"B" Is For ...

Besmirch. verb. trans.

From the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (my latest acquisition): Dull or discolor, as with smoke or mud; dim the brightness of; and fig. sully (as in a reputation); besmutch.

From Wikitionary: additionally, to tarnish

and Wiki breaks it down further into the various verb usages - third person singular simple present" besmirches; present participle: besmirching; and simple past and past participle: besmirched.

similarly from the OED:

Besmear. verb. trans. (smear over, cover or soil with a greasy or stick substance; sully or defame.

Beslubber (verb trans.) smear or daub over with liquid or sticky matter.

and, my favorite:

Besmut (verb. trans) - blacken as with soot; defame.

And from MSN Encarta: Synonyms - sully, defame, tarnish, damage, slander, and drag through the mud. Antonym - praise

So I was thinking, why not just start with the A's?

Silly me jumping around in the world of words, so I'm just starting with A. Work my way back and forth through the alphabet.

So, here's the inaugural "A" word:

APOSTASY - noun. (Oxford American): 1. renunciation of a belief or fatih, esp. religious. 2 abandonment of principles or of a party (see below!). 3 instance of apostasy (now is it just me or don't you hate those kind of definitions, like they actually help you understand the word?).

From Webster's: to revolt; a renunciation of a religious faith; abandonment of a previous loyalty; defection.

Cool how they differ, huh?

And if this word were in a pictures only dictionary:

Too much of a good thing can be FULSOME

Fulsome. An adjective meaning, in short, excessive, cloying (Oxford American Desk Dictionary)

Webster's offers a veritable array of definitions, however - 1. characterized by abundance; copious (OK, that's not too bad). 2. offensive to the senses or to moral or aesthetic sensibility; disgusting (Ouch!), 3. excessively complimentary or flattering; lavish; and obsequious (I can hear the tush-kissing now!); 4. exceeding the bounds of good taste; overdone.

(adverb - fulsomely; noun - fulsomeness)

What might be some antonyms? Stingy. Sparing in praise? Paltry.

Now come on, we all know a fulsome sort of individual. Ooh, ooh, I can name one! Remember this FULSOME praise? "You are the best governor ever--deserving of great respect!"

Harriet Miers to the object of her fulsome affections - W.

AAAARGH, oh and by the way, Happy Holidays!

December 9, 2008.

Word of the Day: CURMUDGEON. noun - bad tempered person.

Also, my Boss.

And the poster Curmudgeon would be the one, the only -



Ebenezer Scrooge.

Who led to another term in popular parlance, SCROOGE. Which is a noun - meaning a curmudgeon.

;-))

Ain't It The Truth

IMPECUNIOUS - adj. having little or no money.

or as a noun, impecuniousness.

They didn't have any suggestions for synonyms in Roget's, but I have one - POOR.

And in some dictionaries, there is a picture of my bank book as further illustration of this financial state.

WORD OF THE DAY: Flummox

Flummox: v. tr. cooloq. - bewilder, disconcert, confound, confuse, baffle, perplex, stump.

(pronounced: flumucks) (funky little dictionary symbols don't translate here!)

A curious word, but useful, particularly when describing the difficulty our current President has with his international dealings. To whit:

"Vladimir Putin found it ridiculously easy to flummox the US President. Any discussion of matters beyond baseball left the poor fellow wearing a puzzled and lost expression."