|
prurient PRYOOR-ee-uhnt adjective an inordinate concern with the subject of sex; appealing to persons with a sex obsession 1876Anthony TrollopeThe Prime MinisterTo h—-with their prurient laws,' said Lopez, rising suddenly from his chair. 'I will neither appeal to them nor will I obey them.1922Margaret SangerPivot of CivilizationI have yet to hear any criticism of this term that is not based upon some false and hypocritical sense of modesty, or that does not arise out of a semi-prurient misunderstanding of its aim.1994Sue GraftonK is for KillerTo me, Lorna's prurient behavior left her short of 'near perfect' and put her closer to 'wanton.'Labels: Anthony Trollope, Margaret Sanger, Sue Grafton
|
Permalink: prurient
Entry By: CJ Cooney
Smash illiteracy! Email This Word To A Friend:
|
|
animadvert an-uh-mad-VURT verb to express one's self fearlessly; to harshly criticize 1862Anthony TrollopeNorth AmericaIt is true that in that letter the Secretary declared that in case of any future seizure the vessel seized must be taken into port, and so declared in animadverting on the fact that Captain Wilkes had not brought the 'Trent' into port.1889Andrew LangThe Blue Fairy BookIt is not our business to animadvert upon these lines; we are not critics, but historians.Labels: Andrew Lang, Anthony Trollope
|
Permalink: animadvert
Entry By: CJ Cooney
Smash illiteracy! Email This Word To A Friend:
|
|
ne plus ultra nay pluhs UHL-truh phrase the highest level achievable; the acme; the ultimate state of something 1809Washington IrvingA 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.1862Anthony TrollopeNorth 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.1897Eliot GregoryWorldly 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
|
Permalink: ne plus ultra
Entry By: CJ Cooney
Smash illiteracy! Email This Word To A Friend:
|
|
jeunesse dorée zhuh-NES do-RAY noun young jet set persons; wealthy, sophisticated young people 1880Anthony TrollopeLife of CiceroAs to this, it is necessary to understand Pompey's peculiar popularity at the moment, both with the Liberals and with the Conservatives. 'Above all, see that you have with you the 'jeunesse dorée.'1915F. A. M. MignetHistory of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814The convention, after the fall of Robespierre; party of the committees; Thermidorian party; their constitution and object—Decay of the democratic party of the committees—Impeachment of Lebon and Carrier—State of Paris—The Jacobins and the Faubourgs declare for the old committees; the jeunesse dorée, and the sections for the Thermidorians—Impeachment of Billaud-Varennes, Collot-d'Herbois, Barrère, and Vadier—Movement of Germinal—Transportation of the accused, and of a few of the Mountain, their partisans—Insurrection of the 1st Prairial—Defeat of the democratic party; disarming of the Faubourgs—The lower class is excluded from the government, deprived of the constitution of '93, and loses its material power.1927Frederick Philip GroveA Search for AmericaWe were surrounded by the 'jeunesse dorée' of a very definite fraction of New York's commercial world.Labels: Anthony Trollope, F. A. M. Mignet, Frederick Philip Grove
|
Permalink: jeunesse dorée
Entry By: CJ Cooney
Smash illiteracy! Email This Word To A Friend:
|
|
ad utrumque paratus ad oo-TRUHM-kway pa-ra-toos phrase prepared for either outcome; prepared no matter the outcome 1679LactantiusDe Mortibus PersecutorumPlus virium Maxentio erat, quod et patris sui exercitum receperat a Severo et suum proprium de Mauris atque Gaetulis nuper extraxerat. 3 Dimicatum, et Maxentiani milites praevalebant, donec postea confirmato animo Constantinus et ad utrumque paratus copias omnes ad urbem propius admovit et a regione pontis Mulvii consedit.1771Tobias SmollettThe Expedition of Humphry ClinkerYour fable of the monkey and the pig, is what the Italians call ben trovata: but I shall not repeat it to my apothecary, who is a proud Scotchman, very thin skinned, and, for aught I know, may have his degree in his pocket—A right Scotchman has always two strings to his bow, and is in utrumque paratus.1875Anthony TrollopeThe Way We Live NowIn utrumque paratus, the article was mysterious, suggestive, amusing, well-informed that in the 'Evening Pulpit' was a matter of course and, above all things, ironical.Labels: Anthony Trollope, Lactantius, Tobias Smollett
|
Permalink: ad utrumque paratus
Entry By: CJ Cooney
Smash illiteracy! Email This Word To A Friend:
|
|
nadir NAY-deer noun the lowest point; the low-water mark; the time of greatest struggle or opposition or adversity or depression; the opposite of zenith 1860Anthony TrollopeCastle RichmondHe did not, indeed, perceive the aesthetic value of sin—he did not perceive the esthetic value of anything—and his analysis of human nature was not profound enough to reach the conception of sin, crime being to him the nadir of downward possibility—but he had a professional, a sort of half Scotland Yard, half master of hounds interest in a criminal.1921Louis Joseph VanceRed MasqueradeThe formulation of this question marked the turning point in Sofia's descent toward the nadir of shame and anguish; from the moment its significance was clearly apprehended (but it took her long to reach this stage) the complexion of her thoughts took on another colour, and the smart of chagrin was soothed even as the irritation excited by critical examination of Victor's conduct grew more acute.1938Clark Ashton SmithThe Maze of Maal Dweb...avoid the pale porphyry stairs that wound heavenward through dizzy, nadir-cleaving chasms…1971Alistair MacLeanBear IslandIt is a fact that when a person reaches that nadir of nausea which is the inevitable prelude to violent sickness the complexion does assume a hue which can only be described as greenish…Labels: Alistair MacLean, Anthony Trollope, Clark Ashton Smith, Louis Joseph Vance
|
Permalink: nadir
Entry By: CJ Cooney
Smash illiteracy! Email This Word To A Friend:
|
|
begorra bi-GOR-uh interjection an exclamation of surprise 1848Anthony TrollopeThe Kellys and the O'KellysWell, Mr Daly, I didn't expect this kind of thing from you: begorra, I thought you were above this! 1886George Moore Muslin Begorra, I am very glad they were murthered.1915Peggy Edmund and Harold Workman WilliamsThe Toaster's HandbookAn Irishman once was mounted on a mule which was kicking its legs rather freely. The mule finally got its hoof caught in the stirrup, when the Irishman excitedly remarked: 'Well, begorra, if you're goin' to git on I'll git off.' Labels: Anthony Trollope, George Moore, Peggy Edmund and Harold Workman Williams
|
Permalink: begorra
Entry By: CJ Cooney
Smash illiteracy! Email This Word To A Friend:
|
|
|
BIO
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
RECENT POSTS
