Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: pon-SO, noun/adj Notes: I didn’t know this word Yesterday’s word The word slubber means “to perform hastily or carelessly” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Low German word slubbern (to do work carelessly): not related to ‘slobber’ at all.

Pronounced: SLUB-er, verb Notes: This looks too much like “slobber” for me to work out the meaning Yesterday’s word The word mumpish means “sullen; silent; depressed” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1700s Background / Comments This sounds like a great word to work into conversations. It doesn’t have anything toContinue reading “slubber”

Pronounced: MUM-pish Notes: This word is not what I thought it was Yesterday’s word The word pavonine means First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word pāvōnīnus, a derivative of pāvō from the stem pāvōn (peacock) combined with -ine (of or pertaining to;Continue reading “mumpish”

Pronounced: PAV-uh-nine (alt: PAV-uh-nihn), adj Notes: I didn’t know this word, and I don’t think I’ve run across it Yesterday’s word The word compunctious means “feeling remorse or guilt” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word compungere (to prick hard), comprisedContinue reading “pavonine”

Pronounced: kuhm-PUNGK-shuhs, adj Notes: You may be able to figure out the meaning (if you don’t already know it) Yesterday’s word The word demesne means First usage Our word came into English in the mid to late 1200s Background / Comments When I saw the pronunciation, I suspected that our word came from French, andContinue reading “compunctious”

Pronounced: dih-MAIN (alt: dih-MEEN), noun Notes: Not only could I not pronounce this word, I didn’t know what it meant Yesterday’s word The word equanimous means “even-tempered: calm and composed in all circumstances” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word is a straightforward Latin word: aequs (equal;Continue reading “demesne”

Pronounced: ih-KWAN-uh-muss, adj Notes: I’ve seen the word in reading, but could not properly define it Yesterday’s word The word rusticate means “to go to, stay, live in, or sojourn in, the country” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments The proper bit of our word to recognize isContinue reading “equanimous”

Pronounced: RUSS-tih-kate, verb Notes: You may know this word; I keep seeing “rust” and go down the wrong path Yesterday’s phrase The phrase dog whistle, as a noun, refers to “a coded message that appears innocuous to the general publish, but that has an additional interpretation meant to appeal to the target audience”. As anContinue reading “rusticate”

Pronounced: as written, noun/adj Notes: You may know this term if you spend time in the arena in which this is used Yesterday’s word The word desiderium means “an ardent longing, as for something lost” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1700s Background / Comments Our word made me think ofContinue reading “dog whistle”

Pronounced: des-ih-DEER-ee-uhm, noun Notes: Even if you don’t know this word, you may be able to guess it Yesterday’s word The word logrolling means First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments The meaning I knew is the second one listed above; I remember watching logrolling on television asContinue reading “desiderium”