Posts tagged as:

POLITICS

BESOT [bee-SAHT]: to infatuate; obsess (sometimes with drink)

March 20, 2013

She didn’t mean it in a positive way.   In fact, she was being very negative about people being “besotted” with a particular political attitude. I thought to myself, I don’t think there is such a word.   I was right.  There is a word besot, though.  So I had a little argument with my friend, Riekie [...]

Read the full article →

HYPERBOLIC [hahy-per-BOL-ik]: intentionally over-stated, exaggerated

March 4, 2013

I”m not a mathematician by any way you define it, so I’m going to intentionally avoid the definition of hyperbolic as it relates to math. Instead, I’m going to ask you to visit the meaning of hyperbolic expressions, or hyperbole, as it is employed in speech patterns.   It is a term we encounter occasionally, usually [...]

Read the full article →

JANISSARY: a devoted, loyal, subservient follower

February 11, 2013

There are sufficient numbers of examples of people who have devoted themselves to others to the point of becoming a janissary.   That word is meant to depict a person who is unflinching in one’s devotion to another, to the point of becoming subservient to them in most things.   While it is commendable to  be faithful [...]

Read the full article →

PENCHANT: a strong inclination toward something

December 29, 2012

Different people have penchants toward different things.  Popeye, for instance, loved spinach, and whenever he was in trouble all he had to do was pop open a can of spinach and consume it and his muscles took over. It isn’t all that simple for most people, in spite of their penchants.   I happen to like [...]

Read the full article →

CARAPACE [KAR-uh-peys] : a hard shell, as on a turtle or armadillo

December 9, 2012

I am of the opinion that there is no such thing as a living armadillo.   Having lived in the near southwest for several years and traveling the roads pretty frequently, I have seen my share of armadillos, that creepy, pointy animal with a hard shell and a long, bony tail.  But they are all dead, [...]

Read the full article →

KOWTOW [kou-tou] : to act in a subservient manner, to bow before authority

November 15, 2012

  There are respectable ways  of respecting authority.   It is something we try to teach children from an early age.   Some people are good at it; some aren’t. To demand respect is the least appropriate method.  To expect people (children) to kowtow simply because people (parents) believe they are superior is to establish a theme [...]

Read the full article →

CLIMATE CHANGE: a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years*

November 3, 2012

Nobody likes to be ignored.   Including the Earth. Despite numerous optimal opportunities to speak on the issue of Climate Change, both major political parties have basically ignored the hot potato issue over the past year.   This past week the environment roared back, introducing Hurricane Sandy to a part of the country least capable of handling [...]

Read the full article →

RUE: to wish that something had never been done; sorrow over a previous action

October 27, 2012

In this economic era we often hear the words “buyer’s remorse” and “seller’s regret.”   It has to do with disappointment over having made an economic arrangement about the sale or purchase of property based upon standards of the moment.  When the situation changed dramatically, there was sorrow that the principals over-reacted.   It could be said [...]

Read the full article →

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: one who “coaches” a completed experience when it is safe… after it’s over

October 23, 2012

It’s always easier to prognosticate and speculate when you have the facts.  That’s true particularly when the event under scrutiny has already taken place. A Monday morning quarterback is one who tries to sound profound, but only comments after the event is over and the results are known.   It’s easy to say, “I think New [...]

Read the full article →

CONVOLUTED [kon-vuh-loo-tid] : twisted, difficult to understand

October 11, 2012

The word convoluted has a practical meaning, that being “to coil.”   It has to do with wires, tubes, hoses and such things. But there is another, even more common use for the word convoluted.  It is in the realm of communication.   A convoluted explanation for something is twisted, confused, and difficult to unwind.    Some people [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries