Word of the Day Challenge

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

vestige
noun | VESS-tij


Definition

: A vestige is a trace, mark, or visible sign left by something lost or vanished.


Weekly Theme

Fairytale


Did You Know?

Though English is categorized as a Germanic language, there’s no denying the enormousness of Latin’s footprint on its lexicon. Among English’s plethora of Latin derivatives is vestige, a word that traces back to the Latin noun vestigium, meaning "footstep, footprint, or track." Like its forebear, vestige refers to a perceptible sign made by something that has passed, or to a tangible reminder, such as a fragment or remnant, of what is past and gone. Vestige also happens to be one of only a few vestiges of vestigium itself, along with the adjective vestigial ("remaining as the last part of something that existed before") and the familiar verb investigate.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

ruminate
verb | ROO-muh-nayt


Definition

: To ruminate is to think carefully and deeply about something.


Weekly Theme

Fairytale


Did You Know?

When you ruminate, you chew something over, either literally or figuratively. Literal rumination may seem a little gross to humans, but to cows, chewing your cud (partially digested food brought up from the stomach for another chew) is just a natural part of life. Figurative ruminating is much more palatable to humans; that kind of deep, meditative thought is often deemed quite a worthy activity. The verb ruminate has described metaphorical chewing over since the early 1500s and actual chewing since later that same century. Our English word comes from and shares the meanings of the Latin verb ruminari (“to chew the cud” or “muse upon”), which in turn comes from rumen, the Latin name for the first stomach compartment of ruminant animals (that is, creatures like cows that chew their cud).

[Mtpersson]

Word: Wanderlust

Red wasn't scared of the woods. 

She wasn't scared until her - a woman lounging against a tree like she owned the world, cigarette smoldering between her fingers, leather jacker open over a sweat-damp undershirt stretched across her broad chest. 

"You lost, little girl?" the wolf asked, voice thick as smoke. 

Red should've kept walking. Should've ignored the way the woman's gaze dragged over her, slow and knowing, like she was something to be unwrapped. Instead, she lingered - blame it on wanderlust, on the reckless pull in her belly, on the way the Wolf moved like she could devour her whole. 

"You ever been kissed before?" the Wolf asked, stepping close, fingers curling into the silk of Red's hood. 

Red's breath hitched. She should say no. She should run. 

But the Wolf tipped her chin up, thumb teasing the corner of her mouth, and Red - stupid, hungry Red - let her. 

"Bet you taste sweet," the Wolf murmured, pressing her against the tree. 

And when her lips found Red's - hot, slow, demanding - Red knew she'd never be the same. 

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

hagiography
noun | hag-ee-AH-gruh-fee


Definition

: Hagiography is biography that idealizes or idolizes a person and their life.


Weekly Theme

Fairytale


Did You Know?

The second part of hagiography is familiar: the combining form -graphy, which comes from the Greek verb graphein, meaning "to write," is found in biography and calligraphy (among many others) too. Hagio-, however, is more unusual; it comes from a Greek word that meant "holy, sacred" in Ancient Greek and more recently "saintly," by way of the term Hagiographa, another name for the Ketuvim, the third part of the Jewish Scriptures. English's hagiography can refer to biography of actual saints, but it is more typically applied to biography that treats ordinary human subjects as if they were saints.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

gallant
adjective | GAL-unt


Definition

: Someone or something described as gallant is very courageous and brave. Gallant is also sometimes used to mean “large and impressive” (as in “a gallant ship”), or to describe someone who has or shows politeness and respect for women.


Weekly Theme

Fairytale


Did You Know?

If you’re familiar with the long-running comic strip “Goofus and Gallant,” created by Garry Cleveland Myers and published in the monthly children’s magazine Highlights, you likely have a particularly good sense of the meaning of the adjective gallant. In the comic, the character of Goofus demonstrates to young readers all sorts of bad habits and behaviors, while Gallant provides examples of proper conduct and comportment when in circumstances similar to those of his ill-mannered counterpart. The characters’ names were, of course, chosen with purpose. We record several different senses of gallant and all are compliments. Someone described as gallant may be smartly dressed, courteous and chivalrous, or valiant and brave. Goofus, bless his heart, is none of these things (while we do not define the adjective goofus, the Oxford English Dictionary does: “stupid, foolish”). Perhaps ironically, gallant comes from the Middle French verb galer, meaning “to squander in pleasures”; such squandering is something Goofus is likely to do, and Gallant never would.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

billet-doux
noun | bill-ee-DOO


Definition

: A billet-doux is a love letter. The word's plural is billets-doux.


Weekly Theme

Fairytale


Did You Know?

When love is in the air, it's time to put it down on paper. If you ever find yourself having trouble thinking of Valentine's Day or anniversary gift ideas, how about sending your sweetie pie a billet-doux that reminds them of your perfect meet-cute, or invites them to see the latest rom-com? Wouldn’t that be sweet? In French, billet doux means "sweet letter." English writers first fell in love with the word during the 17th century and have been committed to using it as a romantic alternative to "love letter" ever since.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

livid
adjective | LIV-id


Definition

: Livid means "very angry, enraged, or furious." It may also describe things having a dark purplish or reddish color.


Weekly Theme

Fairytale


Did You Know?

Livid has a colorful history. The Latin adjective livēre, "to be blue," gave rise to Latin lividus, meaning "discolored by bruising." French adopted the word along with its meaning as livide, which English borrowed in the 15th century as livid. For a few centuries the English word described bruised flesh as well as a shade of dark gray and other colors having a dark grayish tone. By the 18th century people were livid, first by being pale with extreme emotion ("a pale, lean, livid face" —Henry James), and then by being reddish with the same ("His face glared with a livid red." —James Francis Barrett). By the late 19th century a livid person could also be furiously angry, which is the word's typical application today.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

non sequitur
noun | NAHN-SEK-wuh-ter


Definition

: A non sequitur is a statement that either does not logically follow from, or is not clearly related to, what was previously said.


Weekly Theme

Fairytale


Did You Know?

Non sequitur comes directly from Latin, in which language it means “it does not follow.” Although the Latin non sequitur can constitute a phrase or even a complete sentence, in English non sequitur is a noun, and thus it follows that the plural of non sequitur is non sequiturs. Borrowed into English in the 16th century by logicians, non sequitur initially referred to a conclusion that did not follow the statements preceding it. The meaning has now broadened to include statements that are seemingly unrelated to the topic at hand, or that seem to come out of the blue. So if you ever forget the definition of non sequitur, just remember: a penny saved is a penny earned.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

pertain
verb | per-TAYN


Definition

: To pertain to someone or something is to relate, refer, or have a connection to that person or thing.


Weekly Theme

Slice of Life


Did You Know?

Pertain comes to English via Anglo-French from the Latin verb pertinēre, meaning "to reach to" or "to belong." Pertinēre, in turn, was formed by combining the prefix per- (meaning "through") and tenēre ("to hold"). Tenēre is a popular root in English words and often manifests with the -tain spelling that can be seen in pertain. Other descendants include abstain, contain, detain, maintain, obtain, retain, and sustain, to name a few of the more common ones. Not every -tain word has tenēre in its ancestry, though. Ascertain, attain, and certain are certainly exceptions. And a few tenēre words don't follow the usual pattern: tenacious and tenure are two.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

chutzpah
noun | KHOOTS-puh


Definition

: Chutzpah is audacious boldness often paired with reckless self-confidence. Someone with chutzpah dares to do or say things that seem shocking to others.


Weekly Theme

Slice of Life


Did You Know?

The word chutzpah has been boldly circulating through English since the mid-1800s. It comes from the Yiddish word khutspe, which comes in turn from the Hebrew word ḥuṣpāh. The ch in chutzpah indicates a rasping sound from the back of the throat that exists in many languages, including Yiddish. That sound is not part of English phonology, so it follows that the c is sometimes dropped in both the pronunciation and spelling of the word. Some speakers of Yiddish feel that chutzpah has been diluted in English use, no longer properly conveying the monumental nature of the gall that is implied. A classic example can be found in Leo Rosten’s 1968 book The Joys of Yiddish, which defines chutzpah as “that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.”

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

obtuse
adjective | ahb-TOOSS


Definition

: Obtuse is a formal word that describes someone who is not able to think clearly or to understand what is obvious or simple. It can also suggest a refusal to see something apparent to others, or a willful ignorance of or insensitivity to the real facts of a situation. Obtuse can also describe something that is difficult to understand because it is unclear or imprecise.


Weekly Theme

Slice of Life


Did You Know?

There’s a lot to understand about obtuse, so we’ll get straight to the point. Obtuse comes from a Latin word, obtusus, meaning “dull” or “blunt.” It can describe a geometric angle that is not acute (in other words one that exceeds 90 degrees but is less than 180 degrees), a leaf that is rounded at its free end, or a person who isn’t thinking clearly or who otherwise refuses to see something apparent to others—if someone asks you if you’re being obtuse about something, they are not paying you a compliment. Another common sense (no pun intended) of obtuse related to apprehension is “hard to comprehend,” often applied to speech or writing that isn’t clearly expressed or thought out. This sense may have developed due to the influence of two similar-sounding words: abstruse, a formal word that also means “hard to comprehend,” and obscure, a word that can mean, among other things, “not readily understood or clearly expressed.”

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

flounder
verb | FLOUN-der


Definition

: To flounder is to struggle, whether that struggle is about moving or obtaining footing (as in “horses floundering through deep snow”) or about knowing what to do or say.


Weekly Theme

Slice of Life


Did You Know?

There’s nothing fishy about flounder... the verb, that is. While the noun referring to a common food fish is of Scandinavian origin, the verb flounder, which dates to the late 16th century, is likely an alteration of an older verb, founder. The two verbs have been confused ever since. Today, founder is most often used as a synonym of fail, or, in contexts involving a waterborne vessel, as a word meaning “to fill with water and sink.” Formerly, it was also frequently applied when a horse stumbled badly and was unable to keep walking. It’s likely this sense of founder led to the original and now-obsolete meaning of flounder: “to stumble.” In modern use, flounder typically means “to struggle” or “to act clumsily”; the word lacks the finality of founder, which usually suggests complete collapse or failure, as that of a sinking ship.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

jabberwocky
noun | JAB-er-wah-kee


Definition

: Jabberwocky refers to meaningless speech or writing.


Weekly Theme

Slice of Life


Did You Know?

In his poem titled "Jabberwocky," from Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll warned readers about a frightful beast:

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!

This nonsensical poem caught the public's fancy upon its publication in late 1871, and by the turn of the 20th century jabberwocky was being used as a generic term for meaningless speech or writing. The word bandersnatch has also seen some use as a general noun, with the meaning "a wildly grotesque or bizarre individual." It's a much rarer word than jabberwocky, though, and is entered only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

astute
adjective | uh-STOOT


Definition

: Someone or something described as astute has or shows an ability to notice and understand things clearly. In other words, they are mentally sharp or clever. Astute can also describe someone who is crafty or wily.


Weekly Theme

Slice of Life


Did You Know?

Road Runner always bests Wile E. Coyote in the famous Looney Tunes cartoon series, but both characters help demonstrate meanings of the word astute. Astute comes from the Latin adjective astutus, meaning “cunning, crafty, or clever,” which in turn comes from the noun astus, meaning “craft.” The English adjective, accordingly, can describe both the crafty and the wily. It’s easy to see how this applies to Wile E. Coyote: in each episode, Road Runner races along the highways of the American Southwest while the coyote sets an elaborate trap for the bird, usually with the aid of some goofy product ordered from the fictitious Acme company. But alas, Road Runner is astute, as in “mentally sharp or clever.” In other words, he is not only quick on his feet, but quick on the uptake. He usually catches wind of the schemes, which ultimately backfire due to either the products’ chronic unreliability or Coyote’s own ineptitude. Road Runner, never captured or damaged, responds with a characteristic “Beep! Beep!” and runs off.

[Mtpersson]

Word: Astute; Weekly Theme: Slice of Life

The train rocked gently, the rhythm settling into something predictable. Olivia glanced at the woman across from her, tucked into the corner seat, headphones in, eyes closed like the world outside didn't exist.

She was beautiful in an understated way - dark denim, oversized jumper, scuffed boots. A paperback lay open on the table, spine cracked, pages worn from too many rereads. Olivia tilted her head, trying to catch the title.



The woman cracked one eye open. "You could just ask."

Olivia blinked, caught. "I wasn't..."

"You were." A ghost of a smirk. "It's Fingersmith."

Of course it was. Olivia let out a quiet laugh, shifting in her seat. "Good choice."

The woman shut the book, stretching her legs under the table, brushing against Olivia's. Not an accident. Not shy about. "You're staring. What is it?"

Olivia hesitated. Then, because the moment asked for honesty: “You look like you don’t want to be interrupted, but you also look like you might be bored.”

A slow tilt of the woman’s head, like she was weighing that. Astute, Olivia thought. She looked like the kind of person who didn’t waste words, who liked things straight to the point.

“You’re not wrong,” the woman admitted. “And you?”

"I don't mind interruptions."

[Mtpersson]

Word: Flounder; Weekly Theme: Slice of Life

The first time Kara had met Ren, she had been floundering. She wasn't used to it - losing her footing and tripping over her words. But she had felt like the whole world had tilted just enough to throw her off balance. 

She blamed the rain. 

She'd ducked into the bookstore to get out of the downpour, shaking water from her hands, pushing damp curls out of her face. The place smelled of old pages and fresh coffee, warmth curling around her as she stepped deeper inside. And then there was Ren - Leaning against the front counter, a book in one hand, dark eyes flickering up over the cover like she saw through Kara's attempt at nonchalance. 

Kara had opened her mouth to say something, maybe an apology for dripping onto the hardwood floor, but nothing came out. Just a weird, breathy laugh and awkward shift of her wet canvas bag. 

Ren smirked. 

Kara hated that she noticed. 

Hated that she felt it all the way down to her fingertips. 

"You okay there?" Ren asked, closing her book. She was tall, but not in a way that made her seem imposing - more like she belonged exactly where she was. 

Kara wished she had that. 

She cleared her throat. "Yeah. Just - uh. Avoiding the rain."

"Smart move." Ren's voice had the kind of lazy warmth that made it impossible to tell if she was teasing. She glanced past Kara, toward the rain-slicked street, then back. "You in a hurry?"

Kara's brain short-circuited for a second. 

Because no, she wasn't. But also, maybe. If staying meant she'd keep embarrassing herself, she should probably make an excuse, grab the first book within reach, and pretend she had somewhere to be.

Her hesitation must have given her away because Ren's smirk widened, slow and knowing. "Good," she said. "Stay have coffee with me."

[Mtpersson]

Word: Obtuse

The porch light flickers, a moth hurling itself against the bulb in slow, stupid arcs. The house is older than she remembered. Low-slung, sprawling, wrapped in a stillness that only comes from a man who lives alone.

She knocks. Hard.

She should have worn a coat. Or maybe she hadn't wanted to. The black dress she picked clings tightly, short enough that she can feel the night air licking up her thighs, and teasing the spot where the tops of her stockings meet bare skin. Her heels scuff against the wood, and she shifts, rolling the tension out of her shoulders. She can't stop shaking, and it's not purely because of the cold.

It's late but he's still awake.

The man who would have been my father-in-law fills the doorway, broad and barefoot, a smattering of salt and pepper in his hair.

"Isobel? What are you doing here?"

"I've come to tell you your son is a cheating SOB and that we're over." Her voice catches in her throat a little.

He exhales through his nose, but it isn’t quite a sigh. More like he’s weighing something. Then he steps back.

“Come in. Sounds like you could use a drink."

Heat melted into her bones as he methodically mixed their drinks. The warmth of the room is a stark contrast to outside and it only serves to remind her of how little she's wearing. Her dress is barely long enough to cover the tops of her thigh-highs and even though she's wearing a garter belt, she has nothing else on underneath the thin fabric of her dress. She's dressed like a slut and he - obtuse and indifferent - hasn't spared her a glance since he let her in.

That just won't do.

She closes the distance between them, sliding between him and the counter to reach for the glass. He's at her back, his hips pressing into her ass. "Thank you," she says over her shoulder.

"What are you doing, Isobel?"

"Taking my revenge."

[Mtpersson]

Word: Livid

She turned too fast and collided with something solid.

Ava watched, in sick, slow-motion horror, as her entire oat milk latte dumped itself onto a crisp white blouse.

The woman in front of her gasped, jerking back, eyes wide as the liquid soaked in, spreading over the fabric in a way that definitely wasn’t coming out with a little club soda.

Ava panicked. Because there were certain situations in life where instinct took over — like slamming on the brakes before a crash, or diving for your phone when it slipped from your fingers.

And, apparently, for her, one of those instincts was frantically patting down a stranger’s soaked tits with café napkins.

“I...shit...okay, hold on, I’ve got this,” she babbled, yanking a fistful of thin, useless napkins from the counter and immediately pressing them against the spreading coffee stain.

The woman froze.

Ava barely registered it, too busy swiping the damp fabric like she could physically erase her mistake. “It’s oat milk, so, like, it won’t stain as bad? I think? I read that somewhere...”

There was a shift, followed by the clearing of a throat. And then Ava’s brain caught up.

Because what her hands were currently doing was — oh. Oh no.

Napkins still in hand, she had been rubbing — circling, for fuck’s sake — directly over the woman’s breasts, like some kind of unhinged pervert. Her fingers jerked back like she’d been burned. The woman — who had already looked livid before—stared at her now with a flat, unreadable expression.

Ava swallowed. “S-so, uh. I...”

The woman arched a very slow eyebrow.

Ava did the only reasonable thing left.

She slapped the crumpled napkins against the woman’s chest and bolted.

[Mtpersson]

Word: Billet-doux

The door slams behind Olivia, cutting through the quiet of their dorm room. Naomi doesn't look up from her laptop, though she's having trouble focusing on what's on the screen. She makes a show of scrolling. Pretending. 

"You're back early," Naomi says, her voice even and detached. 

She doesn't care. She doesn't.

Olivia yanks off her boots and drops them loudly by the door. "Yeah."

No elaboration. That's new. Usually, she waltzes in with details. Something breathy and smug about how good her date was, how great the girl looked, how talented she was. Just enough to needle. Just enough to keep Naomi on edge, pretending she didn't give a shit. 

But tonight? Nothing. 

Naomi risks a glance. Olivia's standing by the bed, jaw tight, fingers curled around the hem of her shirt like she's trying hard not to fidget. It's stupid, but something in Naomi warms at that.

"She wasn't into you?" Naomi asks, just to push. 

Olivia scoffs. "She was fine."

Fine. Not Naomi, you should've seen her. Not god, she did this thing with her tongue...

Naomi sucks on her tongue. "Then why are you back so early?"

Olivia huffs, drags a hand through her hair, making a mess of it. "She said I wasn't paying attention."

Naomi frowns. "To her?"

Olivia shifts, staring hard at the wall like it's personally offended her. "To...someone else."

And just like that Naomi's lungs forgot how to work. 

She shouldn't push, shouldn't ask, and definitely shouldn't be desperate to want the answer. 

But...

"Who?"

Olivia doesn't say anything. Instead, she crosses to Naomi's side of the room in two steps, riffles through her trash can, plucking out a scrap of paper. The edges are crumpled, the ink smudged from where Naomi's fingers had worried over it. 

She recognises it immediately. Her stupid billet-doux. 

A reckless, impulsive, 'you drive me insane, and I wish I didn't love it so much' note she wrote months ago and swore she'd keep hidden, tucked between the pages of a book, until, in a fit, she had scrunched it up and tossed it in the bin. Now Olivia holds it, turning it over in her hands, looking sheepish all of a sudden. 

Naomi's stomach drops. "Give me that."

Olivia steps back, just out of reach, because of course she does. 

"You..." Her voice is softer than it should be. "You have a crush on me?"

Naomi clenches her jaw. "Had," she lies. 

Olivia’s voice drops lower. “What if I said I didn’t want it to be past tense?”

Naomi swallows hard. “What are you saying?”

Olivia glances down at the note again, a small, breathless laugh escaping her. “I’m saying… maybe I should’ve been paying attention sooner.”

[Mtpersson]

Word: Gallant

Molly had always been good with words - that was, until Amarah got close. 

Like now. 

Amarah was leaning in, her shoulder brushing Molly's as they stood outside Molly's apartment, the city humming around them. It was late, too late for anything except those kinds of conversations that make your heart race. Or, apparently, the kind where Amarah looked at her like that - big, warm eyes, lips curved in amusement, like she knew exactly what she was doing. 

"You're quiet," Amarah murmured.

Molly swallowed. "I'm thinking."

"About?"

Bad idea. Terrible idea to say it out loud. But Amarah was close, and Molly was weak. 

"Kissing you."

Amarah exhaled a soft laugh, and Molly could feel it, warm against her skin, sending a shiver down her spine. 

"That so?" Amarah asked, tilting her head just slightly, like she was considering it. Teasing. 

Molly's fingers twitched at her sides. "Yeah."

Amarah smirked, stepping even closer, like she had all the time in the world. "And? What conclusion did you come to?"

Molly licked her lips, just to see if Amarah's gaze would drop. It did. 

"That you'd probably kiss me back," Molly murmured. 

Amarah let out a soft hum, playful and considering, and then tilted her chin, just enough to make Molly wait.

"How gallant of you," Amarah mused, eyes sparkling. "Waiting for confirmation before sweeping me off my feet."

Molly huffed a quiet laugh, pulse hammering. "I could be less gallant, if you'd prefer."

[Devoutwanderer]

Since I don't see a Word of the Day for today, I just picked one of the previous ones.

Word:  Vestige
Theme: Fairytale

I was snuggled up in bed with Wally the Walrus, the covers pulled up to my chin as I waited patiently. Well, maybe not too patiently. Mommy said she would be right in to tell me a story, which was good because I wasn't sleepy at all.

After what felt like forever, Mommy finally came in and sat on my bed with a twinkle in her beautiful green eyes. Eyes that everyone tells me I have too. "Tonight I'm going to tell you a new story,"

A giddy smile stretched wide across my face as I try valiantly to contain my excitement. Mommy looked down on my excited squirming with a satisfied smile.

"Once upon a time," she began, "there was a mommy and a daddy who loved each other very much." She paused leaning over my legs and supporting herself with her hand as she looked at me with her head cocked to the side. "They were mostly happy, but they wanted a little baby of their own very badly."
Exaggerating a frown she continued, "The mommy and daddy tried everything they could think of and everything anyone suggested, but they were never able to have a little baby of their own."

This was a strange story, I thought. Nothing like any of the stories Mommy had told me before.

"Then one day, the mommy had an idea that made her very happy. She would go talk to the faeries!" Her exaggerated frown turned into a broad smile of joy warming my little heart. A giggle bubbled up in my throat. "Now the faeries promised the mommy that she would have a baby very soon! But there was a catch that she didn't know about." That last part made an ominous unease fill my stomach.

"But the faeries were right, and the mommy and daddy had their baby! Only there was something wrong." Mommy's voice began to quiver and her eyes looked wet. "As the baby grew into a child, the family's pets began to disappear, and one day the vestiges of the neighbor's newborn puppy were found in the child's bed." My eyes grew wide as the realization dawned on me that Mommy was talking about me. Her watery eyes overflowed, sending streams of hot regret down her cheeks as a rough cast iron blade seemingly appeared in her hand.

A wicked smile cut across my features exposing needle like teeth that had, only moments ago, been the short blunt eye-teeth of a young child. There was no point in pretense anymore. "That little piece of junk isn't going to save you, mommy," the final word taunting as my unnervingly alien giggle echoed around the small bedroom...

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

tousle
verb | TOW-zul


Definition

: To tousle something is to dishevel it—that is, to make it untidy or unkempt. Tousle is usually, though not always, used specifically when a person’s hair is being so treated.


Weekly Theme

Slice of Life


Did You Know?

The verb tousle today is typically used for the action of mussing someone’s hair playfully (“tousling the toddler’s hair”) or fussily (“tousling her tresses for that just-woke-up look”), but the word’s history is a bit edgier. Tousle and its synonym touse come from -tousen (“to pull or handle roughly”), a frequentative of the Middle English verb touselen. (A frequentative indicates repeated or recurrent action; sniffle, for example, is a frequentative of sniff.) Both tousle and touse have older meanings having to do with rough handling in general; before hair was tousled, people were—ouch. It’s no coincidence that another frequentative of -tousen, the Scots word tussillen, is the ancestor of the English verb tussle, meaning “to scuffle” or “to fight or struggle with someone by grabbing or pushing.”

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

quip
noun | KWIP


Definition

: Quip can refer to a clever, usually taunting remark, or to a witty or funny observation or response usually made on the spur of the moment.


Weekly Theme

Slice of Life


Did You Know?

To tweak a well-known line from Hamlet, brevity is the soul of quip. While jokes are often brief stories with setups followed by surprising and funny endings (chickens crossing roads, elephant footprints in the butter, etc.) quips are even briefer, and not so planned or scripted. They are more likely to arise naturally in conversation when someone is especially quick-witted, firing off zingers, retorts, or—if you want to get extra fancy about it—bon mots. Brevity also plays a role in quip's etymology: quip is a shortening of quippy, a now-obsolete noun of the same meaning. Quippy's origins are uncertain, but they may lie in the Latin word quippe, meaning "indeed" or "to be sure," which was often used ironically. Quip entered English as a noun in the 1500s, but was verbified within decades; the verb quip means "to make quips" or "to jest or jibe at."

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

superfluous
adjective | soo-PER-floo-us


Definition

: Superfluous is a formal word used to describe things that exceed what is necessary or sufficient, or that are simply not needed.


Weekly Theme

Slice of Life


Did You Know?

If, say, you were to go chasing waterfalls in addition to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to, such a pursuit would be superfluous. In other words, you would be exceeding what is necessary to satisfy your need for water-based enjoyment and recreation. “You’ve already got rivers and lakes,” your friends might advise with a bit of TLC, “just stick to them!” “Extra water” is also key to understanding the history of the word superfluous, which entered Middle English from the Latin adjective superfluus, meaning literally “running over.” Superfluus, in turn, comes from the verb superfluere (“to overflow”), which combines the prefix super- (meaning “over”) and fluere, “to flow.” In addition to influencing superfluous, fluere also flowed into the English words affluent, influence, and fluid, among others.

[Britwitch]

Today's Word of the Day is....

ignoramus
noun | ig-nuh-RAY-mus


Definition

: An ignoramus is an utterly ignorant or stupid person.


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Slice of Life


Did You Know?

Ignoramus is the title of a farce by George Ruggle (1575-1622) that was first produced in 1615. The title character, whose name in Latin literally means "we are ignorant of," is a lawyer who fancies himself to be quite clever but is actually foolish and ignorant. Ruggle may have been inspired in his choice of the name by a proceeding in the English judicial system: the term ignoramus was written on bills of indictment when the evidence presented seemed insufficient to justify prosecution. In these cases ignoramus indicated "we take no notice of (i.e., we do not recognize) this indictment." Such a reference would have been most appropriate for Ruggle's satire of the judiciary.