Quintessential

Quintessential means the ultimate; representing the perfect example of a class or quality; the essence of the essence.

Quintessentially means in a manner that is typical or characteristic of a thing's nature.


This is the 2009 Quintessential Barbie. It's one of the new Barbie dolls launched in celebration of Barbie's 50th Anniversary.

Pyrrhic

Pyrrhic (pronounced PiR-ic) is an adjective used to refer to a victory that is achieved at great cost. The phrase is named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in defeating the Romans at Heraclea in 280 BC and Asculum in 279 BC during the Pyrrhic War. Pyrrhus is the the subject of one of Plutarch's Parallel Lives.

Recce

Recce (pronounced "recky") is a word used in media production, derived from reconnaissance (by shortening) . When it appeared in an essay Richard wrote for his degree I was about to suggest it was a slang term but apparently it is “a pre-filming visit to a location to work out its suitability for shooting, including access to necessary facilities and assessment of any potential lighting or sound issues“.

Lunch (and things)

‘It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?"’ - Winnie the Pooh.

That sounds great until you start to analyse the words used for different meals in different places. In which case none of the words is 'easy'.

Lunch is a meal usually eaten at midday; it may be light or substantial.

Dinner is usually the main meal of the day and is usually served in the evening . It may also refer to a formal party of people assembled to have a meal together, particularly for a special occasion; a meal given to an animal; or a midday meal (in a context in which the lighter evening meal is called supper).

Supper is a light evening meal; served in early evening (if dinner is at midday) or served late in the evening at bedtime . A supper may also be a social gathering where a light evening meal is served; the evening meal in some dialects of English ; or simply food consumed before going to bed.

Tea is a light mid-afternoon meal of tea and sandwiches or cakes. Sometimes this is called afternoon tea to differentiate it from a main meal (dinner to some people) eaten in the early evening which is often called tea in some areas. "An Englishman would interrupt a war to have his afternoon tea”.

And then there is High Tea - a posh version of afternoon tea, served socially to groups of guests or commercially as a high-priced afternoon cuppa with a menu of gourmet foods.

So here are some typical meal routines:-

Breakfast; lunch; tea; supper.
Breakfast; lunch; afternoon tea; dinner; supper.
Breakfast; dinner; tea; supper.
And so on, ad infinitum....

Propinquity

Propinquity means proximity; the property of being close together.
in particular it refers to nearness in the sense of affiliation or kinship.

Polemics

Polemics is the practice of disputing or controverting religious, philosophical, or political matters. As such, a polemic text on a topic is often written specifically to dispute or refute a position or theory that is widely viewed to be beyond reproach. Sometimes the word is used more widely to mean a work in which the author takes a stand on a controversial subject, such as abortion or religion, without it necessarily being against the 'norm'.

"Classic examples of polemics include John Milton's Aeropagitica and Thomas Paine's The American Crisis."

Arsenious

Facetious and abstemious are unusual words becxause they contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious.

Arsenious is one of those words that sounds as though it should be used after the 9 pm watershed but actually it's quite innocuous. It simply means containing arsenic.


"Realgar, derived from the Arabic rahj al ghar (meaning powder of the mine), is arsenious - it was known in ancient times and was once used as a pigment."

Potamophilous

Potamophilous is an obsolete nonce word.

Obsolete means it is no longer used and a nonce word is one which was invented and used only once of a few times, never being intended to stick in the language. That's a real shame because I think it is a lovely word. It means river-loving.

It appeared in 1827 in the sentence "Rowed..in his public State barge, on the bosom of the Thames, in all the majesty and magnificence of a Fluviatile and Potamophilous Lord Mayor."


Let's have the word back into use please, after all, Hippopotamuses are potamophilous!
 

connotation

A connotation is a meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning; the shade or tone of a word's meaning that the word suggests.

For example, a word such as brawny has a positive or favorable connotation; fat, however, has an unfavorable or negative connotation.

Hubris

Hubris is excessive pride, presumption or arrogance or the flaw that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero.

"We dread a supreme sin called Hubris.... When Hubris takes a man or woman, that person has declared war on Fate, gods, man, and fights them all." Marguerite Steedman 'Refuge in Avalon'