Saturday & Sunday Word: Bugbear & Nostrum
Bug·bear (ˈbʌgˌbɛər):
origin: Obsolete, 1570-80, hobgoblin (Middle English = bugge), possibly Welsh = bwg
noun
1. an imaginary creature used to induce fear (folklore).
2. a source, real or imaginary, of dread.
3. an ongoing point of irritation.
Though children can be taught to behave by warning of Krampus at Christmas, the April bugbear of audits and IRS agents prey on adult minds.
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Nos·trum (ˈnɒstrəm):
origin: 1595-1605; Latin nostrum = our, ours (refers to sellers calling it “our” drug)
noun
1. Quack medicine.
→ medicine sold with false or exaggerated claims and without proven value.
→ often a "secret" method or formula
2. a questionable panacea devised to remedy all social or political ills.
3. a medicine made by the person who recommended it; proprietary prescriptions.
Which goes to show why the television show, The Simpsons, can still get a laugh out of every nostrum from Dr. Nick.
origin: Obsolete, 1570-80, hobgoblin (Middle English = bugge), possibly Welsh = bwg
noun
1. an imaginary creature used to induce fear (folklore).
2. a source, real or imaginary, of dread.
3. an ongoing point of irritation.
Though children can be taught to behave by warning of Krampus at Christmas, the April bugbear of audits and IRS agents prey on adult minds.
◆◆◆◆
Nos·trum (ˈnɒstrəm):
origin: 1595-1605; Latin nostrum = our, ours (refers to sellers calling it “our” drug)
noun
1. Quack medicine.
→ medicine sold with false or exaggerated claims and without proven value.
→ often a "secret" method or formula
2. a questionable panacea devised to remedy all social or political ills.
3. a medicine made by the person who recommended it; proprietary prescriptions.
Which goes to show why the television show, The Simpsons, can still get a laugh out of every nostrum from Dr. Nick.