#94

Cool is an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance, style and Zeitgeist. Because of the varied and changing connotations of cool, as well its subjective nature, the word has no single meaning. It has associations of composure and self-control (cf. the OED definition) and often is used as an expression of admiration or approval.

#90

ersatz \AIR-sahts; UR-sats\, adjective:
Being a substitute or imitation, usually an inferior one.

Meanwhile, a poor copy was erected in the courtyard; many an unsuspecting traveler paid homage to that ersatz masterpiece.
-- Edith Pearlman, "Girl and Marble Boy", The Atlantic, December 29, 1999

All we can create in that way is an ersatz culture, the synthetic product of those factories we call variously universities, colleges or museums.
-- Sir Herbert Read, The Philosophy of Modern Art

Then there was the sheaf of hostile letters larded with ersatz sympathy, strained sarcasm or pure spite.
-- "Time for GAA to become a persuader", Irish Times, April 13, 1998


Ersatz derives from German Ersatz, "a substitute."

#88

jejune \juh-JOON\, adjective:
1. Lacking in nutritive value.
2. Displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity; childish.
3. Lacking interest or significance; dull; meager; dry.

Were I to make this public now, it would be dismissed as the raving of a mind at the end of its tether, unable to distinguish fiction from reality, real life from the jejune fantasies of its youth.
-- Ronald Wright, A Scientific Romance

By the inflection of his voice, the expression of his face, and the motion of his body, he signals that he is aware of all the ways he may be thought silly or jejune, and that he might even think so himself.
-- Jedediah Purdy, For Common Things

A while ago, Michael Kinsley wrote that Jewish Americans envied Israelis for living out history in a way that made the comfort and security of life in New York or Los Angeles seem jejune.
-- Geoffrey Wheatcroft, "The Big Kibbutz", New York Times, March 2, 1997

Jejune derives from Latin jejunus, "fasting, hence hungry, hence scanty, meager, weak."

#84

diffident \DIF-uh-dunt; -dent\, adjective:
1. Lacking self-confidence; distrustful of one's own powers; timid; bashful.
2. Characterized by modest reserve; unassertive.

He lived naturally in a condition that many greater poets never had, or if they had it, were embarrassed or diffident about it: a total commitment to his own powers of invention, a complete loss of himself in his materials.
-- James Dickey, "The Geek of Poetry", New York Times, December 23, 1979

This schism is embodied in Clarence's two sons: cheerful, pushy, book-ignorant Jared, a semicriminal entrepreneur who has caught "the rhythm of America to come" and for whom life is explained in brash epigrams from the trenches, versus slow, diffident Teddy, the town postman, uncomfortable with given notions of manhood, uncompetitive ("yet this seemed the only way to be an American") and disturbed that others misstate "the delicate nature of reality as he needed to grasp it for himself."
-- Julian Barnes, "Grand Illusion", New York Times, January 28, 1996

Minny was too delicate and diffident to ask her cousin outright to take her to Europe.
-- Brooke Allen, "Borrowed Lives", New York Times, May 16, 1999

Diffident is from the present participle of Latin diffidere, "to mistrust, to have no confidence," from dis- + fidere, "to trust." The noun form is diffidence.

#60

hirsute \HUR-soot; HIR-soot; hur-SOOT; hir-SOOT\, adjective:
Covered with hair; set with bristles; shaggy; hairy.

The Bear . . . makes the rounds of the clubs "disguised" in trench coat and broad-brimmed hat, hoping (successfully, it seems) to be mistaken for a rather hirsute human.
-- Richard M. Sudhalter, "The Bear Comes Home': Composing the Words That Might Capture Jazz", New York Times, August 29, 1999

First of all, your nose is nearly covered with your bloody moustache and your beard, Mr Gogarty replied. Mr Allen apologised for his "hirsute" appearance.
-- Paul Cullen, "No ambush sprung on returning Gogarty", Irish Times, March 23, 1999

He was incredibly hirsute: there was even a thick pelt of hair on the back of his hands.
-- Tama Janowitz, By the Shores of Gitchee Gumee


Hirsute comes from Latin hirsutus, "covered with hair, rough, shaggy, prickly."



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#55

large [lahrj] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation adjective, larg·er, larg·est, noun, adverb
–adjective
1.
of more than average size, quantity, degree, etc.; exceeding that which is common to a kind or class; big; great: a large house; a large number; in large measure; to a large extent.
2.
on a great scale: a large producer of kitchen equipment.
3.
of great scope or range; extensive; broad.
4.
grand or pompous: a man given to large, bombastic talk.
5.
(of a map, model, etc.) representing the features of the original with features of its own that are relatively large so that great detail may be shown.
6.
famous; successful; important: He's very large in financial circles.
7.
Obsolete. generous; bountiful; lavish.
8.
Obsolete.
a.
unrestrained in the use of language; gross; improper.
b.
unrestrained in behavior or manner; uninhibited.
9.
Nautical. free (def. 33).
–noun
10.
Music. the longest note in mensural notation.
11.
Obsolete. generosity; bounty.
–adverb
12.
Nautical. with the wind free or abaft the beam so that all sails draw fully.
—Idioms
13.
at large,
a.
free from restraint or confinement; at liberty: The murderer is still at large.
b.
to a considerable extent; at length: to treat a subject at large.
c.
as a whole; in general: the country at large.
d.
Also, at-large. representing the whole of a state, district, or body rather than one division or part of it: a delegate at large.
14.
in large, on a large scale; from a broad point of view: a problem seen in large. Also, in the large.

[Origin: 1125–75; ME < OF < L larga, fem. of largus ample, generous]

—Related forms
largeness, noun

—Synonyms 1. huge, enormous, immense, gigantic, colossal; massive; vast. See great.
—Antonyms 1. small.

#53

sphere [sfeer] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, sphered, spher·ing.
–noun
1.
Geometry.
a.
a solid geometric figure generated by the revolution of a semicircle about its diameter; a round body whose surface is at all points equidistant from the center. Equation: x 2 + y2 + z2 = r2.
b.
the surface of such a figure; a spherical surface.
2.
any rounded body approximately of this form; a globular mass, shell, etc.
3.
Astronomy.
a.
a planet or star; heavenly body.
b.
celestial sphere.
c.
any of the transparent, concentric, spherical shells, or layers, in which, according to ancient belief, the planets, stars, and other heavenly bodies were set.
4.
the place or environment within which a person or thing exists; a field of activity or operation: to be out of one's professional sphere.
5.
a particular social world, stratum of society, or walk of life: His social sphere is small.
6.
a field of something specified: a sphere of knowledge.
–verb (used with object)
7.
to enclose in or as if in a sphere.
8.
to form into a sphere.
9.
to place among the heavenly spheres.

[Origin: 1250–1300; < LL sphéra, L sphaera globe < Gk sphaǐra ball; r. ME spere < OF spere < LL spéra, var. of sphéra]

—Related forms
sphereless, adjective
spherelike, adjective

—Synonyms 4. orbit, area, province, compass, realm, domain. 5. class, rank.

#52

"Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane."

......................

Qutodiationing Word suggestion

col·late [kuh-leyt, koh-, ko-, koh-leyt, kol-eyt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object), -lat·ed, -lat·ing.
1.
to gather or arrange in their proper sequence (the pages of a report, the sheets of a book, the pages of several sets of copies, etc.).
2.
Bookbinding. to verify the arrangement of (the gathered sheets of a book), usually by inspecting the signature at the foot of the first page of each sheet or the mark printed on the back of each sheet or on the spine of each signature.
3.
to compare (texts, statements, etc.) in order to note points of agreement or disagreement.
4.
Bibliography. to verify the number and order of the sheets of (a volume) as a means of determining its completeness.
5.
Computers. to merge (sequenced data from two or more data sets or files) to produce a new sequenced data set or file.
6.
Ecclesiastical. to present by collation, as to a benefice.

[Origin: 1550–60; < L collātus (ptp. of conferre to bring together), equiv. to col- col-1 + lā- (suppletive s. of ferre) + -tus ptp. ending]

—Related forms
col·lat·a·ble, adjective
col·la·tor, noun

#49

soi-disant \swah-dee-ZAHN\, adjective:
Self-styled; so-called.

The study exposes most varieties of 'human resource management' as a complete waste ofttimes promoted by soi-disant gurus and self-serving consultants with an eye for a quick buck.
-- "Support for an old-fashioned view", Independent, May 12, 1994

The troupe, soi-disant egalitarians, mostly turn out to be royal phonies.
-- Craig Offman, "Whiz Kid", Time, February 1, 1999


Soi-disant comes from the French, from soi, "oneself" + disant, "saying," present participle of dire, "to say."

#45

purblind \PUR-blynd\, adjective:
1. Having greatly reduced vision.
2. Lacking in insight or discernment.

Add to this that the work seems unsure of its audience, providing no footnotes or exact references, but concluding with a bizarre parade of bibliographical essays running to 59 pages; that it gives the date only about once every 100 pages (and then not always the right date...) and leaves us feeling as if we were wandering purblind in some deep cave.
-- James R. Kincaid, "The Sum Of His Oddities", New York Times, January 13, 1991

Those changes, whose pressing necessity by the end of the 1980s was surely evident to all but the most purblind, would have taken place in any case.
-- Bryan Gould, "Mandy", New Statesman, January 29, 1999

But something is fundamentally wrong at Leeds, something that even the most ardent supporters -- and other purblind apologists -- must surely come to recognise.
-- Kevin Mitchell, "How Leeds lost it", The Observer, March 10, 2002

On and on the weary litany of purblind negativity proceeds.
-- Eric Evans, "The Theory Man.", History Today, June 1997


Purblind derives from Middle English pur blind, wholly blind, from pur, pure + blind. In time it came to mean something less than wholly blind.

#44

quotidian \kwoh-TID-ee-uhn\, adjective:
1. Occurring or returning daily; as, a quotidian fever.
2. Of an everyday character; ordinary; commonplace.

Erasmus thought More's career as a lawyer was a waste of a fine mind, but it was precisely the human insights More derived from his life in the quotidian world that gave him a moral depth Erasmus lacked.
-- "More man than saint", Irish Times, April 4, 1998

She also had a sense of fun that was often drummed out under the dull, quotidian beats of suburban life.
-- Meg Wolitzer, Surrender, Dorothy


Quotidian is from Latin quotidianus, from quotidie, "daily," from quotus, "how many, as many, so many" + dies, "day."

#40

glabrous \GLAY-bruhs\, adjective:
Smooth; having a surface without hairs, projections, or any unevenness.

How much more powerful then will be the effect -- next week? next month? soon enough -- when Gore, resplendent, clean-shaven, glabrous in his glory, returns from the dead! Radiant! Reborn!
-- Lance Morrow, "Al Gore, and Other Famous Bearded Men", Time, August 16, 2001

We offered to the rebarbative Senator Patrick Leahy's demands on us amused resistance and the promise to buy the glabrous old boy a proper hairpiece.
-- R Emmett Tyrrell Jr., "Jumpin' Jim Jehoshaphat!", The American Spectator, July 1, 2001


Glabrous is from Latin glaber, "smooth, bald."



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#32

multifarious \muhl-tuh-FAIR-ee-uhs\, adjective:
Having great diversity or variety; of various kinds; diversified.

She is good at constructing a long, multifarious narrative, weaving many minor stories into one, so that you are left with a sense of the fluidity and ambiguity of historical interpretation.
-- Jason Cowley, "It's bright clever... but the result is academic", The Observer, May 27, 2001

Men's opinions, accordingly, on what is laudable or blamable, are affected by all the multifarious causes which influence their wishes in regard to the conduct of others, and which are as numerous as those which determine their wishes on any other subject.
-- John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

But as he reached the verge of the lawn and vaulted the retaining wall there, crossed the flagstone walkway and started up the steps of the ad building, the multifarious marvel of his congested brain surprised him--the apes flew right out of his head and he was thinking about California.
-- T. Coraghessan Boyle, Riven Rock


Multifarious derives from Latin multifariam, "on many sides; in many places."




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#27

eleemosynary \el-uh-MOS-uh-ner-ee\, adjective:
1. Of or for charity; charitable; as, "an eleemosynary institution."
2. Given in charity; having the nature of alms; as, "eleemosynary assistance."
3. Supported by or dependent on charity; as, "the eleemosynary poor."

We also need to revive the great eleemosynary institutions through which compassionate people serve those in need with both greater flexibility and discipline than government agencies are capable.
-- Clifford F. Thies, "Bring back the bridewell", The World & I, September 1, 1995

An author ought to consider himself, not as a gentleman who keeps a private or eleemosynary treat, but rather as one who keeps a public ordinary, at which all persons are welcome for their money.
-- Henry Fielding, Tom Jones

Like Hilda's "eleemosynary doves," these birds depend upon the Author's charity, require mothering, just as Hilda finds solace in the Virgin--"a child, lifting its tear-stained face to seek comfort from a Mother."
-- John Dolis, "Domesticating Hawthorne: Home Is for the Birds", Criticism, Winter 2001


The source of eleemosynary is Medieval Latin eleemosynarius, from Late Latin eleemosyna, "alms," from Greek eleemosyne, from eleemon, "pitiful," from eleos, "pity."

#24

pukka \PUHK-uh\, adjective:
1. Authentic; genuine.
2. Good of its kind; first-class.

He talks like the quintessential pukka Englishman and quotes Chesterton and Kipling by the yard and yet he has chosen to live most of his adult life abroad.
-- Lynn Barber, "Bell book . . . and then what?", The Observer, August 27, 2000

If he does not have a house, the government gives him a pukka residence, not a . . . shack on the pavement but a solid construction.
-- Salman Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet


Pukka comes from Hindi pakka, "cooked, ripe," from Sanskrit pakva-, from pacati, "he cooks."



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pu·ca [poo-kuh] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
(in folklore) an Irish spirit, mischievous but not malevolent, corresponding to the English Puck.
Also, pooka.


[Origin: < Ir púca; see Puck]



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#19

polyglot \POL-ee-glot\, adjective:
1. Containing or made up of several languages.
2. Writing, speaking, or versed in many languages.

noun:
1. One who speaks several languages.

Yes, Burgess loved to scatter polyglot obscurities like potholes throughout his more than 50 novels and dozens of nonfiction works. He could leap gaily from Welsh to French to Malay to Yiddish in one breath.
-- "Byrne", Chicago Sun-Times, August 24, 1997

There should be polyglot waiters who can tell us when the train starts in four or five languages.
-- Hamerton, Intelligent Life

My parents are both polyglots--they speak five Indian languages each, I speak seven--and they would encourage my reading.
-- Lawrence Weschler, A Wanderer in the Perfect City


Polyglot derives from Greek polyglottos, from poly-, "many" + glotta, "tongue, language."


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#17

punctilious \puhnk-TIL-ee-uhs\, adjective:
Strictly attentive to the details of form in action or conduct; precise; exact in the smallest particulars.

The convert who is more punctilious in his new faith than the lifelong communicant is a familiar figure in Catholic lore.
-- Patrick Allit, Catholic Converts

Nicholas showed us his butterfly collection. He had done a splendid job of spreading them (better than I ever have, let alone at his age). I tried to impress upon him the need for punctilious labeling, a tedious business that raises a butterfly from a mere curio to a specimen of scientific value.
-- Robert Michael Pyle, ChASINg Monarchs

Cooper had always been very punctilious about observing the rules laiddown in the . . . brochure.
-- Josef Skvorecky, Two Murders in My Double Life


Punctilious derives from Late Latin punctillum, "a little point," from Latin punctum, "a point," from pungere, "to prick."

#16

plenipotentiary \plen-uh-puh-TEN-shee-air-ee; -shuh-ree\, adjective:
1. Containing or conferring full power; invested with full power; as, "plenipotentiary license; plenipotentiary ministers."

noun:
1. A person invested with full power to transact any business; especially, an ambassador or diplomatic agent with full power to negotiate a treaty or to transact other business.

There were two accounts, one in a news article, the second in the editorial section, telling the minihistory of Pol Pot, sometime plenipotentiary ruler of Cambodia.
-- William F. Buckley Jr., The Redhunter

At that time, Egypt was our protectorate, which meant the High Commissioner was the plenipotentiary of George V and carried independent authority.
-- David Freeman, One of Us


Plenipotentiary derives from Latin plenus, "full" + potens, "powerful."



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#12

sesquipedalian \ses-kwuh-puh-DAYL-yuhn\, adjective:
1. Given to or characterized by the use of long words.
2. Long and ponderous; having many syllables.

noun:
1. A long word.

As a sesquipedalian stylist, he can throw a word like 'eponymous" into a sentence without missing a beat.
-- Campbell Patty, "The sand in the oyster", The Horn Book Magazine, May 15, 1996

Plus he has a weakness for what we can mischievously call sesquipedalian excess: Look out for such terms as "epiphenomenal," "diegetic" and "proprioceptive."
-- Jabari Asim, "Reel Pioneer", Washington Post, November 19, 2000

They walk and speak with disdain for common folk, and never miss a chance to belittle the crowd in sesquipedalian put-downs or to declare that their raucous and uncouth behavior calls for nothing less than a letter to the Times, to inform proper Englishmen of the deplorable state of manners in the Colonies.
-- William C. Martin, "Friday Night in the Coliseum", The Atlantic, March 1972

. . .her eccentric family's addiction to sesquipedalians (that big word for "big words"), and her furtive passion for flossy mail-order-catalog prose.
-- David Browne, "Books/The Week", Entertainment Weekly, October 23, 1998


Sesquipedalian comes from Latin sesquipedalis, "a foot and a half long, hence inordinately long," from sesqui, "one half more, half as much again" + pes, ped-, "a foot."



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#4

punctilious \puhnk-TIL-ee-uhs\, adjective:
Strictly attentive to the details of form in action or conduct; precise; exact in the smallest particulars.

The convert who is more punctilious in his new faith than the lifelong communicant is a familiar figure in Catholic lore.
-- Patrick Allit, Catholic Converts

Nicholas showed us his butterfly collection. He had done a splendid job of spreading them (better than I ever have, let alone at his age). I tried to impress upon him the need for punctilious labeling, a tedious business that raises a butterfly from a mere curio to a specimen of scientific value.
-- Robert Michael Pyle, ChASINg Monarchs

Cooper had always been very punctilious about observing the rules laiddown in the . . . brochure.
-- Josef Skvorecky, Two Murders in My Double Life


Punctilious derives from Late Latin punctillum, "a little point," from Latin punctum, "a point," from pungere, "to prick."

from Dictionary.com