Vocabulary Dictionary (main) 2

searching

(adj.) thoroughly scrutinizing, especially in a disconcerting way

blasé

(adj.) unimpressed or indifferent to something because one has experienced or seen it so often before

sweet nothings

(noun phrase) words of affection exchanged by lovers

descamisado

(noun) (in Latin America) a very poor person

dernier cri

(noun) (the/le dernier cri) the very latest fashion

paucity

(noun) [in sing.] the presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities or amounts (i.e. scarcity)

Everyman

(noun) [in singular] an ordinary or typical human being

schmutter

(noun) [mass noun] (informal) clothing (i.e. garments); worthless material (i.e. rubbish)

bandanna

(noun) a large handkerchief, typically having a colorful pattern, worn tied around the head or neck

jeu d'esprit

(noun) a lighthearted display of wit and cleverness, especially in a work of literature

transformational grammar

(abbr. TG) (noun phrase) (Linguistics) a generative grammar, especially of a natural language, developed in the Chomskyan tradition of phrase structure grammars (as opposed to dependency grammars), and involving the use of defined operations called transformations to produce new sentences from existing ones

wretched

(adj.) (of a person) in a very unhappy or unfortunate state; of poor quality (i.e. very bad); used to epxress anger or annoyance

simpatico

(adj.) (of a person) likable and easy to get along with; having or characterized by shared attributes or interests (i.e. compatible)

taciturn

(adj.) (of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech (i.e. saying little)

psychosomatic

(adj.) (of a physical illness or other condition) caused or aggravated by a mental factor such as internal conflict or stress; relating to the interaction of mind and body

telic

(adj.) (of an action or attitude) directed or tending to a definite end; (Linguistics) (of a verb, conjunction, or clause) expressing goal, result, or purpose

bough

(noun) a main branch of a tree

kimono slip

(noun) a one-piece garment into which a susoyoke and hadajuban combine

squaw man

(noun) (N. Amer.) (offensive) a white or black man married to an American Indian woman (and living with her people) (this was a popular literary stereotype, as in The Squaw Man); a man who does woman's work

cot1

(noun) (N. Amer.) a camp bed, particularly a portable, collapsible one; a plain narrow bed; (Brit.) a baby's crib

apprentice

(noun) a person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer, having agreed to work for a fixed period at low wages (i.e. a beginner, usually a young person, who is serving under an experienced master or teacher to learn the skills of a trade or profession); a beginner at something; (verb) [with obj.] employ (someone) as an apprentice; [no obj.] (N. Amer.) serve as an apprentice

neophyte

(noun) a person who is new to a subject, skill, or belief (suggests that the person is eagerly learning the ways, methods, or principles of something); a new convert to a religion; a novice in a religious order, or a newly ordained priest

coincidence (1-2)

(noun) a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection; correspondence in nature or in time of occurrence

hard line

(noun) an uncompromising adherence to a firm policy; (adj.) (hard-line) uncomprimising (i.e. strict)

puma

(noun) another term for cougar

café noir

(noun) black coffee

repertory

(noun) the performance of various plays, operas, or ballets by a company at regular short intervals; repertory theaters regarded collectively; a repertory company; another term for repertoire; a repository or collection, especially of information or retrievable examples

cross that bridge when one comes to it

(phrasal verb) deal with a problem when and if it arises

perambulate

(verb) [no obj.] (formal) walk or travel through or around a place or area, especially for pleasure and in a leisurely way; [with obj.] (Brit.) (historical) walk around (a parish, forest, etc.) in order to officially assert and record its boundaries

bungle

(verb) [with obj.] carry out (a task) clumsily or incompetently, leading to failure or an unsatisfactory outcome; [no obj.] (usually as adj. bungling) make or be prone to making many mistakes; (noun) a mistake or failure, typically one resulting from mismanagement or confusion

infer

(verb) [with obj.] deduce or conclude (information) from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements

foretell

(verb) predict (the future or a future event)

quelle horreur!

What a horrible thing! (can be used sarcastically)

wabi-sabi

a world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection

take someone up on

accept (an offer or challenge) from someone; challenge or question a speaker on (a particular point)

take up (or throw down) the gauntlet

accept (or issue) a challenge [from the medieval custom of issuing a challenge by throwing one's gauntlet to the ground; whoever picked it up was deemed to have accepted the challenge]

haughty

arrogantly superior and disdainful (showing contempt or lack of respect)

arrest (verb 2-3)

stop or check (progress or a process); [no obj.] suffer a heart attack; attract the attention of (someone)

noblesse oblige

the inferred responsibility of privileged people to act with generosity and nobility toward those less privileged (i.e. those granted a higher station in life have a duty to extend (possibly token) favours / courtesies to those in lower stations)

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

the more things change, the more they stay the same (i.e. turbulent changes do not affect reality on a deeper level other than to cement the status quo; used to express resigned acknowledgment of the fundamental immutability of human nature and institutions)

arborean

(adj.) a reference to a tree or trees; of the nature of trees

harrowing

(adj.) acutely distressing

good-natured

(adj.) kind, friendly, and patient

desultory

(adj.) lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm; (of conversation or speech) going constantly from one subject to another in a halfhearted way (i.e. unfocused); occurring randomly or occasionally

chicha

(noun) [mass noun] (in South and Central America) a kind of beer made typically from maize

confrère

(noun) a fellow member of a profession (i.e. a colleague)

analog (noun 1)

(noun) a person or thing seen as comparable to another

never-never land

(noun) an imaginary utopian place or situation

portent

(noun) a sign or warning that something, esp. something momentous or calamitous, is likely to happen; future significance; (archaic) an exceptional or wonderful person or thing

impasse

(noun) a situation in which no progress is possible, especially because of disagreement (i.e. a deadlock)

chinchilla

(noun) a small South American rodent with soft gray fur and a long bushy tail.chinchilla

objet d'art

(noun) a small decorative or artistic object, typically when regarded as a collectible item (in practice the term has long been reserved to describe works of art that are not paintings, large or medium sized sculptures, prints or drawings - it therefore covers a wide range of works, usually small and three-dimensional, of high quality and finish in areas of the decorative arts, such as metalwork items, with or without enamel, small carvings, statuettes and plaquettes in any material, including engraved gems, hardstone carvings, ivory carvings including Japanese netsuke and similar items, non-utilitarian porcelain and glass, and a vast range of objects that would also be classed as antiques (or indeed antiquities), such as small clocks, watches, gold boxes, and sometimes textiles, especially tapestries; books with fine bookbindings might be included

bodega

(noun) a small grocery store, especially in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood; a wine shop or wine cellar

cadre

(noun) a small group of people specially trained for a particular purpose or profession; a group of activists in a communist or other revolutionary organization; a member of an activist group

meshugaas

(noun) crazy or senseless activity or behavior (i.e. craziness)

abdicate

(verb) (of a monarch) renounce one's throne; fail to fulfill or undertake (a responsibility or duty)

soft line

a flexible and moderate attitude or policy

JSYK

(adv. phrase) short for "just so you know" (used to preface information; emerging around 2005, JSYK is a casual alternative to the classic FYI (For Your Information))

pronto

(adv.) (informal) promptly (i.e. quickly)

consolation

(noun) comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment; a person or thing providing comfort to a person who has suffered; (U.S.) (in sports) a round or contest for tournament entrants who have been eliminated before the finals, often to determine third and fourth place

carte blance

(noun) complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best (i.e. unlimited authority)

divergence (1)

(noun) the process or state of diverging; a difference or conflict in opinions, interests, wishes, etc.; a place where airflows or ocean currents diverge, typically marked by downwelling (of air) or upwelling (of water)

communicativeness

(noun) the quality of being willing, eager, or able to talk or impart information

amiability

(noun) the quality of having a friendly and pleasant manner (i.e. geniality)

mindfulness

(noun) the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something; a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique

languid

(of a person, manner, or gesture) displaying or having a disinclination for physical exertion or effort (i.e. slow and relaxed); (of an occasion or period of time) pleasantly lazy and peacful; weak or faint from illness or fatigue

lamentable

(of circumstances or conditions) deporably bad or unsatisfactory; (of an event, action, or attitude) unfortunate (i.e. regrettable); (archaic) full of or expressing sorrow or grief

grasp the nettle

(phrasal verb) (British) tackle a difficulty boldly [because a nettle stings when touched lightly, but not when grasped firmly]

run someone/something to earth (or ground)

(phrasal verb) (Hunting) chase a quarry to its lair; find someone or something, typically after a long search

go to town

(phrasal verb) (informal) do something thoroughly, enthusiastically, or extravagantly

turn in

(phrasal verb) (informal) go to bed in the evening

hit the road (or trail)

(phrasal verb) (informal) set out on a journey

hold someone / something back

(phrasal verb) prevent or restrict the advance, progress, or development of someone or something; (hold something back) refuse or be unwilling to make something known

break (one's) stride

(phrasal verb) slow or interrupt the pace at which one walks or moves

keep a civil tongue in one's head

(phrasal verb) speak politely (i.e. to maintain a polite manner of speaking) (replacing "one's" with "your," it may be used to tell someone to stop being rude)

hit the books

(phrasal verb) to study (esp. study hard)

renege

(verb) (no obj.) go back on a promise, undertaking, or contract; another term for revoke (sense 2) ((no obj.) (in bridge, whist, and other card games) fail to follow suit despite being able to do so); [with obj.] (archaic) renounce or abandon (someone or something)

operationalize

(verb) (with obj.) put into operation or use; (Philosophy) express or define (something) in terms of the operations used to determine or prove it

binge watch

(verb) (with obj.) to watch (multiple videos, episodes of a TV show, etc.) in one sitting or over a short period of time; (verb) (no obj.) to engage in this activity

traipse

(verb) [no obj., with adverbial of direction] walk or move wearily or reluctantly; walk about casually or needlessly; (noun) [in sing.] a tedious or tiring journey on foot; (archaic) a slovenly woman

plotz

(verb) [no obj.] (N. Amer.) (informal) collapse or be beside oneself with frustration, annoyance, or other strong emotion (i.e. to burst, as from strong emotion)

kvell

(verb) [no obj.] (N. Amer.) (informal) feel happy and proud

lucubrate

(verb) [no obj.] (archaic) write or study (laboriously), esp. by night; discourse learnedly in writing (i.e. produce learned written material) (when lucubrating, you're shedding new light on a subject by elaborating, expanding, and adding more details - lucubrating adds clarity and makes a subject easier to understand; it's often associated with scholars)

bode

(verb) [no obj.] (bode well/ill) be an omen of a particular outcome

atelic

(Linguistics) (of a verb, conjunction, or clause) showing an action or happening / event as being unfinished or incomplete; the imperfective (an aspect of verbs, especially in Slavic languages, that expresses action without reference to its completion; the opposite of perfective); dreadful, revolting, or repulsive

linguistic competence

(Linguistics) a speaker's subconscious, intuitive knowledge of the rules of their language (Often contrasted with performance)

dividend (noun 2)

(Mathematics) a number to be divided by another number

schmear

(N. Amer.) (informal) (noun) a corrupt or underhanded inducement (i.e. a bribe); a smear or spread; (verb) [with obj.] flatt or ingratiate oneself with (someone) [PHRASES the whole schmear everything possible or available (i.e. every aspect of the situation)]

putz

(N. Amer.) (informal) (noun) a stupid or worthless person; (vulgar slang) a penis; (verb) [no obj.] engage in inconsequential or unproductive activity

kawaii

(adj.) (in the context of Japanese popular culture) cute (i.e. adorable, lovable) (a key affect word used to describe things that are small, delicate, and immature); (noun) the quality of being cute, or items that are cute

peckish

(adj.) (informal) (chiefly Brit.) hungry

cushy

(adj.) (informal) (of a job, task, or situation) undemanding, easy, or secure; (N. Amer.) (of furniture) comfortable

wonky

(adj.) (informal) crooked (i.e. off-center; askew); (of a thing) unsteady (i.e. shaky); not funcitoning correctly (i.e. faulty)

sassy

(adj.) (informal) lively, bold, and full of spirit (i.e. cheeky)

daft

(adj.) (informal) silly (i.e. foolish); (daft about) infatuated with

impracticable

(adj.) (of a course of action) impossible in practice to do or carry out

blinkered

(adj.) (of a horse) wearing blinkers: having or showing a limited outlook

absent-minded

(adj.) (of a person or a person's behavior or manner) having or showing a habitually forgetful or inattentive disposition

ingenuous

(adj.) (of a person or action) innocent and unsuspecting

resilient

(adj.) (of a person or animal) able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions; of a substance or object) able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed

tractable

(adj.) (of a person or animal) easy to control or influence; (of a situation or problem) easy to deal with

shameless

(adj.) (of a person or their conduct) characterized by or showing a lack of shame

inconsolable

(adj.) (of a person or their grief) not able to be comforted or alleviated

listless

(adj.) (of a person or their manner) lacking energy or enthusiasm

subdued

(adj.) (of a person or their manner) quiet and rather reflective or depressed; (of color or lighting) soft and restrained

downcast

(adj.) (of a person's eyes) looking downward (i.e. directed downward); (of a person) feeling despondent; (noun) a shaft dug in a mine for extra ventilation

phlegmatic

(adj.) (of a person) having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition

well traveled

(adj.) (of a person) having traveled widely; (of a route) much frequented by travelers

unworldly

(adj.) (of a person) not having much awareness of the realities of life, in particular, not motivated by material or practical considerations; not seeming to belong to this planet (i.e. strange)

well spoken

(adj.) (of a person) speaking in an educated and refined matter

wakeful

(adj.) (of a person) unable or not needing to sleep; alert and vigilant; (of a period of time) passed with little or no sleep

accountable

(adj.) (of a person, organization, or institution) required or expected to justify actions or decisions (i.e. responsible); explicable (i.e. understandable)

desolate

(adj.) (of a place) deserted of people and in a state of bleak and dismal emptiness; feeling or showing misery, unhappiness, or loneliness; (verb) make (a place) bleakly and depressingly empty or bare; (usually be desolated) make (someone) feel utterly wretched and unhappy

mindful

(adj.) [predicative] conscious or aware of something

well-versed

(adj.) highly experienced, practiced, or skilled (i.e. very knowledgeable; learned)

malignant

(adj.) malevolent; (of a disease) very virulent or infectious; (of a tumor) tending to invade normal tissue or to recur after removal; cancerous (contrasted with benign)

multifarious

(adj.) many and of various types; having many varied parts or aspects

de rigueur

(adj.) required by etiquette or current fashion

doctrinaire

(adj.) seeking to impose a doctrine in all circumstances without regard to practical considerations; (noun) a person who seeks to impose a doctrine without regard to practical considerations

self-involved

(adj.) wrapped up in oneself or one's own thoughts

s'il vous plaît

(adv.) French for please

en masse

(adv.) in a group (i.e. all together)

dhole

(also Indian wild dog, whistling dog, chennai, Asiatic wild dog, red wolf (not be confused with Canis rufus), red dog, mountain wolf) (noun) an Asian wild dog that has a sandy coat and a black, bushy tail and lives in packs.

convergence

(also convergency) (noun) the process or state of converging; (Biology) the tendency of unrelated animals and plants to evolve superficially similar characteristics under similar environmental conditions; (also convergence zone) a location where airflows or ocean currents meet, characteristically marked by upwelling (of air) or downwelling (of water)

multiplicand

(also factor) (noun) a quantity that is to be multiplied by another (the multiplier)

droit de seigneur

(also jus primae noctis) (noun) a supposed legal or customary right in late medieval Europe of a feudal lord to have sexual relations with a vassal's or serf's bride on her wedding night, in precedence to her new husband (the French term for this hypothetical custom is driot de cuissage (from cuisse 'thigh'); there is no evidence of the alleged right in medieval Europe)

cortado

(also known as Gibraltar (U.S. - west coast)) (noun) espresso with a small amount of steamed milk

raccoon dog

(also mangut, tanuki) (noun) a small wild dog of raccoonlike appearance, with a black facial mask and long brindled fur, native to the forests of southern and eastern Asia. [Nyctereutes procyonoides, family Canidae.]

shicker

(also shikker) (U.S. & Austral./NZ) (informal) adj. (also shickered, shikkered) [predic.] drunk; (noun) a drunk

wilco

(exclam.) expressing compliance or agreement, esp. acceptance of instructions received by radio (wilco is used exclusively if the speaker intends to say "received and will comply"; thus, the phrase "Roger Wilco" is both procedurally incorrect and redundant)

oy vey

(exclam.) indicating dismay or grief

obtundation

(noun) (Medicine) a state or condition characterized by a reduced level of consciousness with diminished responsiveness to stimuli (typically at a level between lethargy and stupor) (i.e. decreased level of alertness or consciousness, typically as a result of a medical condition or trauma; mental blunting with mild to moderate reduction in alertness and a diminished sensation of pain)

tachyphylaxis

(noun) (Medicine) rapidly diminishing response to successive doses of a drug, rendering it less effective (the effect is common with drugs acting on the nervous system)

field day

(noun) (Military) a review or an exercise, esp. in manuevering; (North American) a day devoted to athletic contests or other sporting events, typically at school; [in sing.] an opportunity for action, success, or excitement, esp. at the expense of others; a day set aside for the display of agricultural machinery and crops, esp. corn and soybeans

schmuck

(noun) (N. Amer.) (informal) a foolish or contemptible person

cheechako

(noun) (N. Amer.) (informal) a person newly arrived in the mining districts of Alaska or northwestern Canada (was used to refer to non-native people)

nudnik

(noun) (N. Amer.) (informal) a pestering, nagging, or irritating person (i.e. a bore)

schmo

(noun) (N. Amer.) (informal) a stupid person; (also Joe Schmo) a hypothethical ordinary man

schlemiel

(noun) (N. Amer.) (informal) a stupid, awkward, or unlucky person (i.e. an inept clumsy person; a bungler; a dolt)

pisher

(noun) (N. Amer.) (informal) an insignificant or contemptible person (i.e. a nobody; an inexperienced person)

tsuris

(noun) (N. Amer.) (informal) trouble or woe (i.e. aggravation)

zabuton

(noun) a flat floor cushion for sitting or kneeling on (i.e. a Japanese cushion for sitting) (the zabuton is generally used when sitting on the floor and may also be used when sitting on a chair; in a more casual setting, the zabuton can be used in conjunction with a zaisu, a type of Japanese legless chair, with or without an accompanying kyousoku, a Japanese-style armrest; ordinarily, any place in Japan where seating is on the floor will be provided with zabuton for sitting comfort; atypical zabuton measures 50-70 cm (20-30 inches) square and is several centimetres thick when new; zabuton are found throughout Japan and enter many aspects of the culture; in Zen meditation, practitioners sit on zafu, which is typically placed on top of a zabuton - the zabuton cushions the knees and ankles)

Bedfordshire

(noun) (informal) another word for going to bed (used in England by children and parents; there is a county there of the same name)

sierra

(noun) a long jagged mountain chain; a code word representing the letter S, used in radio communication

succor

(British succour) (noun) assistance and support in times of hardship and distress; (succors) (archaic) reinforcements or troops; (verb) [with obj.] give assistance or aid to

optative

(Grammar) (adj.) relating to or denoting a mood of verbs in Greek and other languages, expressing a wish, equivalent to English expressions if only; (noun) a verb in the optative mood; (the optative) the optative mood

body politic

(noun) the people of a nation, state, or society considered collectively as an organized group of citizens

walking encyclopedia / dictionary

(informal) a person who has an impressive knowledge of facts or words

comorbidity

(noun) the simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions in a patient

impassion

[with obj.] make passionate

domain (1b)

a specified sphere of activity or knowledge

at hand

nearby; readily accessible when needed; close in time (i.e. about to happen)

abdicate

"(verb) (of a monarch) renounce one's throne; fail to fulfill or undertake (a responsibility or duty)

n'est-ce pas?

"isn't it [true / so]?" (asked rhetorically after a statement, as in "right?") (i.e. used to form tag questions)

koto

(noun) a Japanese zither about six feet long, with thirteen silk strings passed over small movable bridges

gaucho

(noun) a cowboy of the South American pampas

laborious

(adj.) (esp. of a task, process, or journey) requiring considerable effort and time; (of speech or writing style) showing obvious signs of effort and lacking in fluency

suave

(adj.) (especially of a man) charming, confident, and elegant

retrieval

(noun) the process of getting something back from somewhere; the obtaining or consulting of material stored in a computer system

meshuga

(adj.) (N. Amer.) (informal) (of a person) crazy (i.e. idiotic)

retinue

(noun) a group of advisers, assistants, or others accompanying an important person

commiseration

(noun) sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others (i.e. compassion); (commiserations) expressions of sympathy and sorrow for another

doyen

(noun) the most respected or prominent person in a particular field

lumber (1)

(verb) [no obj.] move in a slow, heavy, awkward way

rapturous

characterized by, feeling, or expressing great pleasure or enthusiasm

presence of mind

the ability to remain calm and take quick, sensible action

parlor

(British parlour) (noun) (dated) a sitting room in a private house; a room in a public building for receving guests; a room in a monstery or convent that is set aside for conversation; [usually with modifer] a shop or business providing specified goods or services; (also milking parlor) a room or building equipped for milking cows; (adj.) [attributive] (derogatory) denoting a person who professes but does not actively give support to a specified (esp. radical) political view

putter (3)

(British potter) (verb) [no obj.] (North Amer.) occupy oneself in a desultory but pleasant manner, doing a number of small tasks or not concentrating on anything particular; [with adverbial of direction] move or go in a casual, unhurried way

Nanook

(Inuit mythology) (Inuktitut, lit. "polar bear") the master of bears, meaning he decided if hunters deserved success in finding and hunting bears and punished violations of taboos (the word was popularized by Nanook of the North, the first feature-length documentary; the Inuit believed that Nanuk, the Polar Bear, was powerful and mighty and that he was "almost man," and the Inuit hunters would worship this great bear because they believed that he decided if the Hunters would be successful or not that day. "In the past, the Inuit ate polar bear meat and used the fur to make warm trousers for men and kamiks (soft boots) for women"; respect was given to Nanuk by the hunter hanging the bear's hide in a special section of his igloo, where it would stay for several days; they would also offer the bear's spirit weapons and other hunting tools if it was a male, and needle cases, scrapers (used to scrape the fat off hides) and knives if it was female; "Native people believed that polar bears allowed themselves to be killed in order to obtain the souls of the tools (tatkoit), which they would take with them into the hereafter."; "Legend says that if a dead polar bear was treated properly by the hunter, it would share the good news with other bears so they would be eager to be killed by him. Bears would stay away from hunters who failed to pay respect."

calque

(Linguistics) (noun) another term for loan translation (an expression adopted by one language from another in a more or less literally translated form); a copied term/thing; (verb) (be calqued on) originate or function as a loan translation of

run interference

(N. Amer.) (informal) intervene on someone's behalf, typically so as to protect them from distraction or annoyance (i.e. deal with troublesome or time-consuming matters, as for a colleague or supervisor, especially to forestall problems)

nickel-and-dime

(North Amer.) (informal) (verb) [with obj.] put a financial strain on (someone) by charging small amounts for many minor services; (adj.) [attrib.] of little importance (i.e. petty)

sass

(North American, informal) (noun) impudence (i.e. cheek); (verb) [with obj.] be cheeky or rude to (someone)

fish or cut bait

(North American, informal) (phrasal verb) stop vacillating and act on something or disengage from it

weight-bearing (noun)

(Orthopedics) the amount of weight a patient puts on the leg on which surgery has been performed (in general, it is described as a percentage of the body weight, because each leg of a healthy person carries the full body weight when walking, in alternating fashion; grades include non-weight-bearing (NWB), touch-down or toe-touch weight bearing, partial weight-bearing, weight-bearing as tolerated, and full weight-bearing)

retroactive transfer

(Psychology / Epistemology) (noun) a phenomenon that occurs when learning a new skill affects a previously learned skill

ghosting

(Relationships) the practice of suddenly ending all contact with a person without explanation, esp. in a romantic relationship, and without any apparent warning or justification, as well as avoiding and/or ignoring and refusing to respond in any way to the former person's attempts to reach out or communicate (it can be especially traumatic for those on the receiving end, due to the psychological effects of ostracism and rejection, and has been considered as a passive-aggressive form of emotional abuse and type of silent treatment or stonewalling behavior by some mental health professionals; commonly it is believed that the prevalence of social media, dating apps and the relative anonymity and isolation in modern day dating and hookup culture, has made it easier to behave poorly with little social repercussion; it's not limited to only intimate relationship contexts, but can also be carried out in other relationships such as between friends or even family members); (also the {French / Irish} goodbye) the act of leaving a social event or engagement suddenly without saying goodbye; (Computing) the removal of comments, threads, or other content from a website or online forum without informing the poster, keeping them hidden from the public but still visible to the poster

prolepsis

(Rhetoric) the anticipation and answering of possible objections in rhetorical speech; the representation of a thing as existing before it actually does or did so, as in he was a dead man when he entered

beaucoup

(South, Can. Praries) (informal) many or much (of) (used interchangeably with the English equivalent of "lots of/many/a great number of"; appropriate when the speaker wants to convey a greater positive connotation and/or greater emphasis; often used as an informal expression, mostly in small regional dialect-pockets in the Canadian Prairies and the American South, especially in Alberta and Louisiana respectively)

multiculti

(U.S. informal) (adj.) multicultural; (noun) popular music incorporating ethnically disparate elements; a person who is literate or comfortable in more than one culture

Sprachwirklich

(adj.) (of words and structures) actually attested as opposed to, e.g., merely postulated on theoretical grounds, or as opposed to artificial coinages and inventions by ancient grammarians that were never used in reality)

versed

(adj.) (versed in) experienced or skilled in (i.e. knowledgeable about)

serried

(adj.) [attrib.] (of rows of people or things) standing close together

errant

(adj.) [attrib.] erring or straying from the proper course or standards; (Zoology) (of a polychaete worm) of a predatory kind that moves about actively and is not confined to a tube or burrow; [often postpositive] (archaic or literary) traveling in search of adventure (See also knight errant)

inveterate

(adj.) [attributive] having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is long-established and unlikely to change; (of a feeling or habit) long-established and unlikely to change

inverse

(adj.) [attributive] opposite or contrary in position, direction, order, or effect; (chiefly Mathematics) produced from or related to something else by a process of inversion; (noun) [usually in singular] something that is the opposite or reverse of something else; (Mathematics) a reciprocal quantity, mathematical expression, geometric figure, etc., that is the result of inversion; (Mathematics) an element that, when combined with a given element in an operation, produces the identity element for that operation

particular

(adj.) [attributive] used to single out an individual member of a specified group or class; (Logic) denoting a proposition in which something is asserted of some but not all of a class (contrasted with universal); [attributive] especially great or intense; insisting that something should be correct or suitable in every detail (i.e. fastidious); (noun) (Philosophy) an individual item, as contrasted with a universal quality; a detail; (particulars) detailed information about someone or something

extraordinaire

(adj.) [postpositive] (informal) outstanding or remarkable in a particular capacity

manqué

(adj.) [postpositive] having failed to become what one might have been (i.e. unfulfilled; a term used in reference to a person who has failed to live up to a specific expectation or ambition) (it is usually used in combination with a profession: for example, a career civil servant with political prowess who nonetheless never attained political office might be described as a "politician manqué"; it can also be used relative to a specific role model; a second-rate method actor might be referred to as a "Marlon Brando manqué"; in French manqué is sometimes applied to someone who has failed to gain professional status - such as un médecin manqué (a failed doctor) - whereas, in English, it need not have that pejorative implication)

answerable

(adj.) [predic.] (answerable to) required to explain or justify one's actions to (i.e. responsible or having to report to); (answerable for) responsible for; (of a question) able to be answered

kaput

(adj.) [predic.] (informal) broken and useless (i.e. no longer working or effective)

well oiled

(adj.) [predic.] (informal) drunk; (esp. of an organization) operating smoothly

unforthcoming

(adj.) [predicative] (of a person) not willing to divulge information; (of something required) not ready or made available when wanted or needed

astir

(adj.) [predicative] in a state of excited movement; awake and out of bed

conscionable

(adj.) acting, or wishing to act, according to one's conscience (i.e. governed by a sense of what is right; scrupulous; just); of or relating to conscience or equity (now rare); legally valid (i.e. equitable or just; now also in weaker sense: justifiable or reasonable)

woke

(adj.) actively aware of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those related to civil and human rights

regular (1-2)

(adj.) arranged in or constituting a constant or definite pattern, esp. with the same space between individual instances; happening in such a pattern with the same time between individual instances (i.e. recurring at short uniform intervals); (of a structure or arrangement) arranged in or constituting a symmetrical or harmonious pattern; (of a person) defecating or menstruating at predictable times; done or happening frequently; (of a person) doing the same thing or going to the same place frequently or at uniform intervals

anachronistic

(adj.) belonging to a period other than that being portrayed; belonging or appropriate to an earlier period, especially so as to seem conspicuously old-fashioned

corrigible

(adj.) capable of being corrected, rectified, or reformed

fail-safe

(adj.) causing a piece of machinery or other mechanism to revert to a safe condition in the event of a breakdown or malfunction; unlikely or unable to fail; (noun) [usually in singular] a system or plan that comes into operation in the event of something going wrong or that is there to prevent such an occurrence

heart-rending

(adj.) causing great sadness or distress

multimodal

(adj.) characterized by several different modes of activity or occurrence; (Statistics) (of a frequency curve or distribution) having several modes or maxima; (Statistics) (of a property) occurring with multimodal distribution

merry

(adj.) cheerful and lively; (of an occasion or season) characterized by festivity and rejoicing; (British, informal) slightly and good-humoredly drunk

verklempt

(adj.) choked with emotion (i.e. extremely emotional; overcome with emotion; on the verge of tears)

multidisciplinary

(adj.) combining or involving several academic disciplines or professional specializations in an approach to a topic or problem

auspicious

(adj.) conducive to sucess (i.e. favorable); giving or being a sign of future success; (archaic) characterized by success (i.e. prosperous)

house-ridden

(adj.) confined to the house, esp. by illness

dutiful

(adj.) conscientiously or obediently fulfilling one's duty; motivated by duty rather than desire or enthusiasm

commensurate

(adj.) corresponding in size or degree (i.e. in proportion)

expansive

(adj.) covering a wide area in terms of space or scope (i.e. extensive or wide-ranging); (of a person or their manner) open, demonstrative, and communicative; tending toward economic or political expansion

broad-ranging

(adj.) covering an extensive range

gloomy

(adj.) dark or poorly lit, especially so as to appear depressing or frightening; feeling distressed or pessimistic; causing distress or depression

duplicitous

(adj.) deceitful; (Law) (of a charge or plea) containing more than one allegation

genderqueer

(adj.) denoting or relating to a person who does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of male and female genders; (noun) a person who does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of male and female genders

cisgender

(adj.) denoting or relating to a person whose self-identity conforms with the gender that corresponds to their biological sex

hypocoristic

(adj.) denoting, or of the nature of, a pet name or diminutive form of a name; (noun) a hypocoristic name or form

discordant

(adj.) disagreeing or incongruous; characterized by quarreling and conflict; (of sounds) harsh and jarring because of a lack of harmony [PHRASES strike a discordant note appear strange and out of place]

leaden

(adj.) dull, heavy, and slow; of the color of lead (i.e. dull gray); (archaic) made of lead

hubristic

(adj.) excessively proud or self-confident

garrulous

(adj.) excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters

multiform

(adj.) existing in many forms or kinds

contemporaneous

(adj.) existing or occurring at the same time

concurrent

(adj.) existing, happening, or done at the same time; (of two or more prison sentences) to be served at the same time; (Mathematics) (of three or more lines) meeting at or tending toward one point

unashamed

(adj.) expressed or acting openly and without guilt or embarrassment

tendentious

(adj.) expressing or intending to promote a particular cause or point of view, esp. a controversial one

doleful

(adj.) expressing sorrow (i.e. mournful); causing grief or misfortune

conversant

(adj.) familiar with and knowledgeable about something (i.e. familiar by use or study (usually followed by with))

intrepid

(adj.) fearless (i.e. adventurous) (often used for rhetorical or humorous effect)

penitent

(adj.) feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong (i.e. repentant); (noun) a person who repents their sins or wrongdoings and (in the Christian Church) seeks forgiveness from God; (in the Roman Catholic Church) a person who confesses their sins to a priest and submits to the penance that he imposes

perspicacious

(adj.) having a ready insight into and understanding of things

measured

(adj.) having a slow, regular rhythm; (of speech or writing) carefully considered (i.e. deliberate and restrained)

hardened

(adj.) having become or been made hard or harder; strengthened or made secure against attack, especially by nuclear weapons; [attrib.] experienced in a particular job or activity and therefore not easily upset by its more unpleasant aspects; utterly fixed in a habit or way of life seen as bad

epicene

(adj.) having characteristics of both sexes or no characteristics of either sex; of indeterminate sex; effeminate (i.e. effete)

multifaceted

(adj.) having many facets

multipolar

(adj.) having many poles or extremes; polarized in several ways or directions

prescient

(adj.) having or showing knowledge of events before they take place

multivalent

(adj.) having or susceptible to many applications, interpretations, meanings, or values; (Medicine) (of an antigen or antibody) having several sites at which attachment to an antibody or antigen can occur (Compare with polyvalent); (Chemistry) another term for polyvalent

multipartite

(adj.) having several or many parts or divisions; (Biology) (of a virus) existing as two or more separate but incomplete particles; another term for multiparty (of or involving several political parties)

emollient

(adj.) having the quality of softening or soothing the skin; attempting to avoid confrontation or anger (i.e. soothing or calming); (noun) a preparation that softens the skin

salubrious

(adj.) health-giving (i.e. healthy; favorable to or promoting health or well-being, especially as related to climate or air); (of a place) pleasant (i.e. not run-down)

laden

(adj.) heavily loaded or weighed down

multifactorial

(adj.) involving or dependent on a number of factors or causes

cross-party

(adj.) involving or relating to two or more political parties

haphazard

(adj.) lacking any obvious principle of organization

perennial

(adj.) lasting or existing for a long or apparently infinite time (i.e. enduring or continually recurring); (of a plant) living for several years; [attributive] (of a person) apparently permanently engaged in a specified role or way or life; (of a stream or spring) flowing throughout the year; (noun) a perennial plant

torpid

(adj.) mentally or physically inactive (i.e. lethargic; sluggish in functioning or acting); having lost motion or the power of exertion or feeling; (of an animal) exhibiting or characterized by torpor (i.e. dormant, especially during hibernation); lacking in energy or vigor (i.e. apathetic; dull)

unsparing

(adj.) merciless (i.e. severe); given freely and generously

diffident

(adj.) modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence

defunct

(adj.) no longer existing or functioning

incommensurable (1)

(adj.) not able to be judged by the same standard as something (i.e. having no common standard of measurement)

incommunicado

(adj.) not able, wanting, or allowed to communicate with other people

unapologetic

(adj.) not acknowledging or expressing regret

even-minded

(adj.) not easily ruffled, disturbed, prejudiced, etc. (i.e. calm, equable)

unabashed

(adj.) not embarrassed, disconcerted, or ashamed

impenitent

(adj.) not feeling shame or regret about one's actions or attitudes

indecorous

(adj.) not in keeping with good taste and propriety (i.e. improper)

inconclusive

(adj.) not leading to a firm conclusion (i.e. not ending doubt or dispute)

withdrawn

(adj.) not wanting to communicate with other people

long-form

(adj.) noting or relating to types of print or visual media content characterized by in-depth, lengthy narratives

garish

(adj.) obtrusively bright and showy (i.e. lurid)

coincident

(adj.) occurring together in time or space; in agreement or harmony

multidimensional

(adj.) of or involving several dimensions or aspects

bipartisan

(adj.) of or involving the agreement or cooperation of two political parties that usually oppose each other's policies

Pickwickian

(adj.) of or like Mr. Pickwick in Dickens's Pickwick Papers, especially in being jovial, plump, or generous; (of words or their senses) misunderstood or misused (i.e. not literally meant, esp. to avoid offense)

arboraceous

(adj.) of or pertaining to trees; abounding in trees (i.e. wooded)

sepulchral

(adj.) of or relating to a tomb or interment; gloomy (i.e. dismal)

sanguine

(adj.) optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation; (in medieval science and medicine) of or having the constitution associated with the predominance of blood among the bodily humors, supposedly marked by a ruddycomplexion and an optimistic disposition; (archaic) (of the complexion) florid or ruddy; (literary & Heraldry) blood-red; (archaic) bloody or bloodthirsty; (noun) a blood-red color; a deep red-brown crayon or pencil containing iron oxide; (Heraldry) a blood-red stain used in blazoning

egregious

(adj.) outstandingly bad (i.e. shocking); (archaic) remarkably good

androgynous

(adj.) partly male and partly female in appearance (i.e. of indeterminate sex); drawn to characteristics of both (U.S.-based) male and female genders (androgynous people tend to identify with and enact qualities socially ascribed both to women and to men); (dated) having the physical characteristics of both sexes (i.e. hermaphrodite)

attentive

(adj.) paying close attention to something; assiduously attending to the comfort or wishes of others; very polite or courteous

forthcoming

(adj.) planned for or about to happen in the near future; [predicative often with negative] (of something required) ready or made available when wanted or needed; (of a person) willing to divulge information

responsive (1a-b)

(adj.) reacting quickly and positively; responding readily and with interest or enthusiasm

docile

(adj.) ready to accept control or instruction (i.e. submissive)

communicative

(adj.) ready to talk or impart information; relating to the conveyance or exchange of information

syncretistic

(adj.) relating to a historical tendency for a language (such as English) to reduce its use of inflection; relating to the merging of two ideals, organizations or languages into one

gender-fluid

(adj.) relating to a person whose gender identity or gender expression is not fixed and shifts over time or depending on the situation

actuarial

(adj.) relating to actuaries or their work of compiling and analyzing statistics to calculate insurance risks and premiums

constitutional

(adj.) relating to an established set of principles governing a state; in accordance with or allowed by an established set of principles governing a state; relating to someone's physical or mental condition; (noun) (dated) a walk, typically one taken regularly to maintain or restore good health

arborical

(adj.) relating to or formed by trees

atmospheric

(adj.) relating to the atmosphere of the earth or (occasionally) another planet; creating a distinctive mood, typically of romance, mystery, or nostalgia

counterpuncher

(Boxing) a tactical, defensive fighter who relies on opponent mistakes in order to gain an attacking advantage to get score cards or the chance of a knockout; a person in a conflict who will not initiate anything but rather only counteract, frustrate, or thwart actions made by adversaries

oi (exclam.)

(Brit.) (informal) used to attract someone's attention, especially in a rough or angry way

run with the hare and hunt with the hounds

(Brit.) try to remain on good terms with both sides in a conflict or dispute

snog

(British informal) (verb) [with obj.] kiss and caress amorously; (noun) an act or spell of amorous kissing and caressing

labored

(British laboured) (adj.) done with great effort and difficulty; (esp. of humor or a performance) not spontaneous or fluent

binary

(adj.) relating to, using, or expressed in a system of numerical notation that has 2 rather than 10 as a base; relating to, composed of, or involving two things; (noun) the binary system (i.e. binary notation); something having two parts; a binary star

earthy

(adj.) resembling or suggestive of earth or soil; (of a person) direct and uninhibited (i.e. hearty); (of humor) somewhat coarse or crude

coincidental

(adj.) resulting from a coincidence (i.e. done or happening by chance); happening or existing at the same time)

bien pensant

(adj.) right-thinking (i.e. orthodox); (noun) (bien-pensant) a right-thinking or orthodox person (commonly implies willful blindness to dangers or suffering faced by others; the noun form bien-pensance is rarely seen in English)

crestfallen

(adj.) sad and disappointed

soi-disant

(adj.) self-styled (i.e. so-called, self-proclaimed) (describes a legal title that is only recognized by the declaring person and not any recognized legal authority - it can be the status of a noble title or the status of a nation; it is used informally for anyone declaring themselves to any informal title)

mawkish

(adj.) sentimental in a feeble or sickly way; (archaic or dialect) having a faint sickly flavor

symbolic

(adj.) serving as a symbol; significant purely in terms of what is being represented or implied; involving the use of symbols or symbolism

makeshift

(adj.) serving as a temporary substitute (i.e. sufficient for the time being); (noun) a temporary substitute or device

unrepentant

(adj.) showing no regret for one's wrongdoings

despairing

(adj.) showing the loss of all hope

retiring

(adj.) shy and fond of being on one's own

indisposed

(adj.) slightly unwell; averse (i.e. unwilling)

halting

(adj.) slow and hesitant, esp. through lack of confidence (i.e. faltering)

reserved

(adj.) slow to reveal emotion or opinions; kept specially for a particular purpose or person

sleepable

(adj.) suitable for sleeping; worthy of sleeping with (as opposed to un-sleepable)

lachrymose

(adj.) tearful or given to weeping; inducing tears (i.e. sad)

reductive

(adj.) tending to present a subject or problem in a simplified form, especially one viewed as crude; (with reference to art) minimal; relating to chemical reduction

unaccountable

(adj.) unable to be explained; (of a person or their behavior) unpredictable and strange; (of a person, organization, or institution) not required or expected to justify actions or decisions (i.e. not responsible for results or consequences)

distracted

(adj.) unable to concentrate because one's mind is preoccupied; rendered incapable of behaving, reacting, etc. in a normal manner, as by worry, remorse, or the like (i.e. irrational; disturbed)

maladroit

(adj.) unskillful (i.e. awkward; ineffective; bungling; lacking in adroitness)

outré

(adj.) unusual and startling (i.e. exceeding the lines of propriety; eccentric in behavior or appearance in an inappropriate way)

uncommunicative

(adj.) unwilling to talk or impart information; (of something such as writing or art) not conveying much or any meaning or sense

avant la lettre

(adj.) used to describe something or someone seen as a forerunner of something (such as an artistic or political movement) before that something was recognized and named, e.g., "a post-modernist avant la lettre," "a feminist avant la lettre" (the expression literally means before the letter, i.e., "before it had a name"; the French modern form of this expression is avant l'heure)

tenuous

(adj.) very weak or slight; very slender or fine (i.e. insubstantial)

disconsolate

(adj.) without consolation or comfort (i.e. unhappy); (of a place or thing) causing or showing a complete lack of comfort (i.e. cheerless)

comme ci, comme ça

(adv. & adj.) (in answer to a question) neither very good nor very bad (i.e. so-so)

ad hominem

(adv. & adj.) (of an argument or position) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining; relating to or associated with a particular person

en banc

(adv. or adj.) in full court (i.e. with full judiciary authority) (French for "in the bench," it signifies a decision by the full court of all the appeals judges in jurisdictions where there is more than one three- or four-judge panel (the larger number sit in judgment when the court feels there is a particularly significant issue at stake or when requested by one or both parties to the case and agreed to by the court)

sine die

(adv.) (with reference to business or proceedings that have been adjourned) with no appointed date for resumption (i.e. without fixing a day for future action or meeting)

apropos of nothing

(adv.) [sentence adv.] used to state a speaker's belief that someone's comments or acts are unrelated to any previous discussion or situation

arguendo

(adv.) a Latin legal term meaning "for the sake of argument" (this phrase and similar ones are used in courtroom settings and academic legal settings, and occasionally in other domains, to designate provisional and unendorsed assumptions that will be made at the beginning of an argument in order to explore their implications; assuming arguendo allows an attorney to examine the conclusions of premises without admitting that these premises—often the asserted facts of the opposing party—could be true)

en bloc

(adv.) all together or all at the same time

en passant

(adv.) by the way (i.e. incidentally); (Chess) by the en passant rule [PHRASES en passant rule (or law) (Chess) the rule that a pawn making a first move of two squares instead of one may nevertheless be immediately captured by an opposing pawn on the fifth rank]

en route

(adv.) during the course of a journey (i.e. on the way)

faute de mieux

(adv.) for want of a better alternative

to and fro

(adv.) in a constant movement backward and forward or from side to side; (verb) [no obj.] (be toing and froing) move constantly backward and forward; repeatedly discuss or think about something without making any progress; (noun) [in singular] constant movement backward and forward; constant change in action, attitude, or focus

haphazardly

(adv.) in a manner lacking any obvious principle of organization

summarily

(adv.) in a summary manner (i.e. without the customary formalities)

inversely

(adv.) in the opposite manner, position, or order; in an inverted manner (i.e. upside down)

bien entendu

(adv.) well understood; naturally (i.e. of course; obviously)

posthaste

(adv.) with great speed or immediacy

vice versa

(adv.) with the main items in the preceding statement the other way around

readily

(adv.) without hesitation or reluctance (i.e. willingly); without delay or difficulty (i.e. easily)

tout de suite

(adverb) immediately (i.e. at once)

pain aux raisins

(also (Aus.) snail bread) (noun) a breakfast food often eaten in France that is directly translated to raisin bread; (pain aux raisins is a member of the pâtisserie viennoise family of baked foods; in France, it is typically a variant of the croissant or pain au chocolat, made with a leavened butter pastry with raisins added and shaped in a spiral with a crème pâtissière filling; however, in many areas of Northern Europe and North America, it is generally made with sweetened bread dough or brioche dough, rather than pastry; it is often consumed for breakfast as a part of a Continental breakfast)

divi-divi

(also cascalote, guaracabuya, cutapana, nacascol, Aruba watapana) (noun) a tropical American tree of the pea family, bearing curled pods [Caesalpinia coriaria, family Leguminosae.] (i.e. a leguminous tree or large shrub native to the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America) (C. coriaria rarely reaches its maximum height of 9 m (30 ft) because its growth is contorted by the trade winds that batter the exposed coastal sites where it often grows; in other environments it grows into a low dome shape with a clear sub canopy space; it is the national tree of Curaçao, and also very common and popular on Aruba); the pods of the divi-divi tree, used as a source of tannin

café bombón

(also cortado condensada, café con leche condensada) espresso with condensed milk

esprit de l'escalier

(also escalator wit) (noun) used to refer to the fact that a witty remark or retort often comes to mind after the opportunity to make it has passed (expression coined by French philosopher Denis Diderot; very rarely used in French)

multiplier (1b)

(also factor) (noun) a quantity by which a given number (the multiplicand) is to be multiplied

throw a spanner in the works

(also put/throw a (monkey) wrench in the works (American)) (Brit. & Aust.) (phrasal verb) to do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding

slumberous

(also slumbrous) sleepy (i.e. heavy with drowsiness, as the eyelids); causing or inducing sleep; pertaining to, characterized by, or suggestive of slumber; inactive or sluggish (i.e. calm or quiet)

Cornelian dilemma

(also spelt "Corneillian") a dilemma in which someone is obliged to choose one option from a range of options all of which will have a detrimental effect on themselves or on someone near them (in classical drama, it will typically involve the character experiencing an inner conflict, forcing them to choose between love and honour or inclination and duty)

sum (noun 2)

(also total) (the sum of) the total amount resulting from the addition of two or more numbers, amounts, or items; the total amount of something that exists

vicious circle

(also vicious cycle) (noun) a sequence of reciprocal cause and effect in which two or more elements intensify and aggravate each other, leading inexorably to a worsening of the situation; (Logic) a definition of statement that begs the question

camas

(also {Indian / wild} hyacinth) (noun) a North American plant of the lily family, cultivated for its starry blue or purple flowers [Genera Camassia and Zigadenus, family Liliaceae: several species, including C. quamash, the large bulbs of which are edible]

cabinet (noun 3)

(archaic) a small private room (a private room in the houses and palaces of early modern Europe serving as a study or retreat, usually for a man; the cabinet would be furnished with books and works of art, and sited adjacent to his bedchamber, the equivalent of the Italian Renaissance studiolo; in the Late Medieval period, such newly perceived requirements for privacy had been served by the solar of the English gentry house, and - less secuarly - a private oratory; such a room might be used as a study or office, or just a sitting room; heating the main rooms in large palaces or mansions in the winter was difficult, and small rooms were more comfortable; they also offered more privacy from servants, other household members, and visitors; typically such a room would be for the use of a single individual, so that a house might have at least two (his and hers) and often more)

cultural cringe

(chiefly Austral. / N.Z.) the view that one's own national culture is inferior to the cultures of other countries (i.e. the belief that one's own culture is backwards and unsophisticated compared to other cultures

fortnightly

(chiefly Brit.) (adj.) happening or produced every two weeks; (adv.) every two weeks; (noun) a magazine or similar publication issued every two weeks

schmooze

(chiefly N. Amer.) (verb) [no obj.] talk intimately and cozily (i.e. gossip); [with obj.] talk in a cozy or intimate manner to (someone), typically in order to manipulate, flatter, or impress them; (noun) a long and intimate conversation

deportment

(chiefly North American) a person's behavior or manners

will2 (verb 1)

(chiefly formal, literary) intend, desire, or wish (something) to happen; [with obj. and infinitive) make or try to make (someone) do something or (something) happen by the exercise of mental powers

adieu

(chiefly literary) (exclam.) another term for goodbye; (noun) (it carries more weight than au revoir ("goodbye," literally "until re-seeing"); it is definitive, implying you will never see the other person again; depending on the context, misuse of this term can be considered as an insult, as one may wish for the other person's death or say that you do not wish to see the other person ever again while alive; it is used for au revoir in the south of France and to denote a deprivation from someone or something)

lest

(conj.] (formal) with the intention or preventing (something undesirable) (i.e. to avoid the risk of); (after a clause indicating fear) because of the possibility of something undesirable happening (i.e. in case)

emakimono

(emaki-mono, lit. 'picture scroll') a horizontal, illustrated narrative form created during the 11th to 16th centuries in Japan (emaki-mono combines both text and pictures, and is drawn, painted, or stamped on a handscroll; they depict battles, romance, religion, folk tales, and stories of the supernatural world)

je ne regrette rien

(exclam.) "I regret nothing" (from the title of a popular song sung by Édith Piaf: Non, je ne regrette rien); also the phrase the UK's then Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont chose to use to describe his feelings over the events of September 16, 1992 ('Black Wednesday'))

Allons-y!

(exclam.) "Let's go!"

zut alors!

(exclam.) "darn it!" or the British expression "blimey!" (this is a general exclamation; vulgar equivalent is merde alors! 'damn it!'; just plain zut is also in use, often repeated for effect: zut, zut et zut!)

cherchez la femme

(exclam.) "look for / seek the woman," in the sense that, when a man behaves out of character or in an otherwise apparently inexplicable manner, the reason may be found in his trying to cover up an illicit affair with a woman, or to impress or gain favour with a woman (this expression was first used in a novel by Alexandre Dumas (père), in the third chapter of Les Mohicans de Paris (1854), in the form of 'cherchons la femme' (let's look for the woman); the phrase was adopted into everyday English use and crossed the Atlantic by 1909; the phrase embodies a cliché of detective pulp fiction: no matter what the problem, a woman is often the root cause; the phrase has come to refer to explanations that automatically find the same root cause, no matter the specifics of the problem)

blimey

(exclam.) (Brit.) (informal) used to epxress one's surprise, excitement, or alarm

en garde

(exclam.) (Fencing) a direction to be ready to fence, taking the opening position for action (sometimes mistranscribed as "on guard")

shalom aleikhem

(exclam.) (Hebrew: shālôm ʻalêḵem; Yiddish sholem aleykhem) a greeting (or farewell) in Hebrew meaning "peace be upon you" (the appropriate response is aleikhem shalom, 'upon you be peace'; this form of greeting is traditional among Jews throughout the world; the greeting is more common amongst Ashkenazi Jews; only the plural form is used even when addressing one person - a religious explanation for this is that one greets both the body and the soul, but Hebrew does occasionally use the plural as a sign of respect)

vive la différence

(exclam.) (chiefly humorous) an expression of approval of difference, especially that between the sexes (the phrase may be also used to celebrate the difference between any two groups of people (or simply the general diversity of individuals))

the hell

(exclam.) (informal) expressing anger, contempt, or disbelief

my foot!

(exclam.) (informal) said to express strong contradiction

sayonara

(exclam.) (informal, chiefly US) goodbye

caramba

(exclam.) (informal, often humorous) an expression of surprise or dismay

get out of here!

(exclam.) (used other than as an idiom) command for someone to leave immediately; (idiomatic, informal) an exclamation of disbelief

mazel tov

(exclam.) a Jewish phrase expressing congratulations or wishing someone good luck

prosit

(exclam.) an expression used as a toast when drinking to a person's health

Mayday

(exclam.) an international radio distress signal used by ships and aircraft; (noun) a distress signal using the word "Mayday"

au revoir

(exclam.) good-bye until we meet again

après moi, le déluge

(exclam.) lit. 'after me, the deluge' (a remark attributed to Louis XV of France in reference to the impending end of a functioning French monarchy and predicting the French Revolution; it is derived from Madame de Pompadour's après nous, le déluge 'after us, the deluge'; the Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, famously known as the "Dambusters", uses this as its motto)

adultescent

(noun) (informal) a middle-aged person whose clothes, interests, and activities are typically associated with youth culture (i.e. an adult who continues to participate in and enjoy youth culture); (adj.) aimed at or suitable for adultescents

might-have-been

(noun) (informal) a past possibility that no longer applies

shemozzle

(noun) (informal) a state of chaos and confusion (i.e. a muddle); a quarrel or brawl (this word is commonly used in Ireland to describe confused situations during the Irish sport of hurling, e.g. 'There was a shemozzle near the goalmouth')

boomerang kid

(noun) (informal) a young adult who goes back to live with a parent after a period of independence (i.e. a young adult who, after having lived on his or her own for a time, returns to live in the parental home, usually due to financial problems caused by unemployment or the high cost of living independently)

whippersnapper

(noun) (informal) a young and inexperienced person considered to be presumptuous or overconfident

slacktivism

(noun) (informal) actions performed via the Internet in support of a political or social cause but regarded as requiring little time or involvement, e.g., signing an online petition or joining a campaign group on a social media website

cakewalk

(noun) (informal) an absurdly or surprisingly easy task; (historical) a dancing contest among African Americans in which a cake was awarded as a prize; a strutting dance popularized by minstrel shows in the late 19th century; (verb) [no obj.] (informal) achieve or win something easily; walk or dance in the manner of a cakewalk

pepper-upper

(noun) (informal) something, as a food, beverage, or pill, that provides a quick but temporary period of energy and alertness; something added to food to relieve blandness; an experience that increases enthusiasm or zeal, as a pep talk

klutz

(noun) (informal, chiefly N. Amer.) a clumsy, awkward, or foolish person

greenhorn

(noun) (informal, chiefly N. Amer.) a person who is new to or inexperienced at a particular activity

brownie point

(noun) (informal, humorous) an imaginary award given to someone who does good deeds or tries to please

egghead

(noun) (informal, often derogatory) a person who is highly academic or studious (i.e. an intellectual)

wayfarer

(noun) (literary) a person who travels on foot

dayspring

(noun) (literary) dawn

perfidy

(noun) (literary) deceitfulness (i.e. untrustworthiness)

susurrus

(noun) (literary) whispering, murmuring, or rustling

kaizen

(noun) (noun) a Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, etc. (when used in the business sense and applied to the workplace, kaizen refers to activities that continually improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers; it also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics, that cross organizational boundaries into the supply chain; it has been applied in healthcare, psychotherapy, life-coaching, government, banking, and other industries; by improving standardized activities and processes, kaizen aims to eliminate waste (see lean manufacturing); kaizen was first implemented in several Japanese businesses after the Second World War, influenced in part by American business and quality management teachers who visited the country - it has since spread throughout the world and is now being implemented in environments outside of business and productivity)

drink hail

(noun) (obsolete) an early English bidding to drink to good health or good luck made in reply to a pledge of wassail

va-et-vient

(noun) (of moving parts) to and fro movement; (of people or vehicles) comings and goings (i.e. toing and froing); (Electronics) two-way switch

shiksa

(noun) (often derogatory) (used esp. by Jews) a (young) gentile (that is, non-Jewish) girl or woman (writer Menachem Kaiser argues in his essay "Anti-non-Semitism: An Investigation of the Shiksa" that "the pejorative connotation of 'shiksa' is fuzzy at best" because "'shiksa' today is used as often as not in winking self-reference")

codger

(noun) (often derogatory) an elderly man, esp. one who is old-fashioned or eccentric

inro

(noun) (pl .same or inros) an ornamental box with compartments for items such as seals and medicines, worn suspended from a waist sash as part of traditional Japanese dress

torii

(noun) (pl .same) the gateway of a Shinto shrine, with two uprights and two crosspieces

interregnum

(noun) (pl. interregnums or interregna) a period when normal government is suspended, especially between successive reigns or regimes; an interval or pause

phalanx

(noun) (pl. phalanxes) a body of troops or police officers standing or moving in close formation; a group of people or things of a similar type forming a compact body; (in ancient Greece) a body of Macedonian infantry with long spears, drawn up in close order with shields overlapping; (pl. phalanges) (Anatomy) a bone of the finger of toe

khaki

(noun) (plural khakis) a textile fabric of a dull brownish-yellow color, in particular a strong cotton (or wool) fabric used in military clothing; a dull brownish-yellow color; (khakis) clothing, especially pants, made of khaki

koi

(noun) (plural same) a common carp of a large ornamental variety, originally bred in Japan (i.e. a group of fish that are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp (Cyprinus carpio) that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens; koi include both the dull grey fish and the brightly colored varieties; in Japanese, koi is a homophone for another word that means "affection" or "love" - koi are therefore symbols of love and friendship in Japan)

tabi

(noun) (plural same) a thick-soled Japanese ankle sock with a separate section for the big toe (i.e. ankle-high, divided-toe socks usually worn with zōri or geta; there also exist sturdier, boot-like jikatabi, which are used for example in fieldwork)

mesolect

(noun) (relative to the acrolect and the basilect) an intermediate dialect or variety of a particular language (used especially in the study of Creoles)

operationalization

(noun) (research design) a process of defining the measurement of a phenomenon that is not directly measurable, though its existence is indicated by other phenomena (it is thus the process of defining a fuzzy concept so as to make it clearly distinguishable, measurable, and understandable in terms of empirical observations; in a wider sense, it refers to the process of specifying the extension of a concept—describing what is and is not an instance of that concept; for example, in medicine, the phenomenon of health might be operationalized by one or more indicators like body mass index or tobacco smoking; two main reasons for which some phenomena are difficult to directly observe and measure are that they are general/abstract or they are latent - in these cases operationalization leads to infer the existence and (some elements of) the extension of the phenomena of interest by means of some observable and measurable effects they have; sometimes, when multiple or competing alternative operationalizations for the same phenomenon are available, one can repeat the analysis with all of the operationalizations one after the other, to see if the results are impacted by different operationalizations)

haute monde

(noun) (the haut monde) fashionable society (i.e. high society)

order of the day

(noun) (the order of the day) the prevailing state of things; something that is required or recommended; a program or agenda

Yinglish

(noun) a dialect of English spoken especially by Jewish immigrants to New York, and heavily influenced by Yiddish constructions and loan words (i.e. English characterized by a large number of Yiddish words and expressions)

Epicurean

(noun) a disciple or student of the Greek philosopher Epicurus; (epicurean) a person devoted to sensual enjoyment, esp. that derived from fine food and drink; (adj.) of or concerning Epicurus or his ideas; (epicurean) relating to or suitable for an epicure

plat du jour

(noun) a dish specially prepared by a restaurant on a particular day, in addition to the usual menu

obligingness

(noun) a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others (i.e. cheerful readiness to do something; the quality of being obliging; the tendency to cater for the desires of others)

zorro

(noun) a doglike fox found in the forests and savannah of South America [Genus Dusicyon, family Canidae: two species, in particular the crab-eating fox (D. thous)]

wigwam

(noun) a dome-shaped hut or tent made by fastening mats, skins, or bark over a framework of poles, used by some North American Indian peoples

digestif

(noun) a drink or portion of food drunk or eaten in order to aid the digestion (i.e. a digestive aid, esp. an after-dinner drink, as brandy)

rapture

(noun) a feeling of intense pleasure or joy; (raptures) expressions of intense pleasure or enthusiasm about something; (the Rapture) (North Amer.) (according to some millenarian teaching) the transporting of believers to heaven at the Second Coming of Christ; (verb) [with obj.] (usually be raptured) (North Amer.) (according to some millenarian teaching) transport (a believer) from earth to heaven at the Second Coming of Christ

ennui

(noun) a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement (i.e. a gripping listlessness or melancholia caused by boredom)

Weltschmerz

(noun) a feeling of melancholy and world-weariness ("it describes a world weariness felt from a perceived mismatch between the ideal image of how the world should be with how it really is")

melancholy

(noun) a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause; another term for melancholia (|ˌmɛlənˈkoʊliə, ˌmɛlənˈkɑliə|; a mental condition marked by persistent depression and ill-founded fears); (historical) another term for black bile ((in medieval science and medicine) one of the four bodily humors, believed to be associated with a melancholy temperament); (adj.) having a feeling of melancholy (i.e. sad and pensive); causing or expressing sadness (i.e. depressing)

hedge

(noun) a fence or boundary formed by closely growing bushes or shrubs; a contract entered into or asset held as a protection against possible financial loss; a word or phrase used to allow for additional possibilities or to avoid commitment, for example, etc., often, usually, or sometimes; (verb) surround or bound with a hedge; (hedge something in) enclose something; limit or qualify (something) by conditions or exceptions; [no obj.] avoid making a definite decision, statement, or commitment; protect oneself against loss on (a bet or investment) by making balancing or compensating transactions [PHRASES hedge one's bets avoid committing oneself when faced with a difficult choice]

gadfly

(noun) a fly that bites livestock, especially a horsefly, warble fly, or botfly; an annoying person, esp. one who provokes others into action by criticism; a person who upsets the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions (the term was used by Plato in the Apology to describe Socrates's relationship of uncomfortable goad to the Athenian public scene, which he compared to a slow and dimwitted horse (during his defense when on trial for his life, he, according to Plato's writings, pointed out that dissent, like the gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high); in modern politics, a gadfly is someone who persistently challenges people in positions of power, the status quo or a popular position; the word may be uttered in a pejorative sense, while at the same time be accepted as a description of honorable work or civic duty)

Alltagsgeschichte

(noun) a form of microhistory that was particularly prevalent amongst German historians during the 1980s (it was founded by historians Alf Luedtke and Hans Medick; the name comes from German, where Alltag means "everyday life" - it can thus be roughly translated as "everyday history"; in this sense, Alltagsgeschichte can be considered part of the wider Marxian historical school of 'history from below'; the purpose of Alltagsgeschichte is to find and prove the links between the down-to-earth, everyday, basic experiences of ordinary people in a society, and the broad social and political changes which occur in that society - because this is such a massively broad endeavour to undertake, it can only feasibly be practised on the most minute of scales; thus Alltagsgeschichte becomes a form of microhistory)

Volksmarch

(noun) a form of non-competitive fitness walking that developed in Europe (participants typically walk 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) or 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) on a pre-determined outdoor path or trail and in either a urban, rural or wilderness environment; there are thousands of Volkssport Clubs around the world, allied in the International Volkssport Federation, the IVV; walking is the most popular of all the volkssporting activities, which can also include bicycling, swimming, boating (canoeing, kaying or rowboating), and cross-country skiing or snowshoeing—depending on local terrain, weather and availability of these types of events; historic and scenic sites are selected for their enjoyment; trails are carefully laid out and marked, easy to follow directions or maps are provided, and trails are rated based upon the challenge the route incline and terrain present, from 1A (easiest) to 5E (hardest); volksmarching associations offer tiered incentive awards (usually pins and patches) for participating in a certain number of events, or covering increasing distances; in the volkssporting tradition, you frequently find Volkssporters gathered at the Finish Point where they take time to enjoy friends, and at some events, entertainment or refreshments

poncho

(noun) a garment of a type originally worn in South America, made of a thick piece of woolen cloth with a slit in the middle for the head; a waterproof garment in the style of a poncho worn as a raincoat

savanna

(noun) a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees (a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close - the open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses)

cordon sanitaire

(noun) a guarded line preventing anyone from leaving an area infected by a disease and thus spreading it; a measure designed to prevent communication or the spread of undesirable influences (i.e. a policy of containment directed against a hostile entity or ideology); a series or chain of small neutral buffer states around a larger, potentially dangerous or hostile state

paramo

(noun) a high, treeless plateau in tropical South America

dog whistle

(noun) a high-pitched whistle used to train dogs, typically having a soundinaudible to humans; [usually as modifier] a subtly aimed political message which is intended for, and can only be understood by, a particular group

mole6

(noun) a highly spiced Mexican sauce made chiefly from chili peppers and chocolate, served with meat

nagajuban

(noun) a kimono-shaped robe worn by both men and women beneath the main outer garment (since silk kimono are delicate and difficult to clean, the nagajuban helps to keep the outer kimono clean by preventing contact with the wearer's skin; only the collar edge of the nagajuban shows from beneath the outer kimono; many nagajuban have removable collars, to allow them to be changed to match the outer garment, and to be easily washed without washing the entire garment; while the most formal type of nagajuban are white, they are often as beautifully ornate and patterned as the outer kimono; since men's kimono are usually fairly subdued in pattern and color, the nagajuban allows for discreetly wearing very striking designs and colors)

bento

(noun) a lacquered or decorated wooden Japanese lunchbox; a Japanese-style packed lunch, consisting of such items as rice, vegetables, and sashimi (raw fish with condiments)

Yiddish

(noun) a language used by Jews in central and eastern Europe before the Holocaust (it was originally a German dialect with words from Hebrew and several modern languages and is today spoken mainly in the US, Israel, and Russia); (adj.) relating to Yiddish

magum opus

(noun) a large and important work of art, music, or literature, especially one regarded as the most important work of an artist or writer

tegu

(noun) a large stocky lizard that has dark skin with pale bands of small spots, native to the tropical forests of South America [Genus Tupinambis, family Teiidae: several species, in particular the common tegu (T. teguixin)]

café culture

(noun) a lifestyle characterized by regular social visits to cafes or coffeehouses, typically that associated with European countries such as France or Italy

yukata

(noun) a light cotton kimono (i.e. an unlined kimono-like garment for summer use, usually made of cotton, linen, or hemp; yukata are strictly informal, most often worn to outdoor festivals, by men and women of all ages; they are also worn at onsen (hot spring) resorts, where they are often provided for the guests in the resort's own pattern)

trek

(noun) a long arduous journey, especially one made on foot; a tourist hike; (verb) [no obj.] go on a long arduous journey, typically on foot; (historical, chiefly South African) migrate or journey with one's belongings by ox-wagon; (South African) (of an ox) draw a vehicle or pull a load; (South African) travel constantly from place to place (i.e. lead a nomadic life)

kimono

(noun) a long, loose robe with wide sleeves and tied with a sash, originally worn as a formal garment in Japan and now also used elsewhere as a robe

alpaca

(noun) a long-haired domesticated South American mammal related to the llama, valued for its wool [Lama pacos, family Camelidae, probably descended from the wild guanaco]; the wool of the alpaca; fabric made from the wool of the alpaca, with or without other fibers

bungalow

(noun) a low house, with a broad front porch, having either no upper floor or upper rooms set in the roof, typically with dormer windows

flâneur

(noun) a man who saunters around observing society (i.e. a "gentleman stroller of city streets"); an (aimless) idler or lounger (the flâneur was, first of all, a literary type from 19th century France, essential to any picture of the streets of Paris; the word carried a set of rich associations: the man of leisure, the idler, the urban explorer, the connoisseur of the street; Larousse's Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle (1872) described the flâneur in ambivalent terms, equal parts curiosity and laziness and presented a taxonomy of flânerie—flâneurs of the boulevards, of parks, of the arcades, of cafés, mindless flâneurs and intelligent flâneurs; Walter Benjamin described the flâneur as the essential figure of the modern urban spectator, an amateur detective and investigator of the city, a sign of the alienation of the city and of capitalism; the flâneur was often juxtaposed to the figure of the baduad, the gawker or gaper; a stance of the flâneur as having a double role, simultaneously part of and apart from (the city), combines sociological, anthropological, literary and historical notions of the relationship between the individual and the greater populace); the flâneur concept can include a "complete philosophical way of living and thinking" and process of navigating erudition)

audit

(noun) an official inspection of an individual's or organization's accounts, typically by an independent body; a systematic review or assessment of something; (verb) [with obj.] conduct an official financial examination of (an individual's or organization's accounts); conduct a systematic review of; (N. Amer.) attend (a class) informally, not for academic credit

juncture

(noun) a particular point in events or time; a place where things join; (Phonetics) the set of features in speech that enable a hearer to detect a word or phrase boundary, e.g. distinguishing I scream from ice cream

pemmican

(noun) a paste of dried and pounded meat mixed with melted fat and other ingredients, originally made by North American Indians and later adapted by Arctic explorers (i.e. a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food) (it was widely adopted as a high-energy food by Europeans involved in the fur trade and later by Arctic and Antarctic explorers, such as Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen; the specific ingredients used were usually whatever was available: the meat was often bison, moose, elk, or deer, and fruits such as cranberries and saskatoon berries were sometimes added; cherries, currants, chokeberries and blueberries were also used, but almost exclusively in ceremonial and wedding pemmican)

patio

(noun) a paved outdoor area adjoining a house; a roofless inner courtyard in a Spanish or Spanish-American house

attendant

(noun) a person employed to provide a service to the public in a particular place; an assistant to an important person (i.e. a servant or courtier); a person who is present at an event, meeting, or function; (adj.) occurring with or as a result of (i.e. accompanying); (of a person or animal) accompanying another as a companion or assistant

beginner

(noun) a person just starting to learn a skill or take part in an activity (a general and informal term, used to describe someone who has begun to acquire the necessary skills but has not yet mastered them) [PHRASES beginner's luck good luck supposedly experienced by a beginner at a particular activity]

novice (1a)

(noun) a person new to or inexperienced in a field or situation (implies that a person lacks training and experience)

harbinger

(noun) a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another; a forerunner of something

bogey2

(noun) a person or thing that causes fear or alarm; an evil or mischievous spirit; (U.S.) (military slang) an enemy aircraft

trainee

(noun) a person undergoing training for a particular job or profession

formalist

(noun) a person who adheres excessively to prescribed forms; a follower or advocate of the basing of ethics on the form of the moral law without regard to intention or consequences; an artist who is excessively concerned with form, technique, or symbolism rather than content; an advocate of the treatment of mathematics as a manipulation of meaningless symbols; (adj.) relating to or supporting principles of formalism

renegade

(noun) a person who deserts and betrays an organization, country, or set of principles; a person who behaves in a rebelliously unconventional manner; (archaic) a person who abandons religion (i.e. an apostate); (adj.)

bon vivant

(noun) a person who enjoys a sociable and luxurious lifestyle (i.e. a person who enjoyes the good things of life; the phrase is not derogatory but conveys a sense of overindulgence and may be pretentious

experient

(noun) a person who experiences something; (adj.) met with in the course of experience; having experience (i.e. having knowledge or skill from observation or participation)

bungler

(noun) a person who habitually bungles things (i.e. an amateur)

pedant

(noun) a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning

protége

(noun) a person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person

philistine

(noun) a person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them

probationer

(noun) a person who is serving a probationary or trial period in a job or position to which they are newly appointed (i.e. a beginner who is undergoing a trial period, during which they must prove an aptitude for a certain type of work or life); an offender on probation

student

(noun) a person who is studying at a school or college; [as modifier] denoting someone who is studying in order to enter a particular profession; a person who takes an interest in a particular subject

aficionado

(noun) a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about an activity, subject, or pastime

enfant terrible

(noun) a person whose unconventional or controversial behavior or ideas shock, embarrass, or annoy others (i.e. a disruptively unconventional person)

mettle

(noun) a person's ability to cope well with difficulties or to face a demanding situation in a spirited and resilient way

fester

(verb) [no obj.] (of a wound or sore) become septic (i.e. suppurate); (of food or garbage) become rotten and offensive to the senses; (of a negative feeling or a problem) become worse or more intense, especially through long-term neglect or indifference; (of a person) undergo physical and mental deterioration in isolated inactivity

condone

(verb) [with obj.] accept and allow (behavior that is considered morally wrong or offensive) to continue; approve or sanction (something), especially with reluctance

designate

(verb) [with obj.] appoint (someone) to a specified position; officially assign a specified status or ascribe a specified name or quality to; signify (i.e. indicate); (adj.) [postpositive] appointed to an office or position but not yet installed

portend

(verb) [with obj.] be a sign or warning that (something, especially something momentous or calamitous) is likely to happen

foreshadow

(verb) [with obj.] be a warning or indication of (a future event)

saturate

(verb) [with obj.] cause (something) to become thoroughly soaked with liquid so that no more can be absorbed; cause (a substance) to combine with, dissolve, or hold the greatest possible quantity of another substance; magnetize or charge (a substance or device) fully; (Electronics) put (a device) into a state in which no further increase in current is achievable; (usually be saturated with) fill (something or someone) with something until no more can be held or absorbed; supply (a market) beyond the point at which the demand for a product is satisfied; overwhelm (an enemy target area) by concentrated bombing

collate

(verb) [with obj.] collect and combine (texts, information, or sets of figures) in proper order; compare and analyze (texts or other data); (Printing) verify the order of (sheets of a book) by their signatures; appoint (a clergyman) to a benefice

undermine

(verb) [with obj.] erode the base or foundation of (a rock formation); dig or excavate beneath (a building or fortification) so as to make it collapse; damage or weaken (someone or something), especially gradually or insidiously

elicit

(verb) [with obj.] evoke or draw out (a response, answer, or fact) from someone in reaction to one's own actions or questions; (archaic) draw forth (something that is latent or potential) into existence

glean

(verb) [with obj.] extract (information) from various sources; collect gradually and bit by bit; (historical) gather (leftover grain or other produce) after a harvest

infuse

(verb) [with obj.] fill (i.e. pervade); instill (a quality) in someone or something; soak (tea, herbs, etc.) in liquid to extract the flavor or healing properties; [no obj.] (of tea, herbs, etc.) be soaked in liquid; (Medicine) allow (a liquid) to flow into a patient, vein, etc.

circumvent

(verb) [with obj.] find a way around (an obstacle); overcome (a problem or difficulty), typically in a clever and surreptitious way; (archaic) deceive (i.e. outwit)

suppress

(verb) [with obj.] forcibly put an end to; prevent the development, action, or expression of (a feeling, impulse, idea, etc.); prevent the dissemination of (information); prevent or inhibit (a process or reaction); partly or wholly eliminate (electrical interference); (Psychoanalysis) consciously inhibit (an unpleasant idea or memory) to avoid considering it

imagine

(verb) [with obj.] form a mental concept or image of; (of as adj. imagined) believe (something unreal or untrue) to exist or be so; [with clause] suppose or assume; [as exclamation] just suppose

retrace

(verb) [with obj.] go back over (the same route that one has just taken); discover and follow (a route or course taken by someone else); trace (something) back to its source or beginning

suspect (verb)

(verb) [with obj.] have an idea or impression of the existence, presence, or truth of (something) without certain proof; believe or feel that (someone) is guilty of an illegal, dishonest, or unpleasant act, without certain proof; doubt the genuineness or truth of

mimic (verb 1, noun 1)

(verb) [with obj.] imitate (someone or their actions or words), typically in order to entertain or ridicule; (noun) a person skilled in imitating the voice, mannerisms, or movements of others in an entertaining way

elucubrate

(verb) [with obj.] to produce (esp. literary work) by long and intensive effort (i.e. to solve, write, or compose by working studiously at night)

decathect

(verb) [with obj.] to withdraw one's feelings of attachment from (a person, idea, or object), as in anticipation of a future loss

retract

(verb) draw or be drawn back or back in; [with obj.] withdraw (a statement or accusation) as untrue or unjustified; [with obj.] withdraw or go back on (an undertaking or promise)

enlist

(verb) enroll or be enrolled in the armed services; [with obj.]; engage (a person or their help or support)

itemize

(verb) present as a list of individual items; break down (a whole) into its constituent parts; specify (an individual item or items)

misgender

(verb) to refer to or address (a person, especially one who is transgender) with a pronoun, noun, or adjective that inaccurately represents the person's gender or gender identity

manspread

(verb) to sit with one's legs far apart, taking up too much space on a seat shared with other people (i.e. the practice whereby a man, especially one traveling on public transportation, adopts a sitting position with his legs wide apart, in such a way as to encroach on an adjacent seat or seats)

shtup

(vulgar) (slang) (verb) [with obj.] have sexual intercourse with (someone) (i.e. screw (someone)); to push; (noun) an act of sexual intercourse

pogonip

(western U.S.) another term for freezing fog, which occurs when liquid fog droplets freeze to surfaces, forming white soft or hard rime (this is very common on mountain tops which are exposed to low clouds; it is equivalent to freezing rain, and essentially the same as the ice that forms inside a freezer which is not of the "frostless" or "frost-free" type; the term "freezing fog" may also refer to fog where water vapor is super-cooled, filling the air with small ice crystals similar to very light snow; it seems to make the fog "tangible", as if one could "grab a handful"; it occurs commonly during cold winter spells, usually in deep mountain valleys; in The Old Farmer's Almanac, in the calendar for December, the phrase "Beware the Pogonip" regularly appears; the phenomenon is also extremely common in the inland areas of the Pacific Northwest, with temperatures in the 10 to 30 °F (−12 to −1 °C) range; the Columbia Plateau experiences this phenomenon most years due to temperature inversions, sometimes lasting for as long as three weeks - the fog typically begins forming around the area of the Columbia River and expands, sometimes to as far as almost 150 miles away

raita

(noun) an Indian side dish of yogurt containing chopped cucumber or other vegetables, and spices (i.e. yogurt based dish, to which some add sliced/chopped/diced, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, pineapples, pomegranate or other salads as well as coriander, cumin, mint, cayenne pepper, and other herbs and spices to complement rice or roti meals)

radio silence

(noun) an absence of or abstention from radio transmission; a period during which one hears nothing from a normally communicative person or group

abdication

(noun) an act of abdicating or renouncing the throne; failure to fulfill a responsibility or duty

volte-face

(noun) an act of turning around so as to face in the opposite direction; an abrupt and complete reversal of attitude, opinion, or position

prelude

(noun) an action or event serving as an introduction to something more important; an introductory piece of music, most commonly an orchestral opening to an act of an opera, the first movement of a suite, or a piece preceding a figure; a short introductory piece of music, esp. for the piano; the introductory part of a poem or other literary work; (verb) [with obj.] serve as a prelude or introduction to

rejuvenile

(noun) an adult who enjoys the activities and items normally associated with children; (adj.) aimed at or suitable for rejuveniles

pousse-café

(noun) an after-dinner drink of liqueurs (or cordials) of various colors and specific gravities, carefully poured into a glass so as to remain floating in separate layers; a small glass of liqueur served after coffee

quotient

(noun) (Mathematics) a result obtained by dividing one quantity by another; [usually with adj.] a degree or amount of a specified quality or characteristic

Dachsprache

"roofing language", i.e. a language form that serves as standard language for different dialects, mostly in a dialect continuum, even though these dialects may be so different that mutual intelligibility is not possible between all dialects, particularly those separated by significant geographical distance (e.g. Euskara Batua (Standard Basque) and the Southern Quechua literary standard were both developed as standard languages for dialect continua that had historically been thought of as discrete languages with many dialects and no "official" dialect; Standard German and Standard Italian, to some extent, function in the same way; perhaps the most widely used dachsprache is Modern Standard Arabic, which links together the speakers of many different, often mutually unintelligible varieties of Arabic; Kloss has also used the term pseudo-dialectized abstand language for cases in which a variety is so different from its dachsprache that it ought to be regarded as a separate language on abstand grounds even though social practice does not concur and political recognition may be refused - examples include Low German vis-à-vis (High) German, Sardinian vis-à-vis Italian, Occitan vis-à-vis French, Gheg Albanian vis-à-vis (Tosk) Albanian, or Maithili vis-à-vis Hindi)

Sprechbund

"shared ways of speaking which go beyond language boundaries" (Romaine, 1994:23) (thus people speaking different languages can share certain linguistic characteristics; this is a particularly useful concept for describing, for example, hip-hop music, which has a number of defining characteristics including musical style, clothing, and association with minorities as well as a number of defining linguistic characteristics like rapping, rhyme and human beatboxing (which are essentially linguistic features, but they can be used in any language - even genetically unrelated languages) - their combined use in different languages allows a kind of universal "language of hip-hop") [note: while sprechbund is about speech, and how language is produced, sprachbund is about the underlying structure of language]

ça ne fait rien

"that doesn't matter" (an informal way of dropping a subject or responding to an apology) (rendered as san fairy Ann in British World War I slang)

ninth inning

(Baseball) (also ninth) an expressing that an event or process is near the end - in the last of a nine-inning game

TL;DR

(abbr. / initialism) (informal) used as a dismissive response to a lengthy online post, or to introduce a summary of a lengthy post (it first thrived in the early 2000s on discussion-based forums, where posts considered needlessly long were called out by other users; it's additionally used as a jocular disclaimer about long text posts - in these cases, the abbreviation is sometimes followed by a brief content summary)

direct message

(abbr. DM) a direct message (i.e. a private message sent on a social media website, that only the person it is sent to can see; a {personal, private} message (PM))

The theory of positive disintegration

(abbr. TPD) a theory of personality development by Kazimierz Dabrowski that, unlike mainstream psychology, views psychological tension and anxiety as necessary for growth (these "disintegrative" processes are therefore seen as "positive", whereas people who fail to go through positive disintegration may remain for their entire lives in a state of "primary integration", lacking true individuality; advancing into disintegration and into the higher levels of development is predicated on having developmental potential, including overexcitabilities, above-average reactions to stimuli; unlike some other theories of development such as Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, it is not assumed that even a majority of people progress through all levels; TPD is not a theory of stages, and levels do not correlate with age)

tl;ra

(abbr.) (informal) used when you think something is too long, but you read it anyway

RSVP

(abbr.) répondez s'il vous plaît, or please reply (used at the end of invitations to request a response; though francophones may use more usually "prière de répondre," it is common enough)

betwixt and between

(adj. and/or prep. phrase) (informal) not fully or properly either of two things

NSFW

(adj. phrase) short for "not safe for work" (a warning that precedes nudity, sexual content, or anything else you wouldn't want a coworker to see on your screen; NSFW has an earlier slang cousin in NFBSK, or "not for British school kids," which, in the late '90s, was used jokingly in place of explicit language after a forum user complained that people should watch their language because British school children might be using the site)

pareve

(adj.) (Judaism) prepared without meat, milk, or their derivatives and therefore permissible to be eaten with both meat and dairy dishes according to dietary laws

syntonic

(adj.) (Psychology) (of a person) responsive to and in harmony with their environment so that affect is appropriate to the given situation; [in combination] (of a psychiatric condition or psychological process) consistent with other aspects of an individual's personality and belief system; (dated) relating to or denoting the lively and responsive type of temperament that was considered liable to bipolar disorder (See also cyclothymia)

egosyntonic

(adj.) (Psychology) (of behaviors, values, feelings, etc.) in harmony with or acceptable to the needs and goals of the ego (i.e. consistent with one's ideal self-image) (many personality disorders are considered to be egosyntonic and are, therefore, difficult to treat; anorexia nervosa, a difficult-to-treat Axis I disorder, is also considered egosyntonic because many of its sufferers deny that they have a problem)

egodystonic

(adj.) (Psychology) (of thoughts and behaviors (e.g. dreams, impulses, compulsions, desires)) in conflict, or dissonant, with the needs and goals of the ego (i.e. in conflict with one's ideal self-image) (obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is considered to be egodystonic as the thoughts and compulsions experienced or expressed are not consistent with the individual's self-perception, meaning that patient realizes the obsessions are not reasonable)

multivariate

(adj.) (Statistics) involving two or more variable quantities

prelapsarian

(adj.) (Theology or literary) characteristic of the time before the Fall of Man (i.e. innocent and unspoiled); characteristic of or pertaining to any innocent or carefree period; supralapsarian; (noun) supralapsarian

multistage (1)

(adj.) (attributive) consisting of, occurring in, or involving several stages or processes

chic

(adj.) (chicer, chicest) elegantly and stylishly fashionable; (noun) stylishness and elegance, typically of a specified kind

circumambient

(adj.) (chiefly literary) surrounding

coy

(adj.) (especially with reference to a woman) making a pretense of shyness or modesty that is intended to be alluring; reluctant to give details, especially about something regarded as sensitive; (dated) quiet and reserved (i.e. shy)

soigné

(adj.) (fem. soignée pronunc. same)

compendious

(adj.) (formal) containing or presenting the essential facts of something in a comprehensive but concise way

nonce (1)

(adj.) (of a word or expression) coined for or used on one occasion [PHRASES for the nonce for the present (i.e. temporarily)]

perfunctory

(adj.) (of an action or gesture) carried out with a minimum of effort or reflection

trickle-down

(adj.) (of an economic system) in which the poorest gradually benefit as a result of the increasing wealth of the richest (it's associated with laissez-faire capitalism in general and more specifically supply-side economics; it's often used to criticize economic policies which favor the wealthy or privileged, while being framed as good for the average citizen)

self-paced

(adj.) (of an educational system, course, etc.) done or designed to be accomplished at the student's own speed

venomous

(adj.) (of animals, especially snakes, or their parts) secreting venom (i.e. capable of injecting venom by means of a bite or sting); (of a person or their behavior) full of malice or spite

regrettable

(adj.) (of conduct or an event) giving rise to regret (i.e. undesirable, unwelcome)

soused

(adj.) (of food, especially fish) preserved in a pickling solution or a marinade; (informal) drunk

roger

(exclam.) your message has been received and understood (used in radio communications) (contrary to popular belief, Roger does not mean or imply both "received" and "I will comply" - that distinction goes to the contraction wilco (from "will comply"), which is used exclusively if the speaker intends to say "received and will comply"; thus, the phrase "Roger Wilco" is both procedurally incorrect and redundant); (informal) used to express assent or understanding; (verb) [with obj.] (British vulgar slang) have sexual intercourse with (a woman); [no obj.] have sexual intercourse

lachrymal (adj.)

(formal or literary) connected with weeping or tears; (lacrimal) (Physiology & Anatomy) concerned with the secretion of tears

ze

(gender-neutral pronoun) [third person singular] occasionally used with a singular indefinite pronoun or singular noun antecedent in place of the definite masculine he or the definite feminine she

Sitz im Leben

(idiomatic) sociological setting (as a technical term, it refers to the social setting of a text, particularly in the Bible (i.e. the alleged context in which a text has been created, and its function and purpose at that time); invented by one Hermann Gunkel, it is primarily used today in academic contexts, especially theological studies; at its simplest, it describes what occasions certain passages in the Bible were written for, and is often called the "genres" of the Bible, e.g. letters, poems of lament, parables, psalms, and songs; however, it can also involve many other considerations: who the speaker of a passage was, his role in life, the nature of his audience, and so on; taken out of its original context, the original meaning of a passage is often lost; a major aim of hermeneutics (contextualizing interpretation) is to uncover such things; today the term is also used outside theological research, when it is needed to examine a text for its sociologically relevant aspects (e.g. the Sitz im Leben of a counting rhyme like "eeny, meeny, miny, moe" is a group of children deciding among themselves who will play in a game - when the children chant the song, we know that they are choosing who will play, but if we are unaware of this context, the rhyme appears merely to be nonsense about tigers; in linguistics the Sitz im Leben is determined by the text pragmatics)

social grooming

(in social animals, including humans) an activity in which individuals in a group clean or maintain one another's body or appearance (a related term, allogrooming, indicates social grooming between members of the same species; grooming is a major social activity, and a means by which animals who live in proximity may bond and reinforce social structures, family links, and build relationships; social grooming also is used as a form of reconciliation and a means of conflict resolution in some species; mutual grooming typically describes the act of grooming between two individuals, often as a part of social grooming, pair bonding, or a precoital activity; it is a reuse of ordinary grooming behavior, a means of achieving hygiene and good health, in that an animal helping another animal to clean itself also is helping to form a social bond and trust between them; among primates, social grooming plays an important role in establishing and maintaining alliances and dominance hierarchies, for building coalitions, and for reconciliation after conflicts; it is also a resource that is exchanged for other resources, such as food and sex; mammals, with the notable example of primates, as well as insects, birds, ungulates, and bats perform social grooming; domesticated animals, especially cats and dogs, will groom trusted humans as a sign of affection)

savvy

(informal) (noun) shrewdness and practical knowledge, especially in politics or business; (verb) know or understand; (adj.) shrewd and knowledgeable in the realities of life

slog

(informal) (verb) [no obj.] work hard over a period of time; [with adverbial of direction] walk or move with difficulty or effort; [no obj.] hit forcefully and typically wildly, especially in boxing; (slog it out) fight or compete at length or fiercely; (noun) [usually in singular] a spell of difficult, tiring work or traveling

know one's onions

(informal) be very knowledgeable about something

bill and coo

(informal) exchange caresses or affectionate words (i.e. behave or talk in a very loving or sentimental way)

pass the buck

(informal) shift the responsibility for something to someone else

travail

(literary) (noun) (also travails) painful or laborious effort; labor pains; (verb) [no obj.] engage in painful or laborious effort; (of a woman) be in labor

knell

(literary) (noun) the sound of a bell, especially when rung solemnly for a death or funeral; used in reference to an announcement, event, or sound that warns of the end of something; (verb) [no obj.] (of a bell) ring solemnly, especially for a death or funeral; [with obj.] proclaim (something) by or as if by a knell

linguistic performance

(noun phrase) (Linguistics) an individual's use of a language, i.e., what a speaker actually says, including hesitations, false starts, and errors (Often contrasted with competence)

disturbance of consciousness

(noun phrase) (also clouding of consciousness; {brain / mental} fog) a term used in medicine denoting an abnormality in the regulation of the overall level of consciousness that is mild and less severe than a delirium (the sufferer experiences a subjective sensation of mental clouding described as feeling "foggy" (relative to normal delirium, it is overall less severe, lacks acuteness in onset and duration, has a relatively stable sleep-wake cycle, and has relatively stable motor alterations; the significant clinical features are inattention, and thought process, comprehension, and language abnormalities; it involves an impairment of the general activation of consciousness that is referred to as "arousal" or "wakefulness", but is not necessarily accompanied by drowsiness, as it may be a lack of "wakefulness" that is a stage on the way to coma rather than to sleep (which is very different))

comply

(verb) [no obj.] (of a person or group) act in accordance with a wish or command; (of an article) meet specified standards

School of Hard Knocks

(noun phrase) (idiom) the (sometimes painful) education one gets from life's usually negative experiences, often contrasted with formal education (the term is frequently misattributed to George Ade, but was actually coined by Elbert Hubbard in a piece he wrote on himself for Cosmopolitan in 1902; it is a phrase which is most-typically used by a person to claim a level of wisdom imparted by life experience, which should be considered at least equal in merit to academic knowledge; it is a response that may be given when one is asked about his or her education, particularly if they do not have an extensive formal education but rather life experiences that should be valued instead; it may also be used facetiously, to suggest that formal education is not of practical value compared with "street" experience)

the benefit of the doubt

(noun phrase) a concession that a person or fact must be regarded as correct or justified, if the contrary has not been proven

skeleton in the closet

(noun phrase) a discreditable or embarrassing fact that someone wishes to keep secret

doom and gloom

(noun phrase) a general feeling of pessimism or despondency

turn of phrase

(noun phrase) a manner of expression

false belief

(noun phrase) a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning

quarter-life crisis

(noun phrase) a period of life usually ranging from the late teens to the early thirties, in which a person begins to feel doubtful about their own lives, brought on by the stress of becoming an adult (the term was coined by analogy with mid-life crisis; according to The Boston Globe, the quarter-life crisis occurs in one's twenties, after entering the "real world"; Erik H. Erikson, who proposed eight crises that humans face during their development, proposed the existence of a life crisis occurring at this age - the conflict he associated with young adulthood is the Intimacy vs. Isolation crisis; according to him, after establishing a personal identity in adolescence, young adults seek to form intense, usually romantic relationships with other people; common symptoms of a quarter life crisis are often feelings of being "lost, scared, lonely or confused" about what steps to take in order to transition properly into adulthood; studies have shown that unemployment and choosing a career path is a major cause for young persons to undergo stress or anxiety; early stages of one living on their own for the first time and learning to cope without parental help can also induce feelings of isolation and loneliness

skeleton at the feast

(noun phrase) a person or thing that brings gloom or sadness to an otherwise pleasant or celebratory occasion

avoidant personality

(noun phrase) a personality disorder characterized by hypersensitivity to potential or actual rejection and criticism, a strong need for uncritical acceptance, social withdrawal in spite of a desire for affection and acceptance, and low self-esteem (i.e. a type of personality characterized by the avoidance of intimacy or social interaction)

emerging adulthood

(noun phrase) a phase of the life span between adolescence and full-fledged adulthood, proposed by Jeffrey Arnett in a 2000 article in the American Psychologist (it also encompasses late adolescence and early adulthood; it primarily applies to young adults in developed countries who do not have children, do not live in their own home, or do not have sufficient income to become fully independent in their early to late 20s; Jeffrey Arnett says emerging adulthood is the period between 18 and 25 years of age where adolescents become more independent and explore various life possibilities; emerging adulthood is a new demographic, is contentiously changing, and some believe that twenty-somethings have always struggled with "identity exploration, instability, self-focus, and feeling in-between")

koi pond

(noun phrase) a pond used for holding koi, usually as part of a landscape (koi ponds can be designed specifically to promote health and growth of the Nishikigoi or Japanese Ornamental Carp; the architecture of the koi pond can have a great effect on the health and well being of the koi)

water off a duck's back

(noun phrase) a potentially hurtful or harmful remark or incident that has no apparent effect on the person mentioned

a stiff upper lip

(noun phrase) a quality of uncomplaining stoicism (one who has a stiff upper lip displays fortitude in the face of adversity, or exercises great self-restraint in the expression of emotion; the phrase is most commonly heard as part of the idiom "keep a stiff upper lip", and has traditionally been used to describe an attribute of British people, who are sometimes perceived by other cultures as being unemotional; a sign of weakness is trembling of the upper lip - one of the first signs that the person is scared or shaken by experiencing deep emotion; poems that feature a memorable evocation of Victorian stoicism and a stiff upper lip include Rudyard Kipling's "If—" and W. E. Henley's "Invictus"; the phrase became symbolic of the British people, and particularly of those who were products of the English public school system, during the Victorian era)

virtuous circle

(noun phrase) a recurring cycle of events, the result of each one being to increase the beneficial effect of the next (i.e. a self-propagating advantageous situation in which a successful solution leads to more of a desired result or another success which generates still more desired results or successes in a chain) (e.g. compound interest earned on a deposit keeps on generating ever greater amounts of interest)

non-zero-sum game

(noun phrase) a situation in which the interacting parties' aggregate gains and losses can be less than or more than zero (in contrast with zero-sum games, non-zero-sum games can be either competitive or non-competitive; in a non-zero-sum game, one party's win or loss does not necessarily mean the opposite for another, and all parties coud gain or lose)

quiet wakefulness

(noun phrase) the state of lying down in a comfortable spot with one's eyes shut and one's mind clear and unoccupied (this allows the physical body to rest as well as the mind to a degree, though not to the same degree as sleeping)

pragmatic transfer

(noun phrase) the transfer of pragmatic knowledge in situations of intercultura communication (as learning the often subtle pragmatic rules for an L2 is often very difficult and such rules are not usually addressed in classrooms), L2 learners use pragmatic transfer as a conscious strategy - assuming that what works in the L1 will work in the L2, esp. if the two language[s] / cultures are perceived as being fairly close)

pragmatic ethics

(noun phrase) a theory of normative philosophical ethics (advocated by, e.g., John Dewey) containing the belief that some societies have progressed morally in much the way they have attained progress in science; ethical pragmatists think that norms, principles, and moral criteria are likely to be improved as a result of inquiry; much as it is appropriate for scientists to act as though a hypothesis were true despite expecting future inquiry to supplant it, ethical pragmatists acknowledge that it can be appropriate to practice a variety of other normative approaches (e.g. consequentialism, deontological ethics, and virtue ethics), yet acknowledge the need for mechanisms which allow society to advance beyond such approaches, a freedom for discourse which does not take any such theory as assumed; thus, aimed at social innovation, the practice of pragmatic ethics supplements the practice of other normative approaches with what John Stuart Mill called "experiments of living"; it may also differs from other normative approaches theoretically in that it focuses on society - rather than on lone individuals - as the entity which achieves morality, it does not hold any known moral criteria as beyond potential for revision, and it may be misunderstood as relativist, as failing to be objective; it allows that a moral judgment may be appropriate in one age of a given society, even though it will cease to be appropriate after that society progresses (or may already be inappropriate in another society); it has been criticized as conflating descriptive ethics with normative ethics, as describing the way people do make moral judgments rather than the way they should make them

safe word

(noun phrase) a word serving as a prearranged and unambiguous signal to slow down or end an activity, such as between a dominant and submissive sexual couple

a short in the dark

(noun phrase) an act whose outcome cannot be foreseen (i.e. a mere guess)

arboreous desert

(noun phrase) an area of sparsely scattered trees with little or no vegetation between (i.e. a desert forest)

tone argument

(noun phrase) an argument used in discussions, sometimes by Concern trolls and sometimes as a Derailment, in which it is suggested that feminists would be more successful if only they expressed themselves in a more pleasant tone (this is also sometimes described as catching more flies with honey than with vinegar, a particular variant of the tone argument; the tone argument is a form of derailment, or a red herring, because the tone of a statement is independent of the content of the statement in question, and calling attention to it distracts from the issue at hand; drawing attention to the tone rather than content of a statement can allow other parties to avoid engaging with sound arguments presented in that statement, thus undermining the original party's attempt to communicate and effectively shutting them down)

word arsenal

(noun phrase) an array of words available for a certain purpose (i.e. a collection, supply, or store of words)

self-paced instruction

(noun phrase) any kind of instruction that proceeds based on learner response (the content itself can be curriculum, corporate training, technical tutorials, or any other subject that does not require the immediate response of an instructor; self-paced instruction is constructed in such a way that the learner proceeds from one topic or segment to the next at his/her own speed; this type of instruction is becoming increasingly popular as the education world shifts from the classroom to the internet)

White Feminism

(noun phrase) feminism that ignores intersectionality - excluding the experiences of basically anyone who is not white, cis, and straight (it assumes the way white women experience misogyny is the way all women experience misogyny; aims to close the wage gap between men and women, but fails to recognize is that most of the time, Latina and black women make even less than white women; may not view police brutality as a feminist issue given that it doesn't affect white women the way it affects women of color; and ignores the role that whiteness plays in creating things like beauty standards)

cultural proximity

(noun phrase) literal and conceptual nearness to a culture in space, time, or relationship (i.e. the degree to which one is familiar with and interacts with a (sub)culture and people who belong to it)

GPOY

(noun phrase) short for "gratuitous picture of yourself" (this abbreviation is a shortening of GPOYW, or "gratuitous picture of yourself Wednesday," which first appeared in 2008 as a Tumblr tag; unsurprisingly, this tag was used to encourage others to post mid-week selfies; by 2009, it had evolved into GPOY, and it has since expanded to include any image that the poster self-identifies with)

social graces

(noun phrase) skills used to interact politely in social situations (they include manners, etiquette (the specifically accepted rules within a culture for the application of universal manners), deportment, fashion and refinement (also known as sophistication); these skills were once taught to young women at a finishing school or charm school; the focus of social graces haschanged over the last century, recently with an emphasis on business etiquette and international protocol)

performance studies

(noun phrase) the academic field concerned with the study of performance in any of its various forms (the term 'performance' is broad, and can include artistic and aesthetic performances like concerts, theatrical events, and performance art; sporting events; social, political and religious events like rituals, ceremonies, proclamations and public decisions; certain kinds of language use; and those components of identity which require someone to do, rather than just be, something; consequently, performance studies is interdisciplinary, drawing from theories of the performing arts, anthropology and sociology, literary theory, and legal studies; performance Studies has been challenged as an emerging discipline; as an academic field it is difficult to pin down - either that is the nature of the field itself or it is still too young to tell; there are, however, numerous degree granting programs that train researchers being offered by universities; some have referred to it as an "inter discipline" or a "post discipline")

third places

(noun phrase) the public places on neutral ground where people can gather and interact (in contrast to first places (home) and second places (work), third places allow people to put aside their concerns and simply enjoy the company and conversation around them...beer gardens, main streets, pubs, cafés, coffeehouses, post offices, and other third places are the heart of a community's social vitality; providing the foundation for a functioning democracy, these spaces promote social equity by leveling the status of guests, providing a setting for grassroots politics, creating habits of public association, and offering psychological support to individuals and communities

cultural appropriation

(noun phrase) the use of a minority culture's religious, artistic, or other symbolism or practices by the majority culture in a way that divorces it from the original cultural context and occurs without the consent of members of the minority group (often, what makes it appropriation rather than appreciation is the use of these symbols to promote an unrelated commercial or political agenda, in a way that benefits the majority group) (note: the meanings of "minority" and "majority" depend on context - in the United States, common forms of cultural appropriation are of African-American culture by white people, or of East Asian religions and culture by white people: it's still still cultural appropriation in a U.S. context even though Asian people and African people are majorities in other parts of the world)

parent and child

(noun phrase) usually refers to a parent and child (infant, toddler, youth, adolescent) or family; may also refer to any abstract concept in which one element (the child) is derived from or associated to another element (the parent), e.g. process (computing), which may have a parent process and one or more child processes created using a fork, or tree (data structure), which may consist of parent and child nodes

zero-sum thinking

(noun phrase) when an individual thinks that a situation is like a zero-sum game, where one's person gain would be another's loss (however, unlike the game theory concept, zero-sum thinking refers to a psychological construct—a person's subjective interpretation of a situation)

Abstandsprache

(noun) "distance language" / "language by distance" (Abstand means a distance of ongoing separation, e.g. a clearance by mechanical design; in the context of language varieties, abstand indicates the discontinuity of two dialects; in the words of Kloss, there is a "definite break" between the varieties; by the criterion of objective grammatical similarity, one language variety is called an abstand language with respect to another language variety if the two are so different from each other that they cannot be considered dialects of the same language; Kloss left unspecified exactly how the differences between two dialects are to be measured objectively; a standard criterion among linguists is mutual intelligibility; by this measure, there is a chasm between Standard Arabic and colloquial Egyptian Arabic)

Ausbausprache

(noun) "language by development", referring to the development of a standard variety from part of a dialect continuum (the core meanings of the verb ausbauen (lit. "build out") are to "expand" something or "develop something to completion", e.g. to add to an existing structure; languages belonging in this category are recognized as such because of having been (re)shaped or (re)molded in order to become a standardized tool of literary expression; a commonly cited example occurs in the Scandinavian dialect continuum spanning Norway, Sweden and Denmark - the three standardised languages Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish are mutually distinct ausbau languages, even though speakers of the different standards can readily understand each other; this classification invokes the criterion of social and political functions of language use; the sociolinguist Peter Trudgill has found dialects to be ausbau languages corresponding to the finding that they are used "autonomously" with respect to other related languages; such a language has an independent cultural status, even though it may be mutually intelligible with other ausbau languages from the same continuum; Trudgill expands the definition to include related varieties: an Ausbau language is an autonomous standardised variety together with all the nonstandard dialects from that part of the dialect continuum which are heteronomous with respect to it, i.e. dependent on it)

Kulturkreis

(noun) (Anthropology) formerly, a complex of related cultural traits assumed to diffuse or radiate outward as a unit in concentric waves or circles (i.e. (roughly, "culture circle" or "cultural field") school was a central idea of the early 20th-century Austrian school of anthropology that sought to redirect the discipline away from the quest for an underlying, universal human nature toward a concern with the particular histories of individual societies; it was the notion of a culture complex as an entity that develops from a centre of origin and becomes diffused over large areas of the world; the theory developed under the ethnologists Fritz Graebner and Wilhelm Schmidt, who believed that a limited number of Kulturkreise developed at different times and in different places and that all cultures, ancient and modern, resulted from the diffusion of cultural complexes—functionally related groups of culture traits— from these cultural centres; arguing against the idea, then current, that "natural people" were remnants from the prehistoric era who could reveal the true nature of humanity, Kulturkreis scholars brought history back into the study of allegedly timeless peoples)

curveball

(noun) (Baseball) a pitch thrown with a strong downward spin, causing the ball to drop suddenly and veer to the side as it approaches home plate; (North American, informal) something which is unexpected, surprising, or disruptive [PHRASES throw someone a curveball (North American, informal) unexpectedly present someone with a challenge or disruption]

spod

(noun) (Brit.) (informal) a dull or socially inept person, esp. someone who is excessively studious

talking shop

(noun) (Brit.) a place or group regarded as a center for unproductive talk rather than action

mauvais quart d'heure

(noun) (Brit.) a short unpleasant or uncomfortable moment

solar (2)

(noun) (British) an upper chamber in a medieval house (the solar was a room in many English and French medieval manor houses, great houses and castles, generally situated on an upper storey, designed as the family's private living and sleeping quarters; within castles they are often called the 'Lords' and 'Ladies Chamber', or the 'Great Chamber'; the Solar room was situated within the building, in a room with the brightest aspect; a need was felt for more privacy to be enjoyed by the head of a household, and, especially, by the senior women of the household - the solar was a room for their particular benefit, in which they could be alone and away from the hustle, bustle, noise and smells (including cooking smells) of the Great Hall; it was a room of comfort and status, and usually included a fireplace and often decorative woodwork or tapestries/wall hangings)

whataboutism

(noun) (British) the technique or practice of responding to an accusation or difficult question by making a counteraccusation or raising a different issue (also called whataboutery)

minuend

(noun) (Mathematics) a quantity or number from which another is to be subtracted

subtrahend

(noun) (Mathematics) a quantity or number to be subtracted from another

satori

(noun) (Buddhism) sudden enlightenment (i.e. a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, "comprehension; understanding") (in the Zen Buddhist tradition, satori refers to the experience of kenshō, "seeing into one's true nature" - ken means "seeing," shō means "nature" or "essence"; satori and kenshō are commonly translated as enlightenment, a word that is also used to translate bodhi, prajna and buddhahood; D.T. Suzuki: ".... looking into one's nature or the opening of satori"..."this acquiring of a new point of view in our dealings with life and the world is popularly called by Japanese Zen students 'satori' (wu in Chinese)")

zugzwang

(noun) (Chess) a situation in which the obligation to make a move in one's turn is a serious, often decisive, disadvantage

multiplier effect

(noun) (Economics) a phenomenon whereby a given change in a particular input, such as government spending, causes a larger change in an output, such as gross domestic product

madeleine

(noun) (French Cookery) a small shell-shaped cake made of flour, eggs, sugar, and butter and baked in a mold; something that triggers memories or nostalgia (in allusion to a nostalgic passage in Proust's Remembrance of Things Past)

subpage

(noun) (Internet) a web page in a website or wiki that is subordinate to another (with the same main name as the starting level plus a slash and text identifying the location of the subpage; in most implementations, this system is recursive, so subpages can have their own subpages); (Microsoft OneNote) an optional page designatios that is displayed as an indented page tab (while it works just like a regular page, the visual identation of its page tab can make it easier for one to keep information separate when organizing information in parent/child format)

fact pattern

(noun) (Law) a concise description of all the occurrences or circumstances of a particular case, without any discussion of their consequences under the law (i.e. a summary of what took place in a case for which relief is sought, and which is almost always distinguishable from that of another case; when one case with a particular fact situation has been decided, an attorney may use it as precedent and relate it to another similar case on which he or she is currently working) (the term is also used regarding to history toward accurate analysis of historical events)

assumpsit

(noun) (Law) a legal action for a breach of contract or promise not under seal; an actionable promise

langue

(noun) (Linguistics) a language viewed as an abstract system used by a speech community, in contrast to the actual linguistic behavior of individuals (i.e. the abstract, systematic rules and conventions of a signifying system, independent of and pre-existing individual users) (it involves the principles of language, without which no meaningful utterance, "parole", would be possible) (Contrasted with parole)

basilect

(noun) (Linguistics) a less prestigious dialect or variety of a particular language (used especially in the study of Creoles) (Compare with acrolect, mesolect)

semantic field

(noun) (Linguistics) a lexical set of semantically related items, e.g. verbs of perception (i.e. a set of words grouped semantically (that is, by meaning), referring to a specific subject; the term is also used in other academic disciplines, such as anthropology, computational semiotics and technical exegesis) (Brinton relates the linguistic concept to hyponymy: "...a semantic field denotes a segment of reality symbolized by a set of related words. The words in a semantic field share a common semantic property"; a general and intuitive description is that words in a semantic field are not necessarily synonymous, but are all used to talk about the same general phenomenon; the kinds of semantic fields vary from culture to culture and anthropologists use them to study belief systems and reasoning across cultural groups; the semantic field of a given word shifts over time — see "semantic shift"; overlapping semantic fields are problematic, especially in translation; words that have multiple meanings (called polysemous words) are often untranslatable, especially with all their connotations)

Wanderwort

(noun) (Linguistics) a loanword that has spread to many different languages (i.e. a word that has spread as a loanword among numerous languages and cultures, usually in connection with trade (at a sufficient time depth, it can be very difficult to establish in which language or language family it originated and in which it was borrowed; typical examples of wanderwörter are sugar, ginger, copper, silver, cumin, mint, and wine, some of which can be traced back to Bronze Age trade; tea, with its maritime variant tea and Eurasian continental variant chai (both variants have entered English), is an example whose spread occurred very late in history and is therefore fairly well understood; another example is orange; some ancient loanwords are connected with the spread of writing systems, e.g. from Sumerian and Akkadian to PII; some even older, late neolithic, wanderwörter have been suggested, e.g. re: Sumerian, Akkadian and PIE)

Sprachraum

(noun) (Linguistics) is a geographical region where a common first language (mother tongue), with dialect varieties, or group of languages is spoken (most sprachraums do not follow national borders - for example, half of South America is part of the Spanish sprachraum, while a single, small country like Switzerland is at the intersection of four such language spheres; a sprachraum can also be separated by oceans; the four major Western sprachraums are those of English, Spanish, Portuguese and French (according to the number of speakers); by extension, a sprachraum can also include a group of related languages, e.g. the Scandinavian and Finnic sprachraums; even within a single sprachraum, there can be different, but closely related, languages, otherwise known as dialect continua - a classic example is the Chinese languages, which can be mutually unintelligible in spoken form, but belong to the same language family and have a unified non-phonetic writing system (Arabic has a similar situation); (Psycholinguistics) the repertoire of language available to a given person

acrolect

(noun) (Linguistics) the most prestigious dialect or variety of a particular language (used especially in the study of Creoles) (Compare with basilect, mesolect)

addend

(noun) (Mathematics & Computing) a number that is added to another (compare with augend)

augend

(noun) (Mathematics & Computing) the number to which an addend is added

product (2)

(noun) (Mathematics) a quantity obtained by multiplying quantities together, or from an analogous algebraic operation

Dasein

(noun) (Philosophy) (in Hegelianism) existence or determinate being; (in existentialism) human existence (i.e. a German word which means "being there" or "presence", often translated in English with the word "existence") (it is a fundamental concept in the existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger, who uses the expression Dasein to refer to the experience of being that is peculiar to human beings; thus it is a form of being that is aware of and must confront such issues as personhood, mortality and the dilemma or paradox of living in relationship with other humans while being ultimately alone with oneself; the term Dasein was used by several previous philosophers, most notably Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel; Dasein for Heidegger was a way of being {involved / engaged} with and caring for the immediate world in which one lived, while always remaining aware of the contingent element of that involvement, of the priority of the world to the self, and of the evolving nature of the self itself; its opposite was the forfeiture of one's individual meaning, destiny and lifespan, in favor of an (escapist) immersion in the public everyday world - the anonymous, identical world of the They and the Them)

meliorism

(noun) (Philosophy) the belief that the world can be made better by human effort

bokeh

(noun) (Photography) the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens: a quick, visual survey of the foreground and background bokeh of a variety of lenses

entropy

(noun) (Physics) a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system. (Symbol: S); lack of order or predictability (i.e. gradual decline into disorder); (in information theory) a logarithmic measure of the rate of transfer of information in a particular message or language

em

(noun) (Printing) a unit for measuring the width of printed matter, equal to the height of the type size being used; a unit of measurement equal to twelve points

en

(noun) (Printing) a unit of measurement equal to half an em and approximately the average width of typeset characters, used especially for estimating the total amount of space a text will require

anima

(noun) (Psychology) Jung's term for the feminine part of a man's personality (often contrasted with animus ( sense 3)); the part of the psyche that is directed inward, and is in touch with the subconscious (often contrasted with persona)

philobat

(noun) (Psychology) a personality type characterized by enjoyment of the challenge of coping alone with dangerous and uncertain situations (Often contrasted with ocnophil)

ocnophil

(noun) (Psychology) a personality type characterized by the avoidance of dangerous or unfamiliar situations and reliance on external objects or other people for security (Often contrasted with philobat)

precariat

(noun) (Sociology & Economics) people whose employment and income are insecure, esp. when considered as a class (i.e. a social class formed by people suffering from precarity, which is a condition of existence without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare) (unlike the proletariat class of industrial workers in the 20th century who lacked their own means of production and hence sold their labor to live, members of the precariat are only partially involved in labour and must undertake extensive "unremunerated activities that are essential if they are to retain access to jobs and to decent earnings" - specifically, it is the condition of lack of job security, including intermittent employment or underemployment and the resultant precarious existence; the emergence of this class has been ascribed to the entrenchment of neoliberal capitalism)

Verstehen

(noun) (Sociology) empathic understanding of human behavior (i.e., in the context of German philosophy and social sciences in general, the term has been used in English as in German with the particular sense of the "interpretive or participatory" examination of social phenomena; it is closely associated with the work of the German sociologist, Max Weber, whose antipositivism established an alternative to prior sociological positivism and economic determinism, rooted in the analysis of social action; in anthropology, it has come to mean a systematic interpretive process in which an outside observer of a culture attempts to relate to it and understand others; it is now seen as a concept and a method central to a rejection of positivistic social science (although Weber appeared to think that the two could be united); it refers to understanding the meaning of action from the actor's point of view; it also implies that unlike objects in the natural world, human actors are not simply the product of the pulls and pushes of external forces: individuals are seen to create the world by organizing their own understanding of it and giving it meaning; to do research on actors without taking into account the meanings they attribute to their actions or environment is to treat them like objects)

schlimazel

(noun) (U.S.) (informal) a consistently unlucky or accident-prone person (i.e. a chronically unlucky person; an extremely inept person; a habitual failure) (in June 2004, Yiddish schlimazel was one of the ten non-English words that were voted hardest to translate by a British translation company; in a classic Vaudeville skit, the schlemiel spills the soup into the schlimazel's lap)

tummler

(noun) (U.S.) a person who makes things happen, in particular a professional entertainer or comedian whose function is to encourage an audience, guests at a resort, etc., to participate in the entertainments or activities (i.e. an entertainer or master of ceremonies (as formerly employed by resorts in the Catskill Mountains), esp. one who encourages auidence interaction; one who incites others to action); any lively, prankish, or mischievous man

hot take

(noun) (a superficially researched and hastily written journalistic piece, online post, etc., that presents opinions as facts and is often moralistic

wordmonger

(noun) (depreciative) a person who deals in strange, pedantic, or empty words (i.e. a writer or speaker who uses words pretentiously or with careless disregard for meaning); a person skilled in the use of words

rapprochement

(noun) (esp. in international relations) an establishment or resumption of harmonious relations

attune

(verb) [with obj.] (usually be attuned) make receptive or aware; accustom or acclimatize; make harmonious; [no obj.] become receptive to or aware of

lexical aspect

(noun) (also aktionsart) part of the way in which a verb is structured in relation to time (any event, state, process, or action which a verb expresses—collectively, any eventuality—may also be said to have the same lexical aspect; lexical aspect is distinguished from grammatical aspect: lexical aspect is an inherent property of a (semantic) eventuality, whereas grammatical aspect is a property of a (syntactic or morphological) realization; lexical aspect is invariant, while grammatical aspect can be changed according to the whims of the speaker; for example, eat an apple differs from sit in that there is a natural endpoint or conclusion to eating an apple - there is a time at which the eating is finished, completed, or all done; by contrast, sitting can merely stop: unless we add more details, it makes no sense to say that someone "finished" sitting - his is a distinction of lexical aspect between the two verbs; verbs that have natural endpoints are called "telic" (from Ancient Greek telos, end), while those without are called "atelic"; verbs may be of a stative or dynamic (specif. punctual or durative) variety)

minister

(noun) (also minister of religion) a member of the clergy, especially in Protestant churches; (also minister general) the superior of some religious orders; (in certain countries) a head of a government department; a diplomatic agent, usually ranking below an ambassador, representing a state or sovereign in a foreign country; (archaic) a person or thing used to achieve or convey something: the Angels are ministers of the Divine Will; (verb) [no obj.] (minister to) attend to the needs of (someone); [with obj.] (archaic) provide (something necessary or helpful); act as a minister of religion; [with obj.] administer (a sacrament)

sunroom

(noun) (also solarium) (chiefly North American) a room with large windows and sometimes a glass roof, designed to allow in a lot of sunlight ((i.e. a building, either attached to or integrated into the primary building, such as a residence or office, that permits abundant sunlight and views of the landscape while sheltering from adverse weather; solaria of various forms have been erected throughout European history; presently, the sunroom or solarium is popular in Europe, Canada and the United States, Australia, and New Zealand; sunrooms feature passive solar building design to heat and illuminate them)

upcast

(noun) (also upcast shaft) a shaft through which air leaves a mine; (verb) cast (something) upward

potlatch

(noun) (among North American Indian peoples of the northwest coast) an opulent ceremonial feast at which possessions are given away or destroyed to display wealth or enhance prestige; (verb) [no obj.] hold a potlatch

eventide

(noun) (archaic or literary) the end of the day (i.e. evening)

auspice

(noun) (archaic) a divine or prophetic token

bel esprit

(noun) (archaic) a witty person (i.e. a person of great wit or intellect)

wassail

(noun) (archaic) an early English toast to someone's health; a hot drink that is made with wine, beer, or cider, spices, sugar, and usually baked apples and is traditionally served in a large bowl and drunk during celebrations for Twelfth Night and Christmas Eve; lively and noisy festivities involving the drinking of plentiful amounts of alcohol (i.e. revelry); (verb) [no obj.] drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way (i.e. indulge in wassail); go from house to house at Christmas singing carols; [with obj.] to drink to the health or thriving of

fortnight

(noun) (chiefly Brit.) a period of two weeks; (informal) used after the name of a day to indicate that something will take place two weeks after that day

rubbish

(noun) (chiefly Brit.) waste material (i.e. refuse or litter); material that is considered unimportant or valueless; absurd, nonsensical, or worthless talk or ideas; (verb) [with obj.] (Brit.) (informal) criticize severely and reject as worthless; (adj.) (Brit.) (informal) very bad (i.e. worthless or useless)

tenderfoot

(noun) (chiefly N. Amer.) a newcomer or novice, especially a person unaccustomed to the hardships of pioneer life; a Boy Scout of the lowest rank

plaza

(noun) (chiefly N. Amer.) a public square, marketplace, or similar open space in a built-up area; a shopping center; a service area on a highway, typically with a gas station and restaurants

milquetoast

(noun) (chiefly North American) a person who is timid or submissive

lumber (2)

(noun) (chiefly North American) timber sawn into rough planks or otherwise partly prepared; (chiefly British) articles of furniture or other household items that are no longer useful and inconveniently take up storage space; (verb) [no obj.] (usually as noun lumbering) (chiefly North American) cut and prepare forest timber for transport and sale; [with obj.] (usually be lumbered with) (British, informal) burden (someone) with an unwanted responsibility, task, or set of circumstances

encounter group

(noun) (chiefly U.S.) (Psychology) a group of people who meet to gain psychological benefit through close contact with one another (i.e. a group of people who meet, usually with a trained leader, to increase self-awareness and social sensitivity, and to change behavior through interpersonal confrontation, self-disclosure, and strong emotional expression)

about-face

(noun) (chiefly in military contexts) a turn made so as to face the opposite direction; a complete change of opinion or policy; (verb) [no obj.] turn so as to face the opposite direction; (exclam.) (in military contexts) (about face!) a command to make an about-face

apposition

(noun) (chiefly technical) the positioning of things or the condition of being side by side or close together; (Grammar) a relationship between two or more words or phrases in which the two units are grammatically parallel and have the same referent (e.g., my friend Sue; the first U.S. president, George Washington)

billet-doux

(noun) (dated or humorous) a love letter

dance card

(noun) (dated) a card bearing the names of a woman's prospective partners at a formal dance [PHRASES pencil me into your dance card spend time with me one's dance card is full one is interested (in pursuing shared activities?), but has no time for another]

desperado

(noun) a desperate or reckless person, especially a criminal

pachuco

(noun) (especially among Mexican-Americans) a teenage youth who belongs to a street gang known for its flamboyant style (i.e. a particular aold school subculture of Hispanic and Latin Americans associated with zoot suits, street gangs, nightlife, and flamboyant public behavior in an attempt to look and feel like mafia bosses of the Chicago gangster era; the idea of the pachuco - a zoot-suited, well-dressed, street-connected flamboyant playboy of Hispanic/Latino heritage - originated in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, had moved north, following the line of migration of Mexican railroad workers ("traqueros") into Los Angeles, where it developed further)

domicile

(noun) (formal or Law) the country that a person treats as their permanent home, or lives in and has a substantial connection with; (chiefly U.S.) a person's residence or home; the place at which a company or other body is registered, especially for tax purposes; (verb) [with adverbial of place] (be domiciled) (formal or Law) treat a specified country as a permanent home; (chiefly U.S.) reside (i.e. be based)

mimesis

(noun) (formal or technical) imitation, in particular: representation or imitation of the real world in art and literature; the deliberate imitation of the behavior of one group of people by another as a factor in social change; (Zoology) another term for mimicry)

appellation (1)

(noun) (formal) a name or title; the action of giving a name to a person or thing

desuetude

(noun) (formal) a state of disuse

lucubration

(noun) (formal) intense and prolonged study or meditation, esp. late at night; (usually lucubrations) a piece of writing, typically a pendatic or overelaborate one

shtetl

(noun) (historical) a small town or village with a large Jewish population in (pre-Holocaust) eastern Europe

stripling

(noun) (humorous) a young man

nirvana

(noun) (in Buddhism) a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism; another term for moksha (release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma); a state of perfect happiness (i.e. an ideal or idyllic place)

otaku

(noun) (in Japan) a young person who is obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture to the detriment of their social skills (i.e. a person with one or more obsessive interests, commonly the anime and manga fandom; otaku may be used pejoratively, though according to studies published in 2013, the term has become less negative, and an increasing number of people now self-identify as otaku)

hikikomori

(noun) (in Japan) the abnormal avoidance of social contact, typically by adolescent males; a person who avoids social contact (i.e. lit. "pulling inward, being confined", or "acute social withdrawal", a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement - the term hikikomori refers to both the sociological phenomenon in general as well as to people belonging to this societal group) (hikikomori have been described as recluses, loners, or "modern-day hermits")

telenovela

(noun) (in Latin America) a television soap opera

llano

(noun) (in South America) a treeless grassy plain

caudillo

(noun) (in Spanish-speaking regions) a military or political leader, especially a dictator

retcon

(noun) (in a film, television series, or other fictional work) a piece of new information that imposes a different interpretation on previously described events, typically used to facilitate a dramatic plot shift or account for an inconsistency; (verb) [with obj.] revise (an aspect of a fictional work) retrospectively, typically by introducing a piece of new information that imposes a different interpretation on previously described events

completionist

(noun) (in a video game) a player who attempts to complete every chalenge and earn every achievement or trophy; a completist (a person who attempts to complete a collection or set, especially a collector who wants to collect an example of every item in a particular field)

daemon (1)

(noun) (in ancient Greek belief) a divinity or supernatural being of a nature between gods and humans; an inner or attendant spirit or inspiring force; archaic spelling of "demon" (1)

interference (Linguistics)

(noun) (in bilingualism and foreign-language learning) the overlapping of two languages; deviation from the norm of either language in such a situation

sensei

(noun) (in martial arts) a teacher (i.e. a Japanese word that is literally translated as "person born before another"; in general usage, it is used, with proper form, after a person's name, and means "teacher", and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as financial analysts, lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority; the word is also used to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill: accomplished puppeteers, novelists, musicians, and artists for example are addressed in this way)

monty

(noun) (in phrase the full monty) (Brit.) (informal) the full amount expected, desired, or possible

tchotchke

(noun) (informal) (N. Amer.) a small object that is decorative rather than strictly functional (i.e. a trinket, curio, or bauble) (the word has long been used by Jewish-Americans and in the regional speech of New York City and elsewhere; the word may also refer to free promotional items dispensed at trade shows, conventions, and similar large events; they can also be sold as cheap souvenirs in tourist areas, which are sometimes called "tchotchke shops"; depending on context, the term has a connotation of worthlessness or disposability as well as tackiness); (U.S.) a pretty girl or woman

nana2

(noun) (informal) (chiefly Northeastern U.S.) grandmother (i.e. grandma); (Gulf States) godmother; (chiefly Southeastern U.S.) a child's nursemaid (i.e. nanny)

mothball

(noun) (usually mothballs) a small pellet of a pungent substance, typically naphthalene, put among stored clothes to keep away moths; (verb) [with obj.] store (clothes) among or in mothballs; stop using (a piece of equipment or a building) but keep it in good condition so that it can readily be used again; cancel or postpone work on (a plan or project) [PHRASES in mothballs unused but kept in good condition for future use]

sumi-e

(noun) Japanese ink painting using sumi (a type of black Japanese ink prepared in solid sticks and used for painting and writing)

airing

(noun) [in sing.] an exposure to warm or fresh air, for the purpose of ventilating or removing dampness from something; a walk or outing to take air or exercise; a public expression of an opinion or subject; a transmission or a television or radio program

forte1

(noun) [in singular] a thing at which someone excels; (Fencing) the stronger part of a sword blade, from the hilt to the middle (Compare with foible)

fait accompli

(noun) [in singular] a thing that has already happened or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving them with no option but to accept (i.e. a done deal) (in French used only in the expression placer/mettre quelqu'un devant le fait accompli 'to present somebody with a fait accompli')

ilk

(noun) [in singular] a type of people or things similar to those already referred to; (of that ilk) (Scottish) (chiefly archaic) of the place or estate of the same name

moonrise

(noun) [in singular] the rising of the moon above the horizon; the time of this

purview

(noun) [in singular] the scope of the influence or concerns of something; a range of experience or thought

moonset

(noun) [in singular] the setting of the moon below the horizon; the time of this

maven

(noun) [often with modifier] (N. Amer.) (informal) an expert, connoisseur, or enthusiast (esp. in a negative sense, e.g. as a know-it-all)

pampas

(noun) [treated as singular or plural] extensive, treeless plains in South America

hakama

(noun) [treated as singular or plural] loose trousers with many pleats in the front, forming part of Japanese formal dress (i.e. a divided (umanoribakama) or undivided skirt (andonbakama) which resembles a wide pair of trousers, traditionally worn by men but contemporarily also by women in less formal situations; hakama are worn in several budo arts such as aikido, kendo, iaidō and naginata, and are often worn by women at college graduation ceremonies and Miko on shinto shrines; depending on the pattern and material, hakama can range from very formal to visiting wear)

wherewithal

(noun) [usually with infinitive] (the wherewithal) the money or other means needed for a particular purpose

cafetière

(noun) a French press coffee pot

yoga

(noun) a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation (the yoga widely known in the West is based on hatha yoga, which forms one aspect of the ancient Hindu system of religious and ascetic observance and meditation, the highest form of which is raja yoga and the ultimate aim of which is spiritual purification and self-understanding leading to samadhi or union with the divine)

shabu-shabu

(noun) a Japanese dish of pieces of thinly sliced beef or pork cooked quickly with vegetables in boiling water and then dipped in sauce

kendo

(noun) a Japanese form of fencing with two-handed bamboo swords, originally developed as a safe form of sword training for samurai

futon

(noun) a Japanese quilted mattress rolled out on the floor for use as a bed (i.e. traditional Japanese bedding consisting of padded mattresses and quilts pliable enough to be folded and stored away during the day, allowing the room to serve for purposes other than as a bedroom; the bedding set referred to as futon in Japan fundamentally consists of a shikibuton (bottom mattress) and a kakebuton (thick quilted bedcover; a futon is a flat mattress with a fabric exterior stuffed with cotton, wool, or synthetic batting that makes up a Japanese bed; futons are often sold in sets that include the futon mattress (shikibuton), a comforter (kakebuton) or blanket (mōfu), a summer blanket resembling a large towel (taoruketto), and a pillow (makura) generally filled with beans, buckwheat chaff, or plastic beads; futons must be aired in sunlight regularly, especially if not put away during the day; futon are available in single, semi-double, and double sizes); a type of low wooden sofa that can be unfolded for use as a bed

shinto

(noun) a Japanese religion dating from the early 8th century and incorporating the worship of ancestors and nature spirits and a belief in sacred power (kami) in both animate and inanimate things (it was the state religion of Japan until 1945; See also Amaterasu)

kakemono

(noun) a Japanese unframed painting made on paper or silk and displayed as a wall hanging

geta

(noun) a Japanese wooden shoe with a thong to pass between the first (big) toe and the second toe (i.e. wooden sandals worn by men and women with yukata; one unique style is worn solely by geisha)

shidduch

(noun) a Jewish arranged marriage

yontef

(noun) a Jewish holiday on which work is forbidden, e.g. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, or Pesach

shadkhan

(noun) a Jewish professional matchmaker or marriage broker ((often) Shadchanim or people who carry out Shidduchim as a profession within the religious Jewish community; however, Shadchan can also be used to refer to anyone who introduces two single Jews to one another with the hope that they will form a couple; centuries of experience and tradition have shown that a good match is most likely to be formed between people with similar outlooks, attitudes, beliefs and backgrounds; therefore, a matchmaker is most likely to be someone who is familiar with both sides and is in a position to introduce the interested parties to each other)

tsimmes

(noun) a Jewish stew of sweetened vegetables or vegetables and fruit, sometimes with meat (i.e. a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish sweet stew typically made from carrots and dried fruits such as prunes or raisins, often combined with other root vegetables; some cooks add chunks of meat (usually flanken or brisket); the dish is cooked slowly over low heat and flavored with honey or sugar and sometimes cinnamon or other spices; tzimmes is often part of the Rosh Hashanah meal, when it is traditional to eat sweet and honey-flavored dishes; traditionally sliced in rounds, carrots bring to mind gold coins, symbolizing the hope of prosperity in the year to come; (esp. in phrase to make a big tsimmes over something) a fuss or muddle

caballero

(noun) a Spanish or Mexican gentleman; (US) (in the southwestern US) a horseman

belle

(noun) a beautiful girl or woman, especially the most beautiful at a particular event or in a particular group [PHRASES belle of the ball the most beautiful and popular girl or woman at a dance

arboretum

(noun) a botanical garden devoted to trees

summary

(noun) a brief statement of the main points of something; (adj.) dispensing with needless details or formalities (i.e. brief); (Law) (of a judicial process) conducted without the customary legal formalities; (of a conviction) made by a judge or magistrate without a jury [PHRASES in summary in short]

obi1

(noun) a broad sash worn around the waist of a Japanese kimono

café bar

(noun) a café which also serves alcoholic drinks

kayak

(noun) a canoe of a type used originally by the Inuit, made of a light frame with a watertight covering having a small opening in the top to sit in (i.e. a small, narrow boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle) (the traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler - the cockpit is sometimes covered by a spray deck that prevents the entry of water from waves or spray and makes it possible for suitably skilled kayakers to roll the kayak: that is, to capsize and right it without it filling with water or ejecting the paddler; some modern boats vary considerably from a traditional design but still claim the title "kayak", for instance in eliminating the cockpit by seating the paddler on top of the boat ("sit-on-top" kayaks), having inflated air chambers surrounding the boat, replacing the single hull by twin hulls ("W" kayak), and replacing paddles with other human-powered propulsion methods; kayaks are often used to get closer to marine animals, such as sea otters; the kayak was first used by the indigenous Aleut, Inuit, Yupik and possibly Ainu hunters in subarctic regions of the world); (verb) [no obj.] (usually as noun kayaking) travel in or use a kayak

calling card

(noun) a card bearing a person's name and address, sent or left in lieu of a formal social or business visit (a card used socially to signify a visit made to a house if the occupant is absent, or as an introduction for oneself - the precursor to the modern business card); business card; tart card; an action by which someone or something can be identified; a card that allows the user to make telephone calls from any phone and charge the cost to their home telephone number; (N. Amer.) (also telephone card, phonecard) a prepaid card that allows the user to make telephone calls up to a specified value

netsuke

(noun) a carved buttonlike ornament, especially of ivory or wood, formerly worn in Japan to suspend articles from the sash of a kimono

halfway house

(noun) a center for helping former drug addicts, prisoners, psychiatric patients, or others to adjust to life in general society; the halfway point in a progression; (historical) an inn midway between two towns

kiva

(noun) a chamber, built wholly or partly underground, used by male Pueblo Indians for religious rites

arsenal

(noun) a collection of weapons and military equipment stored by a country, person, or group; a place where weapons and military equipment are stored or made; an array of resources available for a certain purpose

comrade

(noun) a companion who shares one's activities or is a fellow member of an organization; (also comrade-in-arms) a fellow soldier or serviceman; a fellow socialist or communist (often as a form of address)

therapeutic index

(noun) a comparison of the amount of a therapeutic agent that causes the therapeutic effect to the amount that causes toxicity (the related terms therapeutic window or safety window refer to a range of doses which optimize between efficacy and toxicity, achieving the greatest therapeutic benefit without resulting in unacceptable side-effects or toxicity)

panoply

(noun) a complete or impressive collection of things; a splendid display; (historical or literary) a complete set of arms of suit of armor

non sequitur

(noun) a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement

inference

(noun) a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning; the process of infering something

power user

(noun) a consumer of electrical power; (Computing) a user who needs products having the most features and the fastest performance

association copy

(noun) a copy of a book which one belonged to the author or someone closely associated with them

cosmopolite

(noun) a cosmopolitan person (i.e. a person who is cosmopolitan in his or her ideas, life, etc.; citizen of the world); an animal or plant of worldwide distribution

contradance

(noun) a country dance in which the couples form lines facing each other

hazard

(noun) a danger or risk; a potential source of danger; a permanent feature of a golf course that presents an obstruction to playing a shot, such as a bunker or stream; (literary) chance (i.e. probability); a gambling game using two dice, in which the chances are complicated by arbitrary rules.; (verb) [with obj.] venture to say (something); put (something) at risk of being lost

kachina

(noun) a deified ancestral spirit in the mythology of Pueblo Indians; (also kachina dancer) a person who represents a kachina spirit in ceremonial dances; (also kachina doll) a small carved figure representing a kachina spirit

inuksuk

(noun) a man-made stone landmark or cairn used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America (these structures are found from Alaska to Greenland; this region, above the Arctic Circle, is dominated by the tundra biome and has areas with few natural landmarks; the inuksuk may have been used for navigation, as a point of reference, a marker for travel routes, fishing places, camps, hunting grounds, places of veneration, drift fences used in hunting or to mark a food cache; the Inupiat in northern Alaska used inuksuit to assist in the herding of caribou into contained areas for slaughter; varying in shape and size, the inuksuit have ancient roots in Inuit culture; historically, the most common type of inuksuk is a single stone positioned in an upright manner; there is some debate as to whether the appearance of human- or cross-shaped cairns developed in the Inuit culture before the arrival of European missionaries and explorers; the size of some inuksuit suggest that the construction was often a communal effort; at Enukso Point on Baffin Island, there are over 100 inuksuit - the site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1969)

palimpsest

(noun) a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain; something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form

cedilla

(noun) a mark ( ¸ ) written under the letter c, especially in French, to show that it is pronounced like an s rather than a k (e.g., façade); a mark similar to a cedilla written under s in Turkish and other languages

sublimation (Psychology)

(noun) a mature type of defense mechanism where socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are unconsciously transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior, possibly resulting in a long-term conversion of the initial impulse

nostrum

(noun) a medicine, especially one that is not considered effective, prepared by an unqualified person; a pet scheme or favorite remedy, especially one for bringing about some social or political reform or improvement

ocelot

(noun) a medium-sized wild cat that has a tawny yellow coat marked with black blotches and spots, and ranges from southern Texas through South America [Felis pardalis, family Felidae.]; the fur of the ocelot

briefing

(noun) a meeting for giving information or instructions; the action of informing or instructing someone

guerrilla

(noun) a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces; [as modifier] referring to actions or activities performed in an impromptu way, often without authorization

chinook

(noun) a member of an American Indian people originally inhabiting the region around the lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington; the language of the Chinook; (adj.) relating to the Chinook or their language

obliviate

(noun) a memory charm or spell in the Harry Potter books that makes one forget; (verb) (rare) [with obj.] to forget (i.e. to commit to oblivion)

prix fixe

(noun) a menu on which multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed price

foible

(noun) a minor weakness or eccentricity in someone's character; (Fencing) the weaker part of a sword blade, from the middle to the point (Compare with forte1)

muesli

(noun) a mixture of cereals (especially rolled oats), dried fruit, and nuts, typically eaten with milk at breakfast (i.e. a popular breakfast dish based on raw rolled oats and other ingredients including grains, fresh or dried fruits, seeds and nuts, mixed with milk, soy milk, yogurt or fruit juice; developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital, muesli is available in a packaged dry form, ready made, or made fresh; in Switzerland and Germany, it is also eaten as a light evening dish; Birchermüesli complet is muesli with butterbrot and coffee with milk)

second screen

(noun) a mobile device used while watching television, especially to access supplementary content or applications; (verb) (no obj.) use a mobile device while watching television, especially to access supplementary content or applications

phraseology

(noun) a mode of expression, esp one characteristic of a particular speaker or writer

cenote

(noun) a natural underground reservoir of water such as occurs in the limestone of Yucatán, Mexico

twixter

(noun) a neologism that describes a new generation of Americans who are trapped, in a sense, betwixt (between) adolescence and adulthood (this Western neologism is somewhat analogous to the Japanese term parasite single; twixters are typically young adults who live with their parents or are otherwise not independent financially; if they are employed, they often have unsteady and low-paying jobs; they may have recently left university or high school, or recently embarked on a career; these young adults also typically marry later than usual and gain more college or career training; Time published an article called "Twixter Generation: Young Adults Who Won't Grow Up", about Twixters in January 2005, putting this relatively obscure demographic in the spotlight)

Bildungsroman

(noun) a novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education (i.e. in literary criticism, a Bildungsroman (novel of formation, novel of education, or coming-of-age story (though it may also be known as a subset of the coming-of-age story) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood (coming of age), in which character change is extremely important; a Bildungsroman relates the growing up or "coming of age" of a sensitive person who goes in search of answers to life's questions with the expectation that these will result from gaining experience of the world; the genre evolved from folklore tales of a dunce or youngest son going out in the world to seek his fortune; usually in the beginning of the story there is an emotional loss which makes the protagonist leave on his journey; in a Bildungsroman, the goal is maturity, and the protagonist achieves it gradually and with difficulty; the genre often features a main conflict between the main character and society; typically, the values of society are gradually accepted by the protagonist and he/she is ultimately accepted into society

divisor

(noun) a number by which another number is to be divided; a number that divides into another without a remainder

debut

(noun) a person's first appearance or performance in a particular capacity or role; the first public appearance of a new product or presentation of a theatrical show; [as modifier] denoting the first recording or publication of a group, singer, or writer; (dated) the first appearance of a debutante in society; (verb) [no obj.] perform in public for the first time; (of a new product) be launched; [with obj.] (of a company) launch (a new product)

mien

(noun) a person's look or manner, especially one of a particular kindindicating their character or mood

sobriquet

(noun) a person's nickname (i.e. an assumed name) (often used in a pejorative way in French)

incorporation (Linguistics)

(noun) a phenomenon by which a grammatical category, such as a verb, forms a compound with its direct object (object incorporation) or adverbial modifier, while retaining its original syntactic function (incorporation is central to many polysynthetic languages such as those found in North America, Siberia and northern Australia; however, polysynthesis does not necessarily miply incorporation, nor does the presence of incorporation in a language imply that that language is polysynthetic; e.g. arrernelheme '(he or she) is sitting down' -> arrerneakwelelheme 'she is supposedly sitting down')

port of call

(noun) a place where a ship stops on a voyage; any of a number of places that a person visits in succession

ace

(noun) a playing card with a single spot on it, ranked as the highest card in its suit in most card games; (Golf) (informal) a hole in one; (informal) a person who excels at a particular sport or other activity; a pilot who has shot down many enemy aircraft, especially in World War I or World War II; (in tennis and similar games) a service that an opponent is unable to touch and thus wins a point; (adj.) (informal) very good; (verb) [with obj.] (informal) (in tennis and similar games) serve an ace against (an opponent); (Golf) score an ace on (a hole) or with (a shot); (N. Amer.) get an A or its equivalent in (a test or exam); (ace someone out) outdo someone in a competitive situation [PHRASES an ace up one's sleeve (or in the hole) a plan or piece of information kept secret until it becomes necessary to use it hold all the aces have all the advantages play one's ace use one's best resource within an ace of

venom

(noun) a poisonous substance secreted by animals such as snakes, spiders, and scorpions and typically injected into prey or aggressors by biting or stinging; extreme malice and bitterness shown in someone's attitudes, speech, or actions

ancien régime

(noun) a political or social system that has been displaced, typically by one more modern; (Ancien Régime) the political and social system in France before the Revolution of 1789

eventuality

(noun) a possible event or outcome

tsatkele

(noun) a pretty girl or woman (esp. one who uses her charms in order to reach her goals or who is a handful, very demanding, or "a piece of work") (i.e. a "pretty young thing") (being Yiddish, the meaning can change by the use of gestures and a change in tone); (less flatteringly) a more dismissive synonym for "bimbo" or "slut"; a dear little child (esp. a favorite child); a small object that is decorative rather than strictly functional (i.e. a trinket, curio, or bauble)

cognitive restructuring

(noun) a psychotherapeutic process of learning to identify and dispute irrational or maladaptive thoughts known as cognitive distortions, such as all-or-nothing thinking (splitting), magical thinking, over-generalization, magnification, and emotional reasoning, which are commonly associated with many mental health disorders (it employs many strategies, such as Socratic questioning, thought recording, and guided imagery, and is used in many types of therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and rational emotive therapy (RET))

colophon

(noun) a publisher's emblem or imprint, especially one on the title page or spine of a book; (historical) a statement at the end of a book, typically with a printer's emblem, giving information about its authorship and printing

query

(noun) a question, esp. one addressed to an official or organization; used in writing or speaking to question the accuracy of a following statement or to introduce a question; (chiefly Printing) a question mark; (verb) [reporting verb] ask a question about something, esp. in order to express one's doubts about it or to check its validity or accuracy; [with obj.] (chiefly N. Amer.] put a question or questions to (someone)

minyan

(noun) a quorum of ten men (or in some (generally Conservative and Reform) synagogues, men and women) over the age of 13 required for traditional Jewish public worship; a meeting of Jews for public worship

rabbit hole

(noun) a rabbit's burrow; used to refer to a bizarre, confusing, or nonsensical situation or environment, typically one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself (with allusion to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), which describes how Alice enters a land of magic and strange logic by falling down a rabbit hole)

heartworm

(noun) a relationship or friendship that you can't get out of your head, which you thought had faded long ago but is still somehow alive and unfinished, like an abandoned campsite whose smoldering embers still have the power to start a forest fire

throwback

(noun) a reversion to an earlier ancestral characteristic; a person or thing having the characteristics of a former time; (urbandictionary.com) a sudden reminder of the past (this can be brought on by hearing a song from high school, seeing an ex, etc.)

prerogative

(noun) a right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class; a faculty or property distinguishing a person or class; (also royal prerogative) the right of the sovereign, which in British law is theoretically subject to no restriction; (adj.) [attrib.] (Brit. Law) arising from the prerogative of the Crown (usually delegated to the government or the judiciary) and based in common law rather than statutory law

corniche

(noun) a road cut into the edge of a cliff, especially one running along a coast

consonance

(noun) agreement or compatibility between opinions and actions; the recurrence of similar sounds, esp. consonants, in close proximity (chiefly as used in prosody); (Music) a combination of notes which are in harmony with each other due to the relationship between their frequencies

bypass

(noun) a road passing around a town or its center to provide an alternative route for through traffic; a secondary channel, pipe, or connection to allow a flow when the main one is closed or blocked; a surgical operation in which an alternative channel is created, especially to improve blood flow to the heart when a coronary artery is blocked; the alternative channel created during a bypass operation; (verb) [with obj.] go past or around; provide (a town) with a route diverting traffic from its center; avoid or circumvent (an obstacle or problem)

veranda

(noun) a roofed platform along the outside of a house, level with the ground floor; (Austral. / N.Z.) a roof over the pavement in front of a shop

drawing room

(noun) a room in a large private house in which guests can be received and entertained; a private compartment in a train, typically one that accommodates two or three people; (adj.) [attrib.] consciously refined, lighthearted, and elegant; (of a song or play) characterized by a polite observance of social proprieties

schvitz

(noun) a sauna or steam bath; a session in a sauna or steam bath; (verb) sweat (i.e. perspire; exude moisture as a cooling mechanism)

ukiyo-e

(noun) a school of Japanese art depicting subjects from everyday life, dominant in the 17th-19th centuries

fastness

(noun) a secure refuge, especially a place well protected by natural features; the ability of a material or dye to maintain its color without fading or washing away

vertigo

(noun) a sensation of whirling and loss of balance, associated particularly with looking down from a great height, or caused by disease affecting the inner ear or the vestibular nerve (i.e. giddiness)

amour propre

(noun) a sense of one's own worth (i.e. self-respect)

arbor (2)

(noun) a shady garden alcove with sides and a roof formed by trees or climbing plants trained over a wooden framework

arête

(noun) a sharp mountain ridge

ping

(noun) a short high-pitched ringing sound, as of a tap on a crystal glass; (U.S.) a percussive knocking sound, especially in an internal combustion engine; (verb) make or cause to make a ping; [with obj.] (Computing) query (another computer on a network) to determine whether there is a connection to it; contact a person briefly (especially electronically)

augury

(noun) a sign of what will happen in the future (i.e. an omen); the work of an augur (i.e. the interpretation of omens)

piñon

(noun) a small pine tree with edible seeds, native to Mexico and the southwestern US [Pinus cemebroides, family Pinaceae.] (also piñon nut) a pine nut obtained from the piñon tree

café

(noun) a small restaurant selling light meals and drinks; (N. Amer.) a bar or nightclub; (café) a serving of coffee, esp. prepared European-style

studiolo

(noun) a small room, often lavishly decorated and generally of a relatively private character, dedicated to reading, studying and writing in Italy from the 14th to the 16th centuries (with its origins in requirements for increased privacy for reading and meditation engendered by the humanist avocation of Italian noble and mercantile elite in the Quattrocento, it provided a retreat often reachable only through the, comparatively public, bedroom; it typically had a chair, perhaps a footstool to lift the feet from the draughty floor, a portable desk with a slanted surface for writing, and a table, bearing a book-rest, perhaps with a weighted ribbon to hold a book open at a place, and a candlestick (to supplement the light from the window, which is often shuttered); heraldry and personal devices and emblems would remind the occupant of his station in life; series of portraits of exemplary figures were popular, such as of the classical philosophers)

cascade

(noun) a small waterfall, typically one of several that fall in stages down a steep rocky slope; a mass of something that falls or hangs in copious or luxuriant quantities; a large number or amount of something occurring or arriving in rapid succession; a process whereby something, typically information or knowledge, is successively passed on; a succession of devices or stages in a process, each of which triggers or initiates the next; (verb) [no obj.] (of water) pour downward rapidly and in large quantities; fall or hang in copious or luxuriant quantities; [with obj.] arrange (a number of devices or objects) in a series or sequence

peccadillo

(noun) a small, relatively unimportant offense or sin

byname

(noun) a sobriquet or nickname, especially one given to distinguish people with the same given name

Yeshivish

(noun) a sociolect of English (and other languages) spoken by Yeshiva students and other Jews with a strong connection to the Orthodox Yeshiva world (Chaim Weiser maintains that Yeshivish is not a pidgin, creole, or an independent language, nor is it precisely a jargon; a speaker may borrow words from languages other than his/her native one (see below) either because of cultural affinity, or lack of the appropriate term in the native language; Yeshivish is primarily a male spoken dialect - fathers and sons, particularly of teenage years and above, might speak Yeshivish, while mothers and daughters generally do not, or they speak a milder variety of it; the vocabulary and grammatical structure of Yeshivish is drawn primarily from the speaker's native language, although it includes scholarly jargon, primarily from the Talmud and Acharonim in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Aramaic; in many sentences however, the grammatical and lexical features of the speaker's native language is slight and sometimes even lacking altogether; a distinguishing feature of Yeshivish is that its speakers knowingly apply highly technical and literal written language to a colloquial language and in common day usage, similar to Modern Hebrew, e.g. "He caused a lot of nezek, but l'basoif was moideh b'miktzas and claimed he was shoigeg"

posterity

(noun) all future generations of people; [in singular.] (archaic) the descendants of a person

wickiup

(noun) an American Indian hut consisting of an oval frame covered with brushwood or grass

inure

(verb) [with obj.] (usually be inured to) accustom (someone) to something, especially something unpleasant; [no obj.] (inure for/to) (Law) come into operation (i.e. take effect)

moccasin

(noun) a soft leather slipper or shoe, strictly one without a separate heel, having the sole turned up on all sides and sewn to the upper in a simple gathered seam, in a style originating among North American Indians (i.e. a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional panel of leather)) (the sole is soft and flexible and the upper part often is adorned with embroidery or beading; though sometimes worn inside, it is chiefly intended for outdoor use, as in exploring wildernesses and running; historically, it is the footwear of many indigenous peoples of North America; moreover, hunters, traders, and European settlers wore them; moccasins protect the foot while allowing the wearer to feel the ground; the Plains Indians wore hard-sole moccasins, given that their territorial geography featured rock and cacti, while the eastern Indian tribes wore soft-sole moccasins, for walking in leaf-covered forest ground; moccasins are usually all brown, the same color); a venomous American pit viper (several species, e.g. the water moccasin and the highland moccasin)

chutney

(noun) a spicy condiment made of fruits or vegetables with vinegar, spices, and sugar, originating in India

mesquite

(noun) a spiny tree or shrub of the pea family, native to arid regions of southwestern US and Mexico. It yields useful timber, tanbark, medicinal products, and edible pods. The timber is used for fencing and flooring, and burned in barbecues as flavoring [Genus Prosopis, family Leguminosae: several species, in particular P. glandulosa]

tapioca

(noun) a starchy substance in the form of hard white grains, obtained from cassava and used in cooking puddings and other dishes

stupor

(noun) a state of near-unconsciouness or insensibility

arroyo

(noun) a steep-sided gully cut by running water in an arid or semiarid region

defile2

(noun) a steep-sided, narrow gorge or passage (originally one requiring troops to march in single file); (verb) [no obj.] (archaic) (of troops) march in single file

atlatl

(noun) a stick used by Eskimos and early American Indians to propel a spear or dart; a device similar to the atlatl used in modern sport

cinemagraph

(noun) a still photograph in which a minor and repeated movement occurs, forming a video clip (it is published as an animated GIF or in other video formats, and can give the illusion that the viewer is watching an animation)

allegory

(noun) a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one (as a literary device, an allegory is a metaphor whose vehicle may be a character, place or event, representing real-world issues and occurrences; allegory (in the sense of the practice and use of allegorical devices and works) has occurred widely throughout history in all forms of art, largely because it can readily illustrate or convey complex ideas and concepts in ways that are comprehensible or striking to its viewers, readers, or listeners); a symbol

cul-de-sac

(noun) a street or passage closed at one end (even though cul is vulgar in French, this expression in itself is not; equivalent terms impasse or voie sans issue are also used in French); a route or course leading nowhere; (Anatomy) a vessel, tube, or sac, e.g., the cecum, open at only one end

martinet

(noun) a strict disciplinarian; a person who stresses a rigid adherence to the details of forms and methods

partisan

(noun) a strong supporter of a party, cause, or person; a member of an armed group formed to fight secretly against an occupying force, in particular one operating in enemy-occupied Yugoslavia, Italy, and parts of eastern Europe in World War II; (adj.) prejudiced in favor of a particular cause

free-range parenting

(noun) a style of child rearing in which parents allow their children to move about without constant adult supervision, aimed at instilling independence and self-reliance

cinéma-vérité

(noun) a style of filmmaking characterized by realistic, typically documentary motion pictures that avoid artificiality and artistic effect and are generally made with simple equipment; motion pictures made in the style of cinéma-vérité collectively

microaggression

(noun) a subtle but offensive comment or action directed at a minority or other nondominant group that is often unintentional or unconsciously reinforces a stereotype

point d'appui

(noun) a support or prop (i.e. as the first and literal meaning, a fixed point from which a person or thing executes a movement - such as a footing in climbing or a pivot); (archaic) a strategic point (i.e. a location where troops assemble prior to a battle)

postdrome

(noun) a symptom or set of symptoms that occurs after a particular condition has passed (the final stage of a migraine occurs after a migraine attack and may result in a feeling of being drained and washed out, or perhaps euphoric; Reye's syndrome can be a postdrome for children after having a viral infection)

shul

(noun) a synagogue (typically refers to an Orthodox Jewish place of worship that is also a place of study)

cordillera

(noun) a system or group of parallel mountain ranges together with the intervening plateaus and other features, especially in the Andes or the Rockies

lapse

(noun) a temporary failure of concentration, memory, or judgment; a weak or careless decline from previously high standards; (Law) the termination of a right or privilege through disuse or failure to follow appropriate procedures; an interval or passage of time; (verb) [no obj.] (of a right, privilege, or agreement) become invalid because it is not used, claimed, or renewed (i.e. expire); (of a state or activity) fail to be maintained (i.e. come to an end); (of an adherent to a particular religion or doctrine) cease to follow the rules and practices of that religion or doctrine; (lapse into) pass gradually into (an inferior state or condition); revert to (a previous or more familiar style of speaking or behavior)

foley

(noun) relating to or concerned with the addition of recorded sound effects after the shooting of a film

spadework

(noun) routine or difficult preparatory work

hapax legomenon

(noun) a term of which only one instance of use is recorded (i.e. a word that occurs only once within a context, either in the written record of an entire language, in the works of an author, or in a single text) (the term is sometimes incorrectly used to describe a word that occurs in just one of an author's works, even though it occurs more than once in that work; hapax legomena are quite common, as predicted by Zipf's law, which states that the frequency of any word in a body of writing under study (corpus) is inversely proportional to its rank in the frequency table; for large corpora, about 40% to 60% of the words (counting by type) are hapax legomena, and another 10% to 15% are dis legomena - thus, in the Brown Corpus of American English, about half of the 50,000 words are hapax legomena within that corpus; hapax legomenon refers to a word's appearance in a body of text, not to either its origin or its prevalence in speech - it thus differs from a nonce word, which may never be recorded, may find currency and may be widely recorded, or may appear several times in the work which coins it, and so on)

hadajuban

(noun) a thin garment similar to an undershirt (it is worn under the nagajuban)

susoyoke

(noun) a thin half-slip-like piece of underwear worn by women under a nagajuban

trifle

(noun) a thing of little value or importance; [in singular] a small amount of something; (British) a cold dessert of sponge cake and fruit covered with layers of custard, jelly, and cream; (verb) (trifle with) treat (someone or something) without seriousness or respect; (archaic) talk or act frivolously; [with obj.] (trifle something away) waste something, especially time, frivolously [PHRASES a trifle a little (i.e. somewhat)]

métier

(noun) a trade, profession, or occupation; an occupation or activity that one is good at (i.e. a field of work or other activity, usually one in which one has special ability or training); an outstanding or advantageous characteristic

zōri

(noun) a traditional Japanese style of sandal, much like a flip-flop, worn by both men and women and originally made with a straw sole (their formality ranges from strictly informal to fully formal; they are made of many materials, including cloth, leather, vinyl and woven grass, and can be highly decorated or very simple)

shamisen

(noun) a traditional Japanese three-stringed lute with a square body, played with a large plectrum

capsicum

(noun) a tropical American pepper plant of the nightshade family with fruits containing many seeds. Many cultivated varieties with edible, pungent fruits have been developed [Genus Capsicum, family Solanaceae: several species andvarieties, in particular C. annuum variety annuum, the cultivated forms of which include the 'grossum' group (sweet peppers) and the 'longum' group (chili peppers)]; the fruit of any of the capsicum plants, varying in size, color, and pungency

den

(noun) a wild animal's lair or habitation; (informal) a small, comfortable room in a house where a person can pursue an activity in private ( in the U.S., the type of rooms described by the term den varies considerably by region - it is used to describe many different kinds of bonus rooms, including studies, family rooms, home offices, libraries, home cinemas, or even spare bedrooms); a place where people can meet in secret, typically to engage in some illicit activity; (chiefly U.S.) a small subdivision of a Cub Scout pack; (verb) [no obj.] (of a wild animal) live in or retreat into a den

vicuña

(noun) a wild relative of the llama, inhabiting mountainous regions of South America and valued for its fine silky wool [Vicugna vicugna, family Camelidae.]; cloth made from vicuña wool or an imitation of it

coquette

(noun) a woman who flirts; a crested Central and South American hummingbird, typically with green plumage, a reddish crest, and elongated cheek feathers [Lophornis and two other genera, family Trochilidae: several species.]

doyenne

(noun) a woman who is the most respected or prominent person in a particular field

locution

(noun) a word or phrase, especially with regard to style or idiom; a person's style of speech; an utterance regarded in terms of its intrinsic meaning or reference, as distinct from its function or purpose in context; language regarded in terms of locutionary rather than illocutionary or perlocutionary acts

postcedent

(noun) a word, phrase, clause, or sentence to which a previous word or relative pronoun refers (postcedents are rare compared to antecedents, and in practice, the distinction between antecedents and postcedents is often ignored, the term antecedent being used to denote both - this practice is a source of confusion and some have therefore denounced the term antecedent outright because of this confusion)

treatise

(noun) a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject

annus horribilis

(noun) a year of disaster or misfortune

fledgling

(noun) a young bird that has just fledged; [usually as modifier] a person or organization that is immature, inexperienced, or underdeveloped: the fledgling democracies of eastern Europe

thresholder

(noun) a young person on the threshold of adulthood, esp. one who is anxious or depressed about leaving home or taking on adult responsibilities

deconditioning

(noun) adaptation of an organism to less demanding environment, or, alternatively, the decrease of physiological adaptation to normal conditions (it may result from decreased physical activity, prescribed bed rest, orthopedic casting, paralysis, aging, etc.; a particular interest in the study of deconditioning is in aerospace medicine, to diagnose, fight, and prevent adverse effects of the conditions of space flight; deconditioning due to decreased physical effort results in muscle loss, including heart muscles); (Psychiatry) the reform or reversal of previously conditioned behaviour, esp. in the treatment of phobia and other anxiety disorders in which the fear response to certain stimuli is brought under control (Compare with counterconditioning)

accoutrement

(noun) additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity

resilience

(noun) the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties (i.e. toughness); the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape (i.e. elasticity)

siesta

(noun) an afternoon rest or nap, especially one taken during the hottest hours of the day in a hot climate (a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal; such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those where the weather is warm; the siesta is historically common throughout the Mediterranean and Southern Europe; it is the traditional daytime sleep of Spain and, through Spanish influence, many Hispanic American countries and the Philippines; siesta is also common in Southern Italy (there called riposo), where museums, churches and shops close during midday so that proprietors can go home for a long lunch and perhaps a snooze during the day's hottest hours; the main factors explaining the geographical distribution of the modern siesta are high temperatures and heavy intake of food at the midday meal; however, siesta is also practiced in some colder regions, such as Patagonia, which could indicate that the siesta has a stronger relation with culture than with climate)

aide-memoire

(noun) an aid to the memory, especially a book or document; an informal diplomatic message

aperitif

(noun) an alcoholic drink taken before a meal to stimulate the appetite

androgyne

(noun) an androgynous individual (i.e. either A) a hermaphrodite; or B) (in terms of gender identity) a person who does not fit neatly into the typical masculine and feminine gender roles of their society (androgynes may also use the term "ambigender" or "polygender" to describe themselves; many androgynes identify as being mentally between woman and man; a person who is androgynous may engage freely in what is seen as masculine or feminine behaviors as well as tasks))

listicle

(noun) an article structured in the form of a list, typically having some additional content relating to each item

sortie

(noun) an attack made by troops coming out from a position of defense; an operational flight by a single military aircraft; a short trip or journey; an attempt to participate in a new activity or sphere; (verb) [no obj.] come out from a defensive position to make an attack

gatekeeper

(noun) an attendant at a gate who is employed to control who goes through it; a person or thing that controls access to something (i.e. a guardian; monitor)

precedent

(noun) an earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances; (Law) a previous case or legal decision that may be or (binding precedent) must be followed in subsequent similar cases; (adj.) preceding in time, order, or importance: a precedent case

geotag

(noun) an electronic tag that assigns a geographical location to a photograph or video, a posting on a social media website, etc.; (verb) [with obj.] (often as noun geotagging) assign a geotag or geotags to (a digital photograph or video, a posting on a social media website, etc.)

cultural attache

(noun) an embassy official whose function is to promote cultural relations between the home country and the foreign country

mishpocha

(noun) an entire family network comprising relatives by blood and marriage (and sometimes including close friends) (i.e. clan)

salon

(noun) an establishment where a hairdresser, beautician (a person whose job is to do hair styling, manicures, and other beauty treatments), or couturier (a fashion designer who manufactures and sells clothes that have been tailored to a client's specific requirements and measurements) conducts business; a reception room in a large house; (historical) a regular social gathering of eminent people (especially writers and artists) at the house of a women prominent in high society; (N. Amer.) a meeting of intellectuals or other eminent people at the invitation of a celebrity or socialite; (Salon) an annual exhibition of the work of living artists held by the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris, originally in the Salon d'Apollon in the Louvre in 1667

soirée

(noun) an evening party or gathering, typically in a private house, for conversation or music

ulpan

(noun) an institute or school for the intensive study of Hebrew (the ulpan is designed to teach adult immigrants to Israel the basic language skills of conversation, writing and comprehension; most ulpanim also provide instruction in the fundamentals of Israeli culture, history, and geography; the primary purpose of the ulpan is to help new citizens to be integrated as quickly and as easily as possible into the social, cultural and economic life of their new country

pan-pan

(noun) an international radio distress signal, of less urgency than a mayday signal

mesa

(noun) an isolated flat-topped hill with steep sides, found in landscapes with horizontal strata

nunatak

(noun) an isolated peak of rock projecting above a surface of inland ice or snow (i.e. (also glacial islands) an exposed, often rocky element of a ridge, mountain, or peak not covered with ice or snow within (or at the edge of) an ice field or glacier) (the term is typically used in areas where a permanent ice sheet is present; nunataks present readily identifiable landmark reference points in glaciers or ice caps and are often named)

objet trouvé

(noun) an object found or picked up at random and considered aesthetically pleasing (i.e. art created from undisguised, but often modified, objects or products that are not normally considered art, often because they already have a non-art function) (e.g. by Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp; found objects derive their identity as art from the designation placed upon them by the artist and from the social history that comes with the object; the idea of dignifying commonplace objects in this way was originally a shocking challenge to the accepted distinction between what was considered art as opposed to not art; although it may now be accepted in the art world as a viable practice, it continues to arouse questioning, as with the Tate Gallery's Turner Prize exhibition of Tracey Emin's My Bed, which consisted literally of her unmade and disheveled bed ¬- in this sense the artist gives the audience time and a stage to contemplate an object; appreciation of found art in this way can prompt philosophical reflection in the observer; recent critical theory would argue that the mere designation and relocation of any object, ready-mades included, constitutes a modification of the object because it changes our perception of its utility, its lifespan, or its status)

talisman

(noun) an object, typically an inscribed ring or stone, that is thought to have magic powers and to bring good luck

herald

(noun) an official messenger bringing news; a person or thing viewed as a sign that something is about to happen; (historical) an official employed to oversee state ceremony, precedence, and the use of armorial bearings, and to make proclamations, carry ceremonial messages, and oversee tournaments; (verb) [with obj.] be a sign that (something) is about to happen; (usually be heralded) acclaim (praise enthusiastically and publicly)

canopy

(noun) an ornamental cloth covering hung or held up over something, especially a throne or bed; (Architecture) a rooflike projection or shelter; the transparent plastic or glass cover of an aircraft's cockpit; the expanding, umbrellalike part of a parachute, made of silk or nylon; [in singular] the uppermost trees or branches of the trees in a forest, forming a more or less continuous layer of foliage; (verb) [with obj.] (usually as adj. canopied) cover or provide with a canopy

humblebrag

(noun) an ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement whose actual purpose is to draw attention to something of which one is proud; (verb) [no obj.] make an ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement with the actual intention of drawing attention to something of which one is proud

manioc

(noun) another term for cassava (the starchy tuberous root of a tropical tree, used as food in tropical countries but requiring careful preparation to remove traces of cyanide from the flesh; a starch or flour obtained from the cassava root; the shrubby tree from which cassava is obtained, native to tropical America and cultivated throughout the tropics)

hackmatack

(noun) any of a number of North American coniferous trees, in particular the tamarack (a coniferous tree with bunches of deciduous bright green needles, found in cool regions of the northern hemisphere (e.g. Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and also south into the northeastern U.S. from Minnesota to Cranesville Swamp, Maryland; there is also a disjunct population in central Alaska); it is grown for its tough timber and its resin (which yields turpentine) [Genus Larix, family Pinaceae: several species, including the common (or European) larch (L. decidua).])

cultural competence

(noun) awareness of ways of doing things that are different from one's own

coquettish

(noun) behaving in such a way as to suggest a playful sexual attraction (i.e. flirtatious)

decorum

(noun) behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety; etiquette; (usually decorums) (archaic) a particular requirement of good taste and propriety; (archaic) suitability to the requirements of a person, rank, or occasion

allodynia

(noun) central pain sensitization (increased response of neurons) following normally non-painful, often repetitive, stimulation (it can lead to the triggering of a pain response from stimuli which do not normally provoke pain; temperature or physical stimuli can provoke it, which may feel like a burning sensation, and it often occurs after injury to a site; it is different from hyperalgesia, an extreme, exaggerated reaction to a stimulus which is normally painful)

familiarity

(noun) close acquaitance with or knowledge of something; the quality of being well known (i.e. recognizability based on long or close association); relaxed friendliness or intimacy between people; inappropriate and often offensive informality of behavior or language [PHRASES familiarity breeds contempt (proverb) extensive knowledge of or close association with someone or something leads to a loss of respect for them or it]

café filtre

(noun) coffee made with a cafetière

café con leche

(noun) coffee with milk

café au lait

(noun) coffee with milk; the light brown color of this

solace

(noun) comfort or consolation in a time or distress or sadness; (verb) [with obj.] give solace to

sangfroid

(noun) composure or coolness, sometimes excessive, as shown in danger or under trying circumstances

froideur

(noun) coolness or reserve between people

gallantry

(noun) courageous behavior, especially in battle; polite attention or respect given by men to women; (gallantries) actions or words used when paying polite and respectful attention to women

duplicity

(noun) deceitfulness (i.e. double-dealing (the practice of working to people's disadvantage behind their backs)); (archaic) doubleness

soul-searching

(noun) deep and anxious consideration of one's emotions and motives or of the correctness of a course of action; (adj.) involving or expressing deep consideration

doublespeak

(noun) deliberately euphemistic, ambiguous, or obscure language

discord

(noun) disagreement between people; lack of agreement or harmony between things; (Music) lack of harmony between notes sounding together; a chord that (in conventional harmonic terms) is regarded as unpleasing or requiring resolution by another; any interval except a unison, an octave, a perfect fifth or fourth, a major or minor third and sixth, or their octaves; a single note dissonant with another; (verb) (archaic) (of people) disagree; (of things) be different or in disharmony

ableism

(noun) discrimination in favor of able-bodied people (i.e. a form of discrimination or social prejudice against people with disabilities (it may also be referred to as disability discrimination, ablecentrism, physicalism, handicapism, and disability oppression; it is also sometimes known as disablism, although there is some dispute as to whether ableism and disablism are synonymous, and some people within disability rights circles find the latter term's use inaccurate; discrimination faced by those who have or are perceived to have a mental disorder is sometimes called mentalism rather than ableism)

designation

(noun) the choosing and naming of someone to be the holder of an official position; the action of choosing a place for a special purpose or giving it a special status; a name, description, or title, typically one that is officially bestowed

despair

(noun) the complete loss or absence of hope; (verb) [no obj.] lose or be without hope; (phrasal verb) [PHRASES be the despair of be the cause of a feeling of hopelessness in (someone else)]

continuing education

(noun) education provided for adults after they have left the formal education system, consisting typically of short or part-time courses (i.e. (similar to further education in the U.K. and Ireland) an all-encompassing term within a broad spectrum of post-secondary learning activities and programs - the term is used mainly in the U.S. and parts of Canada; recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the domain include: degree credit courses by non-traditional students, non-degree career training, workforce training, formal personal enrichment courses (both on-campus and online) self-directed learning (such as through Internet interest groups, clubs or personal research activities) and experiential learning as applied to problem solving)

elan

(noun) energy, style, and enthusiasm (i.e. a distinctive flair or style)

caffé macchiato

(noun) espresso with a dash of frothy steamed milk

photophobia

(noun) extreme sensitivity to light (i.e. a symptom of abnormal intolerance to visual perception of light) (as a medical symptom, photophobia is not a morbid fear or phobia, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure or by presence of actual physical sensitivity of the eyes, though the term is sometimes additionally applied to abnormal or irrational fear of light such as heliophobia; patients may develop photophobia as a result of several different medical conditions, related to the eye or the nervous system; photophobia can be caused by an increased response to light starting at any step in the visual system...; common causes of photophobia include migraine headaches, cataracts, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI), or severe ophthalmologic diseases such as uveitis or corneal abrasion)

familiarity

(noun) failure to conform to good taste, propriety, or etiquette

heliophobia

(noun) fear of the sun, sunlight, or any bright light (this phobia, like all phobias, originates from a traumatic experience in the past, such as a severe sunburn; people have been staying away from the sunlight because of growing fears with skin cancer is not technically heliophobia, but simply an unfounded and illogical solution; forms of heliophobia based on such irrational fears can cause the sufferer to eventually develop a fear of being in public or a fear of people in general by association; other medical conditions such as keratoconus and porphyria cutanea tarda can result in heliophobia if the sufferer begins to associate pain and discomfort with bright lights; sufferers may cover themselves with long, protective clothing or carry a sun parasol when going outdoors during the daytime, or simply never go outdoors at all when the sun is out, depending on the severity of the fear; since sufferers stay indoors more than non-sufferers, it will make them more prone to becoming vitamin D deficient, as well as depression caused by a combination of vitamin D deficiency, isolation and feelings of alienation from other people, and a continuously dark environment; heliophobia was considered a "telltale sign" of stereotypical vampires and other fantasy creatures such as ghosts, orcs, etc.)

khazeray

(noun) food that is awful; junk (i.e. trash); anything disgusting, even loathsome

narrischkeit

(noun) foolishness, nonsense

poise (1)

(noun) graceful and elegant bearing in a person; composure and dignity of manner; (archaic) balance (i.e. equilibrium)

animus

(noun) hostility or ill feeling; motivation to do something; (Psychology) Jung's term for the masculine part of a woman's personality (often contrasted with anima)

multisensory

(noun) involving or using more than one of the senses

neophilia

(noun) love of the latest novelties and trends

oenophilia

(noun) love or preference of wine

reconnaissance

(noun) military observation of a region to locate an enemy or ascertain strategic features; preliminary surveying or research (modern French uses an "a," never a "o" (as in reconnoissance); in French, it also means 'gratitude')

modality

(noun) modal quality; a particular mode in which something exists or is experienced or expressed; a particular method or procedure: traditional modalities of representing time and space; a particular form of sensory perception: the visual and auditory modalities; (in medicine, particularly homeopathy) a symptom or pattern that aids in diagnosis

catupiry

(noun) one of the most popular "requeijão" (creamy cheese) brands in Brazil (it was developed by the Italian immigrant Mario Silvestrini in the state of Minas Gerais in 1911; the name derives from the native Tupi word katupyry 'excellent'; it is a soft, mild-tasting cheese that can be spread over toasts, crackers and bread buns or used in cooking; the expression com catupiry ("with catupiry") refers to foods where Catupiry or an imitation is an ingredient, or a filling, such as pizzas, coxinhas or pães-de-queijo; as a kind of requeijão, much as any other soft-tasting white cheese, it is also eaten as a dessert combined with guava paste, what is called romeu-e-julieta)

dabbler

(noun) one that dabbles (such as one not deeply engaged in or concerned with something) (i.e. someone that takes part in an activity in a casual or superficial way); a duck (such as a mallard or shoveler) that feeds by dabbling

tolerance of ambiguity

(noun) one's comfort level when dealing with unfamiliar situations (i.e. the ability to deal with ambiguous new information without frustration) (someone with a high tolerance of ambiguity finds unfamiliar situations exciting, rather than frightening)

gloom

(noun) partial or total darkness; (literary) a dark or shady place; a state of depression or despondency; (verb) (literary) have a dark or somber appearance; [with obj.] cover with gloom (i.e. make dark or dismal); be or look depressed or despondent

shtiebel

(noun) place used for communal Jewish prayer (in contrast to a formal synagogue, a shtiebel is far smaller and approached more casually; it is typically as small as a room in a private home or a place of business which is set aside for the express purpose of prayer, or it may be as large as a small-sized synagogue; it may or may not offer the communal services of a synagogue)

savoir-vivre

(noun) politesse (formal politeness or etiquette) (i.e. courtesy; following conventional norms within a society; knowledge of the world and the ways or usages of polite society)

Gesellschaft

(noun) social relations based on impersonal ties, as duty to a society or organization (i.e. society; indirect interactions, impersonal roles, formal values, and beliefs based on such interactions) (Contrasted with Gemeinschaft; Eric Hobsbawm argued that as globalization turns the entire planet into an increasingly remote kind of Gesellschaft, so too collective identity politics seeks for a fictitious remaking of the qualities of Gemeinschaft by artificially reforging group bonds and identities; In business usage, Gesellschaft is the German term for "company")

Gemeinschaft

(noun) social relations between individuals, based on close personal and family ties (i.e. community; personal social interactions, and the roles, values, and beliefs based on such interactions) (Contrasted with Gesellschaft; Eric Hobsbawm argued that as globalization turns the entire planet into an increasingly remote kind of Gesellschaft, so too collective identity politics seeks for a fictitious remaking of the qualities of Gemeinschaft by artificially reforging group bonds and identities)

remediation

(noun) the action of remedying something, in particular of reversing or stopping environmental damage; the giving of remedial teaching or therapy

rehabilitation

(noun) the action of restoring someone to health or normal life through training and therapy after imprisonment, addiction, or illness; the action of restoring someone to former privileges or reputation after a period of disfavor; the action of restoring something that has been damaged to its former condition

compliance (1)

(noun) the action or fact of complying with a wish or command; the state or fact of according with or meeting rules or standards; unworthy or excessive acquiescence

conveyance (1)

(noun) the action or process of transporting someone or something from one place to another; (formal or humorous) a means of transportation (i.e. a vehicle); the action of making an idea, feeling, or impression known or understandable to someone

parkour

(noun) the activity or sport of moving rapidly through an area, typically in an urban environment, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing (a training discipline using movement that developed from military obstacle course training; practitioners aim to get from A to B in the most efficient way possible - this is done using only the human body and the surroundings for propulsion, with a focus on maintaining as much momentum as possible while still remaining safe; parkour can include many kinds of movements depending on which is deemed most suitable for the given situation; parkour involves seeing one's environment in a new way, and imagining the potentialities for navigating it by movement around, across, through, over and under its features; developed in France, primarily by Raymond Belle, David Belle, and Sébastien Foucan during the late 1980s, it became popular in the late 1990s and 2000s through films, documentaries, and advertisements; the term derives from "parcours du combattant", the classic obstacle-course method of military training proposed by Georges Hébert; a practitioner of parkour is often called a (m.) traceur (f.) traceuse - they are nouns derived from the French verb tracer, which normally means "to trace", as in "tracing a path")

syncretism

(noun) the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought; (Linguistics) the merging of different inflectional varieties of a word during the development of a language

chrysalism

(noun) the amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm, listening to waves of rain pattering against the roof like an argument upstairs, whose muffled words are unintelligible but whose crackling release of built-up tension you understand perfectly

linguistic profiling

(noun) the analysis of a person's speech or writing, especially to assist in identifying or characterizing an individual or particular subgroup

paperphilia

(noun) the appreciation of and preference for paper (i.e. deep appreciation for the aesthetic qualities of paper); a preference for reading items printed on paper rather than displayed on a screen

Urheimat

(noun) the area originally inhabited by speakers of a (reconstructed) proto-language (i.e. the homeland of the speakers of a proto-language; as the placement of branches is often uncertain, the time, location, and very existence of an urheimat is also often uncertain - however, it is possible to have considerable confidence regarding the location of an urheimat of a language or language family from multiple lines of linguistic, genetic and archaeological evidence, even when the precise contours of a proto-language are not firmly established; archaeological evidence is sometimes adduced to support the existence of an urheimat; in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the prevailing belief was that languages could be reliably associated with archaeological cultures; one might point to a culture map and hazard a guess as to which language, typically a proto-language, was spoken in each culture; in the latter part of the twentieth century, the link between archaeological cultures and language boundaries was weakened by the discovery of cases in which language shifts occurred with only minor differences in cultural artifacts)

brinkmanship

(noun) the art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, typically in politics

persona

(noun) the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others (in psychology, often contrasted with anima); a role or character adopted by an author or an actor

olive branch

(noun) the branch of an olive tree, traditionally regarded as a symbol of peace (in allusion to the story of Noah in Gen. 8:1, in which a dove returns with an olive branch after the Flood); an offer of reconciliation

ontology

(noun) the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being; (Computer Science and Information Science) a formal naming and definition of the types, properties, and interrelationships of the entities that really or fundamentally exist for a particular domain of discourse (it is thus a practical application of philosophical ontology, with a taxonomy; an ontology compartmentalizes the variables needed for some set of computations and establishes the relationships between them; the fields of artificial intelligence, the Semantic Web, systems engineering, software engineering, biomedical informatics, library science, enterprise bookmarking, and information architecture all create ontologies to limit complexity and to organize information - the ontology can then be applied to problem solving)

corporatism

(noun) the control of a state or organization by large interest groups (i.e. the sociopolitical organization of a society by major interest groups, known as corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labour, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of their common interests) (it is theoretically based on the interpretation of a community as an organic body and related to the sociological concept of structural functionalism; corporate social interaction is common within kinship groups such as families, clans and ethnicities; corporatist types of community and social interaction are common to many ideologies); another name for economic tripartism (economic corporatism based on tripartite contracts of business, labor, and state affiliations with the economy, which is associated with social democracy)

haute couture

(noun) the designing and making of high-quality fashionable clothes by leading fashion houses, especially to order; expensive, fashionable clothes

Einstellung effect

(noun) the development of a mechanized state of mind (i.e. a person's predisposition to solve a given problem in a specific manner even though "better" or more appropriate methods of solving the problem exist) (the Einstellung effect is the negative effect of previous experience when solving new problems; it has been tested experimentally in many different contexts; another phenomenon similar to Einstellung is functional fixedness, an impaired ability to discover a new use for an object, owing to the subject's previous use of the object in a functionally dissimilar context; it can also be deemed a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used - (which may occur with physical & mental objects/concepts); it occurs when a person is presented with a problem or situation similar to problems they have worked through in the past - if the solution (or appropriate behavior) to the problem/situation has been the same in each past experience, the person will likely provide that same response, without giving the problem too much thought, even though a more appropriate response might be available; essentially, it is one of the human brain's ways of finding an appropriate solution/behavior as efficiently as possible - note, however, that although finding the solution is efficient, the solution found might not necessarily be the most appropriate solution)

patois

(noun) the dialect of the common people of a region, differing in various respects from the standard language of the rest of the country (it can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech; class distinctions are embedded in the term, drawn between those who speak patois and those who speak the standard or dominant language used in literature and public speaking, i.e. the "acrolect"); the jargon or informal speech used by a particular social group

plebiscite

(noun) the direct vote of all the members of an electorate on an important public question such as a change in the constitution; (Roman) (History) a law enacted by the plebeians' assembly

kenopsia

(noun) the eerie, forlorn atmosphere of a place that's usually bustling with people but is now abandoned and quiet (e.g. a school hallway in the evening, an unlit office on a weekend, vacant fairgrounds)—an emotional afterimage that makes it seem not just empty but hyper-empty, with a total population in the negative, who are so conspicuously absent they glow like neon signs)

le mot juste

(noun) the exact, appropriate word (i.e. the right word/phrase at the right time) (French uses it often in the expression chercer le mot juste 'to search for the right word')

linguistic incommensurability

(noun) the fact that languages are not substitution ciphers (1-to-1 match-ups) of one another (i.e. that they lack a common standard of measurement) (this results in a failure of exact translation and corresponds to the linguistic relativity principle as per the "Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis" that the language one speaks influences one's categorization of reality)

interference (Psychology)

(noun) the forgetting of information or an event due to inability to reconcile it with conflicting information obtained subsequently

footprint (noun 1)

(noun) the impression left by a foot or shoe on the ground or a surface; the impact on the environment of human activity in terms of pollution, damage to ecosystems, and the depletion of natural resources; (Computing) the amount of memory or disk space required by a program

digital footprint

(noun) the information about a particular person that exists on the Internet as a result of their online activity

microhistory

(noun) the intensive historical investigation of a well defined smaller unit of research (most often a single event, the community of a village, a family or a person; in its ambition, however, microhistory can be distinguished from a simple case study insofar as microhistory aspires to "[ask] large questions in small places", to use the definition given by Charles Joyner; the original idea of writing microhistory came from Italy in the 1970s) (i.e. a study or account of the history of a very specific subject; also, a study of a very small cultural change)

underclass

(noun) the lowest social stratum in a country or community, consisting of the poor and unemployed

malaprop

(noun) the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect, as in, for example, "dance a flamingo" (instead of flamenco)

elision

(noun) the omission of a sound or syllable when speaking (as in I'm, let's, e'en); an omission of a passage in a book, speech, or film; the process of joining together or merging things, especially abstract ideas

nightfall

(noun) the onset of night (i.e. dusk)

belle époque

(noun) the period of settled and comfortable life preceding World War I (i.e. a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I)

obscurantism

(noun) the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known

galumph

(verb) [no obj.] (informal) move in a clumsy, ponderous, or noisy manner

betide

(verb) [no obj.] (literary) happen; [with obj.] happen to (someone) [PHRASES woe betide someone (or woe to someone) used humorously to warn someone that they will be in trouble if they do a specified thing]

cultural alienation

(noun) the process of devaluing or abandoning one's own culture or cultural background (A person who is culturally alienated places little value on their own or host culture, and instead hungers for that of a - sometimes imposed - colonising nation; the post-colonial theorists Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin link alienation with a sense of dislocation or displacement some peoples (esp. those from immigrant cultures) will feel when they look to a distant nation for their values; culturally alienated societies often exhibit a weak sense of cultural self-identity and place little worth on themselves; it has been argued that the most common manifestation of this alienation among peoples from post-colonial nations at present is an appetite for all things American, from television and music, to clothing, slang, even names; culturally alienated individuals will also exhibit little knowledge or interest in the history of their host society, placing no real value on such matters, and are inclined to devalue their own country's cultural, academic and artistic life and venerate the "superior" culture of another (colonising) country

oblivescence

(noun) the process of forgetting

conditioning

(noun) the process of training to become physically fit by a regimen of exercise, diet, and rest, or the resulting state of physical fitness; a simple form of learning involving the formation, strengthening, or weakening of an association between a stimulus and a response

parole

(noun) the release of a prisoner temporarily (for a special purpose) or permanently before the completion of a sentence, on the promise of good behavior; (historical) a promise or undertaking given by a prisoner of war not to escape or, if released, not to engage in hostilities, or to return to custody under stated conditions; (Linguistics) the actual linguistic behavior or performance of individuals, in contrast to the linguistic system of a community (i.e. the concrete instances of the use of langue - the individual, personal phenomenon of language as a series of speech acts made by a linguistic subject; the written and spoken language as experienced in everyday life) (it is the precise utterances and use of langue - therefore, parole, unlike langue, is as diverse and varied as the number of people who share a language and the number of utterances and attempts to use that language; furthermore, parole is known to be changed and manipulated by a number of causes such as time, social groups, and the age of users) (Contrasted with langue) (verb) [with obj.] (usually be paroled) release (a prisoner) on parole

iteration

(noun) the repetition of a process of utterance; repetition of a mathematical or computational procedure applied to the result of a previous application, typically as a means of obtaining successively closer approximations to the solution of a problem; a new version of a piece of computer hardware or software

reconciliation

(noun) the restoration of friendly relations; the action of making one view or belief compatible with another; the action of making financial accounts consistent (i.e. harmonization)

tmesis

(noun) the separation of parts of a compound word by an intervening word or words, heard mainly in informal speech (e.g., a whole nother story; shove it back any-old-where in the pile)

waithood

(noun) the stage in a young college graduate's life when activities such as marrying and finding a place to live are postponed until a job is found or enough money is saved

incongruity

(noun) the state of being incongruous or out of keeping

dishabille

(noun) the state of being partially clad or scantily dressed; another term for a négligée

fandom

(noun) the state or condition of being a fan of someone or something; the fans of a particular person, team, fictional series, etc., regarded collectively as a community or subculture

saturation

(noun) the state or process that occurs when no more of something can be absorbed, combined with, or added; (Chemistry) the degree or extent to which something is dissolved or absorbed compared with the maximum possible, usually expressed as a percentage; [as modifier] to a very full extent, especially beyond the point regarded as necessary or desirable; (also color saturation) (especially in photography) the intensity of a color, expressed as the degree to which it differs from white

amicability

(noun) the state or quality of being amicable or friendly (i.e. (of relations between people) a spirit of friendliness, without serious disagreement or rancor)

psychometry

(noun) the supposed ability to discover facts about an event or person by touching inanimate objects associated with them (also known as token-object reading, or psychoscopy; i.e. a form of extra-sensory perception characterized by the claimed ability to make relevant associations from an object of unknown history by making physical contact with that object - supporters assert that an object may have an energy field that transfers knowledge regarding that object's history); another term for psychometrics (the science of measuring mental capacities and processes (one part of the field is concerned with the objective measurement of skills and knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational achievement; another part of the field is concerned with statistical research bearing on measurement theory))

phlegm

(noun) the thick viscous substance secreted by the mucous membranes of the respiratory passages, especially when produced in excessive or abnormal quantities, e.g., when someone is suffering from a cold; (in medieval science and medicine) one of the four bodily humors, believed to be associated with a calm, stolid, or apathetic temperament; calmness of temperament

daybreak

(noun) the time in the morning when daylight first appears (i.e. dawn)

first light

(noun) the time when light first appears in the morning (i.e. dawn)

forewit

(noun) timely knowledge (i.e. precaution, foresight); one who puts himself forward as a leader in matters of taste or criticism; (verb) (obsolete) [with obj.] to foreknow

seethe

(verb) [no obj.] (of a liquid) bubble up as a result of being boiled; [with obj.] (archaic) cook (food) by boiling it in a liquid; (of a person) be filled with intense but unexpressed anger; (of a place) be crowded with people or things moving about in a rapid or hectic way; [with adverbial of direction] (of a crowd of people) move in a rapid or hectic way

Pfeffernüsse

(noun) tiny spice cookies, popular as a holiday treat in Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands, as well as among Ethnic Mennonites in North America (they are called pepernoten in Dutch (plural), päpanät in Plautdietsch, pfeffernuesse or peppernuts in English, and pebernødder in Danish; though recipes differ, all contain aromatic spices - most commonly cinnamon, cloves, and anise; some variations are dusted with powdered sugar, though that is not a traditional ingredient; molasses and honey are also used to sweeten the biscuits)

Noh

(noun) traditional Japanese masked drama with dance and song, evolved from Shinto rites (Noh dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, and its subject matter is taken mainly from Japan's classical literature. Traditionally the players were all male, with the chorus playing a passive narrative role)

hiyoku

(noun) type of under-kimono, historically worn by women beneath the kimono (today they are only worn on formal occasions such as weddings and other important social events)

force majeure

(noun) unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract (i.e. an overpowering and unforeseeable event, esp. when talking about the weather (often appears in insurance contracts)); irresistible compulsion or greater force

moral compass

(noun) used in reference to a person's ability to judge what is right and wrong and act accordingly

bon mot

(noun) well-chosen word(s), particularly a witty remark

afterwit

(noun) wisdom which comes after the event; the lack of forethought; a good comeback, retort one thinks of only after the end of discussion or after leaving a social gathering

go ape

(phrasal verb) (informal) express wild excitement or anger

chew the cud

(phrasal verb) (of a ruminant animal) further chew partly digested food; (British) think or talk reflectively

hint at

(phrasal verb) (of a thing) be a slight or possible indication of

(even) a worm will turn

(phrasal verb) (proverb) (even) a meek person will resist or retaliate if pushed too far

press on/ahead

(phrasal verb) [no obj.] continue in one's action

toe the line

(phrasal verb) accept the authority, principles, or policies of a particular group, esp. under pressure [from the literal sense 'stand with the tips of the toes exactly touching a line']

try one's hand at

(phrasal verb) attempt to do (something) for the first time, typically in order to find out if one is good at it

shy from

(phrasal verb) avoid doing or becoming involved in (something) due to nervousness or a lack of confidence

have (or keep) one's (or both) feet on the ground

(phrasal verb) be (or remain) practical and sensible

be of service

(phrasal verb) be available to assist someone

walk on eggshells

(phrasal verb) be extremely cautious about one's words or actions

grasp (or clutch or catch) at straws (or a straw)

(phrasal verb) be in sucha desperate situation as to resort to even the most unlikely means of salvation [from the proverb a drowning man will clutch at a straw]

take something up

(phrasal verb) become interested or engaged in a pursuit; begin to hold or fulfill a position or post; accept an offer or challenge; occupy time, space, or attention; pursue a matter later or further; (also take up) resume speaking after an interruption; shorten a garment by turning up the hem

talk shop

(phrasal verb) discuss matters concerning one's work, esp. at a social occasion when this is inappropriate (i.e. discuss one's trade, profession, or business)

chew something over

(phrasal verb) discuss or consider something at length

hold back

(phrasal verb) hesitate to act or speak

keep a weather eye on

(phrasal verb) observe very carefully, esp. for changes or developments

check one's privileges

(phrasal verb) reflect on the ways that one's social status might have given one advantages - even if one didn't ask for or earn them - while the social status of another (often someone who asked one to check their privileges) might have given them a disadvantage

keep one's counsel

(phrasal verb) say nothing about what one believes, knows, or plans

dog days

(pl. noun) (chiefly literary) the hottest period of the year (reckoned in antiquity from the heliacal rising of Sirius, the Dog Star); a period of inactivity or sluggishness

indicia

(pl. noun) (formal) signs, indications, or distinguishing marks; (U.S.) markings used on address labels or bulk mail as a substitute for stamps

qualia

(plural noun) (Philosophy) the internal and subjective component of sense perceptions, arising from stimulation of the senses by phenomena (i.e. what some consider to be individual instances of subjective, conscious experience, e.g. the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, or the perceived redness of an evening sky; "an unfamiliar term for something that could not be more familiar to each of us: the ways things seem to us" (Daniel Dennett))

shambles

(plural noun) (treated as singular) (informal) a state of total disorder; a butcher's slaughterhouse (archaic except in place names); a scene of carnage

belles-lettres

(plural noun) [also treated as singular] essays, particularly of literary and artistic criticism, written and read primarily for their aesthetic effect; literature considered as a fine art (i.e. literature regarded for its aesthetic value rather than its didactic or informative content; also, light, stylish writings, usually on literary or intellectual subjects)

home economics

(plural noun) [often treated as singular] (also family and consumer sciences (abbr. FCS)) cooking and other aspects of household management, esp. as taught at school (i.e. the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community) (the field deals with the relationship between individuals, families, and communities, and the environment in which they live; FCS is taught in secondary schools, colleges and universities, vocational schools, and in adult education centers; students include women and men; it prepares students for homemaking or professional careers, or to assist in preparing to fulfill real-life responsibilities at home; the field represents many disciplines including consumer science, nutrition, food preparation, parenting, early childhood education, family economics and resource management, human development, interior design, textiles, apparel design, as well as other related subjects. FCS education focuses on individuals and families living in society throughout the life span, thus dealing not only with families but also with their inter-relationships with the communities; other topics such as sexual education, food management, and fire prevention might also be covered)

analytics

(plural noun) [treated as singular or plural] the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics (i.e. the discovery and communication of meaningful patterns in data - especially valuable in areas rich with recorded information, analytics relies on the simultaneous application of statistics, computer programming and operations research to quantify performance); information resulting from the systematic analysis of data or statistics

phonaesthetics

(plural noun) [treated as singular] the study of the aesthetic properties of speech sound, in particular the study of sound sequences, as in phonaesthesia

hermeneutics

(plural noun) [usually treated as singular] the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts (i.e. the theory of text interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts) (it was initially applied to the interpretation, or exegesis, of scripture; it emerged as a theory of human understanding in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries through the work of Friedrich Schleiermacher and Wilhelm Dilthey; modern hermeneutics includes both verbal and nonverbal communication as well as semiotics, presuppositions, and preunderstandings; the terms "hermeneutics" and "exegesis" are sometimes used interchangeably - hermeneutics is a wider discipline which includes written, verbal, and nonverbal communication, while exegesis focuses primarily upon texts; hermeneutic, as a singular noun, refers to some particular method of interpretation (see, in contrast, double hermeneutic); "hermeneutic consistency" refers to the analysis of texts to achieve a coherent explanation of them; "philosophical hermeneutics" refers primarily to the theory of knowledge initiated by Martin Heidegger and developed by Hans-Georg Gadamer in his Truth and Method (1960))

trousers

(plural noun) an outer garment covering the body from the waist to the ankles, with a separate part for each leg

culturati

(plural noun) well-educated people who appreciate the arts (i.e. people deeply interested in cultural and artistic matters)

literati

(plural noun) well-educated people who are interested in literature

on an even keel

(prep. phrase) (of a ship or aircraft) having the same draft forward and aft (i.e. the situation in which a craft is proceeding in a level and smooth manner); (of a person or situation) functioning normally after a period of difficulty (i.e. to have a calm, even disposition; stable and balanced); (of a business or other activity) the state or characteristic of being well-controlled and running smoothly

pour encourager les autres

(prep. phrase) (often ironic) lit. "to encourage others" - said of an excessive punishment meted out as an example (the original is from Voltaire's Candide and referred to the execution of Admiral John Byng)

for the sake of argument

(prep. phrase) as a basis for discussion or reasoning (i.e. supposing that) (used to designate provisional and unendorsed assumptions that will be made at the beginning of an argument in order to explore their implications)

on fumes

(prep. phrase) with little of the original strength or energy remaining

once bitten, twice shy

(proverb) an unpleasant experience induces caution

there's no such thing as a free lunch

(proverb) it isn't possible to get something for nothing; (Economics) opportunity cost - the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen - exists; (Science) the universe as a whole is ultimately a closed system (there is no magic source of matter, energy, light, or indeed lunch, that does not draw resources from something else, and that will not eventually be exhausted)

there's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip

(proverb) many things can go wrong between the start of a project and its completion (i.e. nothing is certain until it has happened)

the wish is father to the thought

(proverb) we believe a thing because we wish it to be true

acquit (2)

(verb) (acquit oneself) conduct oneself or perform in a specified way; (acquit oneself of) (archaic) discharge (a duty or responsibility)

épater

(verb) (in phrase épater les bourgeois) shock people who are conventional or complacent

rue (1)

(verb) (rues, rue, or ruing, rued) [with obj.] bitterly regret (something one has done or allowed to happen); (noun) (archaic) repetenance (i.e. regret); compassion (i.e. pity)

decondition

(verb) (with obj.) cause to lose fitness or muscle tone, esp. through lack of exercise; (Psychiatry) reform or reverse (previously conditioned behavior), esp. in the treatment of phobia and other anxiety disorders in which the fear response to certain stimuli is brought under control; (informal) persuade (someone) to abandon a habitual mode of thinking

galvanize

(verb) (with obj.) shock or excite (someone), typically into taking action; (often as adj. galvanized) coat (iron or steel) with a protective layer of zinc

resile

(verb) [no obj.] (formal) abandon a position or a course of action

converge

(verb) [no obj.] (of lines) tend to meet at a point; (of several people or things) come together from different directions so as eventually to meet; (converge on/upon) come from different directions and meet at (a place); (of a number of things) gradually change so as to become similar or develop something in common; (Mathematics) (of a series) approximate in the sum of its terms toward a definite limit

temporize

(verb) [no obj.] avoid making a decision or committing oneself in order to gain time; temporarily adopt a particular course in order to conform to the circumstances

dither (verb 1, noun)

(verb) [no obj.] be indecisive; (noun) (informal) indecisive behavior; [in singular] a state of agitation

debouch

(verb) [no obj.] emerge from a narrow or confined space into a wide, open area

fulminate

(verb) [no obj.] express vehement protest; (literary) explode violently or flash like lightning; [usually as adj.] (Medicine) (of a disease or symptom) develop suddenly and severely; (noun) (Chemistry) a salt or ester of fulminic acid

speculate

(verb) [no obj.] form a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence; invest in stocks, property, or other ventures in the hope of gain but with the risk of loss

advance

(verb) [no obj.] move forward, typically in a purposeful way; make progress; [with obj.] cause (an event) to occur at an earlier date than planned; [with obj.] promote or help the progress of (a person, cause, or plan); [with obj.] put forward (a theory or suggestion); (esp. of shares of stock) increase in price; [with two objs.] lend (money) to (someone); pay (money) to (someone); (noun) a forward movement; a development or improvement; an increase or rise in amount, value, or price; an amount of money paid before it is due or for work only partly completed; a loan; (usually advances) an approach made to someone, typically with the aim of initiating a sexual encounter; (adj.) done, sent or supplied beforehand [PHRASES in advance ahead of time in advance of ahead of in time or space (i.e. before)]

slink

(verb) [no obj.] move smoothly and quietly with gliding steps, in a stealthy or sensuous manner; come or go unobtrusively or furtively; (noun) [in singular] a slinking movement or walk

coincide

(verb) [no obj.] occur at or during the same time; corresponding in nature (i.e. tally); correspond in position (i.e. meet or intersect); be in agreement

laze

(verb) [no obj.] spend time in a relaxed, lazy manner; [with obj.] (laze something away) pass time in a relaxed, lazy way; (noun) [in singular] a spell of lazing around

falter

(verb) [no obj.] start to lose strength or momentum; speak in a hesitant or unsteady voice; move unsteadily or in a way that shows lack of confidence

redound

(verb) [no obj.] to have a good or bad effect or result, as to the advantage or disadvantage of a person or thing; to result or accrue, as to a person; to come back or reflect upon a person as to honor or disgrace (usually followed by on or upon)

equivocate

(verb) [no obj.] use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself

plod

(verb) [no obj.] walk doggedly and slowly with heavy steps; work slowly and perseveringly at a dull task; (noun) a slow, heavy walk

tramp

(verb) [no obj.] walk heavily or noisily; walk through or over a place wearily or reluctantly and for long distances; [with obj.] tread or stamp on; (noun) a person who travels from place to place on foot in search of work or as a vagrant or beggar; [in singular] the sound of heavy steps, typically of several people; [in singular] a long walk, typically a tiring one; [usually as modifier] a cargo vessel that carries goods among many different ports rather than sailing a fixed route; (informal, chiefly North American) a promiscuous woman; a metal plate protecting the sole of a boot; the top of the blade of a spade

trudge

(verb) [no obj.] walk slowly and with heavy steps, typically because of exhaustion or harsh conditions; (noun) a difficult or laborious walk

toil

(verb) [no obj.] work extremely hard or incessantly; [with adverbial of direction] move slowly and with difficulty; (noun) exhausting physical labor

suppose (verb 1)

(verb) [with clause] assume that something is the case on the basis of evidence or probability but without proof or certain knowledge; used to make a reluctant or hesitant admission; used to introduce a hypothesis and trace or ask about what follows from it; [in imperative] used to introduce a suggestion; (of a theory or argument) assume or require that something is the case as a precondition; [with obj.] believe to exist or to possess a specified characteristic

presume

(verb) [with clause] suppose that something is the case on the basis of probability; take for granted that something exists or is the case; [no obj. with infinitive] be audacious enough to do something; [no obj. make unjustified demands (i.e. take liberties); [no obj. (presume on/upon) unjustifiably regard (something) as entitling one to privileges

indispose

(verb) [with obj.] (archaic) make (someone) unfit for or unable to do something; make (someone) averse to something (i.e. disincline)

obtund

(verb) [with obj.] (dated, chiefly Medicine) dull the sensitivity of (i.e. blunt, deaden)

requite

(verb) [with obj.] (formal) make appropriate return for (a favor, service, or wrongdoing); return a favor to (someone); respond to (love or affection) (i.e. return)

circumambulate

(verb) [with obj.] (formal) walk all the way around (something)

rile

(verb) [with obj.] (informal) make (someone) annoyed or irritated; (North Amer.) make (water) turbulent or muddy

dox

(verb) [with obj.] (informal) search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the Internet, typically with malicious intent

befall

(verb) [with obj.] (literary) (of something bad) happen to someone

groom

(verb) [with obj.] look after the coat of (a horse, dog, or other animal) by brushing and cleaning it; (of an animal) clean the fur or skin of; give a neat and tidy appearance to (someone): (as noun grooming); look after (a lawn, ski slope, or other surface); prepare or train (someone) for a particular purpose or activity; (of a pedophile) prepare (a child) for a meeting, especially via an Internet chat room, with the intention of committing a sexual offense; (noun) a person employed to take care of horses; a bridegroom; (Brit.) any of various officials of the royal household

contemplate

(verb) [with obj.] look thoughtfully for a long time at; think about; [no obj.] think profoundly and at length (i.e. meditate); have in mind as a probable though not certain intention

palliate

(verb) [with obj.] make (a disease or its symptoms) less severe or unpleasant without removing the cause; allay or moderate (fears or suspicions); disguise the seriousness or gravity of (an offense)

deaden

(verb) [with obj.] make (a noise or sensation) less intense; deprive of the power of sensation; deprive of force or vitality (i.e. stultify); make (someone) insensitive to something

reacquaint

(verb) [with obj.] make (someone) acquanted or familiar with someone or something again

stifle (1)

(verb) [with obj.] make (someone) unable to breathe properly (i.e. suffocate); restrain (a reaction) or stop oneself acting on (an emotion); prevent or constrain (an activity or idea)

routinize

(verb) [with obj.] make (something) into a matter of routine (i.e. subject to a routine)

freshen

(verb) [with obj.] make (something) newer, cleaner, or more attractive; (chiefly N. Amer.) add more liquid to (a drink) (i.e. top off); [no obj.] (of wind) become stronger and colder; (chiefly N. Amer.) add more liquid to (a drink) (i.e. top up); [no obj.] (N. Amer.) (of a cow) give birth and come into milk [PHRASAL VERBS freshen up revive oneself by washing oneself or changing into clean clothes freshen something up make something look newer or more attractive]

optimize

(verb) [with obj.] make the best or most effective use of (a situation, opportunity, or resource); (Computing) rearrange or rewrite (data, software, etc.) to improve efficiency of retrieval or processing

equalize

(verb) [with obj.] make the same in quantity, size, or degree throughout a place or group; [no obj.] become equal to a specified or standard level; [with obj.] make uniform in application or effect

disabuse

(verb) [with obj.] persuade (someone) that an idea or belief is mistaken

sow (1)

(verb) [with obj.] plant the seeds of (a plant or crop); plant (a piece of land) with seed; (be sown with) be thickly covered with; cause to appear or spread [PHRASES sow the seeds (or seed) of do something that will eventually bring about (a particular result, esp. a disastrous one)

incapacitate

(verb) [with obj.] prevent from functioning in a normal way; (Law) deprive (someone) of their legal capacity

inhibit

(verb) [with obj.] prevent or prohibit (someone) from doing something; (Psychology) voluntarily or involuntarily restrain the direct expression of (an instinctive impulse); (chiefly Psychology & Biochemistry) (chiefly of a drug or other substance) slow down or prevent (a process, reaction, or function) or reduce the activity of (an enzyme or other agent); make (someone) self-conscious and unable to act in a relaxed and natural way; (in ecclesiastical law) forbid (a member of the clergy) to exercise clerical functions

misread

(verb) [with obj.] read (a piece of text) wrongly; judge or interpret (a situation or a person's manner or behavior) incorrectly

de-escalate

(verb) [with obj.] reduce the intensity of (a conflict or potentially violent situation)

redress

(verb) [with obj.] remedy or set right (wrongs, injuries, undesirable or unfair situations, etc.); correct or reform (abuses, evils, etc.); remedy or relieve (suffering, want, etc.); (archaic) adjust evenly again, as a balance, or set upright

reciprocate

(verb) [with obj.] respond to (a gesture or action) by making a corresponding one; experience the same (love, liking, or affection) for someone as that person does for oneself; [no obj.] (of a part of a machine) move backward and forward in a straight line

rehabilitate

(verb) [with obj.] restore (someone) to health or normal life by training and therapy after imprisonment, addiction, or illness; restore (someone) to former privileges or reputation after a period of critical or official disfavor; return (something, esp. an environmental feature) to its former condition

circumscribe

(verb) [with obj.] restrict (something) within limits; (Geometry) draw (a figure) around another, touching it at points but not cutting it

circumnavigate

(verb) [with obj.] sail or travel all the way around (something, esp. the world); go around or avoid (an obstacle); avoid dealing with (something difficult or unpleasant)

repress

(verb) [with obj.] subdue (someone or something) by force; restrain, prevent, or inhibit (the expression or development of something); suppress (a thought, feeling, or desire) in oneself so that it becomes or remains subconscious; (Biology) prevent the transcription of (a gene)

homogenize

(verb) [with obj.] subject (milk) to a process in which the fat droplets are emulsified and the cream does not separate; (Biology) prepare a suspension of cell constituents from (tissue) by physical treatment in a liquid; make uniform or similar

rend

(verb) [with obj.] tear (something) into two or more pieces; (archaic) wrench (something) violently; (literary) cause great emotional pain to (a person or their heart) [PHRASES rend the air (literary) sound piercingly rend one's garments tear one's clothes as a sign of extreme grief or distress]

derailment (1c)

(verb) [with obj.] the obstruction of a process by diverting it from its intended course; something that occurs when discussion of one issue is diverted into discussion of another issue, often by the group who were being called out about their bad behaviour in the first place

capacitate (verb 1a)

[with obj.] (formal or archaic) make (someone) capable of a particular action or legally competent to act in a particular way

tried (adj.)

[attrib.] used in various phrases to describe something that has proved effective or reliable before

commune (verb)

[no obj.] (commune with) share one's intimate thoughts or feelings with (someone or something), esp. when the exchange in on a spiritual level; feel in close spiritual contact with; receive Holy Communion

dwell (verb)

[no obj.] [with adverbial of place] (formal) live in or at a specified place; (dwell on/upon) think, speak, or write at length about (a particular subject, esp. one that is a source of unhappiness, anxiety, or dissatisfaction); (dwell on/upon) (of one's eyes or attention) linger on (a particular object or place)

stand (verb 2c)

[no obj.] remain valid or unaltered

entreat

[reporting verb] ask someone earnestly or anxiously to do something; [with obj.] ask earnestly or anxiously for (something); [with obj.] (archaic) treat (someone) in a specified manner

modus vivendi

[usually in sing.] an arrangement or agreement allowing conflicting parties to coexist peacefully, either indefinitely or until a final settlement is reached; a way of living

cadge (verb)

[with obj. or no obj.] (informal) ask for or obtain (something to which one is not strictly entitled)

knacker (verb)

[with obj.] (often as adj. knackered) (informal) tire (someone) out (i.e. exhaust); damage severely [late 16th cent. (originally denoting a harness-maker, then a slaughterer of horses): possibly from obsolete knack 'trinket' The word also had the sense 'old worn-out horse' (late 18th cent). It is unclear whether the verb represents a figurative use of 'slaughter,' from the noun sense, or of 'castrate,' from a slang sense of the noun, 'testicles']

bridle (verb)

[with obj.] (usually be bridled) put a bridle on (a horse); bring (something) under control (i.e. curb); [no obj.] show one's resentment or anger, esp by throwing up the head and drawing in the chin

need (verb 2)

[with obj.] [as modal verb with negative or in questions] expresing necessity or obligation

stamp (verb 1)

[with obj.] bring down (one's foot) heavily on the ground or on something on the ground; crush, flatten, or remove with a heavy blow from one's feet; [no obj.] walk with heavy, forceful steps

burlesque (verb)

[with obj.] cause to appear absurd by parodying or copying in an exaggerated form

rein (verb)

[with obj.] check or guide (a horse) by pulling on its reins; keep under control (i.e. restrain)

nurse (verb)

[with obj.] give medical and other attention to (a sick person); [no obj.] care for the sick and infirm, especially as a profession; try to cure or alleviate (an injury, injured part, or illness) by treating it carefully and protectively; hold closely and carefully or caressingly; hold (a cup or glass) in one's hands, drinking from it occasionally; harbor (a belief or feeling), especially for a long time; take special care of, especially to promote development or well-being; feed (a baby) at the breast; [no obj.] be fed at the breast; (be nursed in) (dated) be brought up in (a specified condition); (Billiards & Snooker) try to play strokes which keep (the balls) close together

pretend (verb 1c, 2)

[with obj.] give the appearance of feeling or possessing (an emotion or quality) (i.e. simulate); [no obj.] (pretend to) lay claim to (a quality or title)

ape (verb)

[with obj.] imitate the behavior or manner of (someone or something), especially in an absurd or unthinking way

caricature (verb)

[with obj.] make or give a comically or grotesquely exaggerated representation of (someone or something)

curb (verb 1a)

[with obj.] restrain or keep in check

mock (verb)

[with obj.] tease or laugh at in a scornful or contemptuous manner; make (something) seem laughably unreal or impossible; mimic (someone or something) scornfully or contemptuously

humor (verb)

[with obj.] to comply with the humor, mood, or wishes of (someone) in order to soothe or make content or more agreeable, however unreasonable such wishes might be; (archaic) adapt or accommodate oneself to (something)

weather (verb)

[with obj.] wear away or change the apperance or texture of (something) by long exposure to the air; [no obj.] (of rock or other material) be worn away or altered by long exposure to the air; (usually as noun weathering) (Falconry) allow (a hawk) to spend a period perched on a block in the open air; come safely through (a storm); withstand (a difficulty or danger); (Sailing) (of a ship) get to the windward of (a cape or other obstacle); make (boards or tiles) overlap downward to keep out rain; (in building) slope or bevel (a surface) to throw off rain

address (verb 1-3)

[with obj.] write the name and address of the intended recipient on (an envelope, letter, or package); speak to (a person or an assembly), typically in a formal way; (address someone as) name someone in a specified way when talking or writing; (address something to) say or write remarks or a protest to (someone); think about and begin to deal with (an issue or problem)

Methodenstreit

a German term used to refer to an intellectual debate over research methodology or over methods (it can also be given meaning as to the way in which an academic inquiry is framed or pursued; in a general context, the writers studied the "nature of empirical analysis in social sciences", i.e. their "social scientific calling" aim to explore the question that "what empirical is?" as they feel the difference of "art" on one hand to the "philosophy" on other hand); specifically, an economics controversy commenced in the 1880s and persisting for more than a decade, between that field's Austrian School and the (German) Historical School, that concerned the place of general theory in social science and the use of history in explaining the dynamics of human action (it also touched on policy and political issues, including the roles of the individual and state; nevertheless, methodological concerns were uppermost and some early members of the Austrian School also defended a form of welfare state, as prominently advocated by the Historical School]

mono no aware

a Japanese term for the awareness of impermanence or transience of things, and both a transient gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as a longer, deeper gentle sadness about this state being the reality of life

Wakíŋyaŋ

a Lakota (Teton Sioux) word for "thunder" (Lakota wa can be translated with 'people, things' and kiŋyaŋ means 'to fly') (in a mythical context, the word is taken to mean "Thunder Spirit", "Thunder beings," or "Thunder birds" created by Inyan (the first of the superior Gods - he existed before the beginning) to be his companion; some suggest that Wakinyan is an active principle of Inyan that survived after he became stone, and through which he can still influence events in the Spirit world and the waking world)

latte macchiato

a coffee beverage whose name literally means stained milk - which refers to the method of preparations, wherein the milk is "stained" by the addition of espresso

motif (noun 1a-d)

a decorative design or pattern; a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition; (Music) a short succession of notes producing a single impression / a brief melodic or rhythmic formula out of which longer passages are developed; an ornament of lace, braid, etc., sewn separately on a garment

remove (noun)

a degree of remoteness or separation

granfalloon

a false karass (i.e., a group of people who imagine they have a connection—that is, shared identity or purpose—that does not really exist)

fancy (noun 1-2b)

a feeling of liking or attraction, typically one that is superficial or transient; the faculty of imagination; a thing that one supposes or imagines, typically an unfounded or tentative belief or idea (i.e. notion or whim)

contain (verb 2)

control or restrain (oneself or a feeling); prevent (a severe problem) from increasing in extent or intensity

grammatical aspect

a grammatical category that expresses how an action, event or state, denoted by a verb, relates to the flow of time (a basic aspectual distinction is that between perfective and imperfective aspects (not to be confused with perfect and imperfect verb forms; the meanings of the latter terms are somewhat different); perfective aspect is used in referring to an event conceived as bounded and unitary, without reference to any flow of time during ("I helped him"), while imperfective aspect is used for situations conceived as existing continuously or repetitively as time flows ("I was helping him"; "I used to help people"); further distinctions can be made, for example, to distinguish states and ongoing actions (continuous and progressive aspects) from repetitive actions (habitual aspect); certain aspectual distinctions express a relation in time between the event and the time of reference - this is the case with the perfect aspect, which indicates that an event occurred prior to (but has continuing relevance at) the time of reference: "I have eaten"; "I had eaten"; "I will have eaten"; different languages make different grammatical aspectual distinctions (e.g. none, re: tense-aspect-mood, or via the preterite-imperfect contrast; explicit consideration of aspect as a category first arose out of study of the Slavic languages)

Gran Chaco

a lowland plain in central South America that extends from southern Bolivia through Paraguay to northern Argentina (i.e. (Quechua: chaku, 'hunting land') a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region

karass

a network or group of people who are somehow affiliated or linked spiritually (i.e. a group of people linked in a cosmically significant manner, even when superficial links are not evident)

initiate (noun)

a person who has been initiated into an organization or activity, typically recently

wordrobe

a person's vocabulary (i.e. the lexicon of one's idiolect?)

difference (noun 1d)

a quantity by which amounts differ (i.e. the remainder left after subtraction of one value from another)

study (noun 3)

a room used or designed for private study, reading, writing, or the like (a study is a room in a house that is used for paperwork, computerwork, or reading; historically, the study of a house was reserved for use as the private office and reading room of a family father as the formal head of ahousehold, but today studies are generally either used to operate a home business or else open to the whole family; a typical study might contain a desk, chair, computer, desk lamps, bookshelves, books, and file cabinets; a spare bedroom is often utilized as a study, but many modern homes have a room specifically designated as a study; other terms used for rooms of this nature include den, home office, parlour, or library. A "study room" is more commonly a communal working area in a school, office etc.)

qualification (noun 3)

a statement or assertion that makes another less absolute

arrest (noun 2)

a stoppage or sudden cessation of motion (i.e. an act of stopping or the state of being stopped)

threshold

a strip of wood, metal, or stone forming the bottom of a doorway and crossed in entering a house or room; [in sing.] a point of entry or beginning; the beginning of an airport runway on which an aircraft is attempting to land; the magnitude or intensity that must be exceeded for a certain reaction, phenomenon, result, or condition to occur or be manifested; the maximum level of radiation or a concentration of a substance considered to be acceptable or safe; (Physiology & Psychology) a limit below which a stimulus causes no reaction; a level, rate, or amount at which something comes into effect

lavender linguistics

a term used by linguistics and advanced by William Leap to describe the study of language as it is used by gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) speakers (it "encompass[es] a wide range of everyday language practices" in LGBTQ communities; the term derives from the longtime association of the color lavender with LGBTQ communities; "language," in this context, may refer to any aspect of spoken or written linguistic practices, including speech patterns and pronunciation, use of certain vocabulary, and, in a few cases, an elaborate alternative lexicon such as Polari)

on pins and needles

in an agitated state of suspense

be (a) party to

be involved in

strike something up (2)

begin a friendship or conversation with someone, typically in a casual way

ride something out

come safely through something, esp. a storm or period of danger or difficulty (i.e. to endure something unpleasant; to succeed in surviving or getting through (something dangerous or harmful that cannot be stopped or avoided))

consonant (adj.)

denoting or relating to a consonant sound or letter; (consonant with) in agreement or harmony with; (Music) making a harmonious interval or chord

take something in (one's) stride

deal with something difficult or unpleasant in a calm and accepting way

dig one's own grave

do something foolish that causes one to fail or be ruined

on point

relevant; (U.S. informal) extremely good, attractive, or stylish

every now and then (or now and again)

from time to time (i.e. occasionally)

kanzashi

hair ornaments worn by women (many different styles exist, including silk flowers, wooden combs, and jade hairpins)

have a foot in both camps

have an interest or stake currently in two parties or sides

la petite mort

lit. "the little death", an idiom for orgasm (this term has generally been interpreted to describe the post-orgasmic state of unconsciousness that some people have after having some sexual experiences; more widely, it can refer to the spiritual release that comes with orgasm or to a short period of melancholy or transcendence as a result of the expenditure of the "life force"; literary critic Roland Barthes spoke of la petite mort as the chief objective of reading literature, the feeling one should get when experiencing any great literature; the term "la petite mort" or "the small death" does not always apply to sexual experiences: it can also be used when some undesired thing has happened to a person and has affected them so much that "a part of them dies inside" - a literary example of this is found in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles when he uses the phrase to describe how Tess feels after she comes across a rather gruesome omen after meeting with her own rapist: "She felt the petite mort at this unexpectedly gruesome information, and left the solitary man behind her")

l'appel de vide

lit. "call of the void (used to refer to intellectual suicidal thoughts, or the urge to engage in self-destructive (suicidal) behaviors during everyday life - examples include thinking about swerving in to the opposite lane while driving or feeling the urge to jump off a cliff edge while standing on it, walk into the ocean and never return, or sate the Siren song; these thoughts are not accompanied by emotional distress

Cinq à sept

lit. 'five to seven', cinq à sept is a Quebec French term for a social gathering that takes place after work and prior to the dinner hours (roughly between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.) (it may bring together friends or colleagues or may be organized around a specific event, such as a book launch or vernissage; wine, beer, and cocktails are served along with finger foods and other hors d'oeuvres; such a party held later may be named for the specific time (e.g. six à huit); a cinq à sept can be a formal gathering held in a wide range of public and private spaces, such as art galleries, university campuses, and places of work, but it is also commonly used more informally as a promotion in bars to attract patrons; the English equivalent might be a "wine and cheese" gathering in the more formal usage or happy hour in the informal usage; it may also be written as 5 à 7; in France, cinq à sept was originally used as a synecdoche for a visit to one's mistress, derived from the time of day Frenchmen would make such a visit)

incongruous

not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something

no-lose

not involving losing or the perception of having lost (in an argument, conflict, etc.); specifically (usually in "no-lose situation") designating a state of affairs in which a favourable outcome or success is assured

perlocution

noun (Philosophy & Linguistics) an act of speaking or writing which in itself effects or constitutes the intended action, e.g. ordering, warning, or promising (Compare with illocution)

illocution

noun (Philosophy & Linguistics) an act of speaking or writing which in itself effects or constitutes the intended action, e.g. ordering, warning, or promising (Compare with perlocution)

Megillah

one of five books of the Hebrew scriptures (the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther) that are appointed to be read on certain Jewish notable days, especially the Book of Esther, read at the festival of Purim; (megillah) a tediously detailed discourse (as noun the whole megillah) (N. Amer.) (informal) something in its entirety, especially a complicated set of arrangements or a long-winded story

up to speed

operating at full speed; (of a person or company) performing at an anticipated rate or level; (of a person) fully informed or up to date

performative turn

previously used as a metaphor for theatricality, performance is now often employed as a heuristic principle to understand human behaviour (the assumption is that all human practices are 'performed', so that any action at whatever moment or location can be seen as a public presentation of the self; this methodological approach entered the social sciences and humanities in the 1990s but is rooted in the 1940s-50s; instead of focusing solely on given symbolic structures and texts, scholars stress the active, social construction of reality as well as the way that individual behavior is determined by the context in which it occurs; it functions both as a metaphor and an analytical tool and thus provides a perspective for framing and analyzing social and cultural phenomena; it is a bodily practice that produces meaning; in the academic field, as opposed to the domain of the performing arts, the concept of performance is generally used to highlight dynamic interactions between social actors or between a social actor and his or her immediate environment; an equivocal concept, in may refer to, in the more formal sense, a framed event (an enactment out of convention and tradition), while in a weaker sense, the informal scenarios of daily life, suggesting that everyday practices are 'performed')

agnostic (adj.)

relating to agnostics or agnosticism; (in a nonreligious context) having a doubtful or noncommittal attitude toward something; [usually in combination] (Computing) denoting or relating to hardware or software that is compatible with many types of platforms or operating systems

remainder (noun 1c)

the number that is still left over in a division in which one quantity does not exactly divide another

Scout's honor

the oath taken by a Boy Scout or Girl Scout; (informal) used to indicate that one has the same honorable standards associated with Scouts and so will stand by a promise or tell the truth

pachuca

the pachuco's female counterpart, often idealized as a beautiful Latina/Hispanic woman in extravagant evening dress or a female version of the zoot suit, out with a pachuco boyfriend for a night on the town (pachucas broke taboos of their time by wearing men's-style pants sometimes and appearing in public often with their pachuco boyfriends; at the time, a "good woman" was considered to have her place in the home; they defied male/female stereotypes and roles in Mexican-American culture in much the same way flappers had in European-American culture in the 1920s)

Amaterasu

the principal deity of the Japanese Shinto religion, the sun goddess and ancestor of Jimmu, founder of the imperial dynasty

check (1) (verb 2)

stop or slow down the progress of (something undesirable); curb or restrain (a feeling or emotion); (Ice Hockey) hamper or neutralize (an opponent) with one's body or stick; [no obj.] (check against) provide a means fo preventing

weight-bearing (adj.)

supporting the weight of one's body (i.e. (of exercise) working against the force of gravity and for which the feet and legs carry a person's weight - as in walking, jogging, and dancing); supporting the weight of a building

El Dorado

the name of a fictitious country or city abounding in gold, formerly believed to exist somewhere in the region of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers; (as noun an El Dorado or eldorado) a place of great abundance

at issue

under discussion (i.e. in dispute)

in for a penny, in for a pound

used to express someone's intention to complete an enterprise once it has been undertaken, however much time, effort, or money this entails

turn (also turn over) in one's grave

used to express the opinion that something would have caused anger or distress to someone who is now dead

time immemorial

used to refer to a point of time in the past that was so long ago that people have no knowledge or memory of it

stride

verb (past strode | strōd | ; past participle stridden | ˈstridn |) [no obj., with adverbial of direction] walk with long, decisive steps in a specified direction; [with obj.] walk about or along (a street or other place) withlong, decisive steps; [no obj.] (stride across/over) cross (an obstacle) with onelong step; [with obj.] (literary) bestride; (noun) a long, decisive step; [in singular] the length of a step or manner of taking steps in walking or running; (usually strides) a step or stage in progress toward an aim: great strides have been made toward equality; (one's stride) a good or regular rate of progress, especially after a slow or hesitant start; [as modifier] denoting or relating to a rhythmic style of jazz piano playing in which the left hand alternately plays single bass notes on the downbeat and chords an octave higher on the up beat