Word of the Day for Friday, May 28, 2010

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ethereal \ih-THEER-ee-uhl\, adjective:

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1. Light, airy, or tenuous.

2. Extremely delicate or refined.

3. Heavenly or celestial.

4. Pertaining to the upper regions of space.

5. Chemistry. Pertaining to, containing, or resembling ethyl ether.

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Ethereal President, lightweight of them all,

No matter how much you lie, you're gonna take a fall.

Your presidency is covered in oil, this we all know,

So go crawl back under your Chicago rock, we're tired of you, B.O.!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Ethereal enters English from the Ancient Greek aitherios, "pertaining to the upper air."

Word of the Day for Thursday, May 27, 2010

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waxing \WAK-sing\, verb:

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1. To increase in extent, quantity, intensity or power.

2. (Of the moon) to increase in the extent of its illuminated portion before the full moon.

3. To grow or become.

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The waxing of the B.O.'s [irrational] popularity has come and gone!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Waxing often refers specifically to the moon (the increase in the size of its illuminated portion prior to the full moon), but is often put to general use. Often paired with wane, "to decrease in intensity."

Word of the Day for Wednesday, May 26, 2010

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regnant \REG-nuhnt\, adjective:

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1. Prevalent; widespread.

2. Reigning; ruling (usually used following the noun it modifies): a queen regnant.

3. Exercising authority, rule, or influence.

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The regnant socialist philosophy of the B.O. is going to bring his administration to a screeching halt in 2012!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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[Okay, everyone, use the B.O. Word of the Day to confound and confuse your liberal friends on a daily basis. They won't want to challenge you because they won't have a clue as to what you just said. They'll just know that their president has been slammed, but they won't know how! The B.O. Word of the Day is fun and educational. Use it today. Use it everyday.]

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Regnant relates to the Latin regnans, "to rule", a verb that is the ancestor of numerous related English words, such as reign.

Word of the Day for Tuesday, May 25, 2010

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shivaree \SHIV-uh-ree\, noun:

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1. A mock serenade with kettles, pans, horns, and other noisemakers given for a newly married couple.

2. An elaborate, noisy celebration.
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verb:

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1. To serenade with a shivaree.

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On the day that the B.O. was born his hometown in Kenya had a spontaneous shivaree in celebration of their newest village member; it was short-lived!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Shivaree is an adaptation of the French word charivari, which describes an old custom that celebrates a marriage. Shivaree is centered along the Mississippi.

Word of the Day for Monday, May 24, 2010

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adumbrate \a-DUHM-breyt\, verb:

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1. To foreshadow; prefigure.

2. To produce a faint image or resemblance of; to outline or sketch.

3. To darken or conceal partially; overshadow.

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The past known associates of the B.O. did much to adumbrate what was to come from his presidency; it's too bad that so many voters just didn't care at the time!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Adumbrate derives from Latin adumbrare, "to sketch" (literally, "to shade towards," hence "to foreshadow or prefigure"), from ad-, "towards" + umbrare, "to shade," from umbra, "shadow."

Word of the Day for Sunday, May 23, 2010

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phlegmatic \fleg-MAT-ik\, adjective:

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1. Not easily excited to action or display of emotion; apathetic; sluggish.

2. Self-possessed, calm, or composed.

3. Of the nature of or abounding in the humor phlegm.

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The B.O.'s phlegmatic unconcern with what the American public wants is staggering!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Phlegmatic finds its origin in medical theories of the humors, the phlegmatic temperament. The Greek root phlegmatikós, "pertaining to phlegm," is the source.

Word of the Day for Thursday, May 20, 2010

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plucky \PLUHK-ee\, adjective:

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Having or showing pluck or courage; brave.

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It takes a plucky news correspondent to ask the B.O. a challenging question!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Plucky is originally boxing slang from the 1800s, from the meaning "heart, viscera" as that which is "plucked" from slaughtered livestock.

Word of the Day for Tuesday, May 18, 2010

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tipple \TIP-uhl\, verb:

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1. To drink intoxicating liquor, esp. habitually or to some excess.

2. To drink (intoxicating liquor), esp. repeatedly, in small quantities.

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noun:

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1. Intoxicating liquor.

2. A device that tilts or overturns a freight car to dump its contents.

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Tipple is an interesting word that could be used in a couple of ways in the same sentence; for example -- As the B.O. tipples, he becomes the tipple that is overturning this country's economic freight train!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Tipple is a back formation from the Middle English tipeler, "to tap." Tipsy is also related.

Word of the Day for Monday, May 17, 2010

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majuscule \MAJ-uh-skyool\, adjective:

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1. Of letters written either as capitals or uncials.

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noun:

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1. A large letter, either capital or uncial, used in writing or printing.

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The majuscule "B.O." is a pejorative double entendre reference to both stinky Body Odor and Barack Obama - i.e., any way you look at it, B.O. stinks!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Majuscule derives from the Latin majuscula, related to "major."

Word of the Day for Friday, May 14, 2010

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sawyer \SAW-yer\, noun:

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1. One that is employed in sawing wood.

2. Also called sawyer beetle. Any of several long-horned beetles, esp. one of the genus Monochamus, the larvae of which bore in the wood of coniferous trees.

3. A tree or a part of a tree that protrudes above the surface in a body of water.

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A little known report on the B.O.'s previous activities prior to his arriving on the political scene in Chicago indicated that he had actually been employed for a short period of time as a sawyer in the wood mills around Shanghai, China; in an unfortunate accident, however, he lost his brains - but the always inventive and resourceful Chinese doctors were able to replace his empty head with sawdust!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Before it became a surname, sawyer was a common occupational title, from the Middle English sawier, "to saw."

Word of the Day for Thursday, May 13, 2010

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afterclap \AF-ter-klap\, noun:

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An unexpected, often unpleasant sequel to a matter that had been considered closed.

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Those that voted for the B.O. are now bewailing the afterclap of socialist-Marxist driven legislation!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Although it is the combination of two common English words, afterclap mostly found use in a literary context until early American writers made the term more popular.

Word of the Day for Wednesday, May 12, 2010

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malapert \MAL-uh-purt\, adjective:

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1. Unbecomingly bold or saucy.

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noun:

1. A malapert person.

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The B.O. cops a malapert attitude when it comes to his opposition!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Malapert relates to the Old French mal apert, "ill-skilled," which means malapert and expert share a common ancestor.

Word of the Day for Tuesday, May 11, 2010

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matriculate \muh-TRIK-yuh-leyt\, verb:

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1. To enroll in a college or university as a candidate for a degree.

2. To register (a coat of arms), used esp. in Scottish heraldry.

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It's interesting that when the B.O. matriculated to the various colleges that he attended that he used his Kenyan heritage to gain admittance!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Matriculate derives from the Latin matrix, "list".

Word of the Day for Monday, May 10, 2010

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mugwump \MUHG-wuhmp\, noun:

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

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

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Before he became President, the B.O. had played the mugwump on issues by voting "Present" so that he could later claim either side as his position, depending on which group he was talking to!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Mugwump originates in the 19th century as a term for a Republican who refused to support the party nominee, James G. Blaine, in the presidential campaign of 1884. It is a rough adoption from the Algonquian (tribe native to the Massachusetts region) word muggumquomp, "war leader". In his 1959 novel "Naked Lunch" American author William S. Burroughs uses mugwump as the name of a bizarre creature.

Word of the Day for Friday, May 7, 2010

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eristic \e-RIS-tik\, adjective:

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1. Pertaining to controversy or disputation; controversial.

2. Of argument for the sole purpose of winning, regardless of the reason.

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noun:

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1. Argument for the sole purpose of winning, regardless of the reason.

2. The art of disputation.

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The B.O. and his politburo continue to appear to purport logical assessments of their socialistic agendas, but they are producing nothing but eristic dialog and arguments in favor of their position!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Eristic relates both to Eris, the Greek goddess of strife, as well as what Plato called eristic dialogue, a type of discourse with no reasonable goal beyond winning the argument.

Word of the Day for Thursday, May 6, 2010

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perpend \per-PEND\, verb:

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1. To ponder; deliberate.

2. To be attentive; reflect.

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noun:

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

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While to some it may seem that the B.O. does not perpend the long term negative effects that his policies will have on America, I contend that he knows exactly what those effects will be!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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While perpend as a noun means "a large stone passing through the entire thickness of a wall" (related to perpendicular), the verb form not only possesses a different pronunciation but also emerges independently from the Latin root perpendere, "to weigh carefully."

Word of the Day for Wednesday, May 5, 2010

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vamoose \va-MOOS\, verb:

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1. To leave hurriedly or quickly; decamp.

2. To leave hurriedly or quickly from; decamp from.

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It's high time for the B.O. to vamoose from the White House; maybe he could become the CEO of BP since they seem think so highly of him!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Vamoose originates in the 1800s, derived from the Spanish vamos, or "let us go." The word likely entered American usage through Mexico.

Word of the Day for Tuesday, May 4, 2010

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iatrogenic \ahy-a-truh-JEN-ik\, adjective:

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A malady induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures.

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I wonder how many iatrogenic maladies will be occurring as a direct result of the B.O.'s takeover of the soon to become overburdened and overwhelmed health care industry?

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Iatrogenic stems from the Greek iatros, physician.

Word of the Day for Monday, May 3, 2010

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jnana \juh-NAH-nuh\, noun:

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Absolute knowledge acquired through meditation and study as a means of reaching (in Hinduism) Brahman; (in Buddhism) a state of awareness independent of conceptual thought.

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I wonder if the B.O. believes that he has achieved jnana through his lifetime study of both Islam and Marxism!

--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

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Jnana is a Sanskrit word for knowledge that refers to a state of authentic awareness that is identical with absolute, and possibly divine, knowledge.