Perfervid (pur-FUR-vid) – from the Latin for “to boil” – means ardent or impassioned; exaggeratedly emotional. Example (as used by Armond White in an article titled “Best Movies, Saddest Culture”): “Good movies evaporate, while the market is flooded with inanity. Critics can’t do much to stop this, but when you read perfervid reviews of the latest [...]
By Early To Rise | Mon, Jun 13, 2011
A jibe with means to be in harmony or accord; to agree. (Don’t make the mistake of using “jive with” instead – a common error.) Example (as used by Judith Warner in a NYT review of Violette Noziere: A Story of Murder in 1930s Paris by Sarah Maza): “The story of incest simply wasn’t one that [...]
By Don Hauptman | Fri, Jun 10, 2011
In a recent news report, a think-tank executive was quoted as follows: “There is no Obama doctrine because the president is not doctrinaire.” The remark might have been intended as a clever pun, but it’s confusing and misleading. A doctrine is “a principle or body of principles.” Its literal meaning is neutral. Religious doctrines do exist, but [...]
By Early To Rise | Thu, Jun 9, 2011
A sojourn (SOH-jurn) – from the French for “to rest” – is a temporary stay. Example (as used by Marcus Aurelius): “Life is a stranger’s sojourn, a night at an inn.”
By Early To Rise | Wed, Jun 8, 2011
A welter (WEL-ter) – from the German for “to roll” – is a confused mass; a jumble or muddle. Example (as used by B.C. Forbes, founder of Forbes magazine): “It is surprising, in the welter of questions that one gets at [annual general meetings], how few actually relate to the performance of the company, or the [...]
By Early To Rise | Tue, Jun 7, 2011
Ineluctable (in-ih-LUK-tuh-bul) – from the Latin – means inescapable; incapable of being evaded. Example (as used by Sam Munson in a NYT review of Toward You by Jim Krusoe): “A dog dies on your doorstep; within weeks you find yourself face to face with fiery figures of your own guilt, who may be actual returnees from [...]
By Early To Rise | Mon, Jun 6, 2011
Immutable (ih-MYOO-tuh-bul) – from the Latin – means unchanging through time, unalterable. Example (as used by John Irving in A Widow for One Year): “Eddie vowed that he would try to make it up to the child, to reassure her that everything she’d ever been told about her dead brothers was immutable.”
By Don Hauptman | Fri, Jun 3, 2011
Consider these comments, found online: “All the kits in this bundle are so fun.” “Why is college so fun? No parents!” “How fun is your workplace?” In these quotations, the word fun, a noun, is used as if it were an adjective. It’s not good English. Why do people do it? [...]
By Early To Rise | Thu, Jun 2, 2011
Apostasy (uh-POS-tuh-see) – from the Greek for “withdrawing” – is a total desertion of or departure from one’s religion, principles, party, cause, etc. Example (as used by Anthony Julius in a NYT review of Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza): “The Egyptian Jewish community of the late Middle Ages, afflicted by [...]
By Early To Rise | Wed, Jun 1, 2011
To instill (in-STIL) – from the Latin for “drip” – is to infuse slowly or gradually into the mind or feelings. Example (as used by Harvey Mackay today): “To relieve his stress, [Jim Carrey] visited local comedy clubs, which instilled his love of comedy – and prepared him for a blockbuster career.”
By Early To Rise | Tue, Jun 14, 2011
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