"Noisy environments and interruptions garbled [ˈɡɑːrbəl] the audio or led to the services transcribing voices of people in the office who weren’t in our meeting." — Danielle Abril, The Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2023garble
verb [ˈɡɑːrbəl]
To garble something, such as a word, name, message, etc., is to cause it to be unclear or distorted. This type of garbling can be the result of an accident, ignorance, or a transmission error. Garble can also mean "to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning."
It is presumed that this word was passed from Arabic to Mediterranean Europe through trade in Eastern spices, and was first introduced into English from the Anglo-Fre... English Mar 24, 2025, 6:40 AM cowpoke
“Summer swimwear has come a long way since itty-bitty string bikinis were de rigueur [də riˈɡɝ] for the beach and by the pool.” — Amanda Randone, Refinery29.com, 31 May 2024de rigueur
adj [də riˈɡɝ]; French [də ʁiɡœʁ]
De rigueur is a formal adjective that describes things that are necessary if you want to be fashionable, popular, socially acceptable, etc.—in other words, things required by fashion, etiquette, or custom.
a direct borrowing from French where it means “out of strictness” or “according to strict etiquette. English Mar 23, 2025, 9:40 AM cowpoke
I love seeing all the slangy neologisms [niˈɑːləˌdʒɪzəm] that pop up on social media every year.neologism
noun [niˈɑːləˌdʒɪzəm]
Neologism can refer either to a new word or expression or to a new meaning of an existing word.
The English language is constantly picking up neologisms... Finsta, rizz, influencer, meme, and doomscroll are just a few examples of modern-day neologisms that have been integrated into American English.
borrowed the French term néologisme, meaning both "the habit of forming new words" and "a newly formed word." English Mar 22, 2025, 9:30 AM cowpoke
“I visited the wetland as best I could, given my professional obligations and peripatetic lifestyle, which often nurtured anything but stillness. Still, I baked and sweated in the summer sun, drew a thick down jacket around me on cold and snowy winter days, huddled in vernal [ˈvɝːnəl] rain, lounged in fall light.” — Christopher Norment, Terrain.org, 18 Sept. 2024vernal
adj [ˈvɝːnəl]
formal adjective - describes something that relates to or occurs in the spring.
the word vernal has only been in use in English since the early 16th century, when it blossomed from the Latin adjective vernālis. That word in turn traces back to the noun vēr, meaning “spring.” English Mar 20, 2025, 7:33 AM cowpoke
"In one illustration of the mashup of sacred and superstitious, [author Tabitha] Stanmore describes a 'trial by combat' ... to win Sherborne Castle. The devious bishop sewed 'prayers and charms' inside his fighter's coat to give him an edge. The stratagem [ˈstræt.ə.dʒəm] was discovered, but the cunning cleric won the castle and kept his miter." — Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times, 7 July 2024stratagem
noun [ˈstræt.ə.dʒəm]
A stratagem is a trick or plan for deceiving an enemy or for achieving a goal. A stratagem is any clever scheme—sometimes one that's part of an overall strategy (i.e., a carefully prepared plan of action).
Entered English in the 15th century and was originally used in reference to some artifice, such as a military plan or maneuver, that was designed to deceive or outwit the enemy. This sense can be traced back to the word's Greek ancestor stratēge... English Mar 15, 2025, 9:51 AM cowpoke
“Otters do not like to share food.... There is a flickering movement of jaws before they swallow and dive again. For a moment I think they have left, then they surface once more and I make out two long shapes, one just ahead of the other. They wend [wɛnd] their way further down the waterway before insinuating themselves back into the dark.” — Miriam Darlington, Otter Country: In Search of the Wild Otter, 2024wend
verb [wɛnd]
Wend is a literary word that means “to move slowly from one place to another usually by a winding or indirect course”; wending is traveling or proceeding on one’s way in such a manner.
All of that turning is linked to the word’s Old English ancestor, wendan, which shares roots with the Old English verb, windan, meaning “to twist” English Mar 9, 2025, 10:29 AM cowpoke
The picture on the cabin wall was slightly askew [əˈskju].askew [əˈskju]
adj
Askew means “not straight” or “at an angle,” and can be used as both an adjective and an adverb.
In Middle English, prey outmaneuvering a predator in this way might be said to be “skewing.” Skew means both “to take an oblique course” (as it does in modern English too) as well as “to escape,” and comes from the Anglo-French word eschiver, meaning “to escape or avoid.” It’s this skew, with its suggestion of crooked lines, that forms the basis of the adjective askew English Mar 5, 2025, 6:50 AM cowpoke
The singer posted a cryptic [ˈkrɪp.tɪk] message on her social media accounts, and fans raced to decipher it.cryptic [ˈkrɪp.tɪk]
Something described as cryptic has or seems to have a hidden meaning, or is difficult to understand.
The history of cryptic starts with krýptein, a Greek word meaning "to hide or conceal." English Feb 28, 2025, 7:57 AM cowpoke
They doffed [dɔf] their coats when they came inside the house.doff
verb [dɔf]
To doff a hat or other piece of clothing is to take it off.
Doff and don have been a pair from the start: both date to the 14th century, with doff arising as a Middle English contraction of the phrase “to do off” and don as a contraction of “to do on.”
Shakespeare was among the first, as far as we know, to use the word as it’s defined in the more general sense of “to rid oneself of” or “put aside.” English Feb 27, 2025, 7:29 AM cowpoke
I can't believe they let an ignoramus [ˌɪɡ.nəˈreɪ.məs] like that run the company.ignoramus
noun [ˌɪɡ.nəˈreɪ.məs]
An ignoramus is an utterly ignorant or stupid person.
Ignoramus is the title of a farce by George Ruggle (1575-1622) that was first produced in 1615. The title character, whose name in Latin literally means "we are ignorant of," is a lawyer who fancies himself to be quite clever but is actually foolish and ignorant. English Feb 26, 2025, 6:38 AM cowpoke
