Word of the Week – Page 21 – Princeton Writes

Word of the Week: savoir faire (sav-ˌwär-ˈfer)

Elizabeth Durham2020-03-30T09:27:22-04:00

Word of the Week: savoir faire (sav-ˌwär-ˈfer) Definition (Noun) a deft understanding of a situation at hand; a polished certainty in navigating social interaction (used in English, but stems from the French "savoir" [knowing, knowledge] and "faire" [doing, making do]) In Context The groom panicked when his old flame turned up uninvited at the wedding, but the bride handled the interruption with commendable savoir faire.

Word of the Week: savoir faire (sav-ˌwär-ˈfer)Elizabeth Durham2020-03-30T09:27:22-04:00

Word of the Week: anxiolytic (aŋ-zē-ō-ˈli-tik)

Elizabeth Durham2020-03-24T15:27:10-04:00

Word of the Week: anxiolytic (aŋ-zē-ō-ˈli-tik) Definition (Noun) something, usually a substance or drug, that relieves anxiety; (adjective) capable of relieving anxiety In Context It's hard to read the news these days without downing an anxiolytic.

Word of the Week: anxiolytic (aŋ-zē-ō-ˈli-tik)Elizabeth Durham2020-03-24T15:27:10-04:00

Word of the Week: miasma (mī-ˈaz-mə)

Elizabeth Durham2020-03-16T09:39:00-04:00

Word of the Week: miasma (mī-ˈaz-mə) Definition (Noun) an infectious vapor; a corrupting atmosphere In Context Anna started coughing amidst the miasma of the tuberculosis ward.

Word of the Week: miasma (mī-ˈaz-mə)Elizabeth Durham2020-03-16T09:39:00-04:00

Word of the Week: delectable (di-ˈlek-tə-bəl)

Elizabeth Durham2020-03-09T09:10:29-04:00

Word of the Week: delectable (di-ˈlek-tə-bəl) Definition (Adjective) Highly pleasing; delicious In Context Marsha made a delectable meal for her honored guests.

Word of the Week: delectable (di-ˈlek-tə-bəl)Elizabeth Durham2020-03-09T09:10:29-04:00

Word of the Week: gormless (ˈgȯrm-ləs)

admin2020-03-02T13:08:30-05:00

Word of the Week: gormless (ˈgȯrm-ləs) Definition (Adjective) chiefly British: lacking intelligence : stupid In Context “Much of the movie unfolds inside the suburban Connecticut mansion where Lily lives with her gormless mother (Francie Swift) and her loathsome stepdad." Justin Chang, latimes.com, "Cory Finley's 'Thoroughbreds' is a delectably twisted mean-girls noir," 8 Mar. 2018

Word of the Week: gormless (ˈgȯrm-ləs)admin2020-03-02T13:08:30-05:00

Word of the Week: perfidy (ˈpər-fə-dē)

Cate Mahoney2020-02-10T11:52:06-05:00

Word of the Week: perfidy (ˈpər-fə-dē) Definition (Noun) 1: the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal: TREACHERY 2: an act or an instance of disloyalty In Context His descriptions of the perfidy of the British élite have the ring of an insider. Sam Knight, “How Brexit Will End,” The New Yorker, Oct 30, 2019.

Word of the Week: perfidy (ˈpər-fə-dē)Cate Mahoney2020-02-10T11:52:06-05:00

Word of the Week: farouche (fä-RŌŌSH)

admin2020-02-12T15:29:36-05:00

Word of the Week: farouche (fä-RŌŌSH) Definition (Adjective) Sullen, shy, and repellent in manner. In Context “In the wilder places, farouche-looking tribesmen, nomads and the very strange strangers she ran into were hailed with the cheerful confidence of a girl guide on an outing.” Moira Verscboyle, “Ireland to India,” The Irish Times, June 19, 1965.

Word of the Week: farouche (fä-RŌŌSH)admin2020-02-12T15:29:36-05:00

Word of the Week: joiner (JOI-nər)

Stephanie Whetstone2020-03-26T12:14:39-04:00

WORD OF THE WEEK joiner (JOI-nər) Definition (Noun) A craftsman whose occupation is to construct things by joining pieces of wood; a worker in wood who does lighter and more ornamental work than that of a carpenter, as the construction of the furniture and fittings of a house, ship, etc. In Context "William Maugridge, for one, wanted to give up his trade as a joiner in Philadelphia, buy land outside the city, and settle down as a farmer." Jessica Choppin Roney, Governed by a Spirit of Opposition: The Origins of American Political Practice in Colonial Philadelphia, 2014.

Word of the Week: joiner (JOI-nər)Stephanie Whetstone2020-03-26T12:14:39-04:00

Word of the Week: insuperable (in-SOO-puh-ruh-bul)

Stephanie Whetstone2020-03-26T12:19:51-04:00

Word of the Week: insuperable (in-SOO-puh-ruh-bul) Definition (adjective) Incapable of being surmounted, overcome, passed over, or solved In Context "'Life and Fate,' his resulting magnum opus, is not likely to be unseated as the greatest Second World War novel ever written. Grossman's challenge over the ten years of its composition seems nearly insuperable: to evoke the scope and magnitude of the conflict without turning his characters into cogs in a vast military machine." Sam Sacks, The New Yorker, 25 June 2013

Word of the Week: insuperable (in-SOO-puh-ruh-bul)Stephanie Whetstone2020-03-26T12:19:51-04:00

Word of the Week: boilerplate (BOY-ler-playt)

Stephanie Whetstone2020-03-26T12:20:58-04:00

Word of the Week: boilerplate (BOY-ler-playt) Definition (noun) 1.syndicated material supplied especially to weekly newspapers in matrix or plate form 2. a) standardized text b) formulaic or hackneyed language 3. tightly packed icy snow In Context "'I think the middle class is getting clobbered,' he said one day, over lunch. 'I think there has to be a significant change in both, over time, fiscal policy and tax policy.' He was trying to get that view 'further insinuated into the White House,' he said. It seemed like boilerplate, and I didn't quote it." Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2019

Word of the Week: boilerplate (BOY-ler-playt)Stephanie Whetstone2020-03-26T12:20:58-04:00

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