Weird Words » Literary

Pulchritudinous

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:09:46 +0000

Although it doesn’t seem to sound very pretty, this word means ‘beautiful’! The root of the word, pulcher, is Latin for “beautiful,” but the use as an adjective appears to be of an American origin, dating sometime between 1910-1915.

Quixotic

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:28:30 +0000

Derived from the Spanish literary character Don Quixote, this word captures his character’s essence. His comical misinterpretations of reality being at times funny, chivalrous, and ironic. He chooses to see things in the best light.

If something is ‘quixotic,’ it shares this unique quality with the literary figure.

Filibuster

sarahscully — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:10:04 +0000

The word “filibuster” can be traced back to a label given to pirates who marauded trade routes in the 17th and 18th centuries. It originated from the Dutch word vrijbuiter, which literally translates to “freebooter,” [vrij (“‘free’”) +‎ buit (“‘booty’”) +‎ er].

The term spread across Europe with the Spanish and French translating it into filibustero and filibustier, respectively.

Americans adapted the spelling and pronunciation to “filibuster” and expanded the definition to include mercenaries engaged in illicit military actions against foreign governments, referring in particular to Southern adventurers in Latin America.

In the mid-1800s, “filibuster” became popular in the U. S. Congress as a euphemism for delaying or blocking the passing of legislation by taking advantage of the procedural rules to hold the floor for inordinate amounts of time. Senator Huey Long (D-LA) demonstrated a particular talent for filibustering, reciting everything from Shakespeare to recipes for Southern dishes for up to 15 hours at a time.

Stole My Thunder

sarahscully — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:31:14 +0000

In the early 1700s, English critic and playwright John Dennis devised a new method of simulating the sound of thunder for his play Appius and Virginia. The play was deemed a failure and its run at the Drury Lane Theatre was cancelled but Dennis’s invention caught on and was used in other productions without his permission, prompting him to protest. His exact words are unconfirmed but it is generally accepted that he said something to the affect of: ”They stole my thunder!”

Wowser

dave — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:07:48 +0000

‘Wowser’ is a delightful word with an interesting background, though its ultimate origin is unknown.

The word first appeared in print in 1899, in the Australian journal Truth, and was instantly popular in Australia. It rapidly spread to New Zealand, where it remains in use, and then eventually arrived in England, possibly brought by the Australian troops who served there during World War I.

The American writer and editor H. L. Mencken liked “wowser” and attempted to introduce it to the United States. He used the word frequently in American Mercury, the literary magazine he edited.

Despite Mencken’s efforts, however, the term never became particularly popular in American English; it is used occasionally, but it never truly caught on.

Weird

dave — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:29 +0000

You may know today’s word as a generalized term for anything unusual, but ‘weird’ also has older meanings that are more specific. ‘Weird’ derives from the Old English noun ‘wyrd,’ essentially meaning ‘fate.’

By the late 8th century, the plural ‘wyrde’ had begun to appear in texts as a gloss for ‘Parcae,’ the Latin name for the Fates — three goddesses who spun, measured, and cut the thread of life. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Scots authors employed ‘werd’ or ‘weird’ in the phrase ‘weird sisters’ to refer to the Fates.

William Shakespeare adopted this usage in Macbeth, in which the ‘weird sisters’ are depicted as three witches. Subsequent adjectival use of ‘weird’ grew out of a reinterpretation of the ‘weird’ in Shakespeare.

Waste of Air Space

dave — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:56:52 +0000

Originated from Nietzsche, the Superman (Essay)

Pandora’s Box

dave — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:15:32 +0000

According to Greek mythology, the problems brought by Pandora’s box started with Prometheus. He was a Titan, one of the first Greek gods. He stole the secret of fire from his fellow gods and shared it with mortal humans. To punish humans, the gods then created Pandora. Each god gave her a gift to make her appealing (her name comes from a Greek word meaning ‘all gifted’ or ‘all giving’). Then they sent her to the mortals with a jar full of evils. Pandora’s curiosity prompted her to open the box, and all those ills escaped to plague humanity.

Oxymoron

dave — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:12:48 +0000

2 Greek derivatives:
‘Oxy’ which means ‘sharp’ ‘Moros’ which means ‘dull’ which are opposites.

It referrs to terms like ‘act natural’ ‘false truth’ ‘athletic scholarship’ etc.

Out of the blue

dave — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:33:24 +0000

Thomas Carlyle (1837). The French Revolution.

‘Arrestment, sudden really as a bolt out of the blue, has hit strange victims.’