solecism /SOL-i-siz-əm/ /ˈsɒlɪsɪz(ə)m/. noun. A grammatical mistake or a non-standard usage. More generally: a mistake, a blunder, a breach of etiquette, a lapse in manners, an impropriety. See also: faux pas, gaffe, blunder. From Greek soloikos (speaking incorrectly or awkward/rude in manner). Perhaps originally meaning to speak like the people of Soloi, a Greek colony whose inhabitants spoke a corrupted form of Greek.
[Read more…]Persons, places, things...you know the drill.
Saturnalia
Saturnalia /sat-ər-NAIL-yə/. noun. The festival of Saturn, the ancient Greek god of agriculture. First celebrated in 497 BC. As part of Saturnalia, slaves were treated to a banquet and allowed to make fun of their masters, the toga was replaced by colorful clothes, and slave and masters alike donned conical felt hats. A time of peace, Saturnalia was also marked by temporary cessation of military activities and closing of the courts. Many customs of Saturnalia influence modern-day Christmas and New Year’s activities including the exchange of gifts, decorating with holly branches, and displaying evergreen wreathes. The customary greeting during Saturnalia is “io, Saturnalia!” where “io” is pronounced like “yo.” Try it!
volcano
/vol-KAY-no/ noun. The center of a subterranean eruption, usually, but not always, of molten rock, that is often, but not always, basically conical in shape.
chiaroscuro
chiaroscuro /kee-ar-uh-SKYER-oh/. noun. Literally, the composition of light and shade or black and white in a painting or picture; figuratively to describe deep contrast.
contretemps
contretemps /KON-trə-ton/. noun. An awkward, embarrassing, difficult situation or disagreement. A minor disagreement. A clash. Originally a French fencing term contre-temps (an unfortunate accident, a mistimed motion), from Latin contra (against) + tempus (time). [Read more…]
farrago
farrago /fə-RAW-goh/. noun. A medley, a confused mess, a mixture, a miscellany. From Latin farrago (mixed fodder for cattle, also generally a mixture), from far (grain). See also: hodgepodge, hotchpotch, mélange, potpourri.
“What strange farrago of impossibilities have these holy dealers in occult divinity jumbled together?” (Thomas Holcroft)
catarrh
catarrh /kə-TAR/. noun. An inflammation of the nose or throat; the mucus formed from such an inflammation. From Greek katarrhein (to flow down), from kata- (down) + rhein (to flow). See also catarrhal, catarrhous, and the partially derived catarrhine, used to describe the narrow space between the nostrils of some primates, from kata- + rhinos (nose).
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