A new word for the day

[Pah]

The Webster Word of the Day for September 28 is:

traduce \truh-DOOS\ verb
*1: to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood and
misrepresentation
2: violate, betray

Example sentence:
The scandalous half-truths in the unauthorized biography
angered the star, and she was hurt that so many of her former
friends had traduced her.

Did you know?
"Traduce" is one of a number of English synonyms that you
can choose when you need a word that means "to injure by
speaking ill of." Choose "traduce" when you want to stress the
deep personal humiliation, disgrace, and distress felt by the
victim. If someone doesn't actually lie, but makes statements
that injure by specific and often subtle
misrepresentations, "malign" may be the more precise choice. To
make it clear that the speaker is malicious and the statements
made are false, choose "calumniate." But if you need to say that
certain statements represent an attempt to destroy a reputation
by open and direct abuse, "vilify" is the word you want.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Tuesday September 28, 2004 Dictionary.com

credulous \KREJ-uh-lus\, adjective:
1. Ready or inclined to believe on slight or uncertain evidence.
2. Based on or proceeding from a disposition to believe too readily.

Credulous monarchs were easy game for the numerous charlatans and tricksters who toured the courts of Europe trying to dupe them into parting with real gold by means of little more than a promise that they would repay such investments thousandfold.
--Janet Gleeson, The Arcanum

To her critics, she was a madam and con artist who charged credulous clients . . . small fortunes to cast spells and bring about the deaths of rivals.
--Laurence Bergreen, Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life

And unless our educational system focuses more on teaching students how to think than on what to think, our populace will become increasingly credulous.
--Theodore Schick Jr., "The End of Science?" Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 1997


Credulous derives from Latin credulus, "believing easily," from credere, "to believe."

 

[Pah]

Wordsmith's A.Word.A.Day--ducat

ducat (DUK-uht) noun

1. An admission ticket.

2. A piece of money.

3. Any of various gold coins formerly used in some European countries.

[From Middle English, from Old French, from Old Italian ducato, from Late Latin ductus, from duchy (so named because the word appeared on some early ducats), from ducy (a territory ruled by a duke or a duchess).]

Today's word in Visual Thesaurus.

"It was a mixed crowd: producers, musicians, actors, directors and politicos ... and CHUM's Mary Powers, whom everyone strokes to get into her after-Schmooze party, the hottest ducat at the fest." Rita Zekas; Your Dancing Table is Ready; Toronto Star (Canada); Sep 12, 2004.

"All this for just $50 per ticket ($75 for a two-day ducat), so this isn't exactly a 'bring the whole family' event." Elizabeth Gabriel; What's Going On And What You Need to Know; San Diego Union Tribune; Sep 13, 2004.

This week's theme: slang.

X-Bonus
A visitor from Mars could easily pick out the civilized nations. They have the best implements of war. -Herbert V. Prochnow, banker (1897-1998)

 

[Pah]

The Webster Word of the Day for September 29 is:

litmus test \LIT-mus-TEST\ noun
: a test in which a single factor (as an attitude, event,
or fact) is decisive

Example sentence:
For Curtis, the litmus test of good barbecue ribs is
whether or not they have that moist fall-off-the-bone quality.

Did you know?
It was in the 14th century that scientists discovered that
litmus, a mixture of colored organic compounds obtained from
lichen, turns red in acid solutions and blue in alkaline
solutions and, thus, can be used as an acid-base indicator. Six
centuries later, people began using "litmus test" figuratively
for any single factor that establishes the true character of
something or causes it to be assigned to one category or another.

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Wednesday September 29, 2004 Dictionary.com

harangue \huh-RANG\, noun:
1. A speech addressed to a large public assembly.
2. A noisy or pompous speech; a rant.

transitive verb:
To deliver a harangue to; to address by a harangue.

intransitive verb:
To make a harangue; to declaim.

His emissaries, had attended the Priest's convocation of the people, and, without delaying to hear more than the main point of the harangue, hurried back with their intelligence to the rebel camp.
--Wilkie Collins, Iolani: Or, Tahiti as It Was

Wont to harangue the citizenry in public speeches with such lines as "Remember! My father gave you freedom!" Mrs. Gandhi did not take lightly to government officers with an independent turn of mind.
--Gita Mehta, Snakes and Ladders

Mostly, though, he functions as Exhibit A in the playwright's harangue against capitalist exploitation of the workingman.
--Matthew Gurewitsch, "A Country of Lesser Giants," New York Times, April 4, 1999

And Alexander Lebed, a Siberian governor and presidential hopeful, seemed to typify the punchy, touchy national mood when he lost control recently in front of television cameras and harangued a local businessman with bleeped-out expletives.
--Michael R. Gordon, "On Russia's Far-East Fringe, Unrealpolitik," New York Times, February 14, 1999

She was hardly anyone's idea of a good time, but at least she kept her hands to herself and showed him considerable amounts of affection, enough warmth of heart to counterbalance the periods when she nagged him and harangued him and got on his nerves.
--Paul Auster, Timbuktu


Harangue derives from Medieval French arenge, from Old Italian aringa, from aringare, "to speak in public," from aringo, "a public place for horse racing and popular assemblies," ultimately of Germanic origin.

 

[Pah]

Wordsmith's A.Word.A.Day--boffo
Pronunciation RealAudio

boffo (BOF-o) adjective

1. (Of a movie, play, or some other show) Extremely successful.

2. (Of a laugh) uproarious, hearty.

noun

1. A great success.

2. A hearty laugh.

3. A gag or punch-line that elicits uproarious laughter.

[Of uncertain origin. Probably a blend of box office or an alteration of buffo, bouffe, or boffola. The term was popularized by Variety, a magazine for the U.S. entertainment industry.]

"And until Apple records a boffo holiday season for the mini, it can't officially be called a runaway success." Alex Salkever; My Huge Mistake About the Mini; BusinessWeek (New York); Aug 19, 2004.

"His (Patrick Brown's) problem seems to me to be the demands of the production group of which he is a part and which requires a boffo hit every time in order to keep the auditorium packed ..." Norman Rae; Wheaties & Lilies & Severed P's; Jamaica Observer (Kingston, Jamaica); Aug 1, 2004.

This week's theme: slang.

X-Bonus
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. -Carl Sagan, astronomer and author (1934-1996)