Word - 95

AGRARIAN \uh-GRAIR-ee-un\ adjective

1 : of or relating to fields or lands or their tenure

2 *a : of, relating to, or characteristic of farmers or their way of life

b : organized or designed to promote agricultural interests

Example sentence:

Since buying their organic farm three years ago, Ken and Sheila have been gradually adjusting to an agrarian lifestyle.

Did you know?

Today, an acre is generally considered to be a unit of land measuring 43,560 square feet (4,047 square meters). Before that standard was set, it's believed that an acre represented a rougher measurement -- the amount of land that could be plowed in one day with a yoke of oxen. Both "acre" and today's word, "agrarian," derive from the Latin noun "ager" and the Greek noun "agros," meaning "field." (You can probably guess that "agriculture" is another descendant.) "Agrarian," first used in English in the 17th century, describes things pertaining to the cultivation of fields, as well as the farmers who cultivate them.

Word - 94

CUMSHAW \KUM-shaw\ noun

: present, gratuity; also : bribe, payoff

Example sentence:
"I never heard her ask for any cumshaw that weighed less than a ton and which required fewer than a dozen enlisted men and two trucks to move." (James A. Michener, Los Angeles Times, October 19, 1986)

Did you know?

It was probably British Navy personnel who first picked up "cumshaw" in Chinese ports, during the First Opium War of 1839–42. "Cumshaw" is from a word that means "grateful thanks" in the dialect of Xiamen, a port in southeast China. Apparently, sailors heard it from the beggars who hung around the ports, and mistook it as the word for a handout. Since then, U.S. sailors have given "cumshaw" its own unique application, for something obtained through unofficial means (whether deviously or simply ingeniously). Outside of naval circles, meanings of "cumshaw" range from a harmless gratuity or gift to bending the rules a little to outright bribery.

Word - 93

KUNDALINI \koon-duh-LEE-nee (the "oo" is as in "book")\ noun, often capitalized

: the yogic life force that is held to lie coiled at the base of the spine until it is aroused and sent to the head to trigger enlightenment

Example sentence:

In her yoga class, Susan is learning the breaths for awakening kundalini.

Did you know?

"Kundalini" is the feminine form of the Sanskrit adjective meaning "circular" or "coiled." In yoga, the word applies to the life force that lies like a coiled serpent at the base of the spine and that can be sent along the spine to the head through prescribed postures and exercises. On the way, the kundalini passes through six chakras, or points of physical or spiritual energy in the human body. At the seventh chakra, the yogi is said to experience enlightenment.

Word - 92

RED HERRING \RED-HERR-ing\ noun

1 : a herring cured by salting and slow smoking to a dark brown color

*2 : something that distracts attention from the real issue

Example sentence:
The editorial asserts that the hoopla over the proposed new convention center is a red herring, deflecting attention from the mayor's failure to resolve the budgetary crisis.

Did you know?

Believe it or not, "red herring" has as much to do with hunting dogs as with brightly colored fish. Here's how: A herring is a soft-finned bony fish. People who like to eat herring have long preserved them by salting and slowly smoking them. That process makes a herring turn red or dark brown -- and gives them a very strong smell. Dogs love to sniff such smelly treats, a fact that makes the fish a perfect diversion for anyone trying to distract hunting dogs from the trail of their quarry. The practice of using preserved fish to confuse hunting dogs led to the use of the term "red herring" for anything that diverts attention from the issue at hand.

Word - 91

QUONDAM \KWAHN-dum\ adj

: former, sometime

Example sentence:
A quondam rodeo champ, circuit preacher, and peanut farmer, Baxter has settled into his new life as a stand-up comedian.

Did you know?

Looking for an unusual and creative way to say "former"? "Quondam" (which came to English in the 16th century from Latin quondam, meaning "at one time" or "formerly") certainly fits the bill. Or maybe you'd prefer one of its synonyms: "whilom," "ci-devant" or "preterit." Or you could really go crazy with "umquhile," a word that is extremely rare even in its more natural Scots English setting. "Quondam" itself isn't exactly ubiquitous, but it's used more than any of the other words above. If you're looking for something a bit more pedestrian, you might try yet another synonym: "erstwhile." Despite its wonderfully archaic flavor, "erstwhile" is a highly favored alternative.

Word - 90

FIFTH COLUMN \FIFTH-KAH-lum\ noun

: a group of secret sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engage in espionage or sabotage within defense lines or national borders

Example sentence:
In the 1950s the Communist Party was denounced in the United States as a fifth column, and many people were unjustly blacklisted as Communist sympathizers.

Did you know?

"Fifth column," a translation of the Spanish "quinta columna," was inspired by a boast by rebel general Emilio Mola during the Spanish Civil War. Mola predicted Madrid would fall as four columns of rebel troops approaching the city were joined by another hidden column of sympathizers within it. In an October 1936 article in The New York Times, William Carney described those secret rebel supporters as the "fifth column," and English speakers seized upon the term. It gained widespread popularity after Ernest Hemingway used it in the title of a 1938 book, and it was often applied (along with derivative forms such as "fifth columnism" and "fifth columnist") to Nazi supporters within foreign nations during World War II.

Word - 89

THERIAC \THEER-ee-ak\ noun

1 : a mixture of many drugs and honey formerly held to be an antidote to poison

*2 : cure-all

Example sentence:
"Chicken soup may not really be a theriac," said Helen, sniffling between spoonfuls, "but there certainly is something comforting about eating it when you’re feeling sick."

Did you know?

There really is no such thing as a single remedy for all that ails us. But that hasn't kept English speakers from creating, not just a single word, but several words, that mean "cure-all": "catholicon," "elixir," "nostrum," "panacea," and today's word, "theriac." When we first used "theriac," it meant "an antidote for poison" -- for any and all poisons, that is. That's how our Roman and Greek forebears used their "theriaca" and "theriake," which derive ultimately from the Greek word for "wild animal." The first theriac was supposedly created by the first-century Greek physician Andromachus, whose concoction consisted of some 70 drugs pulverized with honey. Medieval physicians created even more elaborate theriacs to dose a plague-dreading populace, for whom the possibility of a cure-all didn't seem too wild a notion at all.

Word - 88

EXONERATE \ig-ZAH-nuh-rayt\ verb

1 : to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship

*2 : to clear from accusation or blame

Example sentence:

Dwight was exonerated for the crime of taking the money after it was found that his fingerprints did not match those on the cashbox.

Did you know?

We won't blame you if you don't know the origins of today's word. "Exonerate" derives via Middle English from the past participle of the Latin verb "exonerare," meaning "to unburden," formed by combining the prefix "ex-" with "onus," meaning "load" or "burden." ("Onus" itself lives on with that meaning in English.) In its earliest uses (dating from the 16th century), "exonerate" was used in the context of physical burdens -- a ship, for example, could be exonerated of its cargo when it was unloaded. Later it was used in reference to any kind of burden, until a more specific sense developed, meaning "to relieve (someone) of blame."

Word - 87

OAF \OHF\ noun

1 : a stupid person : boob

*2 : a big clumsy slow-witted person

Example sentence:
When the waiter dropped a full plate of pasta into her lap, my sister yelled, "You clumsy oaf!"

Did you know?

A long time ago in England, it was believed that goblins sometimes secretly exchanged their babies for human babies. This was used as an explanation when parents found themselves with a particularly ugly or deformed child: these parents wanted to believe that their real baby had been stolen by goblins, and the other left in its place. The label for such a child was "auf," or "alfe" (meaning "goblin's child"), terms that were later altered to form our present-day "oaf." Although the linguistic history is not entirely clear, "auf" and "alfe" are likely from the Middle English "alven" and "elven," meaning "elf" or "fairy." Today the word "oaf" is no longer associated with unattractive babies and is instead applied to anyone who appears especially unintelligent or graceless.

Word - 86

RECUSE \rih-KYOOZ\ verb

: to disqualify (oneself) as a judge in a particular case; broadly

: to remove (oneself) from participation to avoid a conflict of interest

Example sentence:
Because he was a frequent customer at the plaintiff's shop, the judge recused himself from the case.

Did you know?

"Recuse" is derived from the Anglo-French word "recuser," which comes from Latin "recusare," meaning "to refuse." English speakers began using "recuse" with the meaning "to refuse or reject" in the 14th century. By the 17th century, the term had acquired the meaning "to challenge or object to (a judge)." The current legal use of "recuse" as a term specifically meaning "to disqualify (oneself) as a judge" didn't come into frequent use until the mid-20th century. Broader applications soon followed from this sense -- you can now recuse yourself from such things as debates and decisions as well as court cases.

Word - 85

PRODIGY \PRAH-duh-jee\ noun

1 : something extraordinary : wonder

*2 : a highly talented child

Example sentence:
Musical audiences are fascinated by the prodigy, that rare and remarkable youngster who possesses technical mastery to rival that of the best adult performers.

Did you know?

Is a prodigy a genius or a monster -- or both? Nowadays, it's the talent that shines through, but back in the 15th century the word's meaning was more strongly influenced by that of its Latin ancestor, "prodigium," meaning "omen" or "monster." Back then, a prodigy could be any strange or weird thing that might be an omen of things to come. Even in modern English, the word sometimes refers to an extraordinary deed or accomplishment. P.G. Wodehouse used that sense when he described how a character named Pongo Twistleton was "performing prodigies with the [billiard] cue."