Language & Grammar discussion
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What's Your Word for the Day?
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And to make things worse, I bet they're counting trashy romance novels and travel books in the 57%. If you only counted "important books," I'd imagine you might well dip into the low double or even single digits.And good job cropping that photo, daddio.
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A member of the order of crustaceans which, in their adult stage, attach themselves in a parasitic way to other creatures or objects. eg barnacles.
"Do you think (insert person's name) might leave home this year or is she/he to be our permanent cirripid?"
Woa Gabi! you mean if I compare his goodreads "read list" with mine we'd match 100% ? At least according to what he's read. I liked all three of the ones that he liked.Course earlier today a new member commented on four topics that I had posted to in another group. I disagreed with 4 out of four of her posts so I decided to compare books. We had zero in common and she had 35 books listed.
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It could be worse. Here in Mexico, Mexicans read on the average between 1-2 books a year. I had an English class with three students, all of whom were biochemists and only one had a book in 2005, The DaVinci Code.
Stephen, you and I have only 11 books in common, half of which I haven't read yet. One that you have marked as 'to read' is The Power of One, by Bryce Courtenay. I would heartily recommend that one. I wonder if I will ever finish listing my books. I haven't even listed half of them yet. Something to put on my to do list for 2011.
Mammock:1. A fragment, scrap
2. To break, tear, or cut into fragments; shred.
"Thus saying, he nearer crept
On his empty stomach;
Marked his bright spoil, and leapt -
O, like a love-adept
How he could mammock!"
(from, "Kill Joy," Sylvia Townsend Warner)
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Hmn. Reminds me of Mamaroneck -- a town in New York.
This was a fun article; hopefully the site isn't redundant for all of you.http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/T...
John wrote: "I only knew 16 of the 20."You did far better than I, so congrats!
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Anyway, Buckley was always that classic case of a guy using $10 vocabulary where one buck would do.
But then I guess the value of the word changes whether you know it or not. "Periphrastic" is only $1 for someone who knows it, but $5 (or $10, or whatever else) for someone who doesn't.
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I'd say the value of words is in their usefulness for communication among the greatest number of people. If the majority are scratching their heads while the speaker struts in bantam-like satisfaction, what good is it?
The ideal, I think, is having a great vocabulary but seldom using it. The high-falutin' stuff should be reserved for certain audiences (read: highbrow). Maybe that was Buckley's reading audience, I don't know. Personally I never read an arcane word of him.
No, it really has nothing to do with egotism, I don't think. Or, if it does, only in the strictest sense. It has to do with the words that you know, or that you don't. "Extraordinary" would be a "big word" to 5-year old, but is that a $10 word? It all depends on what your baseline for average is. And I'm not sure that Buckley would have accepted your theory of demotic language. There are some uses for language whose goals aren't to reach the widest possible audiences: they aim for accuracy and precise first, above accessibility. I don't know why writers should aim for the middle of the Bell curve.
It's sort of old-fashioned to draw a hard-and-fast distinction between high- and low-brow, but, being familiar with some of the stuff he wrote, he probably did it himself. Having the political inclinations that he did probably didn't hurt, either.
First as to William F. Buckley... The man can't open his mouth without what sounds like a $10 word coming out. He comes from a blue blood background and even expletives sound as though they've been to finishing school coming from his mouth. But, back on topic I'd like to suggest a pair of words of the day...
Venal and Venial
venal - willing to sell one's influence, especially in return for a bribe
venial - able to be forgiven or pardoned; not seriously wrong, as a sin
I came across the sentence How many of the Sunlord's priests were corrupt and venial creatures, with no more calling than a cat.
I'm guessing that the author got her words mixed up. Course this author only has about 30 or so popular novels to her credit, so she probably can't afford a good editor...
Stephen wrote: "I'm guessing that the author got her words mixed up. ..."Or she was being slyly humorous at her readers' expense. Personally, I'm giggling.
To weigh in on $10 words; one of the great things about the English language is one has the possibility of using just exactly the RIGHT word to say exactly what is meant. If that means I have to read with a good dictionary next to me, I'm game. And sometimes not only the language matters, but where and even when the author learned it. So whereas my friend in WI would read 'plethora' and think 'a lot', I would read the same word and think 'an embarrassment of riches' or along those lines. Makes a huge difference to how the passage is interpreted.
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Aryn, you've nailed it. Le mot juste, which might mean "the right word" if I remember my French (I'm almost sure "left" is gauche). When you DON'T use the right word because you're more intent on impressing your reader with your vocabulary, your ethos, as the (what else?) ancient Greeks would say, takes a hit. A fatal hit, I might add. I can't tell you how many writers and speakers I've stopped reading/listening to once I became convinced they were using unnecessary words to feed their own lack of self-confidence (or some other Oprah-worthy condition).
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Newengland wrote: "Heh. Venial cats. Good one. Doesn't explain the cattiness, though."Too funny!
But aside from his oversized ego, his caustic wit, verbose and pompous demeanor, slashing tongue, the former guardian of the right was also a vindictive s.o.b. When Kunstler bested him in public debate, Wm. F__ly sought to have him disbarred.
pawkily adv form of pawkyShrewd and cunning, often in a humorous manner.
Found in The Glory and the Dream by William Manchester.
"In 1970 a national advertiser taunted middle-aged Americans by running a photograph of a 1930s dance marathon and asking pawkily, 'Now What Were You Saying About Today's Youth?'"
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factotum [fak-TOH-tum] (n.) -- a general servant with myriad duties or [2] a jack-of-all-trades. Plural = factotums.
Newengland wrote: "Pawky. New one for me. Thanks, Jim.factotum [fak-TOH-tum] (n.) -- a general servant with myriad duties or [2] a jack-of-all-trades. Plural = factotums."
Tried to find you elsewhere on a list and couldn't, so please forgive the off-topic. I have been listening to a book I thought you might enjoy, titled Bozo Sapiens, re logical thinking. Take care. (Did the Kitchen Sink sink? Couldn't find it under groups. TTFN)
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Heavens, no. Because you were interested in rhetoric, and a lot of what passes for 'knowledge' these days is little more than a fast pass with the 'BS wand' (think Harry Frankfort). Of course, I could be mistaken.
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Today's WOTD:
plantar fasciitis (n.) -- inflammation and soreness of the bottom of the foot.
I choose this word because it's a great spelling challenge AND because I am off to watch (better to watch than to run) the Boston Marathon in a few hours. Plus, I have suffered this myself as a runner. That, and the equally damnable piriformis syndrome -- one pain in the ass.
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I had it from standing too many hours at work.
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Today's WORDS OTD:
gourmet (n.) -- one who knows well and appreciates the finer points of food and drink.
gourmand (n.) -- a glutton for food and drink.
epicure (n.) -- same as gourmet, though perhaps with a touch of overrefinement. Epicureanism is a philosophy concerned with personal happiness and freedom from pain.
Of course! :-)A gourmet cook with epicurean taste... and a gourmand's appetite!
Life is good.......
Newengland wrote: Today's WORDS OTD:
What is OTD?
Obsessive Twittering Disorder??? :-)
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sui generis (adj.) -- individual; of its own kind; unique.
Language and Grammar is a sui generis group at Goodreads enjoyed by the best minds in the business -- just ask them.
Omphaloskepsis [om-fuh-loh-skep-sis] –noun contemplation of one's navel as part of a mystical exercise.
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For El Cinco de Mayo, a little Spanish influence:
pa·chu·co
[puh-choo-koh; Sp. pah-choo-kaw]
–noun, plural -cos [-kohz; Sp. -kaws].
(especially among Mexican-Americans) a teenage youth who belongs to a street gang known for its flamboyant style.
Origin:
1940–45; < American Spanish (U.S. Southwest), Mexican Spanish: probably originally a resident of El Paso, equivalent to ( El ) Pas ( o ) + -uco pejorative noun suffix, with expressive replacement of s by ch; compare Mexican Spanish pachuco worthless card hand, derivative of paso pass
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2011.
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Flat-hat--(verb) to fly low in an airplane in a reckless manner I've never been in an airplane with someone doing this, but I thought it was interesting word anyway!
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:-) I want to call someone that because it's sound so silly. It's not going to make sense though!
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Anna wrote: "My word for today is ha-ha."The definition doesn't quite conjure up what it is; in particular "trench" makes it sound rather ugly, whereas it's really about beauty.
In England, you usually find them around stately homes. The house sits in formal gardens/lawns, with livestock in adjacent fields. To avoid spoiling the view with a fence or wall, the field is at a lower level, with a retaining wall as the ha-ha. It's about differential height more than digging a ditch - more like a big step than a trench. From the upper level, you don't see the wall, just an uninterrupted expanse of green.
The name allegedly comes from the reaction of onlookers when the unwary keep walking, don't notice the drop and suddenly fall out of sight!
Here's a picture of one: http://www.englishheritageprints.com/...
And here's a slightly more trench-like one: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/63626
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The definition doesn't quite conjure up what it is; in particular "trench" makes it sound rather ugly, whereas it's really about beauty.
In England, you..."
Thanks. I knew they were about not ruining the view with fences, but I'd always thought they were actual trenches.
Ruth wrote: "I knew they were about not ruining the view with fences, but I'd always thought they were actual trenches"They can be trenches or include a trench, but in England at least, the step/terracing/retaining wall is usually the defining characteristic.
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Language & Grammar
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aliterate reminded me first of alliteration so I looked it up and it reminded me of a horrifying statistic that I encountered few years ago.
In 2004, a National Endowment for the Arts report titled "Reading at Risk" found only 57 percent of American adults had read a book in 2002, a four percentage point drop in a decade. The study faulted television, movies and the Internet.
Another study pointed out that one in four American adults had read no books the preceding year.