Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: uk-SORE-ee-uhl, adj Notes: I knew a little of this word Yesterday’s word The word alterity is “otherness; the state of quality of being other or different” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1500s Background / Comments Our word has bounced around through many languages; it came into English from theContinue reading “uxorial”

Pronounced: al-TER-uh-tee, noun Notes: A nice, usable word to add to one’s vocabulary Yesterday’s word The word sashay means to strut or move about in an ostentatious or conspicuous manner walk; glide; go to make a chassé First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word is a corruptionContinue reading “alterity”

Pronounced: sa-SHAY, verb Notes: I knew a bit about this word, but the background was interesting Yesterday’s word The word sukey means “a tea-kettle” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments Our word comes from the nursery rhyme “Polly Put the Kettle On”; this is a nursery rhymeContinue reading “sashay”

Pronounced: SOO-kee, noun Notes: I didn’t know this word Yesterday’s word The word ombudsman is a government official who investigates complaints made regarding abuses by public officials one who investigates, reports on, and helps settle complaints First usage Our word came into English in the 1910s Background / Comments I thought our word had somethingContinue reading “sukey”

Pronounced: AHM-budz-muhn, noun Notes: I thought I knew what this meant, but I didn’t Yesterday’s word The word tuffet means a clump of something a mound a low seat, stool, cushion, etc First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I mentioned the “Little Miss Muffet” nursery rhyme yesterday; itContinue reading “ombudsman”

Pronounced: TUFF-it, noun Notes: Most of us have heard the nursery rhyme “Little Miss Muffet/Sat on a tuffet…”, but what is a tuffet? (and is that the only definition?) Yesterday’s word The word foible is the part of a sword of foil blade between the middle and point a minor flaw or shortcoming in characterContinue reading “tuffet”

Pronounced: FOY-bull, noun Notes: I knew one of the meanings, but not the other one Yesterday’s word The word struldbrug is “someone very old and decrepit” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1700s Background / Comments Our word is another one that came from the book Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. TheContinue reading “foible”

Pronounced: STROOLED-bruhg, noun Notes: I don’t remember every running across this word Yesterday’s word The word conclave means a meeting of Roman Catholic cardinals secluded continuously while choosing a pope a usually private gathering of a group or association First usage Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1300s Background / CommentsContinue reading “struldbrug”

Pronounced: KAHN-klave, noun Notes: Many people probably know one definition of our word Yesterday’s word The word shirttail means, as a noun the part of a shirt reaching below he waist, especially in the back a brief item added at the end of a newspaper article something small or unimportant As an adjective, it meansContinue reading “conclave”

Pronounced: SHURT-tale, noun/adj Notes: Yes, this is the bottom part of the shirt that reaches below the waist, but what then does the adjective mean? Yesterday’s word The word gadarene means “without pause or deliberation; headlong; precipitate” First usage Our word came into English in the 1920s Background / Comments I was astonished when IContinue reading “shirttail”