Word of the Week – Princeton Writes

Word of the Week: defenestration (dee-fen-uh-STRAY-shun)

Stephanie Whetstone2022-09-13T16:15:45-04:00

Word of the Week: defenestration (dee-fen-uh-STRAY-shun) Definition (Noun) 1 : a throwing of a person or thing out of a window 2 : a usually swift dismissal or expulsion (as from a political party or office) In Context "It's possible that nobody in Hollywood works harder than Tom Cruise, who, in his latest turn as Ethan Hunt, once again finds himself in a race against time after a mission goes wrong. Expect defenestration, helicopter crashes, and exploding motorbikes." Vogue (vogue.com), 22 May 2018

Word of the Week: defenestration (dee-fen-uh-STRAY-shun)Stephanie Whetstone2022-09-13T16:15:45-04:00

Word of the Week: kaput (kuh-PUT)

Stephanie Whetstone2022-09-12T13:37:38-04:00

Word of the Week: kaput (kuh-PUT) Definition (Adjective) 1. utterly finished, defeated, or destroyed 2. unable to function : useless 3. hopelessly outmoded In Context "Sure, there are still top-billed behemoths capable of guaranteeing a strong opening, like Dwayne Johnson and Leonardo DiCaprio, but for the most part, the idea of a box office movie star is kaput." Brandon Katz, The Observer, 19 May 2018

Word of the Week: kaput (kuh-PUT)Stephanie Whetstone2022-09-12T13:37:38-04:00

Word of the Week: germane (jer-MAYN)

Stephanie Whetstone2022-09-12T13:35:40-04:00

Word of the Week: germane (jer-MAYN) Definition (Adjective) being at once relevant and appropriate : fitting In Context "'Most places we used to play have been demolished, and this one hasn't,' [Mick Jagger] said, and while he was mixing up his venues, his point was germane. Buildings, eras, styles of music, and the people that play them come and go. But the [Rolling] Stones carry on, seemingly immortal." Dan DeLuca, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 24 July 2019

Word of the Week: germane (jer-MAYN)Stephanie Whetstone2022-09-12T13:35:40-04:00

Word of the Week: mollycoddle (MAH-lee-kah-dul)

Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T13:02:59-04:00

Word of the Week: mollycoddle (MAH-lee-kah-dul) Definition (verb) to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence or attention In Context "You work longer hours than most of your friends, you never know where your next paycheck is coming from and there's no HR team to mollycoddle you when times get tough… it's safe to say that the life of a self-employed worker is one plagued by instabilities." Olivia Petter, The Independent (London), 16 Mar. 2018

Word of the Week: mollycoddle (MAH-lee-kah-dul)Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T13:02:59-04:00

Word of the Week: lapidary (ˈla-pə-der-ē )

Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T12:55:40-04:00

Word of the Week: lapidary (ˈla-pə-der-ē ) Definition (Adjective) (of language) elegant and concise, and therefore suitable for engraving on stone. (Noun) 1 a cutter, polisher, or engraver of precious stones usually other than diamonds 2 the art of cutting gems In Context "If you wish to send us something in return we would like to get Wilmart's Pensées du B. Guigue, if this is Guigo the Carthusian. I have never yet gone into him. His lapidary style fascinates me. He is better than Pascal." Thomas Merton, excerpt of a letter, 1951.

Word of the Week: lapidary (ˈla-pə-der-ē )Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T12:55:40-04:00

Word of the Week: unbeknownst (un-bih-NOHNST)

Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T13:01:24-04:00

Word of the Week: unbeknownst (un-bih-NOHNST) Definition (Adjective) 1. happening or existing without the knowledge of someone specified — usually used with to 2. not known or not well-known : unknown In Context "… Senate Bill 15, approved unanimously by that House committee Thursday, hopes to help homeowners who find themselves the victim of 'squatting'—people who illegally move into a home, often unbeknownst to the homeowner." Marianne Goodland, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colorado), 12 Apr. 2018

Word of the Week: unbeknownst (un-bih-NOHNST)Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T13:01:24-04:00

Word of the Week: boondoggle (BOON-dah-gul)

Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T12:51:48-04:00

Word of the Week: boondoggle (BOON-dah-gul) Definition (Noun) 1.a braided cord worn by Boy Scouts as a neckerchief slide, hatband, or ornament 2. a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft In Context "Conservatives often reflexively dismiss infrastructure spending as a boondoggle, and liberals, perhaps in reaction, often reflexively defend it, no matter how wasteful." Jim Surowiecki, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2017

Word of the Week: boondoggle (BOON-dah-gul)Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T12:51:48-04:00

Word of the Week: mise-en-scène (meez-ahn-SEN)

Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T12:49:46-04:00

Word of the Week: mise-en-scène (meez-ahn-SEN) Definition (Noun) 1 a : the arrangement of actors and scenery on a stage for a theatrical production b : stage setting 2 a : the physical setting of an action (as of a narrative or a motion picture) b : environment, milieu In Context "For the night of his election last May …, he arranged a dramatic mise-en-scène: while loudspeakers played Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy,' the new president walked alone across the courtyard of the Louvre as spotlights threw his larger-than-life shadow on the façade of the former royal palace." Tom Sancton, Vanity Fair, May 2018

Word of the Week: mise-en-scène (meez-ahn-SEN)Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T12:49:46-04:00

Word of the Week: Roseate (ROH-zee-ut)

Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T12:47:13-04:00

Word of the Week: Roseate (ROH-zee-ut) Definition (Adjective) 1. resembling a rose especially in color 2. overly optimistic : viewed favorably In Context "… the Catalan channels, richly funded by the local parliament and putting nationalist devotees in charge, has created a roseate picture of independence that simply doesn't fit the facts." Peter Preston, The Observer (London), 10 Dec. 2017

Word of the Week: Roseate (ROH-zee-ut)Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T12:47:13-04:00

Word of the Week: asperity (uh-SPAIR-uh-tee)

Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T12:45:23-04:00

Word of the Week: asperity (uh-SPAIR-uh-tee) Definition 1. roughness of manner or of temper : harshness of behavior or speech that expresses bitterness or anger 2. rigor, severity 3. a) roughness of surface : unevenness b) roughness of sound In Context "[Charles Portis's True Grit is] one of those rare American novels that can be enjoyed by young readers for action and dialogue and by older readers for the lowdown wit and the wonderful asperity of the narrator Mattie Ross, an elderly skinflint who spins out the tale of her long-ago adolescent pursuit of the outlaw wastrel who killed her [...]

Word of the Week: asperity (uh-SPAIR-uh-tee)Stephanie Whetstone2022-05-05T12:45:23-04:00

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