Words, words, wonderful words! This week, I finally had some books that challenged me - and I bet some of them are going to challenge you, too.
First, from The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel:
1. Sanguine: "The girl had glycerine eyes and marvelous lips that had no bow but were the shape and colour of a segment of blood orange, a soft sanguine red."
Of the color of blood; red.; of a healthy reddish color.
2. Ger: "It had one huge half-moon courtyard at the front of the house that was crowded with gers..."
A round felt tent which required large numbers of poles and laths.
3. Diet: "Although he was a member of the diet he never talked about politics with me, but would sometimes speak about his family business.
A legislative assembly in certain countries (e.g., Japan) .
4. Demi-monde: "Mari had a penchant for the demi-monde."
Literally "half world"; a class beneath proper Society. Generally used to refer to those of questionable reputation.
5. Samphire: "We ate wonderful sweetmeats made from almonds and pear syrup and invariably ended the banquet with a soup of samphire or chestnuts."
A fleshy green plant which grows on coastal marshes. Also known as glasswort or pickle-plant or sea asparagus.
6. Shambolic: "Yet it was a good deal more fitting for an emperor than the shambolic Quiet Garden in Tientsin had been."
(British slang) disorderly or chaotic.
And now, one from Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse:
7. PEBKAC: "Any time I'm at work at 2 a.m., it's either PEBKAC or Microsloth."
Okay, I admit that I knew this one (I do a bit of software tech support), but it's too much fun not to share. PEBKAC is "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair"
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
I did know demi-monde from our time in France. I wish I could use ger - it sounds like a growl. Thanks for participating!
I didn't know Samphire and Shambolic.
Wednesday: Wondrous Words/A-Z wednesday
I knew "diet" was too easy. ha. Thanks for the list.
Lots of gers in Mongolia I hear.
Great list- the only one I knew was ger.
The only one I knew was Sanguine.
I like the sound of Shambolic :)
Great list. I knew sanguine and demi-monde (yay, French lessons paying off LOL), but the others were eye-opening.
I wish there were some words that made me stop and wonder with my current read, but it was pretty much smooth sailing.
Oh, and I own a tee-shirt from Think Geek that says PEBKAC. :D People always look at me funny when I wear it.
Arielle, I love your pic!
Ann, I adore ThinkGeek! Great stuff. And sometimes I for stretches without any words that puzzle me. Some books are just like that.
Post a Comment