What Word Did You Learn Today?

[BillF]

Bricolage: Construction or creation from a diverse range of available things.

Reading a biography and the sentence goes: "But Whitefield was not averse to a kind of spiritual bricolage in his reading habits."

I think it's French for what we call DIY. Do you say DIY in the States, too?

We do use that acronym, not really in an education sense (at least, that's how it seems to me). I think we would use the word eclectic to describe DIY referring to education.

People use DIY here to refer to doing household jobs - such as painting, decorating or repairs - yourself, rather than call out - and pay - a specialist.

That's how we colonists use it as well.

[paul secor]

In P.G. Wodehouse's Right Ho, Jeeves: chandler - a retail dealer in specified goods or equipment.

It might be a word that's used more regularly in the U.K., but not here in the U.S.

[JSngry]

Also see "DIY" used a lot to refer to musicians who make their own records, have their own labels, etc.

[BillF]

In P.G. Wodehouse's Right Ho, Jeeves: chandler - a retail dealer in specified goods or equipment.

It might be a word that's used more regularly in the U.K., but not here in the U.S.

Yes, "ship's chandler" is known here - at least among people of my age!

[A Lark Ascending]

tergiversation

Came across it in the context of the diplomacy of the late 1930s. Assumed it was a typo.

1. The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.  [quotations ▼]
2. The act of evading any clear course of action or speech, of being deliberately ambiguous; equivocation; fickleness.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tergiversation

[Matthew]

tergiversation

Came across it in the context of the diplomacy of the late 1930s. Assumed it was a typo.

1. The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.  [quotations ▼]
2. The act of evading any clear course of action or speech, of being deliberately ambiguous; equivocation; fickleness.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tergiversation

That's one weird looking word... Never seen it before.

[A Lark Ascending]

Context was:

"For all the tergiversations of the last days of August 1939, his determination to invade Poland, even at the risk of a general European war, could not be shaken."

[BillF]

tergiversation

Came across it in the context of the diplomacy of the late 1930s. Assumed it was a typo.

1. The act of abandoning something or someone, of changing sides; desertion; betrayal.  [quotations ▼]
2. The act of evading any clear course of action or speech, of being deliberately ambiguous; equivocation; fickleness.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tergiversation

Back to the school Latin! Tergum verso: I turn the back. Latin of some use then?

[BillF]

echt

"an adjective in the German and Dutch languages meaning genuine or authentic". (As quoted by Leeway).

All that time spent on Latin and Greek wasn't going to help me with this one :-)

[Dave Garrett]

floccinaucinihilipilification

The act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant, of having no value or being worthless.

Often cited as the longest non-technical word in the English language, being one letter longer than the commonly cited antidisestablishmentarianism. In the debate on the remuneration of EU staff, Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg used the word on 21st February 2012 making it the longest word ever used in the British House of Commons.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/floccinaucinihilipilification

[Late]

tergiversation

Came across it in the context of the diplomacy of the late 1930s.

It's also the title of the fifth track from this album:

[A Lark Ascending]

tergiversation

Came across it in the context of the diplomacy of the late 1930s.

It's also the title of the fifth track from this album:

More evidence that I ought to pay more attention to records I own rather than constantly buying new ones. I have that on the Mosaic box. I've clearly been tergiversating about playing it again.

[page]

echt

"an adjective in the German and Dutch languages meaning genuine or authentic". (As quoted by Leeway).

All that time spent on Latin and Greek wasn't going to help me with this one :-)

Wait till you'll have to pronounce it.

You could translate it also as "real" or "definitely" and also to say "Really?". And it has another meaning in the expression "in de echt verbonden" (bonded in the ...) which means 'married". This is all from the Dutch language.

[Thomas Jackson]

internuncial - serving to announce or connect.

word

[kinuta]

Aran suwat, Thai for good morning.

Edited 17 Jan 2015 by kinuta

[A Lark Ascending]

Tatterdemalion

A person wearing ragged or tattered clothing; a ragamuffin.

Title of a record I downloaded yesterday.

[alankin]

Asemic writing.

A wordless open semantic form of writing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asemic_writing

One more:

Tumbrel

"A two-wheeled cart or wagon typically designed to be hauled by a single horse or ox. Their original use was for agricultural work; in particular they were associated with carrying manure. Their most notable use was taking prisoners to the guillotine during the French Revolution."

Edited 25 Jan 2015 by alankin

[ejp626]

More of a spelling thing than an actual definition.

The UK/Canadian spelling of glamor is glamour, but glamourous is not the correct spelling, but rather glamorous is considered correct. How odd (and inconsistent).

Edited 17 Feb 2015 by ejp626

[aparxa]

In your hat and On the make, colourful language from the Pre-code era!

[JSngry]

unobtainium

[aparxa]

skidoo!

[paul secor]

caduceus

and latten

[page]

Not today, but a few days ago; bobby pin. I like that word. There was another one, but I can't come up with it now.

[BillF]

on the qui vive

= on the lookout

[Matthew]

I just learned yesterday that the last comma used in a list is called an Oxford Comma (eg. Matthew, Mark, and Thomas. The comma after Mark is the Oxford comma). Also, it's more common in the USA than in other english speaking countries.  I was always taught that that last comma was essential to good writing. I'm geeky enough to find that fascinating.

The Oxford Comma

Edited 19 Aug 2015 by Matthew