10 Words You Simply Must Know
British novelist Evelyn Waugh once said, "One forgets words as one forgets names. One's vocabulary needs constant fertilisation or it will die."
1. Defenestrate: "throw somebody or something out of window: to throw something or somebody out of a window (formal or humorous)"
******It is quite entertaining to defenestrate paper airplanes.
2. Garbology: "study of waste materials: the study of a cultural group by an examination of what it discards"
*****Garbology might be a good career choice for dumpster divers. Recycling may make the job of future garbologists extremely difficult--they'll have less to study.
3. Digerati: "computer experts: people who have or claim to have a sophisticated expertise in the area of computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web"
******Not too long ago, computer expertise was considered nerdy. These days, many people strive to be among the digerati.
4. Antipodes:
1. "places at opposite sides of world: places at opposite sides of the world from each other, or the areas at the side of the world opposite from a given place"
2. "opposites: two points, places, or things that are diametrically opposite each other"
*****One could say that Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli and Warren "Potsie" Weber are antipodes.
5. Hallux: "first digit on the foot: the big toe on the human foot, or the first digit on the hind foot of some mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians (technical)"
*****The ballerina had her hallux insured for $10 million!
6. Otiose:
1. "not effective: with no useful result or practical purpose"
2. "worthless: with little or no value"
3. "lazy: unwilling or uninterested in working or being active (archaic)"
*****Will e-mail render traditional letter writing otiose? Let's hope not.
7. Cullet: "glass to be recycled: broken or waste glass returned for recycling"
*****Don't forget to take the cullet out to the curbside, and be sure to put it next to the trash, not in it.
8. Pellucid:
1. "clear in meaning: easy to understand or clear in meaning (formal)"
2. "transparent: allowing all or most light to pass through (literary)"
*****The police officer's warning was pellucid: drivers must go the speed limit in the school zone.
9. Borborygmus: "stomach rumble: the rumbling sounds made by the movement of gases in the stomach and intestine (technical)"
*****If you lay your head on someone's stomach, you are likely to hear borborygmus.
10. Embrangle: "perplex somebody: to confuse, perplex, or entangle somebody or something (archaic)"
*****As Lord Needlebottom attempted to explain the rules of cricket, his American friends became more and more embrangled.
1. Defenestrate: "throw somebody or something out of window: to throw something or somebody out of a window (formal or humorous)"
******It is quite entertaining to defenestrate paper airplanes.
2. Garbology: "study of waste materials: the study of a cultural group by an examination of what it discards"
*****Garbology might be a good career choice for dumpster divers. Recycling may make the job of future garbologists extremely difficult--they'll have less to study.
3. Digerati: "computer experts: people who have or claim to have a sophisticated expertise in the area of computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web"
******Not too long ago, computer expertise was considered nerdy. These days, many people strive to be among the digerati.
4. Antipodes:
1. "places at opposite sides of world: places at opposite sides of the world from each other, or the areas at the side of the world opposite from a given place"
2. "opposites: two points, places, or things that are diametrically opposite each other"
*****One could say that Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli and Warren "Potsie" Weber are antipodes.
5. Hallux: "first digit on the foot: the big toe on the human foot, or the first digit on the hind foot of some mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians (technical)"
*****The ballerina had her hallux insured for $10 million!
6. Otiose:
1. "not effective: with no useful result or practical purpose"
2. "worthless: with little or no value"
3. "lazy: unwilling or uninterested in working or being active (archaic)"
*****Will e-mail render traditional letter writing otiose? Let's hope not.
7. Cullet: "glass to be recycled: broken or waste glass returned for recycling"
*****Don't forget to take the cullet out to the curbside, and be sure to put it next to the trash, not in it.
8. Pellucid:
1. "clear in meaning: easy to understand or clear in meaning (formal)"
2. "transparent: allowing all or most light to pass through (literary)"
*****The police officer's warning was pellucid: drivers must go the speed limit in the school zone.
9. Borborygmus: "stomach rumble: the rumbling sounds made by the movement of gases in the stomach and intestine (technical)"
*****If you lay your head on someone's stomach, you are likely to hear borborygmus.
10. Embrangle: "perplex somebody: to confuse, perplex, or entangle somebody or something (archaic)"
*****As Lord Needlebottom attempted to explain the rules of cricket, his American friends became more and more embrangled.