Saturday, February 16, 2013

Percontation

per-con-ta-tion

noun
1. A question or inquiry which requires more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
Twenty Questions is a game of percontations; a percontation point, however, is punctuation used for irony.

Synonyms: backwards question mark.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Effete

effete (ɛˈfiːt)

adjective
1. impotent.
In effete attempts to prove their virility, so many set out to lure a woman to bed, when the real adventure is loving her.

Synonyms: barren, crippled, dud, enervated, enfeebled, feeble, forceless, frail, gutless, helpless, inadequate, incapable, incapacitated, incompetent, ineffective, ineffectual, inept, infecund, infirm, nerveless, paper tiger, paralyzed, powerless, prostrate, sterile, unfruitful, unproductive, weak.
2. Of material substances: That has lost its special quality or virtue; exhausted, worn out.
To the bitter, be that through a lack of love or exhaustion by society's gross tendency toward commercialization, the valentine has grown effete.

Synonyms: crapulous, decadent, epicurean, gluttonous, gourmandizing, greedy, hedonistic, immoderate, lush, parsimonious, sybaritic.

3. Figuratively of persons in an intellectual sense, of systems, etc.: That has exhausted its vigour and energy; incapable of efficient action. Also, of persons: weak, ineffectual; degenerate.
And just when the appeal of punny valentines cards seemed effete, we have dictators!



Synonym: bankrupt, burn out , conk out, cripple, debilitate, disable, do in, drain, draw, enervate, enfeeble, fag, fatigue, frazzle, impoverish, overdo, overexert, overextend, overfatigue,overtire, overwork, peter out, poop, poop out, prostrate, run ragged, sap, suck dry, tucker,use up, weaken, wear down, weary.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Prurient

prur-i-ent (ˈpruriənt)

adjective
1. Exhibiting or characterized by excessive or inappropriate desire or interest; overly curious.
As Walt Disney once said, when you're prurient, you can find lots of interesting things to do! Okay, maybe those weren't his words.

2. Lascivious, lewd; exhibiting or characterized by an excessive or inappropriate concern with sexual matters; encouraging such a concern.
Filth is in the mind of the beholder; from the right angle, everything is prurient. 
A face agog might signify a prurient mind!

Synonyms: bawdy, carnal, crude, desirous, erotic, fleshly,horny, hot, lecherous, lewd, libertine, libidinous, licentious, lustful, obscene, offensive, orgiastic, pornographic, raunchy, salacious, sensual, sexual, smutty, suggestive, unchaste, vulgar.

3. Causing an itching or stinging sensation. 
Hey you, out there in the cold getting lonely, getting old, can you feel me? Hey you, standing in the aisles with prurient feet and fading smiles, can you feel me?*

Synonyms: crawling, crawly, prickling, tickling, tingling.

*I'm aware that those are not the actual words to the Pink Floyd song, but you get it.