhn adjective relating to or conforming to the theory of Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) which holds: populations increase faster than the resources needed to support the increase, and, if unchecked, will result in all-pervasive poverty, disease, and starvation 1832The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction (29 Sept 1832)We have besides safety for danger—accelerated speed without inhumanity—gain of time—of accommodation—of money—and over and above all, as a non-consumer of food, we have by the substitution what will remove the host of Malthusian ills to a period of almost indefinite duration. 1899That Fortune Everybody knows that it is full of the most gamy and beautiful fish in the world—namely, the speckled trout, whose honest occupation it is to devour whatever is thrown into the pool—a body governed by the strictest laws of political economy in guarding against over-population, by carrying out the Malthusian idea, in the habit the big ones have of eating the little ones. 1988The Icarus AgendaIf it were otherwise, you'd be talking about another system of government that doesn't permit the Malthusian law of economic failure.1996We Were the MulvaneysAs a Harvard Ph.D. I became a neo-Malthusian but I consider myself a revisionist neo-Malthusian.Labels: Charles Dudley Warner, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Ludlum, Various
quagga KWA-ga noun an extinct zebra-like African animal 1863The Antiquity of ManWe might have presumed that as no living representative of the equine family, whether horse, ass, zebra, or quagga, had been furnished by North or South America when those regions were first explored by Europeans, a search in the transatlantic world for fossil species might be dispensed with.1871How I Found LivingstoneFor nine hours we held on our way, starting with noisy shouts the fierce rhinoceros, the timid quagga, and the herds of antelopes which crowd the jungles of this broad salina.1988Aces AbroadSudden light flooded down from above them, bursting through the gratings, painting quagga stripes of illumination.Labels: Charles Lyell, George R. R. Martin, Sir Henry M. Stanley
oubliette oo-blee-ET noun a dungeon, room, or storage space with only a trap door or gap in its ceiling as a point of entry or exit 1953Casino RoyaleLe Chiffre's two cards followed them with a faint rattle which comes from the canister at the beginning of each session before the discards have made a cushion over the metal floor of their oubliette.2001The Cassandra CompactUnder the floorboards in the main room, in a small oubliette, was a cache of arms, medicines, and other essentials, indicating that the owner was undoubtedly in Howell's line of work.2002Fear and TremblingI probed my brain in search of a layer favorable to amnesia. Were there any oubliette cells in my neuronal fortress?Labels: Amélie Nothomb, Ian Fleming, Robert Ludlum
jalousie JA-luh-see noun shutters with adjustable horizontal slats for regulating the admission of light and air 1987The Door to DecemberIt's a jalousie window for ventilation.1994Fever CoastSo most of them opened out to the promenade deck with ventilation jalousies built into lower door panels…Labels: Dean Koontz, Tabor Evans
feague feeg adjective to whip; to beat; to enliven; to perk up 1785A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar TongueFEAGUE. To feague a horse; to put ginger up a horse's fundament, and formerly, as it is said, a live eel, to make him lively and carry his tail well; it is said, a forfeit is incurred by any horse-dealer's servant, who shall shew a horse without first feaguing him. Feague is used, figuratively, for encouraging or spiriting one up.1996Exodus from the Long Sun'That'd feague you, huh?Labels: Francis Grose, Gene Wolfe
Brigadoon bri-ga-DOON noun an idyllic; timeless place 1982HobgoblinThe Battleboard was an enchanted forest—a Brigadoon world where time stopped and could be played again.1999Jewels of the SunMaybe it was a kind of Brigadoon and she'd fumbled in during the wrong century.2000Tom Clancy's Power Plays: Bio-StrikeHe didn't care whether the dope capital's name was Burma, Myanmar, or Brigadoon.Labels: Jerome Preisler, John Coyne, Nora Roberts
darraign DAR-ayn verb to ready for battle 1591King Henry VIMESSENGER: Royal commanders, be in readiness; | For with a band of thirty thousand men | Comes Warwick, backing of the Duke of York, | And in the towns, as they do march along, | Proclaims him king, and many fly to him. | Darraign your battle, for they are at hand. 1885The Book of the Thousand Nights and a NightThen Luka went out from the presence and the accursed one mounted a sorrel horse; he was clad in a red robe and a hauberk of gold set with jewels, and he bore a trident spear, as he were Iblis the damned on the day of drewing out his hosts war to darraign.Labels: Sir Richard Francis Burton, William Shakespeare
yegg yeg noun crook; safecracker 1909The Gem CollectorNaturally, you don't like the idea of my marrying your daughter. You can't believe that I'm not simply an ordinary yegg, like the rest of the crooks you used to know. I promise you, I'm not. Can't you see that it doesn't matter what a man has been? It's what he is and what he means to be that counts.1914The MuckerWhy the devil should I take all this swag back to that yellow-faced yegg?1926Black JackThe yegg raised an expostulatory hand…1972Bank ShotHe was a lockman-that was his specialty—he could open safes better than Jimmy Valentine. But this safe was already standing open, and there was nothing in it of any value anyway. He was along simply as a yegg this time, part of the team.Labels: Donald E. Westlake, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Max Brand, P. G. Wodehouse
nullifidian NUL-li-fid-ee-uhn noun a person having no faith 1871MiddlemarchShe was disposed rather to accuse the intolerable narrowness and the purblind conscience of the society around her: and Celia was no longer the eternal cherub, but a thorn in her spirit, a pink-and-white nullifidian, worse than any discouraging presence in the 'Pilgrim's Progress.'1892Born In Exile'Orthodox? Oh, of course not, of course not! But a rich vein of humanity. Don't you find that?—Pray allow me to throw off my overcoat. Ha, thanks!—A rich vein of humanity. Walsh is by no means to be confused with the nullifidians.Labels: George Eliot, George Gissing
coiner koin-ur noun a counterfeiter; a maker of counterfeit coins or money; a creator of new words and/or phrases 1766The Vicar of WakefieldHe now at once recollected me; for the gloominess of the place and the approaching night had prevented his distinguishing my features before.—'Yes, Sir,' returned Mr Jenkinson, 'I remember you perfectly well; I bought an horse, but forgot to pay for him. Your neighbour Flamborough is the only prosecutor I am any way afraid of at the next assizes: for he intends to swear positively against me as a coiner. I am heartily sorry, Sir, I ever deceived you, or indeed any man; for you see,' continued he, shewing his shackles, 'what my tricks have brought me to.'1861Great ExpectationsThey shook hands again, and as we walked away Wemmick said to me, 'A Coiner, a very good workman. The Recorder's report is made to-day, and he is sure to be executed on Monday. Still you see, as far as it goes, a pair of pigeons are portable property, all the same.'1931The WavesThat is, I am a natural coiner of words, a blower of bubbles through one thing and another.Labels: Charles Dickens, Oliver Goldsmith, Virginia Woolf
zuppa zhuh-puh noun Italian soup 1962The Ipcress FileWe ordered the Zuppa di Lenticchie and Jean told me how this lentil soup reminded her of visits with her father to Sicily many years ago.1984Deep SixI thought I'd try the zuppa di pesce.1994The Body FarmI put on a pot of Zuppa di Aglio Fresco, a fresh garlic soup…2002The Shadow of the LionPeople who had saved all year for this time were stuffing themselves with fatty sausages, bread, rich bean soup, Salame, Mortadella, Cotechino, still-steaming loaves of ciabbata, thick fragrant zuppa di fagioli.Labels: Clive Cussler, Len Deighton, Mercedes Lackey and Eric Flint and David Freer, Patricia Cornwell
dilatory DIL-uh-tor-ee adjective procrastinating; slow; loitering; intending to miss a deadline; time wasting 1871How I Found LivingstoneThe soldiers' point of character leaked out just a little. Bombay turned out to be honest and trusty, but slightly disposed to be dilatory.1880The Young BurglersAn energetic man, who, at the head of a handful, had performed some daring feats, would find himself a week afterwards the leader of many hundreds, while a chief who was slow and dilatory would find his band melt away like snow in summer.1964GreybeardNorsgrey beat at his reindeer with a stick, goading it into a less dilatory walk.1970The Stainless Steel Rat's RevengeIf there were an investigation it would be dilatory…Labels: Brian Aldiss, G. A. Henty, Harry Harrison, Sir Henry M. Stanley
Grundyism GRUHN-dee-iz-uhm noun moronic adherence to conventionality 1836The Backwoods of CanadaNow, we bush-settlers are more independent: we do what we like; we dress as we find most suitable and most convenient; we are totally without the fear of any Mr. or Mrs. Grundy; and having shaken off the trammels of Grundyism, we laugh at the absurdity of those who voluntarily forge afresh and hug their chains.1926The Silver SpoonI hate Grundyism.Labels: Catharine Parr Traill, John Galsworthy
ne plus ultra nay pluhs UHL-truh phrase the highest level achievable; the acme; the ultimate state of something 1809A History of New YorkFor my part, I am prodigiously fond of these valuable speculations so complimentary to human nature, and which are so ingeniously calculated to make beasts of both writer and reader; but in this instance I am inclined to take the proposition by halves, believing with old Horace, that though war may have been originally the favourite amusement and industrious employment of our progenitors, yet like many other excellent habits, so far from being ameliorated, it has been cultivated and confirmed by refinement and civilization, and encreases in exact proportion as we approach towards that state of perfection, which is the ne plus ultra of modern philosophy.1862North AmericaAnd in London he will find the supreme of power, the ne plus ultra of work according to the world's capability of working. Any one of such journeys may be more valuable to a man—nay, any one such journey must be more valuable to a man—than a visit to Niagara.1897Worldly Ways and BywaysSo little is known about the proper preparation of food that tomorrow's dinner will appear to many as the ne plus ultra of delicate living.Labels: Anthony Trollope, Eliot Gregory, Washington Irving
boreen bo-REEN noun a narrow country road 1902North, South and Over the Sea '...A very rich man lives there,' says he, 'an' I think the quarthers 'ull suit me. You can go down that little boreen to the left,' he says; 'there's a little cabin there that belongs to some poor fellow or other….'1996Angela's Ashes...I go up the boreen to the Norman castle at Carrigogunnell…Labels: Frank McCourt, M. E. Francis
crambe repetita KRAM-bee REP-e-tee-ta noun warmed-up cabbage; the dull repetition of a maxim or story 1859Julian HomeI will not betray the mistakes he made, or dish up in this place the 'crambe repetita' of those Little-go anecdotes, which at this period of the year awaken the laughter of combination-rooms, and dissipate the dulness of Camford life.1882SterneTo the best of my own judgment the Sermons are—with but few and partial exceptions—of the most commonplace character; platitudinous with the platitudes of a thousand pulpits, and insipid with the crambe repetita of a hundred thousand homilies.Labels: Frederick William Farrar, H. D. Traill
nautch nawch noun an Indian dancing girl; a professional Indian dancer; Indian dancing 1879The Light of AsiaThe nautch-girls in their spangled skirts and bells | That chime light laughter round their restless feet.1897Following the EquatorThe most gorgeous costume present were worn by some children. They seemed to blaze, so bright were the colors, and so brilliant the jewels strum over the rich materials. These children were professional nautch-dancers, and looked like girls, but they were boys, They got up by ones and twos and fours, and danced and sang to an accompaniment of weird music. Their posturings and gesturings were elaborate and graceful, but their voices were stringently raspy and unpleasant, and there was a good deal of monotony about the tune.1901Rujub the JugglerWhen this was over, the ladies began to arrive, and for their amusement there had been a native nautch upon a grand scale, followed by a fine display of fireworks, and then by supper, at which the Rajah had made a speech expressive of his deep admiration and affection for the British.Labels: G. A. Henty, Mark Twain, Sir Edwin Arnold
younker YUHN-kur noun a young person; a youngster 1596The Merchant of VeniceHow like a younker or a prodigal | The scarfed bark puts from her native bay, | Hugg'd and embraced by the strumpet wind!1868The Huge HunterHello, younker! what in thunder yer tryin' to make?1978Bendigo ShafterYou think right. You was keerect. What I mean is somebody lately. A man and a couple of younkers, maybe?Labels: Edward S. Ellis, Louis L'Amour, William Shakespeare
yellow journalism YE-lo JUR-nuhl-i-zuhm noun a journalistic style that emphasizes sensationalism over facts and evidence 1908Bushido: The Soul of JapanChauvinistic tendencies of the time, and therefore thought well-adapted to the need of this day, have been invented and propounded; but as yet we hear only their shrill voices echoing through the columns of yellow journalism.1941Citizen KaneHere follows a quick montage (presently to be worked out) of no more than four or five images in which the President, by means of cartoons, editorials, headlines (all faithfully reproduced from period yellow journalism) is violently attacked.Labels: Herman J. Mankiewicz, Inazo Nitob, Orson Welles
pinguid PIN-gwid adjective fat; oily; greasy 1944The Island of DesireHis breath came quick and his words more pinguid than ever.1991Strange HighwaysHis coarse skin was perpetually pinguid, as if he suffered continuously from malaria.Labels: Dean Koontz, Robert Dean Frisbie
triptych TRIP-tik noun a picture or art object displayed in three sections side by side; something in three sections 1894Mornings in FlorenceAnd if you will now compare finally the eager tilting of the workman's seat in 22 and 6, and the working of the wood in the painter's low table for his pots of colour, and his three-legged stool, with that of Tubal Cain's anvil block; and the way in which the lines of the forge and upper triptych are in each composition used to set off the rounding of the head, I believe you will have little hesitation in accepting my own view of the matter—namely, that the three pieces of the Fathers of the Arts were wrought with Giotto's extremest care for the most precious stones of his tower; that also, being a sculptor and painter, he did the other two, but with quite definite and wilful resolve that they should be, as mere symbols of his own two trades, wholly inferior to the other subjects of the patriarchs; that he made the Sculpture picturesque and bold as you see it is, and showed all a sculptor's tricks in the work of it; and a sculptor's Greek subject, Bacchus, for the model of it; that he wrought the Painting, as the higher art, with more care, still keeping it subordinate to the primal subjects, but showed, for a lesson to all the generations of painters for evermore—this one lesson, like his circle of pure line containing all others—'Your soul and body must be all in every touch.'1942The High WindowMr. Pietro Palermo was sitting in a room which, except for a mahogany roll-top desk, a sacred triptych in gilt frames and a large ebony and ivory crucifixion, looked exactly like a Victorian parlor.2000Calculating GodFalsey turned and faced the imposing stone facade of the museum, with its wide steps leading up to the glass entrance doors and the triptych of stained-glass windows rising up above those doors.Labels: John Ruskin, Raymond Chandler, Robert J. Sawyer
soubrette soo-BRET noun a flirtatious; lively; saucy young woman 1899Ragged Lady'Well, you must come in and see me all you can, Clementina; and I shall have the pleasure of calling upon you,' she added to Mrs. Lander with state that was lost in the soubrette-like volatility of her flight from them the next moment.1899Maximilian in MexicoAnother important female part was taken by Albert Bazaine, who was turned into a superb soubrette.1919Limehouse NightsOh, Jack, old man, I daren't,' whimpered the stout soubrette.Labels: Sara Yorke Stevenson, Thomas Burke, William Dean Howells
sycophantic SIK-uh-fant-ik adjective the use of flattery to win favor from influential or prominent people 1992Chill FactorFace after sullen face, with an occasional worker attempting a scared, sycophantic smile.1995Come to GriefA few sycophantic hands shot out to make contact with her as we followed a lisping young greeter to a central, noteworthy table.1999Southern CrossShe thought of her wealthy dentist husband with all his radio ads and strip mall offices and sycophantic employees.Labels: Dick Francis, Laurence James, Patricia Cornwell
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