Author Archives: Richard

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”

Pronounced: LOG-roh-ling, noun Notes: I know one of the two meanings Yesterday’s word The word diffluence is First usage Our word came into English in the mid-1600s Background / Comments I did not know the meaning of deliquescence (to become liquid by absorbing liquid from the air or to melt away)in the meaning our wordContinue reading “logrolling”

Pronounced: DIFF-loo-uhns, noun Notes: You may had an idea of this word’s meaning (I didn’t) Yesterday’s word The word shermanesque means First usage Our word came into usage in the 1910s Background / Comments If you thought that our word traces back to the Union general William Tecumseh Sherman. After the American Civil War, heContinue reading “diffluence”

Pronounced: shur-muh-NESK, adj Notes: You may know the origin of the word, but do you know the meaning? Yesterday’s word The word galoot means “an awkward, eccentric, or foolish person” First usage Our word came into English in the early 1800s Background / Comments In my mind’s eye, I can hear Yosemite Sam using theContinue reading “shermanesque”

Pronounced: guh-LOOT, noun Notes: I’ve heard this word in Bugs Bunny (Yosemite Sam), but I didn’t quite know the meaning Yesterday’s word The word fane means “a place of worship” First usage Our word came into English in the late 1300s Background / Comments Our word comes from the Latin word fanum (temple).