otious (adj)
1: producing no useful result : FUTILE
2: being at leisure : IDLE
3: lacking use or effect : FUNCTIONLESS
I saw this while reading Paul Johnson’s Heroes.
Category Archives: words
Word of the Week
Parachronis (n.) – a chronological error in which a person, event, etc., is assigned a date later than the actual one.
I ran across this while reading C. S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength.
Word of the Week
Featherbedding (n.) A labor union practice of artificially increasing the number of workers employed even though the specific job or task can be completed with fewer workers. This can be done mandating that specific jobs be performed only by workers with specific skill levels or be mandating that a certain number of workers are needed to perform a job or task.
References
“Featherbedding” Retrieved from https://glossary.econguru.com/economic-term/featherbedding.
Word of the Week
Cavil verb (used without object), cav·iled, cav·il·ing or (especially British) cav·illed, cav·il·ling.
to raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault with unnecessarily (usually followed by ator about): He finds something to cavil at in everything I say.
verb (used with object), cav·iled, cav·il·ing or (especially British) cav·illed, cav·il·ling. to oppose by inconsequential, frivolous, or sham objections: to cavil each item of a proposed agenda.
Word of the Week
a seiche
seiche: n. a temporary disturbance or oscillation in the water level of a lake or partially enclosed body of water, especially one caused by changes in atmospheric pressure.
Last night some areas around Lake Michigan got hit with a big storm. Some people thought they saw a tornado, but tornadoes don’t form around such large bodies of water. I was told what was seen was part of a seiche.
Word of the Week
Gambatte; v. Japanese. imperative form of gambare. try your best, don’t give up, endure, persevere — all rolled into one.
If you go to Japan and learn a little of the language gambatte is one of the first words you’ll learn and use with fluency. It’s used all the time to encourage any and all endeavors from sports to tests to every day hassles and problems.
It’s a word that works wonders even when you say it to yourself. It’s a word that encourages and spurs one on so it’s perfectly suited for 2020 when you’re down or blue during the lockdown or the political morass.
If we should import only one Japanese into English, this should be it.
Word of the Week
Tsutshepenish: (Yiddish) pest
I’m reading another Hereville graphic novel How Mirka Met a Meteorite. It’s the third I’ve read. Mirka is an Orthodox Jew and the book contains a lot of Yiddish, which is define throughout the story.
Word of the Week
I was curious about the etymology of this timely word:
Word of the Week
Leapling (n.): a person who was born on February 29th. Also called leapers.
Did you know there are 7% fewer births on February 29th than there should be?
