Rev. Joe Dirt, Author at Curmudgeon Alley

2000/01/042014/11/26

Word for the Day – Dues ex machina

Dues ex machina

Noun:
1. a character or thing that suddenly enters the story in a novel, play, movie, etc., and solves a problem that had previously seemed impossible to solve
2. a god introduced by means of a crane in ancient Greek and Roman drama to decide the final outcome
Synonyms:
1. contrivance
2. gimmick
Usage:
1. Some folks consider Poe’s abrupt ending of The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket a deus ex machina.
Encountered:
1. A comment on my blog by the Dictionary Dude

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2000/01/032014/11/26

Word of the Day – Avuncular

Adjective:
1. of or relating to an uncle.
2. of or relating to the relationship between men and their siblings’ children
3. suggestive of an uncle especially in kindliness or geniality
Adverb
1. avuncularly
Noun
1. avuncularity
Synonyms:
1. counseling
2. helping
3. benevolent
4. amiable
Usage:
1. The avuncular CPA did not bat an eye when his client dumped a shoebox full of receipts on his desk.
Encountered:
1. It was a an interview on TV, but for the sake me I can not remember who was being interviewed and who was interviewing.

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2000/01/032025/02/21

Word of the Day – Paradigm

Noun: Paradigm
1. a typical example or pattern of something; a model.
2. a set of linguistic items that form mutually exclusive choices in particular syntactic roles.

Synonyms:
1. model
2. pattern
3. example
4. exemplar
5. template
6. standard
7. prototype
8. archetype

Usage:
1. Ayn Rand’s paradigm, Objectivism, is every man for themselves.

Encountered:
1. Overused in business and educational circles

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2000/01/022014/11/26

Word of the Day –Laconic

Adjective:
1. using or involving the use of a minimum of word
2. concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious
Adverb
1. laconically
Synonyms:
1. terse
2. concise
3. pithy
4. succinct
Usage:
1. ‘”My lord, what are your orders in case you are killed?” “To do like me,” replied Wellington. To Clinton he said laconically, “To hold this spot to the last man.”.’
Encountered:
1. While reading Les Miserables

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2000/01/012014/11/26

Word for the Day — Lassitude

Noun:
1. a state of physical or mental weariness; lack of energy.
2. a condition of listlessness
Synonyms:
1. burnout
2. collapse
3. exhaustion,
4. frazzle
5. prostration
6. tiredness
7. weariness
Usage:
1. “He had returned to prison, this time for having done right; he had quaffed fresh bitterness; disgust and lassitude were overpowering him; even the memory of the Bishop probably suffered a temporary eclipse, though sure to reappear later on luminous and triumphant.”
Encountered:
1. While reading Les Miserables

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1999/12/312016/01/01

Quote for the Day – Neil Gaiman

neilgaiman “When things get really bad I go to the writing place.”” ~~ Neil Gaiman

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1999/12/302016/01/01

Vanity Plate of the Day – BGENUF

BGENUF BGENUF

This one was on a Mini Cooper being driven by a grandmotherly type. It looked plenty big enough for her.

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1999/12/292016/01/01

Word of the Day – Intransigence

Adjective: Intransigence
1. Refusing to moderate a position, especially an extreme position; uncompromising.

Synonyms:
1. stubbornness
2. inflexibility
3. obstinacy
4. mulishness
5. pigheadedness
6. rigidity

Usage:

“Not only does their moral system not allow compromise, but extreme conservatives believe that if this intransigence leads to a non-functioning government, so much the better, since that would prove the government doesn’t work.” ~~ from the book referenced below