Summer lets me zip through books at the speed of light. Post-festivities and pre-work, all you’ve got is a lot of time to sink back into the beanbag, sip ginger beer and flip through the pages.
A list of important, infrequently used, words to know {by Paul V. Hartman}. A fantastic resource if you’re looking to insult someone:
alacrity a-LACK-ra-tee: cheerful willingness and promptness.
anathema a-NATH-a-ma: a thing or person cursed, banned, or reviled.
anodyne AN-a-dine: anything that soothes or comforts.
aphorism AFF-oar-ism: a short, witty saying or concise principle.
apostate ah-POSS-tate: person who has left the fold or deserted the faith.
arrogate ARROW-gate: to make an unreasonable claim.
atavistic at-a-VIS-tic: reverting to a primitive type.
avuncular a-VUNC-you-lar: “like an uncle”; benevolent.
bathos BATH-ose: an anticlimax.
bereft ba-REFT: to be deprived of something valuable.
calumny KAL-um-knee: a slander or false accusation.
canard kan-ARD: a fabricated story (French=”duck”; morte canard=dead duck).
cant kant: insincerity.
chimera ki-MEER-ah: Originally: a mythical beast; any unreal thing; foolish fancy.
cloy: to grow sick from an abundance of something.
comitatus com-a-TAY-tus: loyalty to one’s band or group.
concatenation con-CAT-a-nation: things linked together or joined in a chain.
copacetic: “going just right”.
cosseted KOS-a-ted: pampered.
cupidity que-PID-a-tee: greed; avarice.
cynosure SIGH-na-shore: center of attention; point to which all eyes are drawn.
dilettante DILL-ah-tent: 1. having superficial/amateurish interest in a branch of knowledge; 2. a connoisseur or lover of the fine arts.
discursive dis-KUR-seive: covering a wide field of subjects.
docent DOE-cent: a teacher, but not regular faculty; a museum tour guide.
egregious a-GREE-jous: conspicuously bad; flagrant; shocking.
epigone EP-a-goan: a second rate imitator or follower.
fatuous FAT-chew-us: foolish; stupid; silly.
felicity fa-LISS-a-tee: bliss; a pleasing aptness in speech and deportment; grace.
furtive FURR-tive: sly; shifty; secretive.
gratuitous gra-TOO-a-tus: given freely.
haik HIKE: a large piece of cloth worn as an outer garment by Arabs.
heuristic HYOUR-is-tik (noun): an idea or speculation acting as a guide to an investigation.
hubris HUE-bris: arrogance from excessive pride or passion.
ignominy IG-na-min-ee (noun) (also: ignoble) signifying disgrace or dishonour.
incisive in-SI-seive: displaying sharp mental perception; direct and effective.
inimical in-IM-a-cal: unfriendly; hostile.
insipid in-SIP-id (adj.): Lacking flavor, zest, or interest; dull.
insuperable in-SUPER-a-bul: not able to be overcome.
inveigh in-VAY: attack verbally.
iterative IT-ter-a-tive: something recurring or repeating.
jeremiad jer-a-MY-add: a series of doleful, dismal complaints.
lagniappe lan-yap (noun) (a Creole word): something given away as a gift for buying something else.
leitmotif LIGHT-moe-teef: a dominant or recurring theme or pattern.
luddite LUD-ite: a person who tries to halt progress by smashing machines.
manque mon-KAY: unfulfilled; frustrated (literally: maimed).
maudlin MAUDE-lin: easily emotional.
mendacious men-DAY-shous (adj.): untruthful.
meretricious mer-a-TRISH-ous: deceitful; tawdry.
misanthrope MISS-an-throwp: a person who dislikes the human race.
nugatory NEW-ga-tory: trifling; worthless; ineffective.
obloquy OB-la-key: a public reproach.
opprobrium ah-PROBE-re-um: disgrace arising from shameful conduct; a reproach mingled with contempt.
paradigm PEAR-ah-dime: “side by side”; a pattern or example.
parvenue PAR-ven-oou: an upstart; someone trying to rise above their proper place.
pejorative pa-JOUR-a-tive: tending to be worse; downgrading; disparaging.
penury PEN-your-ee: extreme poverty.
peremptory per-EM-tory: a command which may not be refused.
perdition per-DISH-un: future misery.
perfidy PUR-fa-dee: treachery; falsehood .
perfunctory pur-FUNK-tory: done routinely, with little interest or care.
peripatetic PER-ee-pa-TET-ick: walking about; itinerant .
philistine PHIL-a-stine: a person lacking culture; narrow minded with common tastes.
poignant POIN-yent: An adjective with multiple flavors: 1: appealing to emotion 2: physically painful 3: sharp, pungent 4: piercing, incisive 5: astute, pertinent 6: neat, skillful.
poltroon pole-troon: a thoroughly cowardly person.
polymath polly-math: a person of great or (more usually) varied learning.
presentiment pre-SENT-a-ment: a foreboding of misfortune.
propitiate pro-PISH-ee-ate: pacify.
puerile PURE-ill (Fr.: “puer” – child): juvenile, immature, childish.
punctilio punk-TILL-ee-oh (noun): a fine point of etiquette; precise observance of formalities or ceremony; precise to the letter.
rancor RANG-kur: vindictive malice.
rapacity ra-PASS-a-tee: act of seizing that which is coveted; greed.
recondite REK-in-dite: hard to understand; profound; obscure; concealed.
regnant REG-nant: reigning; predominant; widespread..
samizdat SAM-iz-dot: an underground newspaper.
sanguine SANG-win: cheerful, confident.
sanguinary SANG-win-airy: bloody.
saturnine SAT-ter-nine: morose; gloomy.
scurrilous SKER-a-less: grossly offensive and vulgar.
seriatim sir-ee-AT-um: occurring one after another; in serial fashion.
sinecure SIN-a-cure: a job (usually politically appointed) requiring little or no work.
sobriquet so-bric-KAY: a nickname or an assumed name.
solecism SOL-a-sys-um: an ungrammatical combination of words.
specious SPEE-shous: appearing to be right; deceptively good looking.
spurious SPYOUR-ee-ous: false.
sycophant SIGH-ko-phant: a flattering parasite.
terse: short and to the point; pithy.
turpitude TUR-pa-toode: depravity.
unctuous UNK-shus: oily and persuasive.
venal VEE-nal: a sacrifice of honor for profit.
veracity ver-ASS-a-tee: truthfulness
voracity vor-ASS-a-tee: greed.
verisimilitude ver-ah-SIM-ah-la-tude: the quality of appearing to be true or real.
I love reading, and I love watching people read. Observing them drift into a state of deep concentration that sees them ignoring screaming babies, fires and once in a lifetime frisbee catches. It makes them forget that the cup of tea has gone cold and slightly soupy, and their toes are freezing despite 2 pairs of socks. They’re in another place, you can see it on their faces.
Of course, you need fuel to feed this fire. Here’s a list of alternative reading list suggestions – it could make for an interesting year…
- Read all the recipients of a major literary prize, e.g. every Booker.
- Read the top ten books from the year of your birth.
- Or if you don’t like you birth year’s selection, how about 1971?
- Exclusively read books set in tiny Portuguese villages.
- Exclusively read novels by Alaskans.
- Delve into the classic books of your country – they are waiting for you. Or another nation’s novels – France, Spain, Canada. (Thanks Mausumi!)
- Find a theme that unnerves you. Grief, sexuality, loneliness. Happiness.
- Ask ten of your friends for their favourite book titles. Start there.
- Then ask ten people who are at least 10 years older than you.
- My Form 2 teacher (that’s age 12) gave me this list he photocopied (from gawd knows where) of the supposed top 100 must read books. I made a start and have been carrying it around ever since. You can do better than me!
Scarves are awesome. They suit everyone, they’re affordable, come in a multitude of styles and ultimately are totally functional! Here’s my pick of the 5 most stylish neck warmers this winter:
1. Two Tone Scarf from Urban Outfitters – twice the noise! I love this look and it’s made of jersey which is super comfortable (e.g. not scratchy at all, which is very important!). It also comes in a magenta-taupe colourway, which reminds me of crushed rose petals.
2. Waffle Pocket Scarf from Witchery. Ever sat at a chilly bus stop trying to wrap up your hands in a scarf because somehow you’d lost both gloves? The designer of this innovative scarf certainly has, integrating pockets into both ends. As well as being a sexy addition to any wardrobe, I appreciate the care that has gone into making this a human focused design.
3. This tangerine dream Flute Scarf from Country Road is amazingly chunky and bright, both imperative qualities of a great scarf. Wool is one of the warmest materials out there too! Snuggle up!
4. For something more wrap like, Anthropologie has the sweet Chevron scarf. Big and roomy enough to wrap all ways around your body.
5. Michael Kors is responsible for this delicious tie dyed scarf. If you feel like splurging this is the one for you – in one of the two gorgeous colours, lavender or lemon. Available from Net-A-Porter.
