Scattered Wits: An Understatement from Moby Dick

"Nor have I been at all sparing of historical whale research, when it has seemed needed."

Cool New Vocab Words

I love learning new words. I hope writing them down here will help me remember them and satisfy my desire to share my newest word with everyone.
wyvern - a winged two-legged dragon with a barbed tail
mulct - extract money from someone by fine or taxation; deprive someone of money or possessions by fraudulent means
persiflage - light and slightly contemptuous mockery of banter
anfractuous - sinuous or circuitous
perfervid - intense and impassioned
fulsome - complimentary or flattering to an excessive degree
doyen - the most respected or prominent person in a particular field
apposite - apt in the circumstances or in relation to something
opprobrium - harsh criticism or censure
coterie - a small group of people with shared interests or tastes, esepcially one that is exclusive of other people
thaumaturge - a worker of wonders and performer of miracles; a magician
cynosure - a person or thing that is the center of attention or admiration
patois - the dialect of the common people of a region, differing in various respects from the standard language of the rest of the country
mage - a magician or learned person
samizdat - the clandestine copying and distribution of literature banned by the state, esp. formerly in the communist countries of eastern Europe
proclitic - a word pronounced with so little emphasis that it is shortened and forms part of the following word, for example you in y'all

Scattered Wits

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

An Understatement from Moby Dick

No comments: