shonky [shong-kee]

adjective:
(Australian and NZ informal)
1 of dubious integrity or legality
2 unreliable; unsound

Examples:

"The council decided, without going to tender, to contract the YMCA," Mr Penning said. "It was a pretty shonky process... and [the council] washed their hands of it." (Brittany Murphy, Hopes float on 50m pool, ( Read more... )

Rugelach - noun.

Now and then you come across a new word out of the blue! While ordering groceries online, I noticed that rugelach, pronounced rug-a-lah, for sale in the pastry section and ordered some out of curiosity. Turns out it was a delicious choice.

According to Wikipedia, the treat originated among Polish Jews. There are many recipes ( Read more... )

zaftig [zahf-tig, -tik]
adjective:
(informal North American) having a full rounded figure : pleasingly plump

Examples:

The postmistress was a large, zaftig woman with long, grayish blond hair and a floating, floral style of dress. (Dana Stabenow, Bad Blood)

Blonde, zaftig, and abrasive, always a great quote, she was a magnet for the media, a star ( Read more... )

Aroysgevorfen, adj.: thrown out

Pronounced ah-ROYCE-ge-vor-fen, the royce rhyming with "choice", the vorfen with "orphan". Yiddish, from German ( Read more... )

vigorish (VIG-er-ish) - n., a charge collected by a bookie for placing a bet; (U.S.) exorbitant interest on a loan, as from a loan shark ( Read more... )

Hi!  After a ridiculously long sabbatical, I'm resuming the Wednesday word. It's nice to be back!

I'll ease back in with a short, simple one this week.

nebbish:

Noun, slang: A pitiful, timid, meek, luckless, ineffectual person

Origin: English use started around the turn of the 20th century. Yiddish nebekh meaning poor, unfortunate. From Czech ( Read more... )

Sorry for missing last week's post, but I was so wrapped up in the last day of preparations for Passover that I completely forgot. So in honor of the holiday:

afikomen (ah-fee-KOH-muhn) - n., a piece broken off from a matzo during a Passover Seder and put aside to be eaten at the end of the meal ( Read more... )

norm·core [ˈnôrmˈkôr]:
origin: [2009] portmanteau; normal + hardcore, accidently coined in a web comic called Templar, Az.

noun or adjectiveUltra-conformity; super normal; the trend for everyone to dress the same (known as "unpretentious"), by making zero fashion statement -- being deliberately nondescript or generic -- by wearing the latest trend ( Read more... )

schlock·y [ˈshlä-kē]:
origin: Yiddish; shlak= evil, nuisance, wretch → via German; Schlacke= dregs, scum, dross.

adjective (noun: schlockTrashy, inferior, cheap; junk ( Read more... )

tri·ten·sil [trīˈtensəl]:
origin: [1300-1940] Middle English; tri= having three + tensil= (utensil) tool.

noun
The spork (spoon + fork) redesigned to include a knife on the side, less elegantly referred to as a sporf.

This 3-in-1 design is a revival of the one created during World War I by the same British company, Fortnum & Mason -- the new ( Read more... )