boondoggle - Word of the Day - 07/06/18

boondoggle

noun

Pronunciation

BOON-dah-gul
 

Definition

1 : a braided cord worn by Boy Scouts as a neckerchief slide, hatband, or ornament

2 : a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft

Did You Know?

When boondoggle popped up in the early 1900s, lots of people tried to explain where the word came from. One theory traced it to an Ozarkian word for "gadget," while another related it to the Tagalog word that gave us boondocks. Another hypothesis suggested that boondoggle came from the name of leather toys Daniel Boone supposedly made for his dog. But the only theory that is supported by evidence is much simpler. In the 1920s, Robert Link, a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America, apparently coined the word to name the braided leather cords made and worn by scouts. The word came to prominence when such a boondoggle was presented to the Prince of Wales at the 1929 World Jamboree, and it's been with us ever since.

Examples

"It may be an urban legend that the Pentagon spent $600 on a hammer in the 1980s, but it's no secret that the Department of Defense has at times acquired a well-deserved reputation for boondoggles and profligate spending." — The National Review, 16 Oct. 2017

"Conservatives often reflexively dismiss infrastructure spending as a boondoggle, and liberals, perhaps in reaction, often reflexively defend it, no matter how wasteful." — Jim Surowiecki, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2017

Test Your Vocabulary

What is the name for a cord or strap that holds something, like a key or whistle, and is usually worn around the neck?

Merriam-Webster

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unbeknownst - Word of the Day - 06/06/18

unbeknownst

adjective

Pronunciation

un-bih-NOHNST
 

Definition

1 : happening or existing without the knowledge of someone specified — usually used with to

2 : not known or not well-known : unknown

Did You Know?

Unbeknownst is an irregular variant of the older unbeknown, which derives from beknown, an obsolete synonym of known. But for a word with a straightforward history, unbeknownst and the now less common unbeknown have caused quite a stir among usage commentators. In spite of widespread use (including appearances in the writings of Charles Dickens, A. E. Housman, and E. B. White), the grammarian H. W. Fowler in 1926 categorized the two words as "out of use except in dialect or uneducated speech." The following year, G. P. Krapp called them "humorous, colloquial, and dialectal." Our evidence, however, shows that both words are standard even in formal prose.

Examples

"… Travis was the one who paid the bills—and he often used credit cards to cover them, unbeknownst to Vonnie." — Penny Wrenn, Forbes.com, 9 Oct. 2013

"… Senate Bill 15, approved unanimously by that House committee Thursday, hopes to help homeowners who find themselves the victim of 'squatting'—people who illegally move into a home, often unbeknownst to the homeowner." — Marianne Goodland, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colorado), 12 Apr. 2018

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to complete an adjective that means "not made known" or "not named or identified": _ n _ _ s _ l _ _ e _.

Merriam-Webster

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fustigate - Word of the Day - 05/06/18

fustigate

verb

Pronunciation

FUSS-tuh-gayt

Definition

1 : to beat with or as if with a short heavy club : cudgel

2 : to criticize severely

Did You Know?

Though it won't leave a bump on your head, severe criticism can be a blow to your self-esteem. It's no wonder that fustigate, when it first appeared in the 17th century, originally meant "to cudgel or beat with a short heavy stick," a sense that reflects the word's derivation from the Latin noun fustis, which means "club" or "staff." The "criticize" sense is more common these days, but the violent use of fustigate was a hit with earlier writers like George Huddesford, who in 1801 told of an angry Jove who "cudgell'd all the constellations, ... / Swore he'd eject the man i' the moon ... / And fustigate him round his orbit."

Examples

Matthew was thoroughly ­fustigated for failing to reserve a table large enough to accommodate all of the visitors from the corporate main office.

"Ontario Court Justice Charles Vaillancourt …  fustigated them all, effectively characterizing the charges against Duffy as an abuse of power. " — Neil Macdonald, CBC.ca, 23 Apr. 2016

Name That Synonym

What 6-letter synonym of fustigate (meaning "to criticize") begins with "r" and can also mean "to turn back or keep down"?

Merriam-Webster

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proficient - Word of the Day - 04/06/18

proficient

adjective

Pronunciation

pruh-FISH-unt

 Definition

: well advanced in an art, occupation, or branch of knowledge

Did You Know?

If you are proficient or adept at something you are skillful—perhaps even expert. Proficient, adept, skillful, and expert are all synonyms, but subtle differences can be discerned between these terms as well. Proficient usually describes pure ability that comes from training and practice ("a proficient writer"). Adept suggests an innate ability as well as a learned skill ("an adept card player"). Skillful suggests being very able at a particular task ("a skillful surgeon"). Expert suggests having a thorough knowledge of a subject as well as being very skillful at working in it ("expert in the martial arts").

Examples

"The audition process is intense. Rockettes must be proficient in ballet, tap, and jazz. Hundreds of women come to auditions and the line to get into Radio City Music Hall wraps around the building." — Melinda Farrell, USA Today, 1 Nov. 2017

"However, for those looking to improve their performance in virtually every field, taking the time to improve your reading efficiency and vocabulary can pay dividends down the road. In fact, proficient readers usually have better paid jobs and are 2.5 times more likely to earn $850 or more a week." — Macworld, 20 Dec. 2017

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to complete a synonym of proficient: _ _ co _ _ li _ he _.

Merriam-Webster

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opportune - Word of the Day - 03/06/18

opportune

adjective

Pronunciation

ah-per-TOON
 

Definition

1 : suitable or convenient for a particular occurrence

2 : occurring at an appropriate time

Did You Know?

To choose any port in a storm is sometimes the most opportune way of proceeding in a difficult situation—and appropriately so, etymologically speaking. Opportune descends from the Latin opportūnus, which means "favoring one's needs," "serviceable," and "convenient." Originally, opportūnus was probably used of winds with the literal meaning of "blowing in the direction of a harbor." The word is a combination of the prefix ob-, meaning "to," and portus, "port" or "harbor." Latin portus is also at the root of English port. Opportune and port both made their way to English via Anglo-French, with port arriving before the 12th century, and opportune arriving in the 15th century.

Examples

Kristin seized upon the first opportune moment to approach her boss about a raise.

"We believe that the recent momentum and widespread recognition the concept has received makes it an opportune time to introduce the brand to Sacramento." — David Leuterio, The Sacramento (California) Bee, 5 Apr. 2018

Name That Synonym

Unscramble the letters to create a synonym of opportune: NESBELAOAS.

Merriam-Webster

http://creatingcharactersforfictionwriters.blogspot.com.au/

ingenue - Word of the Day - 02/06/18

ingenue

noun

Pronunciation

AN-juh-noo
 

Definition

1 : a naive girl or young woman

2 : the stage role of an ingenue; also : an actress playing such a role

Did You Know?

Although Becky Sharp, the ambitious heroine of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel Vanity Fair, is not usually thought of as innocent or naive, the author used ingenue to describe her as having those qualities. Thackeray's use was attributive: "When attacked sometimes, Becky had a knack of adopting a demure ingenue air, under which she was most dangerous." The word ingenue typically refers to someone who is innocent to the ways of the world, so you probably won't be too surprised to learn that it shares an ancestor—Latin ingenuus—with ingenuous, a word meaning "showing innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness." More directly, our ingenue comes from French ingénue, the feminine form of ingénu, meaning "ingenuous."

Examples

"Aberra, a native of Ethiopia, helped to change the way that women presented themselves on their wedding day. She recognized that not all women wanted to promenade down the aisle looking like a Disney princess, a sweet ingenue or a modern-day Marie Antoinette." — Robin Givhan, The Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2018

"Tina Fey wrote 'Mean Girls,' but she's no Regina George. On the first day of rehearsals for her new Broadway musical, based on the 2004 hit comedy, she had a message for her cast of ingenues: Avoid the trappings of fame. That meant no diva-like behavior in real life." — Ramin Setoodeh, Variety, 10 Apr. 2018

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to complete a word for an inexperienced or naive person: _ r _ en _ _ rn.

Merriam-Webster

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mise-en-scène - Word of the Day - 01/06/18

mise-en-scène

noun

Pronunciation

 meez-ahn-SEN
 

Definition

1 a : the arrangement of actors and scenery on a stage for a theatrical production

   b : stage setting

2 a : the physical setting of an action (as of a narrative or a motion picture) : context

   b : environment, milieu

Did You Know?

In French, mise en scène literally means "the action of putting onto the stage." The term's use originated in stage drama, where it refers to the way actors and scenery props are arranged; as its usage expanded into other narrative arts, its meaning shifted. In film production, mise en scène refers to all of the elements that comprise a single shot; that includes, but is not limited to, the actors, setting, props, costumes, and lighting. The director of a play or film is called the metteur en scène—literally, "one who puts on the stage."

Examples

"For the night of his election last May …, he arranged a dramatic mise-en-scène: while loudspeakers played Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy,' the new president walked alone across the courtyard of the Louvre as spotlights threw his larger-than-life shadow on the façade of the former royal palace." — Tom Sancton, Vanity Fair, May 2018

"The action … took place around me as if I were invisible, though that illusion was quickly dispelled when a large rectangular mirror was wheeled to within a few feet of where I sat. Gulp. The plot may not have thickened at that point, but my self-consciousness surely did. Like it or not, I was now part of the mise-en-scène…." — David Weiss, Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2017

Test Your Vocabulary

What is the meaning of deus ex machina?

Merriam-Webster

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