Word Perfect
Etymological Entertainment For Every Day of the Year
Susie Dent
First annotation on . Last on .
6 quotes
Chapter 3a
- If you’re looking for a word to describe dogmatic assertion without proof, ‘ipsedixitism’ is an excellent choice.Dec 25 2023 5:47PM
Chapter 6a
- Depending on the day you’re having, a juggernaut might be either an unstoppable force, a gigantic truck, or a villainous foil for the X-Men. Its origin is one of the most unlikely in the English language, involving the meeting of two vastly different worlds and cultures.Dec 25 2023 5:50PM
Chapter 7a
- A Gordian knot is a problematic situation that seems completely unsolvable until lateral thinking is brought into play.Dec 25 2023 5:51PM
Chapter 8a
- Hwyl is defined in the dictionary as ‘an emotional quality that inspires and sustains impassioned eloquence’, as well as ‘the fervour of emotion characteristic of gatherings of Welsh people’.Dec 25 2023 5:52PM
Chapter 10a
- Chief among these is the ‘shotclog’, Elizabethan slang for the companion in the tavern who is only tolerated because they are buying the next round.Dec 31 2023 12:51PM
Chapter 11a
- And then there are ‘well-willy’ and ‘ill-willy’ – meaning, respectively, full of good will and benevolence, and cherishing meanness, thereby neatly characterising what kind of day we intend to have. In the sixteenth century there were in fact two further siblings in the willy family – ‘evil-willy’, an epithet for someone with extremely malevolent desires, and the cheery ‘good-willy’, meaning ‘generous’ and ever-ready to help.Dec 31 2023 12:47PM