In the Wild (C) Flashcards
Hagiography
noun.
The writing of the lives of saints, a biography that treats its subjects with undue reverence.
Offering 93 minutes of radiant rodent hagiography, Mickey: The Story of a Mouse is maybe the most polished of Disney+’s recent documercials.
From Greek ‘hagio’ (holy/saintly) + graph
Conte
noun.
A short story as a form of literary composition.
Contes are more anecdotal than conventional short stories, coming out of the tradition of oral tales and often devoted to a single theme.
French, based on Latin computare ‘reckon, sum up’
Elan
noun.
Energy, style, enthusiasm. (verve?)
With the white-tablecloth elan of a high-end steakhouse, Fogo de Chão is nevertheless fine with your shorts, your hat and your baby stroller.
mid 19th century: from French élan, from élancer ‘to dart’, from é- ‘out’ + lancer ‘to throw’.
Peremptory
adj.
Final, not admitting appeal.
OR: (related), imperious, haughty
OR: exceedingly urgent/commanding.
In other words, bombs are blunter, more peremptory instruments.
late Middle English (as a legal term): via Anglo-Norman French from Latin peremptorius ‘deadly, decisive’, from perempt- ‘destroyed, cut off’, from the verb perimere, from per- ‘completely’ + emere ‘take, buy’.
Garrulous
adj.
Annoyingly or pointlessly talkative.
Salman grew ever more garrulous as the yellow liquid in the bottle went down; Baal couldn’t recall when he’d last heard anyone talk up such a storm.
early 17th century: from Latin garrulus (from garrire ‘to chatter, prattle’)
Mondegreen
noun.
A phrase resulting from the mishearing of something recited/sung (lyrics, poetry).
“Excuse me while I kiss this guy” substituted for Jimi Hendrix’s “Excuse me while I kiss the sky” remains one of the most widely reported mondegreens of all time.
1950s: from Lady Mondegreen, a misinterpretation of the phrase laid him on the green, from the traditional ballad ‘The Bonny Earl of Murray’.
Sagacious
adj.
Discerning, wise, shrewd.
The winner is praised for his sagacious grasp of the hopes and anxieties of the public, the loser is excoriated for the many and obvious blunders that derailed his candidacy.
Google (OED) says: early 17th century: from Latin sagax, sagac- ‘wise’
But M-W says: sagacious comes from sagire, a Latin verb meaning “to perceive keenly.”
Solecism
noun.
An ungrammatical combination of words/a minor blunder in speech, more generally a breach of the accepted order of things.
There is nothing overtly outrageous here, no solecisms or lapses in taste.
mid 16th century: from French solécisme, or via Latin from Greek soloikismos, from soloikos ‘speaking incorrectly’, from Soloi, a city where apparently people spoke ‘corrupted’ Greek.
Dissemble
verb.
Hide under a false appearance, simulate
The doctors attending him are public servants and shouldn’t dissemble or strategize when answering questions that citizens are entitled to ask.
late Middle English: alteration (suggested by semblance) of obsolete dissimule, via Old French from Latin dissimulare ‘disguise, conceal’
Mien
noun.
Appearance, demeanor (~vibe~)
With his deadpan mien and dark eyes that shift fluidly between blank and befuddled, Scott is a superb fit for Severance’s central everyman.
early 16th century: probably from French mine ‘expression’, influenced by obsolete demean ‘bearing, demeanour’
Evince
verb.
Reveal, indicate.
These candidates also evince another hallmark of Trumpery: purveying dishonesty and disinformation.
late 16th century (in the sense ‘prove by argument or evidence’): from Latin evincere ‘overcome, defeat’
Farrago
noun.
A confused mixture.
In the weeks after the November election, Dobbs had spent most of his prime-time hour on a farrago of conspiracy theories about how Donald Trump had actually defeated Joe Biden.
mid 17th century: from Latin, literally ‘mixed fodder’, from far ‘corn’.
Sepulchral
adj.
Gloomy, dismal, relating to tombs or interment.
Morse was tall and thin and as gray and sepulchral as a church about to be condemned.
Middle English: via Old French from Latin sepulcrum ‘burial place’, from sepelire ‘bury’.
Orotund
adj.
(Of a voice) resonant and imposing, (of a literary style) pompous and pretentious (tumid/tumescent)
Novoselov had a boisterous, orotund way of talking that even the interpreter seemed to have trouble making sense of.
late 18th century: from Latin ore rotundo ‘with rounded mouth’.
Expostulate
verb.
Express strong disapproval or disagreement (remonstrate)
No Senator can match South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham in terms of heated, out-of-control expostulations.
mid 16th century (in the sense ‘demand how or why, state a complaint’): from Latin expostulat- ‘demanded’, from the verb expostulare, from ex- ‘out’ + postulare ‘demand’.
Salmagundi
noun.
A dish of chopped meat, anchovies, eggs, onions, and seasoning
More generally: a mixture; a miscellaneous collection.
The book is a salmagundi-style gathering of thirty-nine essays.
from French salmigondis, of unknown origin.
Arcane
adj.
Mysterious, esoteric
Zoning law — the arcane system of hyperlocal rules for what can be built where — isn’t usually a subject that people get fired up about.
mid 16th century: from Latin arcanus, from arcere ‘to shut up’, from arca ‘chest’.
Fustian
noun.
Pompous or pretentious speech or writing, more generally anything ‘high-flown and affected’
Originally: a specific kind of cotton/linen fabric
Criticism of his earliest work accused the poet of being excessively fustian and florid
Perhaps from the fact that fustian was sometimes used to cover pillows and cushions, implying that the language was ‘padded’
Brigandage
noun.
Highway robbery
Citizens are encouraged to avoid the bridge at night where possible, as it has been a locus of brigandage in the past.
late Middle English (also denoting an irregular foot soldier): from Old French, from Italian brigante, literally ‘(person) contending’, from brigare ‘contend’ (see brigade).
Parochialism
adj.
Pettiness or narrowness (of opinion)
Another measure of parochialism is the percentage of Americans who have a passport, a number that is drastically lower than in many other countries in the global north.
late Middle English: from Old French, from ecclesiastical Latin parochialis ‘relating to an ecclesiastical district’, from parochia
Algesia
noun.
The capacity to feel pain.
Super strength and advanced regeneration don’t equate to a lack of algesia; characters like Cap and Deadpool still feel pain.
early 18th century: from Greek algein ‘feel pain’.
Educe
verb.
To bring out something latent.
While the interviewer had seemed mildly amused up to that point, this latest comment educed a proper laugh.
late Middle English: from Latin educere ‘lead out’, from e- (variant of ex- ) ‘out’ + ducere ‘to lead’.
Accidie
noun.
(also Acedia)
Spiritual or mental sloth, apathy
Horowitz, though, is more interested in contemplating an older Bond filling up with accidie, wondering what it’s all for.
early 17th century: via late Latin from Greek akēdia ‘listlessness’, from a- ‘without’ + kēdos ‘care’.
Vertiginous
adj.
Extremely high or steep, related to turning, related to vertigo.
The vertiginous slopes and sea cliffs of this five-square-mile island in the Caribbean don’t leave much space to land a plane.
early 17th century: from Latin vertiginosus, from vertigo ‘whirling about’, from vertere ‘to turn’
