casuistry [kazh-oo-uh-stree]

noun:
1 specious, deceptive, or oversubtle reasoning, especially in questions of morality; fallacious or dishonest application of general principles; sophistry
2 the determination of right and wrong in questions of conduct or conscience by analyzing cases that illustrate general ethical rules

Examples:

At each ( Read more... )

Oca - noun.

TBH, I wasn't sure I wanted to share a picture of oca and this one from Wikipedia seems the least squirmy. The edible root tubers of Oxalis tuberosa, called oca in Spanish, are found in the Andes and have local names.


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Turrón - noun.

Turrón (Spanish) or torrone (Italian) is a popular confection and Christmas dessert made from nougat, honey, sugar, egg whites, and toasted almonds or other nuts. The Italian version uses fewer nuts than the Spanish version apparently.

You'll find turrón served up in Spain, Portugal, Italy plus other former Spanish and Portuguese ( Read more... )

xocolatophobia [koh-koh-ley-tuh-foh-bee-uh, shoh-koh-lo‐]

noun:
an irrational or disproportionate fear of chocolate

Examples:

Happily, I can report that chocolate buttons pose no problem as I don’t have xocolatophobia (fear of chocolate). (Kate Battersby, Fear of buttons: One writer describes the heartbreaking truth behind her weird phobia, ( Read more... )

Olla - noun.

A favourite of crossword puzzle designers, an olla, aulla or aula is a ceramic pot, sometimes unglazed. They can be used for food storage or cooking.


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Oloroso - noun.

Oloroso, which means "scented" or "odorous" in Spanish, is also the name of a sherry which is produced in the Jerez and Montilla-Moriles regions of Span. It's known for a dark and nutty flavour in contrast with Amontillado sherry. Huh, all these years I didn't realize that it was a type of wine referred to in Edgar Allan Poe short ( Read more... )

maravedi, n.
mar·​a·​ve·​di | \ ˌmarəˈvādē \

1 : an old Moorish gold dinar of Spain and Morocco
2a : a medieval Spanish unit of value equal to ¹/₃₄ real
b : a copper coin representing one maravedi

Etymology:
Spanish maravedí, from Arabic Murābiṭīn Almoravides, Muslim dynasty of the 11th and 12th centuries in North Africa and Spain, from plural ( Read more... )

bagasse (bə-găs′), noun
The pulp remaining after extraction of juice from sugar cane or similar plants.

Bagasse is used as a source of cellulose for paper products, and is also used as fuel. According to Wikipedia, bagasse is often the primary fuel source for sugar cane mills. And, bagasse is sometimes added to food as "sugar cane fiber ( Read more... )

solera (səˈlɛərə), noun
A system for aging sherry, other alcoholic beverages, or vinegar, by mixing different ages of the beverage to produce a consistently-aged blend.

Etymology: Spanish solera, bottom, base.

I ran across the word in this local news article. "In one room, 16 French oak barrels had been stacked in four vertical columns to make a ( Read more... )

Over in my main journal, I'm running a theme week of Andean animals, and it turns out this word has never been run here:

llama (LAH-muh) - n., a domesticated long-haired South American camelid (Lama glama) raised as a beast of burden as well as as for its meat and wool; also, cloth made from the wool of this animal.


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