noun
a training technique, used especially among runners, consisting of bursts of intense effort loosely alternating with less strenuous activity.
Fartlek comes from a combination of the Swedish words fart, meaning “speed,” and lek, “play.”
Sure, sure…so you, Mister Dictionary, say. I’m pretty damn positive fartlek is the diminutive form of a Force Five air biscuit. As in:
Asparagus gives me a wee case of the vapors. Nothing serious though—just fartleks.
Quiddity
noun
the essential nature of a thing.
Sorry…wrong. The root here is “quid” as in the British slang for a pound sterling. 100 pence equals one quid. Pence, in this case and just to be clear, should not to be confused with a certain former governor of the state of Indiana who went on to become the ass-lickingest, most soulless, Renfieldian veep of all time. We would never, ever want 100 of this kind of Pence.
So then, what does quiddity really mean? To be, fundamentally, the quintessence of one pound sterling. Yeah, I know zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Not someone you’d date twice.
noun
a feeling of fear, apprehension, or nervousness.
Collywobbles is most likely a coinage based on the words colic and wobble.NOT to be confused with the brill Scottish term, cockwomble, which is often, mega appropriately, used in describing a certain twice impeached, quadrice indicted, shit spouting, rabid, orange id.
* Wobble comes from Low German wabbeln, which is akin to Middle High German wabelen, “to waver.”
* Colic comes from Middle French colique, from Latin colica (passiō), “(suffering) of the colon.”
adjective
noisy, clamorous, or boisterous and difficult to control.
This, THIS, is why I chose not to reproduce—kids are too damn obstreperous. Well, that and there's all my Nf2 horseshit.
Littoral
adjective
of or relating to the shore of a lake, sea, or ocean.
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin littorālis, variant of lītorālis “of the shore,”
I, literally live in a littoral shellfish heaven.
Antepenultimate
adjective
third from the end.
Nope. This is your mother or father’s sister who is your second bestest, favoritest relative. She’s Aunty Penultimate BUT you pronounce aunty as though you’re from the midwest versus Boston. It’s anty (as in the tiny, industrious insect) not awnty.
Pulchritudinous
adjective
physically beautiful; comely.
Maybe it’s just me but the word sounds like it should mean just the opposite. Honestly, roll the damn word around in your mouth. You can’t tell me that Beyoncé or Idris Elba come to mind when you hear or read pulchritudinous.
Latibulate
verb
To hide oneself in a corner
The Latin word latibulum means a “refuge or hiding place of animals.” It derives from the same root that gives us the English word latent, meaning “hidden.”Okay fine. I can go with that but, for some odd reason, when I hear the word in my head, I think labia. FYI, that is NOT the same thing.
Having said that, Anna Freud may have latibulated her labia in London.
Yur welcome.
Good redefinitions -- notably fartlek, but of course Swedish is prone to this kind of thing. I recall hearing of an American woman living in Sweden who was startled when the dishwasher in her apartment flashed the word SLUT on its display after washing dishes, until she found out slut just means "finished" in Swedish.
ReplyDeleteCollywobbles is obviously when Lassie gets drunk and unsteady on her feet, while a quiddity is a casual song about British currency. Antepenultimate is the most extreme possible opposition to writing instruments.
Latibulate means to spout bull in Latin, a favorite habit of very pretentious people.
I’ll never remember collywobble’s by-the-book definition now. It’ll always mean “drunk Lassie…” to me now.
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