Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: GAL-uh-nip-er, noun Notes: I’ve not run across this word… it may be a bit of a cheat Yesterday’s word The word Mrs. Grundy refers to “an extremely conventional or priggish person” First usage This word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments As I said, I think I’ve run across theContinue reading “gallinipper”

Pronounced: MISS-iz GRUND-ee, noun Notes: I think I’ve run across this word, but I didn’t know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word epithalamion is “a song or poem in honor of a bride and bridegroom” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1500s Background / Comments This word always reminds me ofContinue reading “Mrs Grundy”

Pronounced: ep-uh-thuh-LAY-mee-on (alt: ep-uh-thuh-LAT-mee-uhn), noun Notes: I have run across this word in reading Yesterday’s word The word bovarism is “a romanticized, unrealistic view of oneself” First usage This word came into English in the first decade of the 1900s Background / Comments People with a well-read background might see bits of “Bovary” in theContinue reading “epithalamion”

Pronounced: BOH-vuh-riz-em, noun Notes: Well-read people might know this one (I guess I’m not well-read enough; I didn’t) Yesterday’s word The word garboil means “confusion” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments This is another word that comes from a poorer-quality vocabulary. I almost didn’t use it because itContinue reading “bovarism”

Pronounced: GAR-boil, noun Notes: I almost didn’t use this word; it’s not one I would encourage people to learn (more tomorrow) Yesterday’s word The word schmatte refers to a rag an old, ragged article of clothing Any garment First usage This word came into English in the 1970s Background / Comments Another word that cameContinue reading “garboil”

Pronounced: SHMAH-tuh, noun Notes: Also spelled shmatte; this is a word I could use in conversation Yesterday’s word The word zedonk is “the offspring of a zebra and a donkey”; it can also be called a zonkey, but that’s not as common as zedonk. First usage This word came into usage in the 1970s BackgroundContinue reading “schmatte”

Pronounced: ZEE-dongk (alt: ZEE-duhngk), noun Notes: Just seeing the word, I had no idea; looking at the definition, I feel kind of stupid; maybe you know it or figured it out Yesterday’s word The word gnathonic means “sycophantic” First usage Our word appeared in English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments Our word comes fromContinue reading “zedonk”

Pronounced: na-THON-ick, adj Notes: You may know someone that this word fits Yesterday’s word The word cuittle means “to wheedle, cajole, or coax; to persuade”. As I noted yesterday, this word is mostly used in Scotland First usage Our word goes back to the mid-1500s Background / Comments The background of our word is notContinue reading “gnathonic”

Pronounced: KYOO-tl, verb Notes: This word is mostly used in Scotland Yesterday’s word The word potch, as a verb, means to slap or spank. Similarly, as a noun, it refers to a slap or a spanking First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments As you may have guessed,Continue reading “cuittle”

Pronounced: poch, verb/noun Notes: I’ve never heard of this word, but you may guess the origin Yesterday’s word The word agnize means “to acknowledge or recognize; to own” First usage This word came into English in the mid-1500s Background / Comments I apologize for this word; I had a word-of-the-day calendar one year, and itContinue reading “potch”