Author Archives: Richard

Pronounced: ih-NIH-mih-kuhl, adj Notes: Looks like “unable to be imitated” (but it’s not) Yesterday’s word The word scansorial means “related to climbing” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Latin verb scandere (to climb)

Pronounced: SCAN-sor-ee-uhl, adj Notes: I’ve never run across this word Yesterday’s word The word lollapalooza (also lallapalooza, lalapalooza, or lollapaloosa) is “one that is extraordinarily impressive; an outstanding example” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1800s Background / Comments There is a music festival held annually in Chicago that’s called lollapalooza.Continue reading “scansorial”

Pronounced: lah-luh-puh-LOO-zuh, noun Notes: I’ve heard the word, but I did not know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word descamisado is “a very poor person” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments Our word came from the Spanish word descamisado (shirtless), which is made up of des- (not)Continue reading “lollapalooza”

Pronounced: des-ka-me-SAH-doh, noun Notes: I don’t think I’ve ever run across this world Yesterday’s word The word will-o’-the-wisp is First usage Our word came into English in the early 1600s Background / Comments I actually knew both meanings of our word, but I found the background information interesting: did you know that “jack-o’-lantern” was originallyContinue reading “descamisado”

Pronounced: will-uh-the-WISP, noun Notes: Do you know both the literal and figurative meanings? Yesterday’s word The word sansculotte (alternately spelled sans-culotte) is “a radical or revolutionary” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1700s Background / Comments You probably knew this word if you have studied much about the French Revolution. OurContinue reading “will-o’-the-wisp”

Pronounced: sanz-kyoo-LOT, noun Notes: I pretty much knew this word, but I don’t know how commonly known it is Yesterday’s word The word camarilla is “a group of unofficial – often secret and scheming – advisors; cabal” First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1800s Background / Comments Our word came from theContinue reading “sansculotte”

Pronounced: ka-muh-RIH-luh, noun Notes: Not a word I know Yesterday’s word The word redshirt means, as a noun, “a college student who practices with the team, but does not take part in official games”. As a verb, it means First usage Our word came into English in the 1950s Background / Comments Our word cameContinue reading “camarilla”

Pronounced: nope, not giving such obvious pronunciation, noun/verb Notes: I enjoy watching football, and I’ve heard this term, but didn’t know precisely what it meant (and it has a definition of which I was unware) Yesterday’s word The word orphic means First usage Our word came into English in the late mid-1600s [N.B.: not aContinue reading “redshirt”

Pronounced: OR-fik, adj Notes: You may know one of the meanings Yesterday’s word The word rort means First usage Our word came into English in the 1920s Background / Comments Our word is another back-formation from rorty (boisterous; lively; jolly) – rorty is around 60 years older than our word, and its origin is uncertain.Continue reading “orphic”

Pronounced: rort, noun Notes: A word I didn’t know at all Yesterday’s word The word gust means “keen delight” First usage Our word came into English in the first half of the 1400s Background / Comments I knew the word “gust” that refers to wind, but even though that word and our word are spelledContinue reading “rort”