Word of the Day for Wednesday, November 23, 2011
crepitate \KREP-i-teyt\, verb:
To make a crackling sound; crackle.
The B.O. and his family were curled up by the fireplace, listening to their roaring fire crepitate, and watching their favorite Russian news program when, out of the blue, the news anchor flipped him off; "Well," he retorted to the anchor with as supercilious a look as he could muster, "at least I have a teleprompter that I can read from!"; isn't he quite the pithy one!
--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog
The lampwicks crepitate; their flames are about to go out, long mosquitoes flit in rapid circlings about them.-- Gustave Flaubert, The Temptation of Saint Anthony
This horrible talk, however, evidently possessed a potent magic for my friend; and his imagination, checked for a while by the influence of his kinsman, began to ferment and crepitate.-- Henry James, Stories Revived
Crepitate is from the Latin crepitare which meant “to rustle or chatter.”
No comments:
Post a Comment