Vocabulary

Hobnob

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:46:55 -0800

hobnob /v

to spend time with sb in a friendly way; to associte with sb: He likes hobnobbing with the rich and famous.

I haven't update in quite a while and I will start again. Can't make busy work life get the better of my learning! (ha.)

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Guillemet

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:45:00 -0800

guillemet /n
one of two marks («) or (») used in French, Italian, and Russian printing to enclose quotations.

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Welsh

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:48:11 -0800

welsh /adj

of Wales, its people or its language: the Welsh coastline; Welsh poetry

welsh/ v

(on sth) to fail to do sth that one has promised to do: He welshed on the deal.

My last post was more than a month ago, time to catch up on my word blog. Again, if it helps, I finished two books :) Unfortunately it's not the dictonary or 'A' of the encyclopedia.

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Viceroy

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:12:00 -0700

viceroy /n

a person governing a colony, province, etc as the representative of a king or queen

viceregal /adj of a viceroy

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Unbidden

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:09:49 -0700

unbidden /adv (fml)

1. without having been asked, invited or ordered: walk in unbidden

2. without conscious effort: memories/ images coming unbidden to one's mind

Yes, long hiatus from learning English, blame my new job.

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Thwart

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:09:00 -0700

thwart /v

sb (in sth) (esp passive) to prevent sb doing what they intend to do; to oppose a plan, etc successfully: thwarted ambitions; He was thwarted (his his aims) by bad luck.

Been kind of lacking in entries, getting lazy with the flipping of dictionary. But if it helps, I am reading a book.

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Scintillating

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:51:46 -0700

scintillating /adj

brilliant amusing in a clever way: a scintillating performance/display; (ironic) That was a very scintillating conversation!

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Ramshackle

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:35:31 -0700

ramshackle /adj

(a) (of houses, vehicles, etc) almost collapsing: a ramshackle old cottage

(b) ((of an organisation or a system) baldy organised or designed: ramshackle government policies

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Querulous

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:20:44 -0700

querulous /adj

complaining; showing that one is irritated: in a querulous tone of voice; a querulous child

querulously /adv

querulousness /n

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Proclivity

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:33:00 -0700

proclivity /n (for/to sth/doing sth)(fml)

a natural tendency to do sth, esp sth considered strange or bad: have a proclivity to sudden violent rages; his unusual sexual proclivities

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Octogenarian

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:29:49 -0700

octogenrian /n

a person between 80 and 89 years of age.

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Niggle

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:14:00 -0700

niggle /v

1. (at sb) (about/over sth) to criticize sb/sth or spend too much time on unimportant details: Stop niggling about every penny we spend, You never say anything nice - all you do is niggle (at me).

2. to irritate or worry sb slightly: His untidiness constantly niggled her.

niggle /n

1. a minor criticism: My only niggle about the meal was the cost of the wine.

2. a minor pain: He gets the occasional niggle in his right shoulder.

3. a small worry, doubt, etc: have a few niggles about his fitness for the match on Saturday.

niggling /adj

1. too unimportant to give time or attention to: Don't waste time on niggling details.

2. causing continual slight worry or annoyance: a niggling pain; niggling doubt; She had a niggling feeling that something was wrong at home.

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Milksop

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:39:00 -0700

milksop /n (derog)

a man or boy who is weak and easily frightened.

derog = derogatory /adj

showing a critical attitude to sb's reputation, etc; insulting: derogatory expressions like 'the rat race'; derogatory remarks

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Lobotomy

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:21:06 -0700

lobotomy /n (medical)

an operation involving the removal of part of the brain, esp as a way of treating severe mental disorders.

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Kookaburra

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:04:00 -0700

kookaburra /(also a laughing jackass) n

a large Australian bird famous for the laughing sound it makes.

The song that goes "Kookaburra sings on an old gum tree, merry merry king is the bush is he..." was in my primary school hymm book and I always sing it. I never knew it was a name of a bird..I always thought it was a person named Kookaburra.

You learn something new everyday.

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Juniper

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:27:07 -0700

juniper /n

a bush that does not lose its leaves in winter. Its purple berries are used in medicine and to give a flavour to Gin.

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Inclement

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:24:00 -0700

inclement /adj (fml)(of weather)

cold, rainy etc; bad: It's been rather inclement this week.

inclemency /n

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Hypocrisy

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:39:09 -0700

hypocrisy /n

the practice of pretending to be different from what one really is, because one wishes to appear to be a better person: accuse sb of gross hypocrisy. This concern of his for the homeless smacks of hypocrisy.

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Grandeur

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:48:30 -0700

grandeur /n

the quality of being great, magnificent and impressive in appearance or status: the beauty and grandeur of the Swiss alps.; She clearly suffers from delusions of grandeur (ie thinks she is more important than she really is).

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Flummox

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:15:44 -0700

flummox /v

to confuse sb; to make sb unable to think clearly: The first question was quite easy but the next one flummoxed me completely.

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