Category Archives: word

Pronounced: CUT-purse, noun Notes: If you watch shows set in the past, you may know this one Yesterday’s word The word rapporteur means “a person who gives reports (as at a meeting of a learned society) Background / Comments To me, this word is just a fancy one for “secretary”. As you may expect, thisContinue reading “cutpurse”

Pronounced: ra-pour-TUHR, noun Notes: This seems to be a fancy word for which we have a simpler one Yesterday’s word The word scapegrace means “a scoundrel; a mischievous person” Background / Comments This word was coined to describe a person who had “escaped” the “grace” of God. First usage This word showed up in theContinue reading “rapporteur”

Pronounced: SKAPE-grace, noun Notes: You may be able to guess the meaning (if you don’t know it) Yesterday’s word The word transpontine means “situated on the farther side of a bridge”. This word also has a British meaning “situated on the south side of the Thames”. Background / Comments The word comes from trans- (across)Continue reading “scapegrace”

Pronounced: tran(t)s-PAHN-tine, adj Notes: This is an interesting word (in addition to the regular meaning, there is a British meaning) Yesterday’s word The word catchpenny means, as a noun, “something that’s designed to sell quickly”. As an adjective, it means “relating to something designed to sell quickly: cheap, flashy, or sensationalistic” Background / Comments IContinue reading “transpontine”

Pronounced: KATCH-pen-ee, adj/noun Notes: I had the meaning of this word confused Yesterday’s word The word brackish has a couple of meanings: somewhat salty Not appealing to the taste; repulsive Background / Comments I knew that brackish meant “somewhat salty”, but I was unaware of the “repulsive” definition. The word comes from the Dutch wordContinue reading “catchpenny”

Pronounced: BRAH-kish, adj Notes: I knew one meaning, and was unaware of the others, so I included it Yesterday’s word The word jerkwater means “remote, unimportant, or small” Background / Comments Back in the days of steam locomotives, they needed frequent refills of water. The train would make water stops near streams and lakes andContinue reading “brackish”

Pronounced: JERK-wah-tuhr, adj Notes: I recognized this word from westerns, but my understanding of the definition was a bit off Yesterday’s word The word smashmouth means “characterized by brute force without finesse” Background / Comments I’ve heard this word used to describe physical, hard-hitting football, and that was indeed how it started. It has sinceContinue reading “jerkwater”

Pronounced: SMASH-mouth, adj Notes: This is a borderline case… I was pretty close to the correct meaning – do you know it? Yesterday’s word The word shunpike, as a noun, means “a side road taken to avoid a toll road”. As a verb, it means “to travel on a side road”. Background / Comments ThisContinue reading “smashmouth”

Pronounced: SHUN-pike, noun/verb Notes: I don’t remember running across this word, and couldn’t guess the meaning, but I felt kind of silly when I looked it up; the meaning is straightforward — and with that hint, maybe you’ll get it. Yesterday’s word We know the word intestine as a noun (the lower part of theContinue reading “shunpike”

Pronounced: in-TES-tuhn, adj Notes: Yes, we know the noun meaning… but do you know what the adjective means? (I didn’t) Yesterday’s word The word paragnosis means “knowledge that cannot be obtained by normal means” Background / Comments I knew both parts of this word, but I still didn’t have the meaning; the word comes fromContinue reading “intestine”