Snafu

Word of the Day for Saturday, May 11, 2013

Snafu \sna-FOO, SNAF-oo\, noun:

1. a badly confused or ridiculously muddled situation: A ballot snafu in the election led to a recount.

adjective:
1. Rare. in disorder; out of control; chaotic: a snafu scheme that simply won't work.

verb:
1. Rare. to throw into disorder; muddle: Losing his passport snafued the whole vacation.

There was no snafu in the five-year plan. There was a deliberate strategy of recycling very-low-grade nuclear waste in building materials.
-- Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections, 2001

He'd say it was a snafu, by no means the first, from what I hear. Anyway, no sense in making a fuss.
-- Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin, 2000

Snafu is a neologism that originated as an acronym for "s(ituation) n(ormal): a(ll) f(ouled) u(p)." During World War II, soldiers used the phrase to describe the general disorder of war.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com 

Whangdoodle

Word of the Day for Thursday, May 9, 2013

Whangdoodle \HWANG-dood-l, WANG-\, noun:

a fanciful creature of undefined nature.

A whangdoodle would eat ten Oompa-Loompas for breakfast and come galloping back for a second helping.
-- Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 1964

...he told her she was the most beautiful horse he'd ever seen but he wouldn't care if she were the ugliest whangdoodle in all creation, he'd still love her...
-- Robert Coover, Ghost Town, 1998

Whangdoodle is a neologism from the 1850s. It is most likely a nonsense formation.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com 

Dais

Word of the Day for Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Dais \DEY-is, DAHY-, deys\, noun:

a raised platform, as at the front of a room, for a lectern, throne, seats of honor, etc.

Some spoke to the man on the dais and were sent through the door behind him and up a turnpike stair.
-- George R. R. Martin, A Feast for Crows, 2005

It was set upon a dais that Jemma was quite sure hadn't been there the day before.
-- Chris Adrian, The Children's Hospital, 2006

The sense of dais as a platform entered English from the modern French word of the same spelling. An earlier sense of the word as a "raised table" briefly entered English from an Old French word, but the more modern definition has become the predominant sense.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com 

Spang

Word of the Day for Monday, May 6, 2013 Spang \spang\, adverb:

directly, exactly: The bullet landed spang on target.

He had been knocked spang out of his Keds.
-- Stephen King, Different Seasons, 1983

"And you say Stephanie has hidden this notebook in Daddy's cow-cream?" "Plumb spang in the cow-creamer."
-- P.G. Wodehouse, The Code of the Woosters, 1938

Spang is an Americanism of uncertain origin. It first entered English in the 1830s.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com 

Quibble

Word of the Day for Sunday, May 5, 2013

Quibble \KWIB-uhl\, verb:

1. to equivocate.
2. to carp; cavil.

noun:
1. an instance of the use of ambiguous, prevaricating, or irrelevant language or arguments to evade a point at issue.
2. the general use of such arguments.

3. petty or carping criticism; a minor objection.

Don't quibble. You're in deep enough now, young man.
-- Kurt Vonnegut, Welcome to the Monkey House, 1968

I didn't quibble about the price. No man can say that. I just wanted peace; I paid them their price without quibbling.
-- William Faulkner, Light in August, 1932

Quibble is related to the more common word quip. They both come from the Latin word quibus meaning "indeed."

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com 

Saccharine

Word of the Day for Thursday, May 2, 2013

Saccharine \SAK-er-in, -uh-reen, -uh-rahyn\, adjective:

1. exaggeratedly sweet or sentimental: a saccharine smile; a saccharine song of undying love.
2. of the nature of or resembling that of sugar: a powdery substance with a saccharine taste.
3. containing or yielding sugar.
4. a very sweet to the taste; sugary: a saccharine dessert.
5. cloyingly agreeable or ingratiating: a saccharine personality.

Nellie's saccharine Bryn Mawr voice tried to turn away the other voice that again said, "Your incredible Bryn Mawr, Nell."
-- H.D., HERmione, 1927

There are lovely if saccharine ballads destined to be played at weddings in the year 2020...
-- Ben Greenman, "The Wonder Stuff," The New Yorker, October 17, 2005

We need a harder-edged piece to balance all the saccharine in this issue.
-- Sherri Wood Emmons, The Weight of Small Things, 2013

Saccharine comes from the Sanskrit word śarkarā meaning "sugar."

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com 

Polliwog

Word of the Day for Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Polliwog \POL-ee-wog\, noun:

a tadpole.

“Why, less than nothing, my furry polliwog!” chugged the frog, amused.
-- Tad Williams, Tailchaser's Song, 2000

She had begun life as a polliwog in the womb. She remembered the lesson in school again before she had quit.
-- Diane Glancy, Trigger Dance, 1990

Polliwog was originally a combination of the words poll and wiggle. The word poll referred to a head. With the association of the verb wiggle, the portmanteau closely describes the shape and behaviour of a polliwog.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com