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She is a botanist who primarily studies xeric [ˈzɪrɪk] plants.
xeric
adj [ˈzɪrɪk]
Xeric means "characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture." Like: arid
English
Jul 11, 2026, 11:20 AM
cowpoke
There are few sights more charming than that of lambs gamboling [ˈɡæmbəl] about in a meadow in full flower.
gambol
verb [ˈɡæmbəl]
Gambol means "to run or jump in a lively way." It is used as a synonym of frolic.
In Middle French, the noun gambade referred to the frisky spring of a jumping horse. In the early 1500s, its influence leapt into English twice, lending a playful bounce to both noun and verb forms of gambol. (The noun means "a skipping or leaping about in play.") Neither English word is restricted to horses, but rather can be used of any frolicsome creature.
English
Jul 8, 2026, 6:48 AM
cowpoke
"Each piece is made of durable steel with a powder coating that won’t rust, fade, or corrode [kəˈroʊd] in the weather." — Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2026
corrode
verb [kəˈroʊd]
Corrode means "to slowly break apart and destroy (metal, an object, etc.) through a chemical process" or "to undergo such a process." It is also used as a synonym of undermine to mean "to gradually destroy or weaken."
Corrode comes from the Latin verb corrōdere, meaning "to gnaw or chew up." Corrōdere, in turn, combines the prefix cor- (used here as an intensifier with the meaning of "completely") with the verb rōder...
English
Jul 3, 2026, 12:52 PM
cowpoke
"... this morning when I was going out to play in the gardens, I went to put on my favorite baseball cap since the sun was hot and, being bereft [bɪˈrɛft] of my own natural covering, I wished to avoid a sun-scorched scalp." — Dick Brooks, The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, New York), 7 May 2026
bereft
adj [bɪˈrɛft]
To be bereft is to be deprived or robbed of something, or to lack something that you need, want, or expect. Bereft is also used as a synonym of bereaved.
In Old English, the verb berēafian meant "to deprive of something." The modern equivalent (and descendant) of berēafian is bereave, a verb used to say that one has deprived or stripped someone of something, often suddenly and unexpectedly, and sometimes by force. Bereft comes from the past participle of ber...
English
Jun 30, 2026, 7:52 AM
cowpoke
"From cheeky shots of celebrities like Jane Fonda and Arnold Schwarzenegger to extravagant, sensual portfolios of America's Olympic squads, the magazine's pantheon pantheon [ˈpæn(t)θiˌɑn] of photographers have helped to define the genre of sports portraiture." — Kahina Sekkaï, Vanity Fair, 14 May 2026
pantheon
noun [ˈpæn(t)θiˌɑn]
Pantheon usually refers to a group of famous or notable people or things. It also refers to the officially recognized gods of a particular people, as well as to the Roman Pantheon, the domed temple begun in 27 B.C. and rebuilt circa 118-128 A.D.
English
Jun 24, 2026, 8:38 AM
cowpoke
“Several came to protest but didn’t want their own voices cited. A woman holding a sign reading ‘I’M A 77 YEAR OLD GRANNY FOR FREEDOM’ quailed [ˈkweɪl] at the prospect of having her photo in the newspaper.” — Neil Steinberg, The Chicago Sun-Times, 19 Oct. 2025
quail
verb [ˈkweɪl] or [ˈkweɪəl]'
To quail is to feel afraid and often to show your fear in a way that can be clearly seen.
...think quiver instead. Although quail and quiver are also unrelated, they both start with a distinctive qu and have meanings involving a physical reaction to fear. When you quiver, you shake or move with a slight trembling motion... quail implies shrinking or cowering in fear, as perhaps when the things that go bump in the night suddenly start approaching.
English
Jun 23, 2026, 7:21 AM
cowpoke
“Game 3 of the World Series was a stone-cold thriller, with peaks of high drama and longueurs [lɔŋˈɡər] of exquisitely tense tedium ...” — Steve Rushin, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025
longueur
noun [lɔŋˈɡər]
Longueur refers to a boring part of something (such as a book or play). It is usually used in the plural form.
The French borrowing longueur has been doing the job for us since the late 18th century.
English
Jun 20, 2026, 10:15 AM
cowpoke
“When he dreams, he dreams about moving to Wyoming, which he has visited with his family. ... Sometimes when he talks about this, it sounds as ordinary and hard-boiled as a real estate appraisal; other times it can sound fantastical and wifty [ˈwɪfti] and achingly naive ...” — Susan Orlean, Joyride: A Memoir, 2025
wifty
adj [ˈwɪfti]
Wifty, a synonym of ditzy [ˈdɪtsi], describes something or someone eccentrically silly or scatterbrained.
...could come from whiff, which as a noun can refer to a quick puff or slight gust of air—a person described by the word wifty might also, if unkindly, be called an airhead. Or perhaps the wift is related to waft, “to move or go lightly on a buoyant medium,” if it’s fair to say that the wifty among us have their heads in the clouds.
English
Jun 17, 2026, 11:37 AM
cowpoke
Their mother remains hale [heɪl] and hearty in her old age.
hale [heɪl]
adj
Someone described as hale is in good and often exceptional health. Hale is commonly used in the phrase "hale and hearty."
English has two hale homographs: the adjective that is frequently paired with hearty to describe those healthy and strong, and the somewhat uncommon verb that has to do with literal or figurative hauling or pulling. (One can hale a boat onto shore, or hale a person into a courtroom with the aid of legal ramifications for resistance.)
English
Jun 13, 2026, 10:30 AM
cowpoke
“Did I regret not catching a retrospective showing of ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ in a special valedictory [ˌvæləˈdɪktri] program of Sundance sensations from over the years? Perhaps—though not as much as I regretted missing the screening of Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s ‘Half Nelson’ (2006). That’s the title that I remember most fondly from my first year at Sundance ...” — Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2026
valedictory
adj [ˌvæləˈdɪktəri] or [ˌvæləˈdɪktri]
Valedictory describes something expressing or containing a farewell.
Since a valedictory speech is given at the end of an academic career, it is perfectly in keeping with the meaning of its Latin ancestor, valedīcere, which means “to say goodbye.”
English
Jun 6, 2026, 11:39 AM
cowpoke
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