oppugn: \uh-PYOON\

1. to fight against

2. to call in question

how to use in casual conversation:

and i was like "i love the talking heads" and she was like "nuhh uhhh. i oppugn your ass on that shit" and i was like "ohhh, snap".

not to be confused with:

impugn

how it makes me feel:

my initial reaction was that i like it. it gets points for obscurity, brevity,and -pugn. it made me to say "what the hell is that shit...-pugn?! that's nasty! from whence in the sexy bowels of european etiology did that chicken nugget of flavor come from?". then i lmgtfy.com'd myself. (meta-snap?) it's from 15th century british but has latin roots. but apparently impugn has french origins(?). either way it's a pretty cool word. it definitely has some funk on it. mustard, if you will.

from another angle: when i saw the word i immediately though of impugn. (both have the aforementioned mustard.) i was immediately scared that i had been using impugn as oppugn. my high school english teacher once mentioned that it's ok and things happen with words and phrases like this sometimes. she cited the example of how her little girl though that the phrase 'human being' was actually 'human bean'. my friend didn't know that it wasn't 'human bean'. hell, i was 25 before i realized that "for all intensive purposes" was actually "for all intents and purposes" which actually makes a whole hell of a lot more sense. the point: i am pretty damn stupid sometimes and so are you. (the royal you)

=P

next week: i do this while i'm drunk

lets see if i remember how to do this

conniption: \ kuh-NIP-shuhn \

A fit of hysterical excitement or anger.

how to use in casual conversation:

"shut up, man! if you have a conniption about the cloud monkeys in front of those cops they're gonna know we're on shrooms!"

not to be confused with:

contrition

how it makes me feel:

my dad used to always say: "don't have a conniption". who was he talking to?! i was the perfect child! i was never angry! i never raised my voice! NEVER! i wonder if uncouth has been a word of the day in the last two years. if so, the break hasn't been worth it. i feel like i'm really reaching here. but seriously he did say that a lot. so, i guess the answer is nostalgic.

apparently i've forgotten how to format these posts. bear with me.

RATE-A-WORD!

occlude: /uh-klood/

1. to shut in, out, or off.
2. physical chemistry - (of certain metals and other solids) to incorporate (gases and other foreign substances), as by absorption or adsorption.
3. dentistry - to shut or close, with the cusps of the opposing teeth of the upper and lower jaws fitting together.

last week's result:

according to a weighted average of your votes, spoor is a:

3

(2.875 to be precise)

....which sucks because y'all gave gizmo the same rating as spoor. spoor. really? i don't even think spoor deserves to be considered a word. plus, we already have a word for spoor. it's called 'track'. track isn't exciting but it isn't spoor. spoor feels like something someone does to you, not something you do an animal...i.e. "OMG, he took me back to his place, we started making out, i'm totally into it, then all the sudden he starts to spoor me! do i look like someone who'd wanna spoor? freaking pervert!"

impedimenta: /im-ped-uh-men-tuh/

baggage or other things that retard one's progress

how to use in casual conversation:

"i have too much impedimenta to be in a relationship, baby"

not to be confused with:

magenta

how it makes me feel:

impeded. it's a good word. it's a latin derivative. latin is good. i like latin. yet for some reason i just kinda wanna nod my head and go "yup". and be done with it. but that wouldn't be fair to you. i figure you come here to read something. right? so how about this....

a story:

the why isn't important but my friend and I ended up walking home from a party a couple weeks ago. i was pretty hungry so we stopped for a burritos on "the ave".

my friend had to wait for the 44, so as we were walking down the ave to his stop he decided to take his burritos out and try to eat it. just as he took it out of the bag, the obviously intoxicated, heavy-set, young asian man randomly sitting on the stairs jumps up and just grabs at my friend's burrito.

at this point I was still buzzed and confused as shit. the only thing I could think to do was very sternly say "nooooooo!", in exactly the way you would reprimand a child or domestic animal.


apparently that was enough.

the only thing fatty could do was say "noooooo!" back, following it up with "ill stab you!". but seeing as how he said that as he was awkwardly positioning his jolly frame back down onto the stairs we found him on, I didn't take it to be a credible threat and we kept walking.

the moral of the story? don't mess with my friend's burrito or i will scold you!

WORD OF THE WEEK!

subtilize: /suht-l-ahyz/

–verb (used with object)
1. to elevate in character; sublimate.
2. to make (the mind, senses, etc.) keen or discerning; sharpen.
3. to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
4. to make thin, rare, or more fluid or volatile; refine.
–verb (used without object)
5. to make subtle distinctions or to argue subtly.

vestigial: /ve-stij-ee-uh/

of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a vestige

spoor: /spohr/

–noun
1. a track or trail, esp. that of a wild animal pursued as game.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
2. to track by or follow a spoor.

brannigan: /bran-i-guhn/

1. a carouse.
2. a squabble; brawl.

undercast: /uhn-der-kast/

1. mining - a crossing of two passages, as airways, dug at the same level so that one descends to pass beneath the other without any opening into it.
2. meteorology - an overcast layer of clouds viewed from above


last week's word winner:

squelch

i know, i thought it was a weird result too. i'm gonna chalk this exercise in poor taste up to the fact that none of you had a proper appreciation for gremlins during y'alls childhoods.

gizmo!!!!

brannigan: /bran-i-guhn/

–noun
1. a carouse.
2. a squabble.
3. this guy...

how to use in causal conversation:

"there is something about your face that makes me want to start a brannigan"

not to be confused with:

mulligan

how it makes me feel:

anything that allows me to make a futurama reference is A-OK by me.

RATE-A-WORD!

spoor: /spohr/


–noun
1. a track or trail, esp. that of a wild animal pursued as game.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
2. to track by or follow a spoor.

last week's result:

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

3

(2.538461538 to be precise)

argh. gizmo! i love gizmo! i'll admit, it's a lousy word. even as hogwash sounding words go, it's pretty weak. that is, it isn't a 'bumfuzzled' or anything like that - but gizmo! how can you think gizmo is a 3?! he's so cute!!!

vestigial: /ve-stij-ee-uhl/

1. of, relating to, or constituting a vestige.
2. biology occurring or persisting as a rudimentary or degenerate structure.
3. your appendix

how to use in casual conversation:

"much like the coccyx, your existence has become a vestigial structure on the body that is humanity"

not to be confused with:

virginal









how it makes me feel:

darwinian!


that's it.

WORD OF THE WEEK!

squelch: /skwelch/

–verb (used with object)
1. to strike or press with crushing force
2. to put down, suppress, or silence, as with a crushing retort or argument.
–verb (used without object)
3. to make a splashing sound.
4. to tread heavily in water, mud, wet shoes, etc., with such a sound.
–noun
5. a squelched or crushed mass of anything.
6. a splashing sound.
7. an act of squelching or suppressing, as by a crushing retort or argument.
8. Also called squelch circuit, noise suppressor. Electronics . a circuit in a receiver, as a radio receiver, that automatically reduces or eliminates noise when the receiver is tuned to a frequency at which virtually no carrier wave occurs.

bijou: /bee-zhoo/

1. a jewel.
2. something small, delicate, and exquisitely wrought.

gizmo /giz-moh/

1.A mechanical device or part whose name is forgotten or unknown

sibylline: /sib-uh-lean/

1. of, resembling, or characteristic of a sibyl; prophetic
2. mysterious

tantivy: /tan-tiv-ee/

–adverb
1. at full gallop
–adjective
2. swift
–noun
3. a gallop
–interjection
4. (used as a hunting cry when the chase is at full speed.)

happy voting, chowderheads!

sibylline: /sib-uh-lean/

1. of, resembling, or characteristic of a sibyl; prophetic
2. mysterious
3. this guy....



how to use in casual conversation:

"it turns out that all that whining you did last month about it 'not feeling like summer' was incredibly sibylline."

not to be confused with:

alabastrine



how it makes me feel:

it kinda makes me feel like i'm looking at a whale in a g-string and when i say whale i mean the water mammal not as in a mean-way-of-telling-someone-something-they-already-probably-know. that is, i don't really know what anyone expects me to do with it. it's like a set of fireplace tools when you don't own a fireplace. it's like a million spoons when all you need is a knife. no, wait, that's ironic. don't you think? actually that isn't all that ironic. that's what happens when you bring a steak to an ice cream social, you fucking twit! (no, that wasn't a typo) and btw, most of that album is uncle joey's fault.



long story short: i'd rather just use the word 'prophetic'.

RATE-A-WORD!

gizmo: /GIZ-moh/

1. a mechanical device or part whose name is forgotten or unknown

yay for the return of rate-a-word! happy voting! (click that if you're using reader or whatever)

bijou: /bee-zhoo/

1. a jewel.

2. something small, delicate, and exquisitely wrought.
3. this chick......

how to use in casual conversation:

"this bar is......i dunno, it feels kind of, bijou. much like my heart"

not to be confused with:

bayou

how it makes me feel:

to be honest, it just feels good to be back. so good in fact that i will ignore the fact that this is a fairly pedestrian word not to mention being of french origin. though i suppose that i should be grateful just to have an opportunity to use a photo of james "gollum" carville.

note:

as previously mentioned i am back from my sabbatical and ready to rock and roll on that WOTD tip. there are going to be some changes and a new feature (to limit the days where i actually have to compose a post) so stick around/come back/tell your friends but not your mom. even though things are changing, rest assured that the poor grammar and large number of typos will remain.

he's coming back y'all

july 5th.

we resume.

stay tuned

on hiatus

i need to take a break. i am finding it more and more difficult to find the time to post and i am going to step away for a while. actually, i already have. i've just now deciding to tell you. i'll be back once i have a chance to regroup and find a way to integrate posting into my routine. so slip me into your reader there so you'll know when i've figured out how to be sly and not have anyone i work with be aware of my internet activities.

ok. thanks. bye.
pony

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.