Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Wondrous Words Wednesday!


I actually have some words this week! And time to post them! Those don't always happen at the same time. These come from Stone's Fall by Iain Pears. It's 800+ pages and hasn't been a particularly speedy read so far, but I'm hoping it will pick up soon.

1. Bumptious: Offensively self-assertive.

"Mr. Henderson was a young man for his job, perhaps in his mid-thirties, and, in my opinion, somewhat bumptious."

2. Toff: Informal term for an upper-class or wealthy person.

"He spoke with a measured neutrality, neither sounding like a toff, nor yet betraying any trace of his West Country origins."

3. Antipathetic: Having or showing a strong aversion or repugnance: antipathetic to new ideas.

"This was unwarranted; he was merely antipathetic.

So, a few more Britishisms to add to my vocabulary. What new words did YOU learn this week?

8 comments:

bermudaonion said...

As I was reading your words, I was wondering if Stone's Fall is set in Britain. I love the sound of toff!

Unknown said...

Since I live in the UK I'm familiar with these 'Britishisms' (though I don't use them...).

I love the word bumptious

Lisa said...

I have a lot of friends in the UK, so I was familiar with a lot of the slang in the book. It's always fun to learn new ones - surprises my pals when I use them in conversation!

Sherrie said...

Hi!
Great words! I have heard of them, but never knew their meaning. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day!

Sherrie

Brooke from The Bluestocking Guide said...

Bumpticious is a great word!!

Tea said...

I like the "bump" word.:) I try to be on my toes. I hate to act that way.

My word.

http://readwithtea.blogspot.com/2009/09/wondrous-words.html

ibeeeg said...

Loved the word bumpticious!

Here are my Wondrous Words

gautami tripathy said...

Toff is new for me! Thanks.

Wondrous Words Wednesdays