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.

Exegesis

ex-e-ge-sis (eksiˈjēsis)

noun
1. The interpretation of any literary passage, but especially scripture.
Although it ignores the patriarchal heterosexistist tradition, my exegesis of the passage "Thou shalt not lie with a woman as thou wouldst lie with a man" is that God loves the lesbians! The movie, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, is evidence that I'm not alone in that interpretation.

Synonyms: criticism, hermeneutics, interpretation, literary criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, reading, revealing, unmasking.

Earhorn

ear-horn (ərhôrn)

noun
1. A passive funnel-like amplification cone designed to gather sound energy and direct it into the ear canal.
My favorite use of an earhorn in English literature is when Reepicheep tries to introduce Eustace Scrub to an elderly dwarf using an earhorn. Of course, the dwarf mishears Eustace's first name and asks, with some indignation and a little bit of snark, "Useless? If he's useless, why did you bring him to me?"

Synonyms: bone anchored hearing aid, cochlear implant, ear horn,* ear trumpet, hearing aid.

2. An eggcorn for eggcorn.
An earhorn is idiosyncratic substitution of a word or phrase that also bears a phonetic likeness.

Synonyms: eggcorn.

* Sometimes, I just like to make words into compound words.

Enneagram

en-ne-ag-ram (ˈɛnɪəgram)

noun
1. A nine-pointed stellate polygon (that is often endowed with mystical traits).
Dude on the left: With that winged orb below it, the sun looks like a ennagram.
Dude on the right: Dude! You're right! Enneagrams must be endowed with mystical traits!
Dude on the left: Dude, I was just saying what it looks like, but your reaction tells me so much about your personality.
Dude on the right: Are those angels?
2. Such a figure used to indicate nine personality traits of a subject.
For the purpose of writing this blog and proving to myself that I am not an asshole, just because my sister writes nasty letters describing how difficult I can be to get along with, I took an enneagram test. Apparently, I am have a generous and submissive personality type. HA! (My answers appear below.)

Synonyms: probably something to do with crystal therapy.

Ebullient

ebullient (-blynt, -bl-)

adjective
1. Zestfully enthusiastic.
In my travels, I've noticed that some provinces are more ebullient about Canada Day than others. Ontario basically shuts down, so everyone can party. In British Columbia, only government, schools and banks close down because hippies are often last minute about this kind of thing and need to buy beer and things with maple leafs on them at the last minute. In Quebec, it's just like any other day.
2. Boiling or bubbling.
I suspect there are other ebullient sentiments circling about Quebec on Canada Day.*

Synonyms: aflame, animated, charged, delighted, eager, enthusiastic, fired up, frantic, high, hyper, piqued, ruffled, steamed up, stirred, thrilled, tumultuous, wild, wired.


* They have good reasons to be pissed off (as does this kitty) and differing opinions are good for keeping history even sort of realistic.

Eloign

e-loign (ĭ-loinˈ)

verb (archaic)
1. To remove something a long distance.
You won't realize the great distance you have eloigned, until you look around and realize how far you've been.

Synonyms: 500 Miles, emigrate, immigrate, journey, travel, migrate.

Eidolon

ei-do-lon (ī-dōˈlən)

noun
1. A winged figure from Greek art (especially phases). This creature is usually part human, like a harpie.
In LARPing,* a good BBEG** would be an eidolon that keeps showing up.
2. A ghostly reflection or apparition.
On Friday the thirteenth, eidolons appear in shop windows as you pass. Don't stay out too late or the eidolons will get you!

Synonyms: apparition, banshee, boogie, demon, devil, ethereal being, harpie, haunt, kelpie, phantom, poltergeist, shade, shadow, spectre, spook, vision, wraith.

* LARP stands for Live Action Role Play.
** BBEG stands for Big Bad Evil Guy. My extensive research (about five minutes or so) points to the fact that eidolons are definitely big bad evil guys.

Easterling

eas-ter-ling (ēˈstərlĭng)

archaic/slang
1. Medieval English silver pennies.
2. An old European term for the Baltic merchants/traders.
Yo, yo! Can you hook me up wid some easterlings? Some easterling is comin' gonna hook me up wid some timber and some ale and dat sucker's gonna wanna get paid, yo!

Synonyms: old stuff to do with money and East-West travel.

noun
1. The common widgeon.
2. The smew or white nun.
The rare birds known as easterlings are as probable an explanation as any as to why ducks are part of Easter.

Synonyms: duck.

Eggcorn

egg-corn (ĕgkôrn)

noun
1. A linguistic term for an idiosyncratic substitution of a word or phrase that also bears a phonetic likeness.
Skimp milk is one of my favorite eggcorns.

Synonyms: earhorn.

* If you like eggcorns, I encourage you to check out this forum.

Execrate

ex-e-crate (ĕkˈsĭ-krātˌ)

verb
1. To feel and/or declare a loathing for, or even curse, a thing.
It's all fine and dandy for everyone I know to execrate Harper, so long as they don't allow him to be elected into office again!

Synonyms: abhor, abominate, accurse, anathematize, censure, condemn, curse, damn, denounce, deplore, despise, detest, elect prime minister/president, excoriate, imprecate, loathe, objurgate, reprehend, reprove, revile, vilify.

Eccedentesiast

ec-ce-dent-es-i-ast

noun
1. A person who fakes a smile.
After her last break-up, Lily Allen became an expert eccedentesiast.

Synonyms: talk-show host/ess.

* Is eccedentesiasism a form of self-medication or even a real word?

Éclat

é-clat ('clt)

adjective
1. Fame and/or success through achievement and/or effort.
As of last night, I am an éclat amateur novelist, having completed my first draft of my first novel!
2. Conspicuous success.
My night was full of éclat celebrations because my best friend got his film in a local film festival and the band we went to see won an M award, whatever that is, but... YAY!
3. The archaic definition of this word is scandalous notoriety.
I think all of the éclat celebrators secretly hope for a little of that in the future... *wink-wink, nudge-nudge*

Synonyms: acclaim, celebrity, distinction, fame, glory, honour, kudos, luster, mark, note, notoriety, preeminence, prestige, prominence, successful, winning!

* I've noticed that I don't listen to a lot of celebratory music, but felt a need to include something, so here's Celebration Guns by the Stars.