As promised, here are the two weeks' worth of tasty terms for you to chew on …
blandishment \BLAN-dish-muhnt\ (noun) - Speech or action that flatters and tends to coax, entice, or persuade; allurement -- often used in the plural. "The woman was temptation personified, and every blandishment she offered contained a challenge, I thought, to my ultimate moral strength." -- Jack Whyte, 'The Singing Sword'. Blandishment ultimately comes from Latin blandiri, "to flatter, caress, coax," from blandus, "flattering, mild."
bluebeard \BLOO-beerd\ (noun) - A man who marries and kills one wife after another. [After Bluebeard, the nickname of the main character Raoul in a fairy tale by Charles Perrault (1628-1703). In the story, Bluebeard's wife finds the bodies of his previous wives in a room she was forbidden to enter. Yes, he did have a blue beard.]
bombast \BOM-bast\ (noun) - Pompous or pretentious speech or writing. "Sain Flint decided not to run Amelia Lowell's bombast on the front page. Instead, he put it on page three." -- Richard S. Wheeler, 'Flint's Truth'. Bombast comes from Medieval French bombace, "cotton, hance padding," from Late Latin bombax, "cotton."
cicerone \sis-uh-RO-nee\ (noun) - A tour guide. [After Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE), the Roman statesman, orator, and writer, who was known for his knowledge and eloquence. He's one of the rare people who have given two eponyms to the English language. Another word coined after his name is ciceronian, meaning marked by ornate language, expansive flow, and forcefulness of expression.]
contumely \kon-TYOO-muh-lee; -TOO-; KON-tyoo-mee-lee; -too-; KON-tum-lee\ (noun) - 1 : Rudeness or rough treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt; scornful insolence. 2 : An instance of contemptuousness in act or speech. "But surely it would be desperate unkindness to add contumely to our self-protection, unless, indeed, we believe that contumely is one of our best means of self-protection." -- Samuel Butler, 'Erewhon'. Contumely comes ultimately from Latin contumelia, outrage, insult.
doppelganger \DOP-uhl-gang-uhr\ (noun) - 1 : A ghostly double or counterpart of a living person. 2 : Alter ego; double. "The doppelganger dropped Ray to the linoleum and whispered to the mirror." -- Steven Deighan, 'A Dead Calmness'. Doppelganger is from the German doppel, "double" + Gänger, "goer."
dundrearies \dun-DREER-eez\ (noun) - Long flowing sideburns. [After the bushy sideburns worn by actor Edward A. Sothern who played the part of Lord Dundreary in the play Our American Cousin (1858), written by Tom Taylor (1817-1880). This was the play being performed at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC during which Abraham Lincoln was shot.]
exalt \ig-ZOLT\ (verb) - 1 : To praise, glorify, or honor. 2 : To heighten or intensify. 3 : To raise in rank, character, or status; as, "exalted the humble shoemaker to the rank of King's adviser." "A warrior should never exalt in his victory, Wharton, before the enemy is completely disarmed." -- Christina Dodd, 'A Knight to Remember'. Exalt comes from Latin exalto, exaltare, to raise high, from ex-, out of (but here simply used intensively; that is, to give emphasis) + altus, high.
hauteur \haw-TUR; (h)oh-\ (noun) - Haughty manner, spirit, or bearing; haughtiness; arrogance. "She was unremarkable in every way save for the hauteur with which she regarded him." -- Karen Robards, 'Scandalous'. Hauteur is from the French, from haut, "high," from Latin altus, "high." It is thus related to altitude.
jeremiah \jer-uh-MY-uh\ (noun) - A person who complains continually, has a gloomy attitude, or one who warns about a disastrous future. [After Jeremiah, a Hebrew prophet during the seventh and sixth centuries BCE who prophesied the fall of the kingdom of Judah and whose writings are collected in the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations.]
Jericho \JER-i-ko\ (noun) - A place out of the way; an unspecified place; a place of concealment. Often used in the phrase "go to Jericho". [After Jericho, an ancient city of Palestine, northwest of the Dead Sea, where David had his servants wait until their beards had grown. As in Samuel, a book of the Bible, "And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown."]
lucullan \loo-KUHL-uhn\ (adjective) - Lavish, luxurious. [After a Roman general Lucius Licinius Lucullus (c. 110-57 BCE), who was known for his sumptuous banquets.]
sideburns \SYDE-burnz\ (plural noun) - Hair grown on the sides of a man's face, when worn with an unbearded chin. [After Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824-1881), who served as a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War, and who earned more recognition for his side whiskers than for his military career. Eventually the term burnsides morphed into sideburns as such a facial pattern was on the sides of a face.]
skulk \SKUHLK\ (intransitive verb) - 1 : To hide, or get out of the way, in a sneaking manner; to lurk. 2 : To move about in a stealthy way. 3 : To avoid responsibilities and duties. (noun) - 1 : One who skulks. 2 : A group of foxes. "You're too large to skulk about. They'd see you in an instant." -- Kinley MacGregor, Claiming the Highlander. Skulk is from Middle English skulken, ultimately of Scandinavian origin.
sojourn \SOH-juhrn; so-JURN\ (intransitive verb) - To stay as a temporary resident; to dwell for a time. (noun) - A temporary stay. "At times during this interminable sojourn, I might disappear for hours on end; Sita would wake from her fitful slumber and find herself alone..." -- Ashok Mathur, 'The Short, Happy Life of Harry Kumar'. Sojourn comes from Old French sojorner, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin subdiurnare, from Latin sub-, "under, a little over" + Late Latin diurnus, "lasting for a day," from Latin dies, "day."
svengali \sven-GAH-lee\ (noun) - A person who manipulates and exercises excessive control over another for sinister purposes. [After Svengali, a musician and hypnotist, in the novel Trilby written by George du Maurier (1834-1896). In the story, Trilby is an artist's model. She's tone-deaf, but Svengali transforms her into a singing sensation under his hypnotic spell. Another eponym to come out of the novel is the word for a man's hat: trilby. A trilby was a soft felt hat with a narrow brim and an indented crown. The word arose because such a hat was won in the stage production of the novel.]
tartuffe \tahr-TOOF\ (noun) A hypocrite who feigns virtue, especially in religious matters. [After the main character in Tartuffe, a play by Molière, pen name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673). As if to prove themselves, the religious authorities in Paris had the play banned soon after it was introduced.]
Vandyke or Van Dyke or vandyke \van dyk\ (noun) - A short, pointed beard. [After painter Anthony Van Dyck or Vandyke (1599-1641) who painted portraits of people having these v-shaped beards.]
vituperate \vy-TOO-puh-rate, -TYOO-, vi-\ (verb) - To find fault with; to scold; to overwhelm with wordy abuse; to censure severely or abusively; to rate. "The incensed priests...continued to raise their voices, vituperating each other in bad Latin." -- Sir Walter Scott, 'Ivanhoe'. Vituperate comes from Latin vitupero, vituperare, to scold, blame, censure.
What a collection! Sorry to put you on sensory overload, but I thought these were all winners.
Speaking of winners, don't forget to enter the Blood Harvest drawing - see The Chef's Special to the right.
And read a book!
=) JB
"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it."
--Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) U.S. writer
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