New word that I simply must find a way of using (indeed, given my journal's title, I feel it is imperative that I do so as soon as possible) in some LJ-related capacity. From Wiki:

Desiderius Erasmus coined the term lunula to refer to the rounded parentheses ( ), recalling the round shape of the moon.
How cool is that? Apparently the word can mean ( Read more... )

So the other day somebody used the term "cat vacuuming" (I can't remember who it was, now) and though I remembered seeing it before, it occurred to me that I really had no iea what "cat vacuuming" was supposed to mean, exactly. I mean, besides the obvious. I was working under the assumption that it was a metaphor for more than literally vacuuming ( Read more... )

Courtesy of johncwright comes my new favorite word: meganekko - Japanese for "girl in glasses" with the implication that said girl's glasses and presumed intelligence are an attractive feature.

*adjusts specs*

Take that, Dorothy Parker!

From a green_tea_lady e-mail this afternoon:

That was a long sentence. I learned in linguistics today that a sentence can be any length, and still be grammatically correct UNTIL someone kicks you in the shin for talking too long.

Ah, yes, the practical side of grammar.

Aaand another Ernie moment for you (they're coming thick and fast, tonight, she's been doing a lot of reading for school, and it makes her fizzy):

Ernie: Oh! There's something about that in Orthodoxy! About how little kids have more joy because they exalt montonomy ( Read more... )

We made ginger and chicken stir-fry on Tuesday (some of my fingernails are still yellow from the turmeric) and had another episode of Ernie Tries to Use Big Words With Limited Success ( Read more... )

abderian (adj.)
- pertaining to foolish or excessive laughter

obscurum per obscurius
- explaining the obscure by means of the more obscure

Hopefully my laughter is not too often foolish, but I must admit that it's excessive on a regular basis.

I am, however, completely guilty of obscurum per obscurius. It's a genetic trait, I'm afraid, and I ( Read more... )

My fourteen-year-old sister-in-law, Ernie, shares my love of words, but can't always get her tongue around the bigger ones. An example, last night, with most of the giggling removed for your convenience:

Ernie: We need to corrabrate the story!

green_tea_lady: We need to what the story?

Ernie: Corrabrate. Corrablate? Corrabalate!

green_tea_lady: Is the child trying to ( Read more... )

New favorite word found while reading fanfic mind-enriching literature.

ter·ma·gant (tûr'mə-gənt)

n. A quarrelsome, scolding woman; a shrew.

adj. Shrewish; scolding ( Read more... )

Audience participation time!

I know we've done this before, but it's a good one, so here it is again:

Give me some words and/or phrases that you think should be in more common use for whatever reason.

Mine - aplomb, harridan, skulduggery (heh), and "very like a whale"

In other news: two weeks off from fencing + lots of no-parry drills = ow