Saturday & Sunday Word: Shuttlecock & In Flagrante Delicto

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

shut•tle•cock [ˈʃʌt lˌkɒk]:
origin: (1522) "shuttle" = to move back & forth, "cock" = plumage of male bird

noun
A word that sounds dirtier than it is; a ball-like object with netted feather-like appendages that is bandied back and forth in badminton or to bandy something about in such a manner.
→ a.k.a "birdie" or just plain "shuttle" (can't imagine why); related, see Shuttlecock Fern.

“It is advantageous to an author that his book should be attacked as well as praised. Fame is a shuttlecock. If it be struck only at one end of the room, it will soon fall to the ground. To keep it up, it must be struck at both ends.” - Samuel Johnson



in fla·gran·te de·lic·to [ɪn fləˈɡræntɪ dɪˈlɪktəʊ]:
origin: 18th Century Latin; flagrante dēlictō in= "inside" or "during"; flagrante= (while) "blazing", dēlictum= "misdeed" or "crime"

adverb
A legal term, meaning to be seen while committing an act/crime, the latin version of the phrase "caught red-handed".

Monday word: scholium

[ersatz-read.livejournal.com]

scholium (skō′lē-əm), noun
1.  An explanatory note or comment, especially on a classical text.
2.  A note added to illustrate or amplify a mathematical work.

Scholia might be written by a scholiast (commentator on classical or ancient literature).

Etymology:  mid 1500s, from Greek skholion, exposition, learned discussion.