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Peter

scent (from perfume trailing or surrounding the wearer) n. sillage

Sunday, February 28, 2021 by Peter Leave a Comment

[French for wake. In view of the French meaning of the word, this should refer to the scent trailing the wearer, but it is generally used to refer to the scent anywhere in the vicinity of the wearer.]

[According to Barb Stegemann, founder of Canadian perfume brand, 7 Virtues,] sillage is not something anyone should want; the person in the next cubicle should not be able to smell your perfume. There is no sillage in our clean fragrances.” (Aileen Lalor, “Just Good Scents,” The Vancouver Sun, 02/16/2019.)

This word, when used in the above sense, can also be a synonym for smell, odor or fragrance.…

Filed Under: Uncategorized

depression n. the black dog

Saturday, February 27, 2021 by Peter Leave a Comment

[This term was popularized by Winston Churchill in reference to his own depression, although the term long pre-dates him The lexicographer Samuel Johnson used the term in the 1780s for his own depression: “When I rise my breakfast is solitary, the black dog waits to share it, from breakfast to dinner he continues barking.”]

Depression is easier to beat when it’s treated quickly, so I’ll encourage her not to hesitate if she ever feels the black dog coming. Don’t walk, run. You might be running for your life. (Mary Grant, “There’s So Much to Say About Her Aunt’s Suicide, I Can’t Even Begin,” The New York Times, 12/14/2014.)…

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cutthroat adj. Hobbesian

Friday, February 26, 2021 by Peter Leave a Comment

[This term derives from the 17th century English author Thomas Hobbes, whose best-known work, Leviathan, describes a dog-eat-dog world of unrestrained, selfish and uncivilized competition.] A toilet paper shortage at home is … certainly not normal in a land of plenty. … Outside, everyone talked about how a trip to the store had devolved into a Hobbesian supermarket sweep. Jostling lines. Frantic customers. Stressed employees …. “It’s starting to get ugly,” Ms. Maloney said. (Jack Healy, “24 Hours in a Pandemic Nation,” The New York Times, 04/04/2020.)

This word, when used in the above sense, can also be a synonym for dog-eat-dog, ruthless, merciless, pitiless, and competitive.…

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pickpocket n. cutpurse

Tuesday, February 23, 2021 by Peter Leave a Comment

[At the auction in the Hamptons, celebrity auctioneer Sharon Stone] lifted money from the deep pockets around the tent with the ease of a cutpurse. (Guy Trebay, “A Six Acre Preserve Where Artists Roam,” The New York Times, 07/28/2010.)…

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flashy (relating to something …, cheap and/or superficial, esp. when designed to sell or make money quickly) adj. catchpenny

Monday, February 22, 2021 by Peter Leave a Comment

[This can also be a noun when referring to the object itself.] Walking the [Las Vegas] Strip can be an education, but it depends on the weather in this former sleepy railroad watering stop. It also depends on one’s tolerance for the hucksterism of show-barkers outside some catchpenny casinos. (Glenn  Collins, “Gawkers in Paradise,” The New York Times, 12 /28/2003.)

This word, when used in the above sense, can also be a synonym for sensationalistic, superficial, showy, ostentatious and tacky.…

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Previous words

  • servitude (as in forced work for little or no pay) n.: corvee Thursday, June 24, 2021
  • refined adj.: raffiné (or raffine) [French] Wednesday, June 23, 2021
  • redundancy n.: pleonasm Tuesday, June 22, 2021
  • nonbeliever (as in one with no faith or religion) n., adj.: nullifidian Sunday, June 20, 2021
  • nightmare (or episode having the quality of a …) n.: Walpurgis Night Monday, June 21, 2021
  • menacing adj.: minatory Saturday, June 19, 2021
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