WittyWordsmith.com

Word of the Day – Valetudinarian I had to chuckle at this one. I was reading it while at the doctor’s office. Noun: A person who is excessively concerned about his or her poor health or ailments. An invalid. Adjective: In poor health; sickly; invalid. excessively concerned about one’s poor health or ailments. Of, relating to, or characterized by invalidism. Origin: Valetudinarian stems from the … Continue reading the story “Word of the Day“

Kakistocracy Noun (kak-uh-stok-ruh-see) Government by the worst persons; a form of government in which the worst persons are in power. Example: Burt Wheeler arrived in Washington as a Senator in 1923, when the backwash of war and prohibition had brought America about as near to kakistocracy as it has ever come. Hubert Kay, “Burton K. Wheeler,” Life, May 19, 1941 Origin: Kakistocracy entered English in … Continue reading the story “Word of the Day“

Snickersnee noun (snik-er-snee) A knife, especially one used as a weapon. Example: Oh, never shall I / Forget the cry, / Or the shriek that shriekèd he, / As I gnashed my teeth, / When from its sheath / I drew my snickersnee! W. S. Gilbert, The Mikado, 1885 Origin: Snickersnee is a variant of the earlier snick or snee, which in turn comes from … Continue reading the story “Word of the Day“

Enervate Verb: (en-er-veyt) To deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken.

Blarney: Flattering or wheedling talk; cajolery. noun (blahr-ney) Deceptive or misleading talk; nonsense; hooey. Example: A lot of blarney about why he was broke. Origin: Blarney came to English in the mid-1700s from the name of the hamlet in Ireland, where a stone in Blarney Castle is said to impart skill in flattery to anyone who kisses it.

Afebrile: adjective (ey-fee-bruhl) Without fever; feverless.

Astraphobia: noun (as-truh-foh-bee-uh) An abnormal fear of thunder and lightning.