Post a Comment On: A Nod to Nothing

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I thought it would be interesting, now that I do a large amount of reading on the iPad where I can take notes, to capture some of the words that are either new to me, or that I just don't use very often.  Maybe do a bit of vocabulary building.
Foveae - plural for a small cuplike depression or pit in a bone or organ.  For the purposes of Hydrogen Sonata, it specifically referred to "area consisting of a small depression in the retina containing cones and where vision is most acute". Fundament - I knew the use of this word meaning underlying principle.  I did not know it can simply refer to your bottom or anus (or a foundation). Evangelicalisation - not a real word.  But it's used in an article by Marsden about evangelizing military power under George Bush.  So you have to wonder if that's on purpose.  Seems to mean the process of turning something into an evangelical effort. Ructions - I knew this one, but never use it.  Quarrel, brawl, trouble. Nonary - seems obvious once you see a definition.  Relating to the number nine (9). Comms - I call this out only because I've seen Coms and Comms and I tend to use Comms when writing, but Erik H. uses Coms.  When I noticed that while proofing his book, I wondered where I'd gotten my spelling.  Perhaps from Banks. Timeously - timely.  I get this one confused with the mouse one: timorously. Punctilious - another one I know, but don't use.  Scrupulous.  Precise.  Attentive to detail. Funicular - moved by a cable or resembling a rope.  I usually think of this word as related to a hole, but perhaps that's because I'd use a rope to crawl out of a hole. sinecures - can't be a history major without knowing this word.  I'm just surprised at how seldom I've used it.  An office with little to no work, but it pays.  A favorite for the nepotism crowd.