Personal Lexicon
This is my collection of favorite words and phrases that I have come across through books/articles/conversations. Saved all in one location to make it easy searchable and available anywhere I can access this website.
** means this word has come up multiple times after adding it to the list.
A
A gentleman and a scholar - someone who has both intellect and moral goodness or manners; a balanced and admirable individual
A pox on both your houses - from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; exasperation, disgust or rejection of both opposing people or groups
A priori - a philosophy term, for knowledge independent from experience or can be derived by reason alone; i.e. math or logic
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here - from Dante’s Inferno, written above the gate to Hell
Abase - to cast down or demote in rank; to degrade, depress or humble
Abattoir - a public slaughterhouse for cattle or sheep; a place where animals are butchered
Abjure - to renounce or reject, to swear to abandon
Ablation - surgical removal or amputation of apart from the whole
Abrégé - French word, “abridgement”; a summary or abbreviated form
Abscess - a collection of pus, typically due to infection
**Abscond - to hide, withdraw, or be concealed; to depart clandestinely, to avoid or leave secretly
Abstruse - remote from apprehension, difficult to comprehend or recondite; not known or understood by many people
Accoutrements - trappings, accessory items of clothing or additional decorations; bells and whistles
**Acerbic - sour, bitter, or harsh
Acid test - a rigorous appraisal of quality or worth; a sniff test
Acrid - sharp and harsh; bitter or unpleasant
Acrimonious - caustic, corrosive, acrid; bitter-tempered or sarcastic
Acumen - quickness of perception or discernment; sharp, witty, shrewd
Ad hoc - Latin phrase, “for this”; addressing the particular case without consideration of wider issues; spur of the moment or improvised
Ad hominem - Latin phrase, “to the man”; appealing to the feelings or passion of man instead of intellect, an attack on a person’s character instead of their argument
Addle-brained - dull-witted, foolish, or stupid
Adjudicate - to try and determine; the official decider or judicial decreer, an impartial court
Admonish - to warn or notify of a fault, to caution or advise against; to give friendly earnest advice or disapproval
Ado - troublesome business, difficulty or fuss; a time-wasting bother over trivial matters
Adonis - an attractive, youthful male
Adjudicate - to settle a quarrel, to act as a judge
Adroit - ready in invention or execution; skillful, clever
AFAIK - acronym for “as far as I know”
Affective memory - method acting technique where you call on the memory of a similar situation to import the feelings and emotion to the scene
Age quod agis - Latin phrase, “do what you’re doing”; focus on the task at hand and don’t worry about other matters
Agha - Turkish word, “great lord or chief master”; used as a title of respect
Agita - a feeling of agitation or anxiety; mental aggravation or indigestion
**Agitprop - political propaganda in the arts, typically used for communist ideas
Agog - eager desire, in anticipation or excited
Ague - fever with chills and shivers
Ailurophile - a cat-lover or feline appreciator
Akrasia - Greek word, “lacking self-control”; acting against one’s on better judgement
**Alacrity - a cheerful readiness; willingness
All hat and no cattle - being only appearance and no substance, like a person wearing a cowboy hat who does not ranch
All men die, but that not all men die whining - quote from Marcus Aurelius; access what you can't change but don’t complain or pity yourself
All nature is but art unknown to thee - as humans, we cannot truly comprehend the amazing incredulity of the world around us
Always bet your sets - poker saying that when you’re have a good hand and got a good flop, lean into it; when things are going your way, go with it
Alydar - a racehorse famous for finishing a close second to the horse Affirmed in all three races for the Triple Crown; always a bridesmaid, never a bride
Amatory - pertaining to, producing, or expressing sexual love or desire
Ambsace - the lowest roll of the dice, two aces; bad luck or worthless
Ameliorate - to make better, improve; to make more tolerable
Amphigory - a nonsense verse; a rigamarole with apparent meaning, but on further attention proves to be meaningless, word salad
Amuse-bouche - French phrase “mouth amuser”; a bite-sized hors d'oeuvre or appetizer
Anachronism - misplaced or error in order or sequence of time; falsification of chronological relations
Anacoluthic - lacking grammatical sequence
**Anathema - something intensely disliked or loathed; a ban or curse
Anhedonia - inability to experience pleasure in normal “enjoyable” situations
**Animus - a feeling of animosity or bad blood; prejudiced and often spiteful or malevolent ill will
Annus mirabilis - Latin phrase, “wondrous year”; a year notable for events, a fateful year where wonderful things happened
Anodyne - alleviate or assuage pain, soothing
Ansible - fictional word used to describe an instantaneous communication system
Antipathy - an object of natural aversion or habitual dislike
Antiphon - a musical verse or psalm typically sung responsively
Aperitif - an alcoholic drink taken before a meal as an appetizer
Aphorism - a short saying to convey a message; an adage or maxim
**Aplomb - assurance of action, self-confident composure, calm in turbulent situations
Apocryphal - not canonical, mythic or fictitious
Apodictic - self-evident, intuitively certain or beyond contradiction; demonstrably true
**Apogee - farthest or highest point; culmination
Apophenia - making something meaningful out of random patterns; pareidolia
Apoplectic - overcome with anger; enraged
Apostasy - desertion or rejection from one’s religion, principles, or beliefs
Apotheosis - glorification or exaltation; making someone holier than thou
Apparatchik - a member of a communist apparatus; an unquestioningly loyal administrative member supporting the dominating organization, a shill, disciple or liege
Appellation - a formal word for a name, title, or designation; the word by which a particular person or thing is called and known
**Apropos - fitting to the purpose, relevant; suited to the occasion
Arabesque - an ornate or complex design; a whimsical creation
Arcadian - pastoral or ideally rustic; classified by the simplicity and harmony with nature
Ardent - warm, applied to the passions and enthusiasm; passionate, fervent, zealous, vehement
**Ardor - warmth or heat of passion, zeal or vigor
Argot - vocabulary and idioms used by a particular group of members, jargon
Armature - the wire frames a sculptor uses to support a figure or design; the internal structure on which other stuff is built
Aro - short for aromantic, having little or no romantic feelings towards others
Artifice - crafty device, artful stratagem, or an ingenious elaborate trick; a clever skill or workmanship
Ascesis - self-discipline; self-restraint or willing withholding from yourself
Ascetic - rejection of material comforts or pleasures, typically for religious advancement similar to monks
Asclepius - the Greek god of medicine
Asinine - having the qualities of stupidity and obstinacy; extremely foolish or utterly silly
Askance - sideways or obliquely; with disdain, disapproval, envy, or suspicion
Assnmass - acronym for “a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor”; enduring and overcoming hardship makes you a resilient individual
**Assuage - to abate or subside, to soften or appease; to lessen the intensity of
Astroturfing - the appearance of grass-roots movement that is actually orchestrated behind the scenes; fake spontaneity
At loggerheads - British phrase, “in dispute with”; unable to agree, opposing
At night, all cows are black - when lacking knowledge, one can’t distinguish between alternatives; appearances don’t matter in the dark
At sixes and sevens - frazzled or disorganized
Atelier - a workshop or studio, typically for an artist
Attaché - one attached to another person or thing, as part of a staff namely an embassy
Audi alteram partem - Latin phrase, “hear the other side”; hear both sides of an argument
Audit fodder - work that’s only purpose is to provide an audit with material; useless paperwork
Augur - to anticipate or foretell; a prophet or soothsayer
Auspice - protection or support, patronage
Austerity - harsh, stern discipline or extreme rigor and strictness; plain or free from adornment, simple
Autodidact - a self-taught person who has no formal education
Autotelic - having a purpose in and not apart from itself, like being self-driven; containing its own meaning or purpose
Avant-garde - someone experimental or radically different, pushing the boundaries of what is; an innovator of ideas or techniques in a field typically the arts
**Avarice - greediness for wealth or material gain; covetousness; cupidity; insatiability towards money
Aver - to state as a fact or declare emphatically
Avuncular - pertaining to an uncle; characteristic of an uncle in benevolence or tolerance
Awasiwi Odinak - Dutch phrase, “far from the things of man”
Axis mundi - Latin phrase, “axis of the world”; the location of connection between heaven and earth, the center of the world
B
Baba ghanoush - Middle Eastern eggplant dip similar to hummus
Badinage - banter, to trifle or be silly in conversation; humorous or playful repartee
Balaclava - a ski mask, a head covering with only your eyes showing
Balderdash - nonsense, ribaldry, or trash
Baldric - a belt worn over one should, across the breast, and under the opposite arm, typically for holding a sword or knives
Ballast - something that provides support, steadiness and security
Banlieue - the outer skirts of a city, within the legal limits but beyond the walls
Baroque - extravagant, complex, or bizarre; complicated or gaudy with over-the-top style
Başarısızlık tektir - Turkish phrase, “failure is unique”; everyone will fail at something, a reminder to not give up
Bathetic - juxtaposition of serious or important with ridiculous or ordinary; ludicrous descent from the elevated to the low
BATNA - acronym for “best alternative to a negotiated agreement”; the most advantageous path or course if an agreement cannot be reached
Bauble - a gewgaw or trinket; showy with no use or substance; something trite or cheap
Bazaar - a marketplace of shops and stalls
BDSITN - acronym for “best damn ship in the navy”
Beatific - having a blissful appearance
Be Chara - Urdu word, “helpless, pathetic or poor”; specifically needing sympathy for lack of being
Be in Dutch - in trouble or disfavor with someone
Bean counter - pedantic accountant; a person overly concerned with quantification and reluctant to spend money
**Bedlam - place of confusion and uproar; madhouse
Bedouin - Arab desert nomadic herders
Beguile - to delude, deceive or impose on; to hoodwink; to while away or cause the time of to pass without notice
Begum - a princess or lady of high rank, typically of Muslim or South Asian
Behoove - to be necessary, fit, or suitable; to befit or be to the advantage of
Bellend - British slang, “complete idiot”
Belletristic - written for the aesthetic rather than content
**Bellicose - inclined to start quarrels or wars; a war hawk or simply someone who stirs up trouble
Bellwether - a leader of a pack or trailblazer; someone who takes initiative or sets the trend
Bend the elbow - drink alcohol, almost excessively
Benighted - overtaken by darkness; to be in a state of un-enlightenment
Bereft - deprived or lacking something needed; suffering for the loss of something or someone
Bête noire - a person or thing to be avoided; something strongly detested or hated
Betteridge’s law of headlines - advertising saying that any headline with a question mark can be answered with no
Better to be inside the tent pissing out, than outside pissing in - quote from Lyndon B. Johnson about F. Edgar Hoover; similar to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, or work from within the system instead of fighting it from outside
Between Scylla and Charybdis - from Greek mythology, “the lesser of two evils” or inescapable threats; the two monsters on either side of the strait between Sicily and Italy
**Beweep - to cry over, to deplore
Big Smoke - British phrase, “large city”, typically used by folks in the country in reference to London
Bildungsroman - German word, “education novel”; a novel about the moral or intellectual growth of the main character, typically from childhood to maturity
Bilious - passionate or ill tempered; having a peevish ill-nature
Bint - British slang, “girl or woman”
Bird-dog - to watch closely with a critical eye; to follow or monitor with interest
Black swan event - an occurrence previously thought to be impossible until it happens
Blasé - uninterested or nonchalant, typically because of indulgence or frequent exposure; chill or relaxed to the point of apathy
**Blithe - lacking due thought or consideration
Blood brings more blood - two wrongs do not make it right; or revenge does not solve the initial issue
Bloviate - to speak or write verbosely or windily; to talk at length in an inflated or empty way
Bluebird days - days where the sky is blue, the sun is shining and there’s not a single cloud in sight, typically during a high pressure system; the best days for skiers but the worst for hunting and fishing
Bluster - noisy or violent and threatening talk; boastful or swaggering language, boisterous
Boat anchor - something that is holding them back or slowing them down in achieving a goal
Boilerplate language - cliché or unoriginal writing that is standard or well known in the context; pre-created and used with minimal effort
Bon mot - French phrase, “good word”; a clever or witty remark
Bon vivant - French phrase, “good liver”; a jovial companion who enjoys life, one who has refined or cultivated tastes, typically in food and drink
Bona fide - Latin phrase, “in good faith”; without fraud or deceit, genuine, sincere, or with earnest intent
Boondoggle - work of little or no value done only to appear occupied
Boudoir - a woman’s private sitting or dressing room
Boutade - an outbreak or burst; a caprice; a whim; something impromptu
Braggadocio - empty boasting, cockiness or pretension
**Bravura - showy or ornate; a flowery style of expert skill
Bray - to grind small or fine
Brindled - having obscure dark streaks on a tawny ground; speckled
Brio - enthusiastic vigor, vivacity or verve; energetic drive
Bromidic - trite or lacking originality; boring or stereotypical
**Brusque - blunt or abrupt
Bruxism - teeth grinding or a clenched jaw
Bucolic - relating to rural life, idyllic, pastoral
Bulwark - a support or strong protection against outside forces; a rampart or fortification
Burgeon - to grow or increase rapidly; to bud or flourish
Burke - to suppress or redirect; bypass or avoid
Bursar - treasurer typically of a college or university
Butter and egg man - a free spender, a naive prosperous businessman
Buttress - something supporting or strengthening; from the architecture term for a structure giving stability to wall
By hook or by crook - by any means possible; do whatever it takes, be it fair or foul
Byronic - possessing the characteristics of Lord Byron or his poetry; especially romanticism, melancholy, and melodramatic energy
C
C-Suite - the executive level of managers in a company, referred because each title starts with a C for chief such as CEO, CFO, COO
Cabal - the contrived schemes of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government); a small group or club
Cabaret - a restaurant serving alcohol and providing entertainment as singers or dancers; a tavern or nightclub
Cachet - French word, “prestige” pronounced ka-shay; a mark of distinction or special worth
Cachinnate - laughing loudly or immoderately
Cadre - key group of qualified personnel to lead or train a new group
Caesura - a rhetorical break in the flow or sound; an interruption
Cagoule - a lightweight windbreaker or waterproof jacket; a rain jacket
Caird - traveling tinker; wanderer
**Cajole - persuade by flattery or insincere language in an attempt to persuade someone to do something
**Caliginous - affected with darkness or dimness, dark, obscure, gloomy
Calliope - the Greek Muse of eloquence and heroic poetry
**Callow - immature or inexperienced; boyish or lacking sophistication
Calumet - a ceremonial pipe for smoking
Calumny - a misrepresentation intended to harm another’s reputation; a straw man argument
Camel’s nose - a small, permitted action leads to larger, undesirable actions, where letting a camel stick its nose in the tent leads to the whole animal coming inside; similar to “if you give a mouse a cookie”
Cannonball run - something illegal that you’re racing to complete before getting caught or punished for; based on a race from east to west coast to be completed as quickly as possible, typically by breaking speeding limits
**Cantankerous - difficult or irritating to deal with
Capacious - able to contain much or a great deal, roomy or spacious
Caprice - an abrupt change in feeling or opinion; whim or fancy
Carceral - pertaining to prison
Caricature - an exaggeration or distortion of parts or characteristics; to represent with ridiculous or ludicrous exaggeration, to burlesque
Carom - to hit something and bounce back; to move in uncontrolled way between different places or things
Carp - to find fault with, to complain; to cavil querulously
Carpe diem - Latin phrase, “seize the day”; yolo, living in the moment, or taking advantage of the present
Carrion - dead and putrefying body or flesh of an animal; roadkill or other
Carte blanche - French phrase, “blank document”; permission to direct what conditions one pleases, unlimited authority or unconditional terms like a blank check
Castigate - to punish, rebuke or chasten; to criticize severely; to subject to disciplinary punishment
Casus belli - Latin phrase, “occasion for war”; an action or event that is an incitement of war; provokes or justifies retribution
Catalepsy - having the loss of voluntary motion and remaining in fixed posture
Catbird seat - an enviable position of power or advantage
Caterwaul - to cry as a cat in heat; to make a harsh, offensive noise, to protest or bemoan
Cattivo - Italian word, “bad”; naughty or wicked; a villain
Caustic - corrosive or searing, capable of destroying or eating away at a substance; severe, satirical, or sharp
Cavalcade - a procession of people or things
Cavil - To raise captious and frivolous objections; to find fault without good reason, to complain
Cavort - to prance ostentatiously; leap or dance in a lively, extravagant behavior
Ceffyl cachu - Welsh phrase, “horse poop”
C’est la vie - French phrase, “that’s life” pronounced say la vee; an expression of acceptance or resignation
Ceteris paribus - Latin phrase, “all other things being equal”; if all other relevant things remain unchanged
Chagrin - distress of mind caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure
Chalk and cheese - two very different things, typically personalities
Champagne problems - a problem of too much success; a decision where any outcome is a desirable one
Changeling - a substitute left by a supernatural being for kidnapping a child; often used to describe individuals who demonstrate abnormal behaviors as a child
Chantage - blackmail or extortion under the threat of making public; coercing someone
Charlatan - a quack or imposter; someone who pretends to have more knowledge than actually possesses
Chartreuse - a yellow-green color, similar to a French liqueur of the same name
Chaton - the head or top of a ring a stone is set
Chattel - any property or item other than land or buildings; movable goods
Cheek by jowl - close together or in extreme proximity; side by side
Chelonian - of or pertaining to animals of the tortoise or turtle kind
Chelsea buns - a British pastry similar to a cinnamon roll with currants and sugary glaze
Cherchez la femme - French phrase; “look for the woman”; cliché that at a woman is the root cause for the problem or reason a man is acting in such a way
Chesterton’s fence - don’t make assumptions about a gate’s purpose; leave stuff the way it is until you’ve thought it though, slow intentional reform instead of bulldozing the existing status quo
Chicanery - deception by artful subterfuge, trickery, or sophistry
Chide - to rebuke, reprove, scold or chafe against; to reprehend or reprimand with words of disapprobation and displeasure
Chief cook and bottle washer - somebody who is in charge of everything top to bottom; a very involved individual
Chiliasm - the belief in a period of Messianic rule before the Last Judgement and eternal resolution; a period of earthly bliss prior to the final culmination of plans
Chimera - a monster made of incongruous parts like the head of a lion and the tail of a serpent, a whole made of diverse parts; an illusion or fabrication of the mind
Chimerical - highly improbably, only existing as a product of unchecked imagination or fantasy
Chinfest - an instance of talking together or conferring informally; discussion or gab
Chirality - something that is not able to be mirrored exactly, typically referring to a molecule that mirrored functions completely differently
Chocolate teapot - something useless or ineffectual; a glass flyswatter
Chrematistics - the study of wealth and the accumulation of it; the business of moneymaking
Churl - a rough, surly, ill-bred man; a peasant or countryman
**Chutzpah - supreme self-confidence
**Chyron - the caption or words on the lower part of a video, the sub-title; the graphic below a news story
Circuitous - roundabout or indirect; tortuous or serpentine
Cinéma vérité - a film movement for capturing life as it is and finding truth in it
Cistern - a reservoir holding water or liquids
Clairvoyance - power to discern objects not perceptible by normal senses; intuitive knowledge of things
Clarion - brilliantly clear, loud and clear
Cleave - adhere closely, stick together, cling
Cleave - divide by cutting, split along the grain; separate into parts
Cloaca - a sewer, latrine, or privy; the biological chamber for intestinal or urinary tract or canal
Cloy - to be overfilled by sweetness or pleasure; to become uninterested through overabundance
Coals to Newcastle - to do something pointless and superfluous
Cocytus - from Greek mythology, the river of lamentation in the underworld
Cockamamie - ridiculous or absurd; something of a farcical or ludicrous notion
Codicil - a clause added to a will; an appendix or supplement
Cogent - having the power to compel or move the will; forcible or powerful, persuasive or convincing
Coiffure - a manner or style of dressing the hair, typically for women’s hair as in braids
Coin of the realm - something valuable in a particular sphere and can be used as a bartering chip or payment
Cojones - Spanish word “testicles” pronounced ca-hone-es; used to describe having courage
Cold eye review - an in-depth review from a third party with no association to the original project, typically for ensuring all necessary points are captured
Colligate - to bind, tie, or unite together; to subsume or bring together into one
Colloquy - discourse between two persons; a discussion, conference, or conversation
Comme ci, comme ça - French phrase, “like this like that”' pronounced ko-may see ko-may sah; neither good nor bad, tolerable or passable, so-so
Comorbid - coexisting and unrelated medical conditions
Comport - to agree or harmonize; to act in accordance
Concatenate - to link together, like in a chain; to create a series
Concupiscence - sexual lust or a morbid carnal passion; strong desire or an ardent longing
Confabs - familiar talk or conversation; a chat, discussion, or conference
Confluence - the merging of two things
Contrition - having deep sorrow and repentance for sin, because sin is displeasing to god; sincere remorse for wrongdoing
**Convalesce - to recover health and strength gradually after being sick or weak, like a patient after surgery
Convivial - festive eating drinking and good company; jovial, social, merriment
Copacetic - very satisfactory or fine; hunky-dory or otherwise alright
Copse - a thicket or grove of small trees
Copypasta - a block of text that is copied and pasted on the internet, typically with controversial ideas or lengthy rants for humorous purposes to incite reactions from those unaware
Coquette - a woman who endeavors to attract admiration from a desire to gratify vanity, a flirt
**Cordon sanitaire - French phrase, “sanitary cordon”; a protective barrier or buffer against an infected area or aggressive adversary, elbow-room or buffer-states
Cosmopolitan - common everywhere or widely spread; worldly
Coterie - a clique; a circle of persons with common interests who meet often for social, literary or other purposes
Cotillion - a formal ball or dance
Coup de grâce - French phrase “blow of mercy”; the death blow or the decisive ending act or event
Coup d’état - French phrase, “stroke of state” pronounced coo de tah; often shortened to coup, an overthrow of the government by a small group usually in positions of authority
Coxcomb - a fool; a vain, showy or conceited person
Coxswain - a sailor in charge of the ship and who usually steers; the group leader
Craven - a recreant or coward; weak-hearted or spiritless fellow lacking the least bit of courage
**Crazy like a fox - appearing foolish or strange but actually very clever
Credulity - readiness of belief, a disposition to believe on slight evidence, gullible or naïveté; willingness to accept or believe with very little
Cri de coeur - French phrase, “cry from the heart” pronounced cree-de-cooer; a passionate outcry as a means of appeal or protest, anguished cry of distress
Crimine - pronounced cry-meh-nee, used to express surprise or impatience
Crocodile tears - a display of sadness or remorse that is insincere or hypocritical; a false sob story
Cromulent - acceptable or satisfactory; fine or good enough
Crooning - singing in a soft voice
Cruft - leftover, unused or redundant
Cudgel - a heavy stick used as a weapon; a short heavy club
Cudgel one’s brain - think really hard about something, in search for a solution to a problem; exercise one’s wits
Cull - to reduce or control the size of by removal, typically of the weak or sick individuals
Curmudgeon - a crusty, ill-tempered person; a stick in the mud
**Curt - marked by rude or peremptory shortness; terse, excessive brevity
Cut the Gordian Knot - a seemingly intractable problem which can be solved by other than standard means; a straightforward solution to a complex problem
CYA - acronym for “cover your ass”; protecting your decision from outsiders
Cynosure - one that guides or directs; the center of attention, draws the eyes towards
D
Daedalus - master craftsman from Greek mythology, architect behind the Labyrinth and creator of wax wings
Daguerreotype - an early photograph of silver on copper plates
Danse Macabre - French phrase, “dance of death”; the depiction of all walks of life (pope, king, child, serf) being lead by death and dancing, a reminder that everyone will suffer death and no one can cheat it
Dapper - stylish and spruce in appearance; looks good
Daub - to smear or plaster, to cover with a deceitful exterior or disguise; to paint in a coarse or unskilled manner, like a child
Dawdle - to take more time than necessary, to waste time in trifling employment
De te fabula narratur - Latin phrase, “the story is told of yourself”; from Horace, the tale or fable applies to you, used to drive home to point to learn the lessons described
Deal from the bottom of the deck - to cheat and act in a duplicitous manner that benefits yourself
Dearth - famine, or a lack of supply; scarcity which renders dear
Death knell - a ringing or tolling of a bell to announce a death; the sign or harbinger of the end, passing away, or death of something
Debacchate - to rave as a bacchanal, to indulge in drunk revelry; to be noisy and riotous when intoxicated
Debauchery - corruption of fidelity or seduction from virtue and duty; excessive indulgence of bodily pleasures, hedonistic and lewd behavior
Debonair - characterized by courteousness, affability, or gentleness; graceful, suave, or urbane, typically with a sophisticated charm
Débutante - a person who makes her first appearance before the public; someone making their formal entrance into society
Decroded - from Napoleon Dynamite, portmanteau of decrepit or decayed and corroded
Deep 6 - slang for the dumpster; used for where to put something that is trash or no longer useful
Dehisce - to gape, to open or spill
Deign - to condescend reluctantly; to stoop or vouchsafe
Deimos - the Greek god of dread and terror
Deleterious - hurtful, noxious, destructive, pernicious; harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way
Deliquesce - to melt away; to dissolve gradually
Delphic maxims - Ancient Greek proverbs at the inscribed at the Temple of Apollo; “Know thyself, Nothing in excess, Give a pledge and trouble is at hand”
Delulu - used to describe odd behavior or delusional actions
Demagogue - a leader of the rabble, or one who attempts to control the masses by specious or deceitful arts; a factious mob leader
Demure - modest and reserved in manner
Denouement - the final resolution of a plot; the outcome of a series of occurrences
Derecho - a storm with straight-line winds which causes destruction; thunderstorm with heavy non-circling winds
**Derelict - given up or forsaken, left and abandoned
Desecrate - to violate the sanctity of, to profane; to treat disrespectfully or irreverently
Despot - a master or lord, an absolute or irresponsible ruler; one who rules regardless of laws, a tyrant or dictator
Détente - the relaxation of tension or strained relations; an easing of stress between individuals
**Detritus - fragments or substance worn away from the main body; items of erosion
Deus ex machina - a person or thing introduced suddenly and unexpectedly as a contrived solution to the insoluble difficulty; a solution to an unsolvable problem
**Diaphanous - allowing light to pass through, translucent or insubstantial
Diaspora - the dispersal of Jewish people from the Levant; the proliferation of a central thought or style to far reaching areas
Diatribe - bitter attack or criticism; tirade or harangue
Diacritical - separates or distinguishes; distinctive
Diarrhea of the mouth - tendency to speak constantly without thinking or someone who cannot stop talking; gift of gab or volubility
Didactic - intended to teach; instructive typically in a moral lesson
Diegetic - happening within the created world of a story
Different ball of wax - something is that not similar at all; said in comparison of two objects that may seem congruent but are not
Diffident - wanting confidence in one’s self; timid, bashful , or modest; hesitant in acting or speaking, unassertive
**Dilettante - an amateur; lover of an art or branch of knowledge for amusement only
Din - a loud and continued noise
Ding an sich - German phrase, “a thing-in-itself”; from Kant’s work in philosophy, a noumenon or something that exists independent of human sense or perception
Dint - a blow or strike; the force of attack or impression made by violence
Diogenes - a Greek philosopher and founder of cynicism; contempt of the common aims and had sharp caustic sayings
**Dirigible - capable of being directed or steered
Dither - to shiver or tremble; to act nervously or vacillate
Doff - to remove or strip; to ride oneself of
**Doggerel- loosely styled and irregular, with an undignified air; marked by triviality for a humorous or burlesque nature
Dogmatic - asserting a thing positively and authoritatively, arrogantly authoritative and overbearing; expressing opinions very strongly as if they are facts
Doily - a small napkin; an ornamental mat, usually of lace or linen
Dolce far niente - Italian phrase, “sweetness of doing nothing”; carefree idleness
**Doldrums - listlessness or despondency; stagnation or inactivity period
Doli incapax - Latin phrase, “incapable of wrong”; legal principle used to protect children from criminal liability based on their age and maturity
Dolorous - full of grief, dismal or sorrowful; painful sadness or misery
Dolt - a stupid person; a dunce
Donee - a recipient of a gift; the target of a doner
Donnée - a set of principles or assumptions a piece of work is based; a set of facts, conditions or axioms that shape an act or way of life
Donnybrook - brawl or fight
Don't piss on me and tell me it's raining - don’t insult or wrong me and then try to convince me it’s fine or I’m in the wrong; don’t tell me a bad thing is a good thing, just admit it’s a bad thing
Dour - hard, inflexible or obstinate; sour in aspect, severe, stern, or gloomy
Doveryai, no proveryai - Russian phrase, “trust, but verify”
Dowager - a widow who holds a title or property derived from her deceased husband
Down-market - to appeal to the lowest and most base
Draconian - measures so severe, laws of excessive rigor; cruel or authoritative
Dram - a small portion of something to drink (like a shot)
Drink muddy water - something you have to put up with
Droll - being humorous, odd, or whimsical
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - Latin phrase, “it is sweet and proper to die for one’s country”; a lie used to encourage young men to fight and die in war
Duplicitous - deceptive in words or actions; double-dealing
Durée - French word, “lived time”; from philosopher Henri Bergson, the subjective experience of time felt
Dyspeptic - hard to digest; ill humor or disgruntlement
E
E pluribus unum - Latin phrase, “out of many, one”; used to symbolize unity and strength in togetherness, the sum is greater than the whole of the parts
Eat your own dog food - using one’s own product or service, used to demonstrate confidence in their own products
Ebullient - boiling over hence manifesting exhilaration or excitement; zestfully enthusiastic
Echelon - one of a series of levels or grades in an organization; like steps of a ladder for climbing
**Éclat - brilliancy of success or effort, splendor
Ecru - a pale or light brown color; beige
Edifying - instructive or informative in a way that improves the mind or character
Eepy - slang for sleepy, tired
Effete - exhausted or worn out with age; having lost character, vitality, or soft from pampered existence
Effigy - the image, likeness, or representation of a person
Efflorescence - flowering or blooming; unfolding as if coming into flower, the full manifestation or culmination
Effusive - the expression of great or excessive emotion or enthusiasm, an outpouring of emotion
Egad - exclamation of surprise, annoyance or exultation; gadzooks, “wow” or “whoops”
**Eidetic - marked by extraordinary accurate and vivid recall, especially of visual images
Eight and out the gate - having a bare minimum mentality at work; not going above and beyond for the company
Eighty-six - to remove from the menu or no longer offer; to reject, discontinue, or eliminate
Élan - vigorous spirit or enthusiasm
Electric Boogaloo - phrase used as a subtitle for a sequel or follow up, typically used in a mocking or humorous tone
Elide - to omit, ignore or pass over
Elihu - from the Book of Job, an individual who chastised Job for his hubris in the belief that he could understand God; someone who calls you out for your shortcomings or reframes the issue to a larger why
Emaciate - to waste away in flesh, to lose flesh gradually and become lean; to starve
Embalm - to preserve from decay or oblivion; to perpetuate in remembrance
Emeritus - retire or honorable discharge from public duty but retaining the title
Éminence grise - French phrase, “grey eminence”; one who has sway or decision-making power from behind the scenes; a secret influencer, who has the ear of those in power
En bloc - in a lump or mass; as a whole or all together
Encomium - high praise; panegyric
Endemic - common to an area or region
Endorheic - having no outlet, draining to a central location; lacking outside connection
**Enigmatic - a riddle or puzzle; an inexplicable thing that cannot be satisfactorily explained or understood
Enmity - a feeling of hostility, hatred ill will or animosity; rancor
**Ennui - a feeling of weariness and disgust, tedium or boredom; lacking “joie de vivre” or the joy of life
Ensconce - to cover, conceal or shelter; to settle oneself comfortably or snugly
Entelechy - an actuality; a conception actualized opposed to mere potential existence
Entente - French word, “understanding”; an international understanding or agreement of a common course, typically as an alliance
Ephemera - something of no lasting significance, an item last but a day
Epicure - a person with refined tastes and an appreciation for luxurious living
Episteme - a system of understanding or knowledge
Equanimity - evenness of mind especially under stress; calm, composure
Eristic - controversial or provoking discord; disputatious or specious argument
Ersatz - artificial or fake; usually an inferior substitute or imitation
Erudite - characterized by extensive reading or knowledge; well instructed or learned
Eschaton - the final act, from theology including the Last Judgement and defeat of evil
Eschew - to shun or avoid, from a feeling of distaste; to keep oneself clear of on moral or practical grounds
Espouse - to betroth, adopt or embrace; to take up the cause of or advocate
Estop - to impede or bar by legal means; estoppel
Et tu, Brute? - Latin phrase, “and you, Brutus”; quote from William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, when seeing his friend among the assassins, an unexpected betrayal
Eudaimonism - a theory where the highest ethical goal is happiness and personal well-being
Every insight is partial blindness - knowing too much can make you oblivious to the overall issue or to particular shortcomings
Evils of Lucy - from Kendrick Lamar, “sins”; Lucy is Lucifer, the devil, a seducer of mortals
Ewer - a water pitcher with a large spout for pouring
Exegesis - a critical explanation of a text; exposition or interpretation
Exigent - requiring immediate aid or action; demanding, pressing, or critical
F
Fabian strategy - military strategy where battles are avoided in favor of wearing down the opponent through attrition and logistical strain; named after Roman consul who employed it to defeat Hannibal
Facticity - the quality of state of being a fact; a fundamental relationship or axiom even when not stated or addressed
Fait accompli - French phrase, “accomplished fact”; a thing that has happened or been decided before others have a say, with no option but to accept it; something presumably irreversible that cannot be undone
Fastidious - having high and often capricious standards; difficult to please, delicate emotionally
Fatuous - inanely foolish or silly
Faustian - relating to Faust; sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain
Faux pas - French phrase, “false step”; a mistake or blunder that’s embarrassing, a gaffe
**Fealty - fidelity, faithfulness typically in the form of an oath; duty or obligation
Feckless - spiritless, weak, worthless; feeble or ineffective
Fecund - fruitful, prolific
Feet of clay - a weakness or fatal flaw in someone; a ruinous attribute typically in someone admirable
Feign - to give a false impression of; pretend, disguise or conceal
Felicity - the state of being happy, blissfulness or enjoyment of good; pleasing manner or quality
Festina lente - Latin phrase, “make haste slowly”; proceed expeditiously but prudently
Feng shui - Chinese practice of harmonizing individuals with their surroundings, mainly for the orientation of structures in interior design
Festoon - a decorative chain or string hanging between two points
FFS - acronym for “for eff’s sake”
Filial piety - virtue of respect towards elders or parents, the older generations
Fillip - to strike, tap, flick; to snap or project quickly
Fink - a informer or strikebreaker; one who is disapproved of or held in contempt
Firth - an arm of the sea; an inlet of water
Flabbergast - to astonish or strike with wonder; to overwhelm with shock or surprise, especially by extraordinary means
Flimflam - deceptive nonsense; a trick or lie
Flippant - talkative or glib without seriousness or proper respect; disrespectful levity or casualness, a voluble tongue
Flummoxed - completely unable to understand; utterly confused or perplexed, bewildered or puzzled
FNG - acronym for “effing new guy”; used to refer disparagingly to the newcomers or someone inexperienced
Foist - to introduce or insert surreptitiously or without warrant; to pass off as genuine or worthy, to trick or fraud
**Foment - to promote, instigate or foster the growth of; the nurse to life, to stoke the flames of
Foofaraw - excessive or flashy; a fuss over a trifling matter
Force majeure - French phrase, “superior force”; an act of God or an unanticipated event that frees both parties from obligations due to extraordinary circumstances
Forewarned is forearmed - knowing of a potential scenario allows one to prepare for it; prepping for anticipated situations
Fourth estate - the public press, from medieval times where the three “estates” with impact on public affairs were nobility, clergy and common people
Fracas - an uproar, a noisy quarrel; a disturbance or brawl
Fratricide - the act of one who murders or kills his own brother or an individual having relationship like that of a brother
Friable - easily crumbled or reduced to powder
FUBAR - acronym for “effed up beyond all repair”; damaged or ruined beyond repair
Fugazi - slang for something effed up or fake
Fugue - a polyphonic composition with a theme that gets repeated or interwoven with additional contrapuntal voices
Furlough - a leave of absence, especially for a member of the military; a temporary period away from work
G
Gadabout - social butterfly with gossip
**Gadfly - a fly that bites livestock; a person who annoys others especially by persistent criticism
**Gaffe - a clumsy error, a blatant mistake
Gaiety - merry delight, high spirits
Gait - the manner of walking or locomotion; similar to strut or trot
Gall - brazen boldness coupled with impudent assurance and insolence
Galonk - something to say when you don't know what to say, in a negative sense
Galoot - a noisy, swaggering, or worthless fellow, especially one who is foolish
Gambol - frisk or frolic, skipping around; to dance or play around
Gamine - a young woman who is, or is perceived to be, mischievous, teasing or sexually appealing
Gamut - entire range or series; the scale
Ganbatte kudasai - Japanese phrase, “please do the best you can”
Gaoler - old fashion name for a jailer; keeper of a jail
Garish - showy, dazzling, ostentatious, or extravagance; tastelessly showy
Garrulous - talking much, typically about common or trivial things; loquacious
Gauche - pronounced “go-sh”; awkward or clumsy, lacking grace or social polish, unrefined
**Gelid - extremely cold; frozen
Genuflect - to bend the knee in worship; be humbly obedient or respectful
Gepetto - the creator and father of Pinocchio
Geriatric - the branch of medicine that deals with old age and treatment of aging people
Germane - appropriate or fitting, allied or relevant; closely akin or similar
**Gestalt - the whole is more or different than the sum of the parts; the general quality or character of something
Gesundheit - a response to someone sneezing to wish them good health
Get (one’s) Irish up - to become irritable or angry
Get yer ya-ya’s out - burn off the extra-ness that you have; typically said to kids to get excess energy out by running around outside
Gift of gab - the ability to talk readily, glibly, and convincingly; a prophetic communicator or persuader
Gilding - to cover with a thin layer of gold over something less valuable; to create a veneer of luxury
Gilet - a light sleeveless padded jacket, a vest or waistcoat
Gird - to prepare or equip; to surround, encircle, or put on like a belt
Give (one) the hairy eyeball - the evil eye; to look with wariness or displeasure ಠ_ಠ
Give (someone) the 411 - give information, the skinny; from the telephone number for information/directory inquires
Gleaning - collecting leftover crops from the field after harvesting, the scraps; gathering bit by bit
**Glibly - speaking with little forethought; lacking depth and substance
Gnostic - knowing, wise, shrewd
Goldbricking - a person who shirks or swindle work; creates the perception of working hard while doing less
Goodhart’s law - an adage, “when a measure becomes the target, it ceases to be a good measure”; typically because people then try to meet and optimize for the target
Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England - quote from Lasse Hallstrom’s The Cider House Rules
**Gourmand - a greedy or ravenous eater; excessively fond of eating and drinking
Grave goods - items that are buried with the body, intended for the benefit of the deceased in the afterlife
Gravid - being with child, pregnant or fruitful
Gravitas - causing feelings of respect and trust; weight or heftiness, serious or substantive
Gravy train - an easy win or source of money; a success without requiring much effort
Grawlix - symbols used to denote swearing in comics or photos
Great white buffalo - something rare or elusive, typically not real; the holy grail or a unicorn
Gregarious - tending to flock or herd together, congregate; socialize or liking companionship
Greenwashing - deceptive advertising to persuade an organization’s products or aims are environmentally friendly
Grosso modo - Latin phrase, “approximate way”; roughly, in an imprecise way, more or less
Grousing - to complain angrily; to express dissatisfaction or resentment
Grovel - to give oneself over to what is base or unworthy; to be subservience or lie face down like a fearful slave
Gruff - rough or stern manner; sour, surly, or harsh
Gubernatorial - relating to the governor or an administrative leader to a region
**Guffaw - loud or boisterous burst of laughter
Guile - deceitful cunning, crafty, wile; duplicity
Gumshoe - slang for a detective
Gussy up - dress up, embellish
H
Haberdashery - trifles; small goods such as buttons or threads, typically for clothing
Hackneyed - lacking freshness or originality; trite or common
Halcyon - calm, peaceful, undisturbed, happy; idyllical times like a vacation or escape
Ham-fisted - heavy handed; lacking dexterity or grace
Hammer and tongs - to do something with fervor, energy, and determination; with great force or vigor
Hand in glove - things that fit together perfectly, extremely close relationship, or made for each other
Hanlon’s razor - never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity; eliminate unlikely explanations if human error is possible
Hapax legomenon - a word or phrase only used once in all records, where no other context for meaning is provided
Harangue - a speech to a large public group, a rant or lecture to others
Harbinger - a forerunner, precursor, or messenger; a foreshadowing of what’s the come, anticipatory
Harridan - an ill-tempered scolding woman, a shrew; a vixenish woman or hag
Haughty - disdainfully or contemptuously proud, arrogant, overbearing; blatantly proud and showing an attitude of superiority, contempt for people or things perceived as inferior
Haute couture - French phrase, “high dressmaking”; high-end fashion design
Have a skin like a rhinoceros - to have the abiliity to ignore verbal attacks and criticism; teflon
Have more than one string to your bow - to have more than one interest, skill or ability to use if needed
Hegemonic - dominant influence over others or a group; controlling
Hematic - related to or pertaining blood
Here’s looking at you, kid - quote from Casablanca; a toast for someone
**Hermetic - made perfectly close or air-tight by fusion; something no gas or spirit can enter or escape; impervious to external influence
Hermeneutics - the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially biblical, wisdom or philosophical texts
Hie - hasten or go quickly
Hinterland - a region lying inland from a coast; also, a remote from urban areas or far away from civilization
HMIC - acronym for “head man in charge”; also referred as HWIC, HDIC, HBIC
Hobbyhorse - a stick, often with the head or figure of a horse, on which kids make believe they are riding a horse; a topic to which one constantly reverts or feels comfortable in
Hoi polloi - the general masses or common folk; plebians or proletariat
Hoist by your own petard - from Shakespeare’s Hamlet; an ironic situation where someone who intended to cause strive receives it instead, poetic justice
Homeskillet - slang for homie or close friend
Hornswoggle - To bamboozle; deceive or con
Horse-trading - negotiation accompanied by shrewd bargaining and reciprocal concessions; underhanded business practices
Hortatory - giving exhortation or advise; encouraging or inciting, tending or aiming to urge
Hotdogging - performing in a conspicuous or ostentatious manner; showboating and clown around
House poor - someone who owns a home but spends a large proportion of their income on owning it and has trouble meeting other bills
Hovel - a shed, or a poor cottage or hut; a little, wretched, often dirty house
Hovering flatness - a pretentious way to describe a desk or any work surface
**Hubris - pride; overweening desire to become something more
Humdinger - a striking or extraordinary person
I
Icarus - son of Daedalus in Greek mythology, who flew too close to the sun with wax wings and fell into the sea; someone who’s hubris leads to their downfall, even after warnings from others
Ichor - blood of the gods
Iconoclast - a person who attacks “the establishment”; an avant-garde or maverick
Idgit - slang for idiot; a dull-witted person
Idiopathic - of or relating to a disease or condition having no known cause; arising spontaneously or from an obscure cause
Idiot savant - someone with extreme knowledge in a single domain, but little to nothing about anything else; a narrow minder learned person
Idle hands are the devil’s workshop - boredom or idleness leads to sinful actions; doing work keeps the body engaged and away from temptations
**Idyll - a simple and easily flowing description, either in poetry or prose, of rustic life, of pastoral scenes, and the like
If I tell you Santa Claus is coming, hang your stocking - don’t question what I say, just do it; follow my instructions
If I tell you a chicken can pull a semi, you better hook it up
If I’m lying, I’m buying - a statement to convey the seriousness of what one is say, a proclamation of truth telling
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride - if wishing worked, everyone who get what they wanted; wishing does not yield success, action does
**Ignominious - dishonorable, shameful, humiliating, degrading
Ilk - same, each, every
Imaret - a Turkish lodging house; an inn or hostel in Turkey
Imbibe - to drink, to take in, to absorb
**Imbroglio - embarrassing or painful misunderstanding; embroilment
Imperious - commanding, imperial, or domineering; almost to the point of arrogant assurance in self
Impetuous - rushing with force and violence; hasty, passionate or vehement in feeling
Impinge - to encroach or infringe; to strike or dash against, with a sharp collision
Impugn - to call into question, to dispute the validity or truth of something; to attack by words or arguments
In flagrante delicto - Latin phrase, “in blazing offense” sometimes simply in flagrante; in the very act of committing a misdeed or red-handed
In (one’s) Sunday best - to dress or present something in it’s best outfit
In the pink - healthy or in the best condition
Inamorata - a mistress or a woman with whom one has intimate relations
Inaugural - the beginning, the first in a series
**Inchoate - recently begun, incipient; only partly in existence
Incorrigible - difficult or impossible to control or manage; incapable of being corrected
Indigent - Wanting, void, free, destitute; impoverished or suffering from extreme poverty
Indolent - indulging in ease, avoiding labor and exertion; habitually idle or lazy
Indubitably - unquestioned, undoubted; too evident to have a possibility or degree of opposite thought
Information to a fool is like music to a mule - saying for it’s no use if they can’t understand what you are saying
Ingénue - a naive girl or young woman
Injurious - causing harm, hurtful or detrimental; inflicting or likely to cause injury
**Insouciance - lighthearted unconcern, carelessness, thoughtlessness; having or showing freedom from worries
Intellectual calisthenics - the mental work to bend an idea or position to fit with your beliefs
Intellectual invertebrate - someone who is educated but has not actual wisdom
Interlocutor - a talker or questioner; someone who takes part in dialogue or conversation
Interminable - endless or boundless, having no limit; wearisomely protracted
Intermezzo - an interlude or instrumental; an intermede
Interoception - the collection of senses for the internal state of the body, the physical and emotional condition of a person
Intifada - an uprising or rebellion, typically referring to Palestinians against Israeli occupation
Intransigent - refusing compromise or irreconcilable; refusing to move from an extreme position
Inure - to train, harden, or accustom till it gives little or no pain or inconvenience; To serve to the use or benefit of, to practice habitually
Inutile - useless or unprofitable; serving no purpose
Invective - critical, denunciatory, abusive, or railing
Inveterate - obstinate; deep-rooted; of long standing
Iron-jawed - rigorously determined or headstrong
It’s been real, it’s been fun, but it hasn’t been real fun - a passive aggressive response to describe your time somewhere; it happened, it was alright, but it wasn’t great.
It's hard to get up at 6am when you're wearing silk pajamas - it’s hard to have continue to strive for greatness you’ve already had some; complacency sets in when you’ve achieved success
It’s not the arrow, it’s the Indian - a reminder to take ownership of results and not blame tools
It warms the cockles of the heart - something that brings joy or gives a feeling of contentment
Itch for the horizontal - sexually aroused; horny for intercourse
Italian tune-up - a method of cleaning the carbon off valves and pistons in cars or motorcycles by running the engine at high rpms for a period of time
Itinerant - traveling from place to place, not settled
J
J’accuse - French phrase, “I accuse”; a bitter denouncement
Jackboot - brutal bullying, militaristic or authoritarian measures
Jalopy - old vehicle (a lemon) barely holding on; a dilapidated automobile
Jamb - upright surface forming the side of an opening such as a door or window; a support along an opening
Jangling - idle babbling or vain disputation; discordant sounds which are harsh, inharmonious, or cause irritation
Janissaries - a member of a group of loyal supporters or troops
Janus - the Roman god of beginnings, entrances, or transitions; usually depicted having two faces looking in opposite directions
Jaundiced - affected by envy or prejudice, used as “a jaundiced eye”
Jaunt - a short walk or stroll; an excursion for personal enjoyment
Je ne sais quoi - French phrase, “I don’t know what” pronounced zhe-ne-say-kwa; something that has a quality that cannot be adequately described or expressed
Jebait - to trick or deceive into believing something incorrect; to prank or expose the lack of knowledge
Jejune - devoid of substance, empty or lacking; void of interest or dull
Jibe - to agree, harmonize or be in accord with
Jidoka - Japanese word, “automation with a human touch”; from Toyota to describe how they do manufacturing at the highest level
##Jingoistic -
Journo - British slang for journalist
Jowl - the cheek; usually slack flesh associated with the cheeks, lower jaw, or throat
K
Kabuki - Japanese theatre of dramatic performance and traditional dance
Kafkaesque - nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical
Kaizen - Japanese word, “continuous improvement”; improvement of processes or elimination of waste and redundancies
Karamazovian - having characteristics similar to the characters from Dostoyevsky’s book The Brothers Karamazov; to be spiritually twisted or at an impasse, tied up in knots; embodying heights of nobility and depths of depravity
Katabasis - a downward journey, typically a journey to the underworld; to go down or back
Keep schtum - to remain silent; not say anything
Kibbutz - a communal farm in Israel
Kismet - destiny, fate
Kitchen cabinet - a group of unofficial advisors who are influential
Kitsch - something tacky or lowbrow; something that appeals to the popular taste is of poor quality
Klaxon - a horn
Kleptocracy - government by greed and corruption; rule by thieves
Kludge - a clumsy or inelegant matching of elements in a system, typically from being improvised or crudely constructed; a hodgepodge or haphazard solution
Knee high to a grasshopper - very young or small; diminutive as in size or importance
Kowtow - bowing or kneeling to show reverence towards a superior; obsequious deference
Kulak - Russian word, “a wealthy peasant"; describing small landowners during the communist takeover and creation of the Soviet Union
L
La strategie de la cravate - French phrase, “the strategy of the tie”; by dressing well and acting respectable, you can have a more extreme political position and still be seen as reasonable
Labeling theory - psychological posit that the identity or labels imposed on individuals may determine or influence their actions; the Pygmalion effect, stereotyping, or self-fulfilling prophecy
**Lachrymose - given to shedding tears, mournful
**Laconic - expressing much in few words, pithy, brusque
Lacuna - a small opening, a blank spare, gap or vacancy; a cavity or deficiency
Lagniappe - Cajun term, “a little addition to something”; an extra or addition present or benefit
Laïcité - French word, “secularism” pronounced lie-see-tay; the disassociation of any religious symbols or involvement in civil society such as government
Lalochezia - the use of vulgar languange or swearing to relieve pain
Lambaste - to beat soundly, to thrash; to scold or berate, to assault violently
Lament - to express or feel sorrow; to weep, wail or mourn
Lampoon - to ridicule or subject to abusive treatment; defame or satirize
**Languid - drooping from exhaustion, weak and weary
Lapidary - the cutting or engraving of stones or gems
**Largesse - bestowal of gifts, favor or money; generosity of spirit or attitude
Lascivious - wanton, lewd, or lustful; erotic or showing sexual desire
Lemming - small rodents that follow each other off cliffs; someone who only follows others or has no original thought, mindless sheeple
L'esprit de l'escalier - French phrase, “after wit”; a clever remark that occurs to you too late
**Levity - lacking gravity holding it down; excessive frivolity or lacking steadiness
LGTM- acronym for “looks good to me”; commonly used in tech as a response to someone asking you to check their work
Libation - an alcoholic drink, typically offered to a deity; “pour one of for” to honor someone
Libretto - a book containing the words of an opera or extended piece of music
Life of Riley - a carefree or comfortable way of living
Limerence - obsessively infatuated with someone, desire for intense romantic relationship with a person
Liminal - relating to a threshold; intermediate state, phase or condition
Limpet - one that clings tenaciously or persistently to someone or something, named after a mollusk, that clings when disturbed
Listen to win, listen to learn, listen to fix - from Carolyn Coughlin, let me make the problem go away by telling you, you don’t have a problem; getting underneath what’s being said and reflecting back to the person; let me take your problem and solve it for you
Lithe - limber, supple, pliant or flexible
Loaded for bear - all set and not messing around
Lobolo - South African word, “bride price”; the amount of property or goods to give a perspective wife’s family to marry their daughter, similar to a dowry
Locum tenens - a backup; a substitute filling in a roll
Lodestar - one that serves as a model or guide; a star that leads at night; the cynosure
Loge - the premium elevated view location at a theater; box seats at a venue
Loquacious - given to continual talking, garrulous; apt to blab and disclose secrets
Lorem ipsum - placeholder text used in publishing or graphic design to demonstrate the visual style for the format without the meaning of the text influencing design
Lose your rag - to become very angry or lose your temper
Lothario - a man whose chief interest is seducing; a libertine
Lot lizards - truck stops women of the night who trade sex for money with truckers or long distance haulers
Louche - not reputable or decent; things of questionable morality or taste
**Lout - a clownish, awkward fellow, a bumpkin; a stupid person or oaf
Luddite - someone opposed to technological change
Lumbago - lower back pain
Lurid - pale or gloomy; gruesome or shocking and causing revulsion
Luxuriate - indulge oneself; live in luxury
Luxury beliefs - from Rob Henderson, a way affluent individuals signal social status at very little cost while taking a toll on others, typically the lower class; beliefs that are portrayed or espoused as lofty but not often followed by the individuals
M
Machismo - a strong sense of masculine pride or exaggerated masculinity; macho or manly
Madcap - capricious, reckless or foolish; a person of wild behavior, an eccentric fellow
Maelstrom - a whirlpool or vortex; a situation of confusion or violent turmoil
Magnum opus - Latin phrase, “great work”; the apex or greatest achievement of an artist or writer
Mahatma - a great soul; a person of great prestige or revered for their high-mindedness or wisdom
Majordomo - a man who has the authority to act as master of the house, head steward or butler; chief of the house
Malady - a disease of the human body, a defect or disorder; a problem within a system or organism
Malaise - uneasiness; discomfort; specifically, an indefinite feeling of uneasiness, often a preliminary symptom of a serious malady
**Malaprop - the use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, sometimes humorous utterance
Malign - having an evil disposition or influence towards others, harboring violent; enmity, malevolent, malicious, spiteful
Malodorous - offensive to the nose; ill-smelling; fetid
Marley’s ghost - a character from A Christmas Carol, Evenezer Scrooge’s business partner who died is returns in chains from his life of greed and selfishness
Maskrosbarn - Swedish word, “dandelion child”; someone who thrives despite their tumultuous upbringing like a dandelion pushing up through asphalt
Matchstick men - con artists, a person who is temporary and fleeting
Maudlin - drunk enough to be emotionally silly; moved to tears or extremely sentimental
Maya - Hinduism word, something close to “illusion” or “unreality”
Mayberry - fictional town in The Andy Griffith Show; the idyllic American small-town, rural and simple life
**Mea culpa - Latin phrase, “my mistake”; an acknowledgement of having done wrong
Meaningful nonsense - a metaphor, a statement that from a logical standpoint is incoherent yet conveys some deeper meaning
Meet me in Montauk - quote from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Mélange - a mixture or medley; combination of incongruous elements
Memento mori - Latin phrase, “remember you will die”; a reminder of mortality or the inevitability of death
Memorandum - a record or something to help with being remembered, a note to help the memory; an informal record or briefing note
Ménage à trois - a sexual encounter involving three people
Menagerie - a varied mixture, a collection of wild or exotic things
Mendacity - a habit of lying, deception or falsehood
Mensch - Yiddish word, “a good man”; a person of integrity and honor, someone to admire and emulate, a stand-up guy
Mephitic - tending to destroy life; poisonous or foul-smelling
**Mercurial - swift, active, sprightly; having qualities of eloquence, ingenuity, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury
Metacognition - awareness or analysis of one’s own learning or thinking processes; “thinking about thinking”
Métier - calling in life; vocation, forte or area of expertise
Miasma - an atmosphere that depletes or corrupts; a noxious presence
Milieu - environment or setting in which something develops
Military junta - a group of military officials ruling a country; a council or committee after a seizure of power
Milquetoast - a timid, meek or unassertive person; nebbish or feeble
Ming vase strategy - to be cautious and avoid getting drawn in on the minutiae of the details, like carrying a priceless object; to avoid rocking the boat during campaigning
Mirepoix - French recipe base of carrot, celery, and onion; the “Cajun Holy Trinity”
Mirth - merriment, joyful, jovial; gladness or joy usually portrayed with laughter
Miscreant - one who holds a false religious faith or belief
**Miser - a stingy, avaricious person; a penny pincher or hoarder
Missive - a written message; a letter
Mithridate - a mythical remedy used as an antidote for poisoning; a panacea or alexipharmic
MOCHA HAGOTDI - acronym for “make our customers happy and have a good time doing it”; from the aviation industry
Modish - fashionable but in a conventional sense, voguish
Mollycoddle - to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence, to be overprotective; coddle or pamper
Mollywhop - to strike or hit one, either once or repeatedly; to wallop
Mongrel - a mix of different breeds, mutt; a cross between types of persons or things
Mooncalf - a fool or freak; a monster or deformed creature
Morass - a tract of soft, wet ground; a marsh or swamp
Mordant - biting or caustic in thought or style; pungent
**Morose - gloomy, sullen, or of sour temper; melancholy
Mortal coil - the troubles of daily life and the strife and suffering of the world
Motet - an anthem of sacred text usually sung without music
Motte-and-bailey - conflating two positions with one being easy to defend and one more controversial and harder to defend
Moue - a small grimace or pout
Muckrake - to seek out and expose misconduct or corruption of prominent individuals or businesses
Muesli - Swiss breakfast of oats, nuts, and fruit similar to oatmeal
Myopic - nearsighted
N
Nabob - a prominent individual who made their wealth in the east
Nadir - the opposite point from the zenith; the lowest point or point directly under where we stand
Nary a - not a single, commonly used as “nary a ___”
Nascent - commencing or beginning to exist or grow, emerging; evolving or in the process of development
Natant - floating on water; resting on the surface
Navel-gazing - useless or excessive self-contemplation
Ne te quaesiveris extra - Latin phrase, “do not seek outside yourself”; look within, the importance of being self-reliant for knowledge and guidance
Nebbish - a person who is weak-willed or timid
Née - original or birth name; a former name
Ne'er-do-well - a person who never does well; a good for nothing or worthless person
Neuronal thunderstorms - a metaphor for dark mental health
Nisus - a striving or effort towards a goal
No one got fired buying IBM - IT saying about how you can’t go wrong choosing the dominant player
**Noblesse oblige - French phrase, “nobility obliges”, pronounced no-bless oh-bleige; the obligation of honor, generosity and responsibility of being of a high birth or the duties of the elite, morally acting appropriately for your position
Nocebo effect - reverse of the placebo effect, learning the negative expectations causes them to occur or have a greater impact
Noluntas - Latin word, “unwillingness” or “ill will towards something”
Nonce - the one, particular or present occasion; the present time
Nonplussed - unsure about what to say or do; perplexed or baffled
Normative - relating to an evaluation or value judgement; the claims of how things ought to be,
Nose of Cleopatra - quote from Blaise Pascal’s Pensées “The nose of Cleopatra: if it had been shorter, the whole face of the earth would have changed”; something small where if it were different, everything would change
Nosh - a snack or small bit between meals
Not I, said the fly - from Valerie’s Osborne’s poem Attraction, typically responded by “not me, said the flea”
Nouveau - new and fashionable
Noyer le poisson - French phrase, “to drown the fish”; to elude a question or duck the issue
Nub of the matter - the main part or point of something; the central or essential point of a situation or problem
Nudnik - a person who is a bore or nuisance; a pest or annoyance
Numpty - British phrase, “idiot or fool”; a person lacking common-sense
Nut-cutting time - crunch time, the period where drastic action is required; the end of discussion and action is necessary now
O
Oaters - a Hollywood term for western films
Obdurate - stubborn or resistant to moral influence, unmoved by persuasion
Obeisance - show respect or homage typically a bow or courtesy; acknowledgement of another’s importance
**Obfuscate - to darken or throw into shadow, or to confuse
Objet trouvé - French phrase, “found object”; an object found by chance and kept for aesthetic value only
Obligato - an instrumental part in a piece of music that is integral and not to be skipped; think a classic guitar solo or something similar in classical music
Obsequious - promptly obedient or submissive, yielding to the desires of another; exhibit a fawning attentiveness
Obstinate - stubborn or persistent, not yielding to reason
Occam’s razor - entities are not the be multiplied beyond necessity; only be as complicated as it needs to be
Ocher - earthy pigment color, orange or brown
**Odium - hatred, dislike or offensiveness; the quality that provokes hatred
Oeuvre - pronounced oo-vray; the complete or sum lifework of an artist or writer
Officer Krupke - someone who tries to enforce law and order but fails; an authority figure who is all bark and no bite
OKR - acronym for “objectives and key results”; a way of defining and tracking goals, also could be KPI (key performance indicators)
Oleaginous - Having the nature or qualities of oil; oily or unctuous
Ombudsman - a person who investigate and reports on complaints; an advocate for patients, consumers, or employees
Omertà - code of silence especially for criminal organizations, originally for the Italian mafia
Omphalos - the central part or focal point; the center of the world
On the q.t. - in a secret or quiet way
Oneironaut - a dreamer explorer or traveler; lucid dreamer
Onerous - burdensome or oppressive; troublesome where the negatives outweigh the positives
Onosecond - the “oh no” moment right before something bad is about to happen
Ontology - theory on the nature of being and how to categorize what entities exist; the framing or representation of a domain
Opéra bouffe - a satirical comic opera
Opine - to have an opinion and express it
Opprobrium - disgrace or infamy (in a public view or bad fame); reproach mingled with contempt
Oppugn - to fight against or resist; to attack or call into question
OPSEC - operations security; process to identify if seemingly innocuous information obtained by adversaries could be interpreted and useful, identifying leak points in a process and working to eliminate them
Opulent - wealthy or affluent
Oriel - a bay window, that projects from the wall of a building
Orison - a prayer, especially a fervent or heartfelt one
**Ornery - mean spirited, having a bad temper
Orlop - the lowest deck of a ship or vessel; the area over the beams of the hull
Ostensive definition - conveying meaning through examples as a way of defining
Otiose - lazy, indolent or idle
Out of the frying pan, into the fire - getting out of a bad situation to find yourself in a worse one
Outré - highly unconventional; eccentric or bizarre
P
Pablum - trite, insipid or simplistic; something that requires no chewing or digestion
Pabulum - a substance providing nourishment; insipid knowledge or food
Palanquin - a carriage carried on the shoulders of men from east Asia
Palaver - idle talk or chatter; cajole
Pallid - pale or deficient in color; lacking sparkle or liveliness
Pall - to be insipid, dull, boring, or wearisome; vapid, tasteless or lifeless
Pallor - paleness or a deficiency of color
Palone - a young woman or girl
Palpable - perceptible by touch or feel, commonly used for things that you cannot touch; tangible
Palter - to haggle or trifle; to act in insincere or deceitful manner, to play false, equivocate, or dodge
Panacea - a cure-all; remedy for all ills or difficulties
Panache - flamboyant manner, style or flair
Pandiculation - stretching and stiffening, as when fatigued and drowsy or after waking up
Panoply - the complete suit of armor or protective shielding that covers everything; a full suit of defensive armor
Panoptic - presenting a comprehensive view; all-seeing
Pantheism - a belief that reality, the universe, and nature are all part of one divine supreme entity or god; the universe itself is god and there is no god besides it
**Pantomime - convey story with bodily movement while mute, charade
Paper does not bleed, but it is useful - writing and planning is good but to actually execute anything, people have to follow through, from military missions
Paper Tiger - someone or something who is outwardly powerful or posturing but inwardly weak; a puppet leader
Papyrus - ancient Egyptian material similar to paper for writing and storing information
Par excellence - French phrase “above all” pronounced par excel-lahnce; being the best of a kind, quintessential
Paramount - the highest or chief; superior or preeminent
Paramour - a lover, especially for a married person
Parapet - a low wall protecting the edge of a platform or roof
Parapraxis - a slip of the tongue, a Freudian slip; a faulty act that shows underlying behavior
**Pariah - an outcast, someone avoided
Parkinson’s Law - an adage, “work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion”
Parley - to discuss or converse
**Parochial - relating to a church parish
**Parsimonious - frugal to excess, stingy; giving or sharing as little as possible
Parvenu - someone who recently rose in wealth or power but has not yet received the dignity or manner associated with higher society
Passé - behind the times or no longer in fashion; past one’s prime, worn or faded
Pastiche - artistic work that imitates the style of previous eras or individuals; hodgepodge or potpourri composition
Pathologize - to regard or view as medically abnormal or unhealthy
Patrician - of, relating to, having, or characterized by high birth, rank or station; not plebeian
Patzer - an inept chess player, a novice or amateur who does not understand the rules and relationships
Paucity - fewness, smallness of number, insufficiency
Peacenik - a political activist who publicly opposes war or the proliferation of weapons; a pacifist
Peccadillo - a slight offense, a “little sin”
Pedagogue - an educator or teacher of others
Pedant - one who puts on an air of learning, one making a vain display of learning, a pretender of superior knowledge; once concerned with minor details
Pejorative - implying or imputing evil, intended to disparage or belittle; depreciatory, disparaging, unfavorable
Pencil whip - to complete a form or checklist without doing the work, approve without verifying
Penitent - one who repents for their sins; someone who feels remorse for previous actions
Pensive - thoughtful, sober, or sad; serious reflection or melancholic musing
Peon - a laborer or servant with little power
##People who don’t know how to remain silent, don’t know how to talk - Søren Kierkegaard quote; The Bible and Western Culture - Kierkegaard's Leap of Faith (youtube.com)
Per ardua ad astra - Latin phrase, “through adversity to the stars”
Perdition -utter destruction; eternal damnation or future misery
Perfidious - deceitful or faithless; lacking confidence or trust
**Peripatetic - movement or journeys by walking, itinerant; vagabond
Peripeteia - a reversal of fortune; a sudden change in circumstances
**Pernicious - deadly, fatal or causing harm
Perorate - to deliver a long or grandiloquent oration; to harangue, lecture, or rant
Perseid - a group of shooting stars that appear annually in August
Perseverate - to recur or repeat continually; to focus on or fixate
**Persona non grata - Latin phrase, “person who is not welcome”; someone who is unacceptable or objectionable
Pert - flippantly cocky and assured; jaunty
Pertinacious - stubborn or dogged; holding to any opinion with obstinacy, persistent
Perturb - to cause worry, annoy or frustrate; unsettle or create confusion
Perun - the highest god in Slavic mythology, similar to Zeus as the god of thunder and storms
Perverse - turned away from the right, willfully erring or wicked; obstinate in the wrong or contrary to what is right or reasonable
Pettifogging - giving too much attention to small, petty, insignificant details; giving in to quibbling over trifles
**Petulant - insolent, rude in speech or behavior, irritable; childishly sulky
Phantasmagoria - a medley of figures or constantly changing scene; illusive images, a bizarre combination or collection
Philistine - a person deficient in liberal culture and refinement; one without appreciation of the nobler aspirations and sentiments of humanity; uncultured or commonplace with a distain of intellectual or artistic values.
Philopatry - the tendency of an animal to remain in the area of its birth; to stick to the comfortable, known world
**Phlegmatic - austere or stoic, not excited to action
Phronesis - Greek word, “practical wisdom”; common sense or mindfulness
Physician, heal thyself - proverb from the Book of Luke in the Bible; interpreted as “solve your own problems before prescribing solutions to others”
Picardía - Spanish word, “craftiness”; slyness or cunning
Piacular - expiatory, sacrificial or atoning; rectifying previous actions
Picayune - something petty or worthless; a coin of such little value
Pidgin - a simplified language with a lack of proper grammar; typically for communication between people who do not share a common language
Piecemeal - in pieces; fragments of a whole but not complete
Pigeonhole - to shelve or tuck away; to reduce to a triviality and remove any complexities
Pistis - the personification of good faith, truth and reliability; pure or genuine
Playing tennis with the net down - quote from Robert Frost on what writing in free verse is like; the bar of difficulty for something is significantly reduced, something that is now too easy to do or perform; making something so reductive it loses its value or purpose
Plodder - one who works slow and tediously or inspiringly; a drudge
Plonk - cheap, low-quality wine
Pluralistic Ignorance - individual members believe the group want some outcome and choose to hold their own tongues, even though the majority of the group does not actually hold the assumed position and would prefer something else
Pneuma - Greek word, “breath”; spirit or soul, the invisible quality necessary with life
Podna - slang for partner; a very close friend
Polemic - a controversial argument or position; disputant
Politburo - The chief political committee of a communist system; the senior decision makers typically above the larger general group
Poltroon - a coward, dastard, or craven; spineless or cowardly
Polysemous - having multiple meanings or definitions
Poppycock - trivial or senseless talk; rubbish or empty speaking
Portmanteau - a word that is created by combining two other forms; combining use or quality - think like ginormous (gigantic and enormous) or vlog (video blog)
Posh - fashionable or luxurious, upper-class and snotty
Pot committed - from poker, to be so invested that you should play the situation out to the end regardless of whether you’d like to; following through because of your wager earlier in time
Pot-valiant - courage from alcohol; drunken bravado
Pother - a choking or suffocating cloud
Potpourri - a mixture or medley; a miscellaneous collection
Poultice - a soft heated mass to apply to sores or lesions; a cataplasm
Practical certainty - extremely low or socially acceptable risk when absolute certainty is not possible, aka if the sun will rise tomorrow
Praxis - practice, especially as exercise or discipline for a specific purpose; practical application of a theory
Pre-Raphaelite - strong supporter of early Renaissance ideals; a romantic look at the world, a vivid, sincere, and uplifting
Preaching to know about the flood - ranting or preaching to the choir, for the purpose of getting a personal issue off the chest
Précis - a concise summary; the essential facts and information, the cliff notes
Precocious - ripe or mature beyond the typical age; exceptionally early development
Preening - fixing oneself to look good; dress or trim up
Prêt-à-porter - French phrase, “ready-to-wear”; off-the-rack clothing rather than made to order
Prig - a thief or robber
Prima facie - Latin phrase, “first appearance”; at first view or initial impression
Probity - tried virtue or integrity; moral excellence and honesty, righteous
Proboscis - an elongated tubular organ on the face/head of an animal; the trunk of an elephant, snout, or a human nose when especially prominent
Prodigious - marvelous, wonderful, portentous; causing amazement or wonder
Profligate - wildly extravagant, shamelessly immoral; grossly self-indulgent
Progenitor - an ancestor in the direct line, a forefather; the originator or parent
Prognosticate - to indicate as future or foretell from signs or symptoms; presage predict or prophesize
Prolegomena - a critical introduction to a book; a prologue with prefatory remarks
Promenade - a stroll or walk, usually in a public place for pleasure or display
Promethean - daringly original or inspiring, typically in a way that is challenging the proverbial way; shaking your fist at the gods in challenge
Promontory - the high point or apex of a piece of land; a protuberance from another structure, a headland
Promulgate - to make known by open declaration; to publish or proclaim, to preach
**Propaedeutic - preliminary study or instruction; introductory to any art or science; instructing beforehand
**Prophylactic - a medicine taken to prevent or defend against disease; a precautionary measure
Prosaic - lacking imagination or spirit, dull or ordinary; matter of fact
Proselytize - to recruit someone to join one’s cause or belief
Prosody - the study of speech elements that are not vowels and consonants, such as intonation, stress, and rhythm; the nuanced emotional features of language like irony or emphasis
Protean - exceedingly variable, readily assuming different shapes or form; malleable or versatile
Provenance - origin, source; the history of ownership for an artwork or valuable
Prudence - wisdom in the way of caution and provision; carefulness in management of resources, sagacity or shrewdness as to danger or risk
Pseudo-factual - something that seems real or true but is only based on your opinions or feelings
Psyops - techniques to influence to belief or emotions of unaware individuals, usually by the military towards the government or enemy
PTB - acronym for “pass the buck”
Puerile - juvenile, boyish, childish, silly
Puissance - power, strength, might, or force
**Pulchritudinous - physical beauty or comeliness; an Adonis or attractive form
Punctilious - OCD, attentive to the exact forms of behavior or etiquette; precise or exact in the smallest particulars
Puritanical - precise in observance of legal or religious requirements; strict, overscrupulous, rigid
Purloin - to steal, take away or theft
Purple patch/prose - overtly elaborate or effusive writing; or a period of notable success or good luck
Pusillanimous - destitute of a manly or courageous strength; weak spirited, timid, or cowardly
Put in file 13 - slang for saying to throw something away or put in the trash
Pyrrhic - excessive or extremely costly, to the point of outweighing or negating the benefits
Q
Q Score - a measurement of familiarity of a person, brand or idea, where a higher score is more highly regarded; the social clout an entity has
QED - acronym for “quod erat demonstrandum” Latin phrase, “thus it is proven”; used to indicate the previous argument is complete emphasizes the logical rigidity of it
**Quaff - to drink (a usually alcoholic beverage) heartily or copiously
Quagmire - precarious situation, predicament
Querulous - whining, habitually complaining
Quid pro quo - Latin phrase, “something for something”; barter or exchange something for something else, reciprocal trade, tit for tat
Quidnunc - one who is curious to know everything that is going on and the latest gossip, a nosy person; busybody or an officious or inquisitive person
**Quixotic - having characteristics or ideals like the fictional character Don Quixote; romantic to extravagance, absurdly chivalric
Quorum - such number a number of members of any body as required to transact business; the minimum number of members to conduct business
R
Raça - Portuguese word, “grit, having guts, or through sheer effort”; when spoken it sounds like ha-sa
Raconteur - a storyteller or relater; someone who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way
RAGAGEP - acronym for “recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices”; what do most people do in a certain situation, the standards, axioms, best practices and historical precedents
Railroad - to push through in great haste; to hurry or rush unduly, typically to prevent proper consideration
Raison d'état - French phrase, “reason of state”; national interest, primarily for ensuring the security of the state’s existence
**Raison d'être - French phrase, '“reason to be”; reason for existing or being, your sole purpose or ultimate goal
Rakish - dissolute, lewd, debauched; dashingly or carelessly unconventional
Ramshackle - a structure falling to pieces or out of repair; rickety or ready to collapse
Rapprochement - establishment of cordial relations; an extension of the hand of friendship after a time of bitterness, reconciliation between two entities
Rather heard an old woman fart than an old man cry -
Rathskeller - a tavern or restaurant where beer is sold, typically basement establishments
**Raucous - hoarse, harsh, loud and unpleasant; croaking in sound
##Realpolitik -
**Recalcitrant - kicking back; showing repugnance or opposition
Recidivism - a falling back or relapse into prior criminal habits; returning to the streets or illegal behavior
Red cent - so small an amount of money that it is insignificant; tiny or insignificant money
Red-letter day - a very happy or important day, from writing the event in red ink on the calendar to remind yourself
Redolent - spreading sweet scent, odorous “redolent of joy and youth”
Regent - a trustee or overseer who rules in the absence of a monarch; one acting as a governor
Rembrandt - a Dutch painter who’s artistic depictions favored realism
Renaissance man - a person with wide interests and a multitude of talents; a polymath or “a man who can do all things he wills”
Requiem - a musical hymn sung for the repose of a departed soul; a service for the dead
Retail therapy - shopping or spending money to feel better or improve mood
Retcon - shortened form of “retroactive continuity”; the past is ignored or contradicted by following works, typically in literature
**Reticence - state of being reticent, or keeping silence; refraining from speaking that which is suggested
Reticule - a small drawstring bag, a purse
Retinue - a train of attendants or a group of assistants for an important person; a posse
Revanche - revenge in a political sphere to recover lost status
Rhapsodic - confused or unconnected; extravagantly emotional or rapturous
Ribald - low, vulgar, or foul-mouthed; lewd or offensive
**Rigamarole - vapid and meaningless talk
Riddle me this Batman - used as a phrase to start a question you are lacking in understanding about
Riposte - a retaliatory verbal sally or retort; a counterattack after a successful defense
Road to Damascus - a life-changing experience or pivotal turning point; a significant change in belief or attitude
Royal road - a smooth, easy, or trouble-free way; the most direct or effective way of reaching or achieving something
RTFM - acronym for “read the effing manual”; used as a response to a dumb or obvious question that is easily found or known
Rubato - robbed or borrowed; a musical term for when the tempo fluctuates against the standard accompaniment
Rubber ducking - software phrase, “explaining out loud to an inanimate object their work, where in the discussion the solution comes to you”
Rubberneck - to turn and stare at something; to look about or stare with exaggerated curiosity
Rube - a based or unsophisticated person; a country bumpkin or person or rural upbringing
Rubicon - a decisive step, one that when taken, is irrevocable; taken from Caesar crossing the Rubicon and attacking Rome, “the die is cast”
Run amok - go on a rampage or become uncontrollable, usually in the grips of emotions
S
Saccade - the small, rapid or jerky movement of the eye as it moves from one fixation to another
Sacre bleu - an expression of surprise or annoyance, typically said with a French accent
Sagacious - of quick intellectual perceptions, keen judgement and discerning; shrewd, sage-like, or wise
**Salad days - time of youth, inexperience or innocence; typically of enthusiasm and idealism, nostalgic
Sallow - having a yellowish color or tinged with yellow; a pale or sickly color
Salmagundi - a mixture or agglomeration, variety or assortment; potpourri
**Salubrious - favorable to health, “salubrious air, water or climate”
Salvo - a concentration or simultaneous firing of artillery; a volley or sudden burst
Samsara - pronounced “soom sar ah”; the repeated circular cycles of birth, misery and death; cycle of aimless drifting or mundane existence
Sanctum sanctorum - Latin phrase, “holy of holies”; the most precious or revered location for a person, a refuge or haven
Sangfroid - evenness of emotions or temper; aplomb, coolness, or tranquil
**Sanguine - confidently optimistic, eager hopefulness
Saponaceous - having qualities like soap; being soapy
Sapphic - relating to lesbianism
Sarcophagus - a stone coffin
Sardonic - unnatural or forced to the point of mocking or sarcastic usually applied to a laugh; disdainfully or derisively mocking humor
Sartorial - of or relating to a tailor or his work
Satrap - a ruler or governor in Persia
Sattva - from Hindu philosophy; balance, harmony, goodness, serenity, peaceful, virtuous
Saturnalia - excess or extravagance celebration, an unrestrained license and merriment for all, typically with sexual activities
Savasana - corpse pose; meditative yoga position of laying on your back
Savoir faire - French phrase, “knowing how to do”; capacity for appropriate action, usually in a polished sure behavior; able to say or do the right thing in social situations
Scabrous - rough to the touch, like a file; harsh or difficult
Scant - not large or plentiful, sparing, parsimonious; less than is wanted for the purpose, meager or not enough
Scar on the first cut - overreacting to a one-off situation and trying to create a policy/procedure to prevent it from reoccurring
Schadenfreude - German word, “enjoying the suffering or trouble of others”; the pleasure at the misfortune of others
Schpeel - really spiel but we say it with an SH sound
Scintillating - brilliantly lively, stimulating, or witty; to spark or create amusement
**Scion - descendant of a wealthy family
Sclerotic - growing rigid or unresponsive, hard or firm; unable or reluctant to adapt or compromise
Scordatura - the unusual tuning of a stringed musical instrument
Screed - a long, tedious speech or piece of writing, typically ranting
Scruple - to be reluctant or to hesitant, a mental reservation; to regard with suspicion or question
Scurrilous - indecency, foul or mean language, typically with obscenities or slander; vile or opprobrious
**Scuttlebutt - rumor or gossip; unsubstantiated claims
Seance - spiritualist meeting to receive spirit communications
Security theater - the appearance of activities considered to improve safety while doing little or nothing to achieve it
Semper fidelis - Latin phrase, “always faithful”; often shortened to semper fi, it is the motto of the US Marine Corps
Sentinel - one who watches or guards, especially to watch for danger and give notice
Seppuku - also known as harakiri; ritualistic suicide by stabbing themselves with a sword
Sepulcher - a place of burial, a grave or tomb
Ser pan comido - Spanish phrase, “to be eaten bread”; a piece of cake or something that’s easy to obtain or do
Serendipity- accidental discoveries of things not sought for; unplanned good luck or fortune
Shadow cabinet - a group of leaders of a parliamentary opposition who scrutinize the actions of the ruling government and offer their own alternative policies
Shibboleth - a custom or tradition to distinguish an in-group from an out-group; a party cry or pet phrase that is used as a test
Shill - a planted promoter within the populace; a decoy to lead others into participating, astroturfing
Shirk - to sneak, or go stealthily
Shrinking violet - a bashful person or a wallflower; exaggeratedly shy
Shuhari - Japanese martial art stages of learning to mastery, Shu - learn fundamentals, Ha - find exceptions and novel approaches, Ri - synthesize together again with new and old; “follow the rules, break the rules, transcend the rules”
Si vis pacem, para bellum - Latin phrase, “If you want peace, prepare for war”; being strong deters conflict
Sic vita est - Latin phrase, “thus is life”; such is life
Sidle - sneak up next to; to move sidewise
Simpatico - of like mind or temperament; similar wave-length or congenial
Sinew - a tendon or muscle; the supplier of strength or power
Sisyphean - incessantly recurring, often requiring ineffective effort; a futile task you engage in
Six ways to Sunday - in every possible way or direction
Sixty-four-dollar question - the crucial question for expressing the issue at hand; a question that’s very important and difficult to answer
Skitching - the act of hitching a ride by holding onto a motor vehicle while riding on a skateboard, roller skates or bicycle
Skullduggery - underhanded or unscrupulous behavior; chicanery, deception or subterfuge
Slake - to quench, allay or extinguish; to abate or slacken
Slipshod - casual in dress or style; slovenly or careless
Slog - to plod (one's way) perseveringly especially against difficulty
Sluice - to emit by opening flood gates; to wet copiously, dump, spill, or flush out
Smarmy - smug, ingratiating or false earnestness; sleazy or oily
Smorgasbord - a large mixture or menagerie of food; a buffet of a variety of foods
SNAFU - acronym for “situation normal all effed up”; a chaotic or confused situation
Snit - a state of agitation
Snookums - a cloying term of endearment for someone, nickname
Sobriquet - an assumed name; a fanciful epithet or nickname
Soft cell - advertising approach that uses a more subtle or friendly message to persuade the customer to buy
Softly, softly catchee monkey - being patient and careful to achieve the goal; like slow and steady wins the race or boil a frog
**Soiree - an evening party or reception, a small social gathering or hangout
Sojourn - a temporary stay, a brief stop
Soliloquy - the act of talking to oneself; a monologue to show internal motivation and interests
**Solipsism - extreme egocentric; theory on the self can be known and therefore exists, Descartes “I think therefore I am”
Somatize - expressing psychological distress through physical symptoms
Sonder - the feeling that everyone has their own entire life that you know nothing about; random strangers are just as vivid as your life
**Sordid - vile, filthy, or dirty
Soubrette - a flirtatious girl, or someone with a tendency to engage in intrigue
Soup to nuts - cover every aspect or detail of something; comes from the first course to the last
Soupçon - a little bit, a trace amount’; a suggestion or suspicion of presence
Sovereign - supreme or highest in power; possessing original authority or jurisdiction, predominant, greatest or utmost
Spelunking - the hobby of exploring underground caverns
Spherical cow - a highly simplified model to explain complex phenomena; a humorous physics metaphor for gross reductions in assumptions to solve problems
Sprezzatura - a nonchalance, to appear without effort and almost without any thought about it; a studied carelessness
Squeeze a quarter so tight the eagle screams - a penny pincher, someone who is stingy with money
Stadtluft macho frei - German phrase, “city air makes you free”; encouraged serfs to leave their lord and become a free citizen in cities where there was work and trade
Stag party - a bachelor party, typically which only men are invited
Staid - sober, sedate and composed
Stalking horse - a testing of the waters prior to putting your own social standing on the line, to not be tainted by association if the perception is negative
Stare decisis - Latin phrase, “to stand by things decided”; used in legal battles to not change to status quo
Stem-winder - an entertaining and rousing speech
Stertorous - characterized by a deep snoring; hoarsely breathing or gasping sound
Stewardship - being the responsible guardian and caring for the resources bestowed on them
Stick in one's craw - to rankle or irritate one; annoy so one can’t tolerate it
Stolid - not easily aroused or excited; dull, impassive or unemotional, foolish
Stretch your arm no farther than your sleeve will reach - live within your own means, don’t spend more money than you have
Stunad - Italian-American slang for “stupid or crazy”
Stymie - to stand in the way of; hinder, block or thwart
Subterfuge - an artifice to escape or conceal, as to evade censure or the force of an argument; to parry by evading or deception
Succor - to aid, assist, comfort, or relieve
Sufficiently suffonsified - having eaten enough and not requiring more; being full or satiated
Sui generis - Latin phrase, “in a class by themselves”; unique or peculiar
Sulci - a furrow or groove; typically the wrinkles on the surface of the brain
**Summum bonum - Latin phrase, “the highest or ultimate good”; what you should strive towards
Sunder - to part or separate; to sever or divide into pieces
Supercilious - feeling or showing haughty disdain; arrogant or lofty with pride
Supine - lying on the back, with the face up
Surcease - to end or cause to cease; to bring about a close to
Surly - ominous or threatening in appearance, rough or tempestuous; irritably sullen or gloomily morose
Surreptitiously - secretively, avoiding notice or attention; done with stealth or without proper authority
Suspire - to sigh, utter with long sighing breaths
Suture - a joining or uniting of parts by sewing
Svelte - suave, slender, lithe, attractively slim
Svengali - from the book Trilby; a person who manipulates or exerts control over another, a Machiavellian
SWAG - acronym for “sophisticated wild ass guess”
Sweater paws - using long sleeves of a sweater or shirt down to cover or partially-cover their hands which are typically balled in a fist, usually because of nerves or being cold
Swings and roundabouts - pros and cons that balance out to about equal value
Sybaritic - luxurious or wanton; voluptuary
**Sycophant - self-seeking flatterer, one who praises those above them to get favor; behaving in a servile manner, brown noser
Syllogism - a logical argument that uses deductive reasoning to generate a conclusion based on two premises or propositions asserted to be true
Synecdoche - a figure of speech where a part is used to refer to the whole, such as boots for soldier, suits for businessmen, or wheels for a car
Systole - the rhythmically pulsating contractions of the heart and arteries
T
Tacit - done in silence, implied; expressed without words
Take a long walk on a short pier - get out of here!
Talc - a very soft material with a soapy feel
Talisman - an object that has magical or miraculous powers; an amulet or charm that repels evil
Tarry - to linger or stay in place; sojourn
Tartuffe - a religious hypocrite, or a hypocritical pretender to excellence of any kind
Tatami mat - Japanese flooring used in dojos or for martial arts competitions
Taupe - a brownish gray color
Tautology - redundancy or a vacuous statement; needless repetition in different words that add no value
**Tawdry - very showy in colors, without taste or elegance; cheap and gaudy
**Tchotchke - pronounced “chatch key”; a knickknack, trinket, or a small item
Teleology - the doctrine of design, or adaptation to purpose
Tell the truth and shame the devil - to always tell the truth, even when it’s difficult and you’re tempted to lie
Telos - the ultimate end
**Temerity - unreasonable contempt of danger, rashness or recklessness, excessive boldness
Terse - refined or polished, elegantly concise; free of superfluous words
Tetchy - peevish, fretful, or irritable; touchy or sensitive
Tête-à-tête - French phrase, “face to face”; a private, two-person conversation
Teutonic - the German language and lineage; classical Germanic qualities
Texas tea - slang for crude oil
That dog don’t hunt - something that is idiotic or faulty; a non-starter, bull shit
The bite of conscience - guilt or self-inflicted pain of knowing you could be better but aren’t
The children yearn for the mines - satirical meme for repealing child labor, typically because kids want to do hard manual labor or it makes the better persons
The dose makes the poison - everything can be dangerous if moderation is not used
The evil eight - diminishing nickname for Ivy League schools; the belief of coastal elitism is ruling and ruining the United States
The lady doth protest too much, methinks - from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, used to indicate doubt of someone’s sincerity due to their insistence
The owl of Minerva only flies at dusk - from Hegel’s Philosophy of History, you can only understand something fully in hindsight; only in retrospective can you comprehend correctly
The real McCoy - the real thing, not a substitute or imitation; something or someone that is real or genuine
The road to hell is paved with good intentions - there is no merit in good intentions unless the associated actions are actually beneficial, often trying to do good can lead you to hurting others
The solace of death - the belief that death can provide meaning to life, and is a blessing to humanity
The sticks - a long way from civilization or anything important; a country or rural setting
The wolf is at the door - someone facing imminent financial ruin or difficulty; the threat of poverty
Theodicy - arguments attempting to resolve the problem of evil that arises from an all-powerful benevolent god
There are cathedrals everywhere for those with the eyes to see - there is beauty in the mundane and simple if you focus on them
There but for the grace of God, go I - a recognition that other’s misfortune could be one’s own, if not for the divine, fortune, or fate; if things were different, I might be in that situation
There’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip - even when a good outcome seems certain, things can still go wrong; similar to don’t count your chickens before they hatch
Third shift - the graveyard shift, typically the dead of night when no one is awake or doing much
This is how (liberty) dies, with thunderous applause - from Star Wars, the loss or destruction of something by a group champing against their own best judgment
Thousand-yard stare - a blank, dead, or unfocused look of emotional detachment from the surroundings
Throng - a multitude of person or beings pressed and packed into close quarters; a great or large number
Tiger team - a team of specialists assembled to work on a particular problem; the best minds for tackling an issue
Tithe - one-tenth portion of income or earning contributed to a religious organization or church
Timophilia - a primary arousal from gold or wealth
Tithe - a proportion of income paid to religious organizations; a tax for using some of your fortune for the benefit of others
Titular - bearing a title without any appropriate duties; nominal
TLDR - acronym for “too long/lazy; didn’t read”
To light a candle is to cast a shadow - to glorify one’s own ego, you bring a darkness into the world
Toady - a flatterer or sycophant; one who flatters to gain favors; a brownnose or bootlicker
Tocsin - the ringing of a bell for the purpose of alarm; a warning signal or omen
Tontine - a prize where everyone contributes their share, and the winner is the last survivor
Tope - to drink hard or frequently to excess
Topiary - cutting and trimming trees or shrubs into ornamental shapes
**Torpor - dullness or sluggishness; apathy
Torrent - a violent stream or flow; a forceful rush
Tortuous - bent in different direction or marked by twists, bend and turns, winding; convoluted, tricky, or circuitous
Touchstone - a test or criterion by which the qualities of a thing are tried; the benchmark or yardstick for testing the genuineness of something
Tradecraft - the techniques, methods, and technologies used in espionage or intelligence assessment
Tragedy of the commons - unfettered access to a finite common resource will lead to the over-use and destruction; typically in economic systems where a common resource such as a piece of land is overgrazed
Travois - a horse pulled sled consisting of two trailing pole s with a net between for a load
Treacle - overly sweet or cloy; a remedy or cure
Treatise - a written discourse or composition on a particular subject in which it is discussed or explained; a more systematic and methodical form than an essay
Triptych - a piece of art divided into three panels
Trite - worn out, common, or stale; lacking novelty or interest, hackneyed
Troglodyte - a caveman; someone with outdated attitudes or behind the world
Troubadour - a composer and performer of poetry and song from the middle age, typically with lyrical imagery or a romantic, amatory strain
Trumpery - worthless nonsense; rubbish or trash
**Tumescent - slightly tumid, somewhat swollen
Tumult - commotion or turbulent uprising; an outburst with confused motion and high excitement
Tunupa - Incan god whose mission was to spread wisdom to people but was met with people only interested in fun
Turd in a punch bowl - someone who spoils a social situation
Turgent - swelling, inflated or pompous
Turknology - a play on the word, technology, it’s a solution to a problem that’s dumb or sketchy but serves its purpose; “redneck engineering” or jank
Twaddle - idle talk, insignificant gabble
Tyro - a beginner in learning; one who is in the rudiments of understanding a subject; a novice or student
U
Ulysses pact - an agreement or decision made in good mind to control oneself in the future, typically with the foresight they will lack the discipline; a choice to bind us to an action in the future
Umbrage - shade or shadows; a vague suggestion or reason for doubt or suspicion
Unction - the act of anointing or applying an ointment either as a rite of consecration or for healing purposes
Unctuous - fatty, oily, or greasy; or bland, suave or fervid
Under the cosh - in a difficult position, under extreme pressure
Undulation - a waving motion or vibration; motion to and fro, up and down, or from side to side
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown - from Shakespeare’s Henry IV, used to describe the responsibilities and stresses that come with leadership and decision making
Unlanguageable - something that is indescribable to the level beyond normal words like indescribable
Upanishads - oldest texts of Hindu philosophy
Upbraid - to reproach or criticize severely, to rebuke or chide; to find fault and scold
**Urstoff - German word, “primary matter”; the essence or material
**Usufruct - the use and enjoyment of something belonging to another, without impairing the substance
Uxorious - excessively fond of or submissive to a wife
V
Vacillate - to move one way and the other, to reel or stagger; to waver or fluctuate in mind or opinion
Vacuous - empty, void or unfilled; stupid or devoid of intelligence
Valetudinairan - a person with a weak or sickly constitution; one whose chief concern is their health, someone with undue anxiety about health
Vamoose - to depart quickly; to evacuate
Veil of Maya - the illusion where things appear to be present but aren’t what they seem, the lying of the eyes
Velvet sledgehammer - snide comments that are presented as soft but actually are an aggressive attack on someone; a backhanded compliment or a veiled aspersion
Venerable - deserving of reverence, honor, and respect; treated with awe and reverence, generally through age, character, or attainments
Veracity - habitual observance of truth, a devotion to accuracy
Verbose - abounding in words, wordy; prolix or containing more words than necessary, fluff
**Verisimilitude - the appearance of truth or reality; probability or likelihood
Verklempt - overcome with emotion, choked up
Versatile - embracing a variety of subjects or skills; changeable, variable, adaptable, or inconstant
Vicarious - serve in place of another; experienced or realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation
Vicegerent - acting as a delegate for a higher person or power, a deputy
**Vicissitude - a usually unforeseen change in circumstance; mutability
Victrix causa diis placuit, sed victa Catoni - Latin phrase, “the victorious cause pleased the gods, but the conquered cause pleased Cato”; the side that lost was in the moral right
Vignette - picture or illustration of a small or dainty kind
Vinculum - a bond of union, a tie
**Virago - loud overbearing woman, a termagant; an Amazon
Virtue - excellence, value, merit, or worth; moral excellence or integrity of character
Vis-à-vis - in relation to or as compared to; face to face
Visage - the face or look of someone or something; the appearance or countenance
**Vituperative - to find fault with or censure severely; to scold or overwhelm with wordy verbal abuse, tirade
Vociferous - noisy or clamorous; vehement insistent outcry
Volte-face - a reversal in policy; about face or turn around
**Votive - given in fulfillment of a vow; expressing or symbolizing a wish or desire
**Vouchsafe - to concede or bestow
Vox humana - Latin phrase, “human voice”; something resembling the impression of a person
Vranyo - Russian word, “white lies told to suppress the truth”; the culture of lying to appear better than reality, you know I’m lying and I know you know, but I go ahead and say the lie anyways
W
Waif - lost, stray or without an owner
Warp and woof/weft - the fundamental structure of a process or system, from weaving fabrics
We have done so much with so little for so long, that now we can do anything with nothing - military saying about overcoming anything
Welshcomb - combing your hair by running your fingers through it
Westminster Bubble - characterization of the UK parliament being isolated from the regular everyday life outside of politics
What thickens the skin, thins the hair - the stresses that make you resilient also age you
Whipping boy - one who takes the brunt of the punishment or scourge in service of someone or something; like a martyr or punching bag
Whistle in the wind - try unsuccessfully to influence something that cannot be changed; to engage in a fruitless or hopeless task
Whistle past the graveyard - to act as if one is relaxed and not afraid when one actually is, putting on a brave face; to put on a veneer of cheerfulness in a dire situation while ignoring hazards
White elephant - something that is very costly or a burden with very few benefits; something expensive with no useful purpose and is no longer wanted
Whited sepulcher - a person who is evil internally but projects an image of virtuousness or goodness; a hypocrite or wolf in sheep’s clothing
Wile - a trick or stratagem practice for insnaring or deception; sly or insidious beguilement, an allurement
Winnow - separate the wheat from the chaff; find the cream of the crop; cull
Winsome - cheerful or merry; generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence
Wiseacre - smart aleck or one who makes undue pretensions to wisdoms; pretender to knowledge or cleverness
Wistful - longing or wishful with a tinge of melancholy; full of thought, meditative or musing, pensive
Witan - the council that assists a king in matters; the council of advisors or wise men
Witches’ brew - a potent or fearsome mixture
Wordmonger - a write who uses words for show or without particular regard for meaning; someone who uses language pretentiously or carelessly
Words ought to be a little wild, for they are the assault of thoughts on the unthinking - quote from John Keynes
Writ large - it is similar but larger or more obvious than the earlier thing
X
Xanadu - an idyllic, exotic, or luxurious location or place
Xenia - hospitality, being a generous host; providing for others or strangers
Y
Yak shaving - software phrase, “a seemingly pointless activity which is necessary to solve a problem several levels removed from the real problem you’re working on”
Yenta - a gossip or busybody, typically a woman; blabbermouth or meddler
Yeomanry - the body of small landowners or farmers in the middle class
YMMV - acronym for “your mileage may vary”
You can’t sprint a marathon - the tortoise and the hare, going slow is how you achieve success over time
You’re either drinking wine or squishing grapes - you’re either producing or enjoying the product of previous labor
Z
Zaftig - having a full rounded figure; plump, voluptuous, or well-proportioned
Zealot - one who engages warmly with any cause and pursues his object with earnestness and ardor; often carried away by his zeal, one absorbed in devotion to anything; an enthusiastic, energetic, or fanatical person
Zeitgeist - the center of intellectual, moral, or cultural climate for a time
Zine - an amateur or nonprofessional publication for a specialized subject matter
Zugzwang - pronounced tsook-tsvang, a chess situation where a player is forced to make an undesirable or disadvantageous move; a situation where you’d rather do nothing than anything
Zukunftsmusik - German word, “music of the future”; used to refer to plans or dreams that are unlikely to be realized anytime soon, if ever; something pie in the sky or a pipe dream