regnant: /reg-nuhnt/

1. reigning; ruling

2. exercising authority, rule, or influence.

3. prevalent; widespread.

how to use in casual conversation:

"i am the regnant authority on this here dance floor, son"

not to be confused with:

pregnant

how it makes me feel:

i like it. this word has marbles. (balls, moxie, gravitas, etc.) it sounds like putting your sack down. well not exactly. that kinda sounds like 'thud' but you get the point. if i was arguing with someone and they pulled out regnant, there's a good chance i would capitulate. not if you and i were arguing though. only if you do so spontaneously. if i know you read my blog, it won't work.

RATE-A-WORD

foppery: /ˈfä-p(ə-)rē/

1 : foolish character or action: folly
2 : the behavior or dress of a fop

last week's result:

according to a weighted average of your votes tipple is a:

2

(2.2777777777777778 to be precise)

i didn't think it was that bad...nor was i impressed either. in the hands of a skilled and thoughtful individual this word could be used to do great things but in the hands of a moron it could lead to disaster. kinda like nuclear energy.

personal note:

happy birthday, sis.

WORD OFF!

bully pulpit: /BULL-ee-PULL-pit/

a prominent public position (as a political office) that provides an opportunity for expounding one's view

vs.

plucky: /PLUHK-ee/

having or showing pluck or courage

the winner from two weeks ago:

perpend

perpend was the winner, but only by one vote. it wasn't a terribly exciting contest, i know. i think it was because neither of the words really jumped out at you, as neither was very awesome on their own. it was like watching the mariners play baltimore. yeah, somebody is gonna win, but you're still watching a couple of losers. GO MARINERS!!!

habitué: /huh-bich-oo-ey/

a frequent or habitual visitor to a place

how to use in casual conversation:

"i could easily see myself becoming a habitué of titty bars, but not until i am much, much older."

not to be confused with:

festue

how it makes me feel:

xenophobic. look, i don't believe that it's ok to pre-judge any person based on where they come from or look like. it's just kind of wrong. sure there are certain qualities that are unique to each culture; we all want to be part of something and sometimes the best way of doing that is to choose some arbitrary way of doing things, propagating it through the culture, eventually, collectively saying "it's just who we are". but with that said, i hate the french. not because of WWII, not because they wouldn't invade iraq, just because i hate arrogance. also (may have said this before) i used to work for a french company and let's just say i wouldn't do that again. so while i would never turn my back on french person, i can say, without reservation, fuck the french.

RATE-A-WORD

tipple: /tip-uhl/

1. to drink intoxicating liquor, esp. habitually or to some excess.
2. to drink (intoxicating liquor), esp. repeatedly, in small quantities.
3. intoxicating liquor.

last week's results:

based on a weighted average of your votes, mugwump is a

4

(4.346153846 to be precise, not to mention the highest ranking word ever in the history of the R-A-W feature)

good job peoples.

RATE-A-WORD

mugwump: /muhg-wuhmp/

1. a Republican who refused to support the party nominee, James G. Blaine, in the presidential campaign of 1884.

2. a person who is unable to make up his or her mind on an issue, esp. in politics; a person who is neutral on a controversial issue.

this was technically yesterday's word but i'm making an exception for the sake of us having a rad R-A-W this week.

last week's results:

based on a weighted average of your votes iatrogenic is a:

4

(3.714285714 to be precise)

i'm satisfied with the result. that's all.

WORD OFF!

perpend: /pur-puhnd/

–noun

a large stone passing through the entire thickness of a wall.

–verb (used with object)

to consider.

vs.

plagiary: /ˈplā-jē-er-ē/

1 : archaic one that plagiarizes
2 : plagiarism

results from two weeks ago:

you all decided that wastrel and alacrity are equals? you all can kiss my ghostly pale irish ass.

vamoose: /va-moos/

to leave hurriedly or quickly; decamp.

how to use in casual conversation:

"that asshole vamoosed with all the beer"
"sir, i'm afraid i'm going to have to ask you to vamoose the premises"

not to be confused with:

trampoose

how it makes me feel:

as my good friend would say "sexcellent". i really like this word. why? because it sounds fun. it's a fairly dismissive term but it also has a hint of whimsy to it. it's like referring to someone you think is an asshole by calling them 'fluffy' or something like that. i.e.:

"hey fluffy, vamoose!"

also, it's origins are reportedly rooted in the spanish "vamos" (to go) and was bastardized and folded into american culture, much like a burrito or the pervasive use of ground beef, cheese and lettuce to make tacos. lastly, the '-moose' sound is pretty prevalent here which is just an extra bonus since i borrowed 'into the wild' from the library and watched it while i was home sick today (actually yesterday, it's confusing since i'm writing this today and not yesterday) and if that poor bastard had just been able to keep those maggots off that moose meat, jon krakauer would've only been known for hating mormons. or something like that.

apology:

i've been slacking. i know. it's just that when i'm at work they kind of expect me to do work now. it's weird for me too. also, i was in vegas over the weekend celebrating my homies' bachelor party. which probably explains why i was home sick yesterday. i'm catching up. i'm sorry.

RATE-A-WORD!

iatrogenic: /ahy-a-truh-jen-ik/

caused by the diagnosis, manner, or treatment of a physician.

last week's result:

soi-disant

based on a weighted average of your votes, soi-disant is a:

3

(2.8 to be precise)

i didn't like this one. first of all it came from M-W and while i have in the past stated how much M-W just plain sucks, i'm revising my opinion to say that sometimes they suck. perhaps suck isn't the right word. it would be more fair to say that they aren't really considering the individual value of their WOTDs and are perhaps instead just finding ANY WOTD regardless of it's practical value. practical value matters to me which may be why they keep pissing me off.