Fantastic and Interesting Words

[QuietlyListening]

So new one to me today- crunchy as in the new definition?

crunchy-
Adjective. Used to describe persons who have adjusted or altered their lifestyle for environmental reasons. Crunchy persons tend to be politically strongly ... hippie like
eating only organic food, using cloth diapers and composting. Being crunchy or granola means to live an ecofriendly and holistic life. One could say they have a hippie-like panache to them. However, this lifestyle is not all kombucha and rainbows.

Source: My oldest was texting me about a crunchy group of homeschooler she and her son ran into. I asked her for the definition then went online to check it out. Live and learn

etymology: adjective suffix, "full of or characterized by," from Old English -ig, from Proto-Germanic *-iga- (source also of Dutch, Danish, German -ig, Gothic -egs), from PIE -(i)ko-, adjectival suffix, cognate with elements in Greek -ikos, Latin -icus (see -ic). Originally added to nouns in Old English; used from 13c. with verbs, and by 15c. even with other adjectives (for example crispy). Adjectives such as hugy, vasty are artificial words that exist for the sake of poetical metrics.

[Robert]

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/swale



I won an intense game of Scrabble with this word. I was challenged and they found out I know weird obscure words. Of course, I make up words too, so one never really knows. If I think up a word and create a definition, then it is a new word, just not one used, so it is not cheating, but being creative in playing Scrabble. If I am challenged, I accept the loss of points, but my family is often weary of challenging my words because I know words like Swale.

[PetrChelcicky]

Every language has some words which are unique and very useful and other countries should try them, too. So, I've learned to like the English idioms "to live sth. down" and "to live up to sth" - in German you need at last three sentences to explain the meaning. On the other hand there are English words sometimes promoted in Germany where I do not see any usefulness:
1. "serendipity" and "serendipitous", meaning by chance, accidentally and luckily - but why such a complicated word? And what are the component parts of it? I have for a time thought that "serene" is a part of it, but I am not so sure now.
2. "Racket" and "racketeer" were words which T.W.Adorno brought back from the United States, when he returned to Germany, and there are still a lot af Adorno aficionados who use it. But is it different from "gangster" resp. "criminal" or only more high-brow?

[Valerie]

Pensive


pen·sive
/ˈpensiv/
adjective
engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought.
"a pensive mood"

Yeats ago my manager said i was so pensive (at that moment)

Was clueless what she meant at the time so I had to look it up. Since then I use it myself when I observed someone being pensive and I found that I'm not the only one that wasn't familiar with the word, bit so easy to use.

[Valerie]

Every language has some words which are unique and very useful and other countries should try them, too. So, I've learned to like the English idioms "to live sth. down" and "to live up to sth" - in German you need at last three sentences to explain the meaning. On the other hand there are English words sometimes promoted in Germany where I do not see any usefulness:
1. "serendipity" and "serendipitous", meaning by chance, accidentally and luckily - but why such a complicated word? And what are the component parts of it? I have for a time thought that "serene" is a part of it, but I am not so sure now.
2. "Racket" and "racketeer" were words which T.W.Adorno brought back from the United States, when he returned to Germany, and there are still a lot af Adorno aficionados who use it. But is it different from "gangster" resp. "criminal" or only more high-brow?

Love the word serendipity, never hear it used

[Robert]

Sanctimony
Pretend or hypocritical religious devotion or righteousness. Someone who is sanctimonious will preach about the evils of drug use whilst drinking a beer, for example. Associated with a holier-than-thou attitude.

E.g. There was an air of sanctimony in the way he detailed his charity work.

[Robert]

Riposte
A quick or witty retaliatory reply. In the context of the sport of fencing, a riposte means a counterattack that is made after successfully fending off one’s opponent.

E.g. Cora was known for having an excellent riposte to any insult.

And all along I thought we were just reposting and discussing. Seems we do more riposting here.

[Szdfan]

Sanctimony
Pretend or hypocritical religious devotion or righteousness. Someone who is sanctimonious will preach about the evils of drug use whilst drinking a beer, for example. Associated with a holier-than-thou attitude.

E.g. There was an air of sanctimony in the way he detailed his charity work.

One of the morphemes this semester was "Sacro/Sacra," which means "holy" and shows up in words like sacrament or sacrilege. Some of my students used "Sacramento," which I didn't accept because it's a proper noun.

[mike]

Ambrosial

adjective
exceptionally pleasing to taste or smell; especially delicious or fragrant.
worthy of the gods; divine.

Somebody used this word to describe a meal my wife made the other day. I had to look it up.

[ohio jones]

One of the morphemes this semester was "Sacro/Sacra," which means "holy" and shows up in words like sacrament or sacrilege. Some of my students used "Sacramento," which I didn't accept because it's a proper noun.

A riposte:

1. If "Holy Toledo" is a thing, holy Sacramento is much more appropriate. Especially given the California State Railroad Museum and the adjacent old town area and waterfront.

2. Sacramento (as an improper noun) sounds like it's Spanglish for "sacrament" anyway. Adding an "o" to many English words translates them to Spanish, correcto?