word of the day

0 Comments

  banter n. the playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks.  v. engage in banter. DERIVATIVES  banterer n.  bantering adj.  banteringly adv.” –Oxford English Dictionary   ‘BANTER‘ is one of our favourite words …   See also: The Literary Lounge’s The Banter sessions #1 – best-selling authors Kate Perry and Ava Miles take twenty

0 Comments

  n. 1. A passion for cats. 2. An intense enthusiasm for having many cats around; sometimes, even when conditions are not suitable for their existence. 3. An abnormal love of cats.   Opposite Ailurophobia n. An extreme or irrational fear of cats.      

0 Comments

  adj.   First-known usage: 14th century.    n. opprobriousness   1. Expressing scorn, contemptuous reproach. 2. Disgrace; shameful or infamous.   First known usage: 14th century   Example of usage – from C.S. Lewis’s Studies in Words   The purpose of all opprobrious language is, not to describe, but to hurt — even when, like Hamlet, … Continue readings

0 Comments

  To leave a book unread, usually in a pile of other such unread books on the floor, shelves or other surfaces. From the Japanese words ‘Tsumo’, meaning ‘a pile of’ and ‘doku’, meaning ‘to read’.   EDITOR’S CHOICE: top tip – makes a useful table, plant stand or chair.          

0 Comments

  1. ceremonial festival at which gifts are bestowed on the guests by the host according to rank or importance and valued items are destroyed by the owner to illustrate his/her superior wealth (Native American origin, especially the Kwakiutl). 2. a party or celebration.          

0 Comments

  The mass nodding by staff in a meeting, when the boss says something that no one understands. Mmm … familiar.          

0 Comments

  A word of several meanings (love those kind of words): a. a male goose (‘what’s good for the goose…’) – no b. a ‘ninny’ – also love this word as it’s affectionate condescension at its best, but … no c. town in Newfoundland, Canada – spent six months in NL and … NO! In … Continue readings

0 Comments

  To stride around looking busy, when in fact you are doing nothing. Also: (n) a niggardly or miserly fellow.   As the internet is a wonderful thing, TLS also stumbled across this alternative definition: ‘Snudge: 
 The inner glow that heterosexual men feel toward each other after a carton of beer. Touching is optional.
 … Continue readings

0 Comments

  The fear of being tickled by feathers. Also known as ‘feather ticking phobia’ Why?
’ … the fear of being tickled with feathers may not actually be a fear of feathers, but the experience they represent. The sight of the feather can transport you to a time and place where you felt you had no … Continue readings

0 Comments

  Believe it or not, ‘petrichor’ is a word for that gorgeous sweet smell that occurs as the first rains hit parched earth. How lovely is that?          

0 Comments

  A particularly noisy or heated argument, brawl or fracas. A scene of uproar and disorder; a riotous or uproarious meeting.   Derivation: 
 In 1204, King John granted Donnybrook, a district of Dublin (today in Ireland), the right to hold a public fair. Usually held from 26 August for about 15 days, the fair … Continue readings