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egregious
- extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant.
The couturier's egregious summer collection did not daunt his most faithful clients from buying his creations.
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The last thing we want to admit is that the bickering of the playground perfectly presages the machinations of the boardroom, that our social hierarchies are merely an extension of who got picked first for the kickball team, and that grown-ups still get divided into bullies and fatties and crybabies. What's a kid to find out?
( We Need To Talk About Kevin - - by Lionel Shriver)
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sententious
- adjective
1. abounding in pithy aphorisms or maxims.
2. given to excessive moralizing; self-righteous.
- Synonyms : preachy, didactic, sanctimonious, moralistic
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currently reading :
The Hound of the Baskervilles
- by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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parvenu
- noun
1. a person who has recently or suddenly acquired wealth, importance, position, or the like, but has not yet developed the conventionally appropriate manners, dress, surroundings, etc.
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currently reading : A Clockwork Orange (by Anthony Burgess)
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contumacy
- Obstinate or contemptuous resistance to authority; stubborn rebelliousness.
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lucubration :
- noun
1. laborious work, study, thought, etc., esp. at night.
2. a learned speech or dissertation.
3. Often, lucubrations : any literary effort, esp. of a pretentious or solemn nature.
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Currently reading :
Life of Pi (by Yann Martel)
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ostentatious
Adj. 1. intended to attract notice and impress others; "an ostentatious sable coat"
2. (of a display) tawdry or vulgar
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goombah :
- noun Slang.
1. a companion or associate, esp. an older person who mentors and advises; a godfather.
2. a member of a criminal organization.
Origin : probably alteration of Italian compare (godfather)
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Interdict
1. To prohibit or place under an ecclesiastical or legal sanction.
2. To forbid or debar, especially authoritatively.
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kibitz :
- verb
1. to offer advice or criticism.
2. to look on and offer unwanted, usually meddlesome advice to others.
3. to chat; converse.
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termagant :
- noun
1. a violent, turbulent, nagging, bad-tempered woman.
2. (initial capital letter) a mythical deity popularly believed in the Middle Ages to be worshipped by the Muslims and introduced into the morality play as a violent, overbearing personage in long robes.
- adjective
3. violent; turbulent; brawling; scolding; shrewish.
- Synonyms : shrew, virago, harridan, scold.
[Origin : alteration of Tervagan name of the imaginary deity.]
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Currently reading : The Poisonwood Bible (by Barbara Kingsolver)
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cabal :
- noun
1. a small group of secret plotters, as against a government or person in authority.
2. the plots and schemes of such a group; intrigue.
3. a clique, as in artistic, literary, or theatrical circles.
- verb
4. to conspire; plot
- Synonyms : junta, faction, band, league, ring.
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somnambulate:
–verb
to walk during sleep; sleepwalk.
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palooka :
- noun
1. an incompetent or easily-defeated athlete, esp. a boxer; mediocre prizefighter.
2. a stupid, clumsy person.
[Origin : 1920-25, Americanism, orig. uncertain]
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mendacious :
- adjective
1. dishonest, lying, untruthful.
2. false, untrue.
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Currently reading : The Winter's Tale (by William Shakespeare)
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Absquatulate (verb):
To make off, decamp, or abscond
Dactylonomy (noun):
The art of counting on the fingers (not just using each finger to count to ten, but using each knuckle, joint, and bone, allowing the skilled dactylonomist to count up to 9,999
