“Quietus” (kwy-EE-tus) – from the Latin for “he is at rest” – is a release from life; a final discharge of an obligation or debt. Example (as used by William Shakespeare in Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” soliloquy): “For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, / The oppressor’s wrong, / the [...]
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
“Moxie” (MOK-see) – from the name of a soft drink popular in the 1920s – is courage and determination; aggressive energy. Example (as used by Lauryn Hill in the lyrics to “Take It Easy”): “I got moxie, I’m so damn foxy / Industry try to block me like cops and paparazzi.” [Ed. Note: Become a [...]
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
“Bravado” (bruh-VAH-doh) – from the Spanish – is a pretentious, swaggering display of courage. Example (as used by William Styron in the short story “Rat Beach”): “When I was seventeen, bravado, mingled with what must have been a death wish, made me enlist in the officer-training program of the Marine Corps.” [Ed. Note: [...]
Monday, July 27, 2009
“Invincible” (in-VIN-suh-bul) – from the Latin – means incapable of being conquered, defeated, or subdued. Example (as used by Edward Gibbon): “My early and invincible love of reading I would not exchange for all the riches of India.” [Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness [...]
Saturday, July 25, 2009
“Jocular” (JOK-yuh-lur) – from the Latin – means facetious; comic or jesting. Example (as used by Don Hauptman today): “Unless the writer is Tarzan or Frankenstein’s monster, he meant to say methinks, an archaic form of ‘I think’ or ‘It seems to me’ that, nowadays, is used only [...]
Friday, July 24, 2009
“Skimble-skamble” (skim-bul-SKAM-bul) – probably coined by William Shakespeare – means rambling and confused. Example (as used in Shakespeare’s Henry IV): “Sometimes he angers me / With telling me of the moldwarp and the ant, / Of the dreamer Merlin and his prophecies, / And of a dragon and a finless fish… / [...]
Thursday, July 30, 2009
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