Word of the Day!

man·du·ca·tion [ˈmændjʊˌkeɪʃən]:
origin: (early 1600's) Latin; mandūcāre= to chew.

noun (adjective, manducatory)
1. Obsolete word for eating (feel free to make it relevant again).

2. Religious term for receiving communion: deeper spiritual bonding through symbolic gestures like the consumption of holy wafers or blessed wine (a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice of life for one's faith). *Actually, I heard this word in a 2013 episode of Father Brown, a priest everybody should get to know better.

3. Scientific term for the taking in of nutrients; mastication (you can thank me now for not repeating my earlier pun with a different word *cough*).


Why stop with ED-ucation, when you could have MAN-ducation as well!

hum·ble·brag [həmbəlbraɡ]:
origin: (2010) coined by comedian, Harris Wittels.

noun & verb
*Sorry, for the late word, but I got lost inside my mansion, don't you hate how that always happens on the butler's day off? Other examples:

"It's so difficult to find places that sell extra large condoms!"

"Girls with curves are lucky, I just can't gain an once no matter how much I eat!"

The Millennium really is the era of the inverted narcissist; the person who feels deeply hollow & insecure, requires constant approval & praise, but doesn't want you to realize that's what they're doing -- they need to be seen as kind, accomplished, selfless, well..."perfect". But bragging (or any overt form of vanity) is not a properly prince/princessy thing to do. Ergo, humblebraggarts came into existence.

#humblebragging is one of many irritating ways to try to get people to pay attention to you, not unique in concept, but new & slightly tweeked toward the limited formats of social media platforms -- this method projects false modesty in an attempt to mask throwing a bouquet at oneself (and invites others to join in); essentially, humblebrags are complaining about things that you're actually not-so-secretly proud of; self-promotion blended with criticism. They are usually brief, often a single sentence or two.

There is an entire book filled with humblebrags, Harvard dedicated a study to humblebrag effectiveness, and Twitter features a celebrity collection of humblebrags that is yours for the mocking.

vir·tue sig·nal·ing [ˈvər-chü ˈsig-nəliŋ]:
origin: (April 18, 2015) British; James Bartholomew, from an article in The Spectator.

phrase
med_cat's recent entry, led to discussing another modern term re: social trends.

When I worked high end retail, it was easy to get wrapped up in the glamour of big name labels; if you wore expensive things, people often treated you better, sometimes a lot better, but one day I had to remind myself that buying something by Gucci or Prada did not actually make one a "better" person.

But...what if it could?



( the secret revealed )

disclaimer: We've likely all done this at some point in our lives, so don't take it too personal and don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. The point is to limit how much one does it or to objectively question your actions -- just as one might over spending a lot of money on one's fashion tastes!

do·yen [ˈdɔɪ.ən; Fr. dwɑˈjæ̃]:
origin: (1670) Late Latin decanus, from Greek dekanos = "chief of ten"; Old French deien= "dean".

noun (plural, doyens)
1. The most renowned and/or senior leader in a profession, class, group, field or subject; a person allowed to speak on behalf of same.
2. An individual whose abilities or skill are unique in their category.
3. The oldest within a category.

---


Doyenne of MIT, Nancy Hopkins, discusses continued unconscious bias against women in science.

doy·enne [dɔɪˈɛn; Fr. dwaˈyɛn]:
origin: [1731, 1900's] French; feminine of doyan.

noun (plural, doyennes)
The most renowned and/or respected female leader in a profession, class, group, field or subject.

ko·do·ku·shi [co-doe-coo-she]:
origin: [1980s] Japanese; 孤独+死= "alone" + "death"



noun
"Lonely death", the phenomena of dying alone, and not being discovered for some time (thus often leaving a body-shaped dark stain behind) -- a phenomena on the rise btw, like this man whose oozing flesh was partly absorbed by his 6-ton pornography collection.

lim·er·ence [ˈlɪmɪrəns]:
origin: (1977) American; coined by Prof. Dorothy Tennov (psychology) University of Bridgeport, Connecticut - no specific etymology.



noun (verb: limerent)
Have you seen Madonna in the film Who's That Girl (1987)? Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes? Or how Elsbeth Tascioni from The Good Wife interacts with an attorney named Josh? The failed experience within Julie & Julia (2009)?

Then you'll have some memory reference for this word!

Limerence is that sudden fixation, fascination, maybe even a slight obsession with another person and it comes over you all of a sudden. You think & fantasize about them all the time! It may be romantic or platonic, but basically you need that person's respect/admiration/attention and you can't control the feelings that you're having -- it's kismet, an involuntary attachment, and desire for reciprocation.

If you care to share, who is someone that you've been limerent for?

Or perhaps another fictional example of a limerence?

mam·bo [ˈmæmbəʊ]:
origin: (1900's) Spanish Creole; Haitian



noun (or v.i. mambos, mamboing, mamboed)

1. A fast-paced dance (or to perform it) from the Caribbean islands, resembles the rumba & cha-cha with erratic, alternating beats; the "boogaloo" & "pachanga" are other forms of mambo.

Before 1940, this genre hadn't yet been named as its own, belonging to a larger spectrum of dance known as Danzón. Dances inspired from popular styles from France & Spain in the 1900's mixd with the intense beats of Africa. By 1930 the melodies began to acquire lyrics & singers from the further influence of Cuban salsa.

2. A voodoo priestess; the highest form of (female) clergy in the Vodou religion; manbo asogwe= high priestess, manbo si pwen= junior priestess. The abilities and responsibilities are equal regardless of gender.

Tout moun fet pou soufri, tout moun fet pou mouri
(Everyone is born to suffer, everyone is born to die)

– Haitian Proverb

nump·ty [ˈnʌmptɪ]:
origin: Scottish



noun
Some say it's Scotland's favorite word, although I've had others assure me that their favorite word begins with an "f".

At any rate, numpty means stupid, but specifically the kind of idiocy that tries to do (or say) something and is not getting proper results; an aggravatingly ineffectual person. It can be used in a joshing manner or to show serious anger.

"No. That wisnae wit she meant, ya big numpty!"

There is a similar Yiddish term for this idea, a schlemiel.

brind·ed [ˈbrindəd]:
origin: (1623) Middle English; Old Norse brǫndóttr.



adjective [also, brindled]
Archaic; an animal that is beige, tan, grey or neutral in color with darker striations or markings on top -- such as a brown tabby cat.

Quotes:
"Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd." — Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Macbeth
"Glory be to God for dappled things / For skies of couple colour as a brinded cow — Gerard Manley Hopkins, Pied Beauty

( other brinded animals )

christ·mas·tide [ˈkrɪsməsˌtaɪd]:
origin: (1620) English; Christmas + Tidings (as in "Good Tidings").

noun
DON'T THROW OUT THAT CHRISTMAS TREE JUST YET!!!

"The Christmas Season", which includes and extends beyond the actual holiday to just after New Years Day (often December 24 to January 6 - the baptism of Christ); the 12 days of Christmas separate from Advent. "Epiphanytide" marks the period after Christmastide with additional traditions ending in a cumulative celebration.

a.k.a. Your excuse to be late with cards & gifts (and perhaps take advantage of serious shopping discounts). However, to some, the word is also just another way of saying "Christmas", Christmastide can also be called "Twelvetide" -- an unbroken period of joy and celebration.

This practice began as Ancient Roman rulers was working out the kinks in its calendar and created a rest period for common workers. There are specific traditions associated with each day, such as the blessing of animals on the 2nd day, and the enjoyment of sacred wine on the 3rd, etc. Such traditions are celebrated around the world: from Europe, to Russia, to East India!