Defenestration

de-fen-es-tra-tion (dēˌfenəˈstrāSHən)

noun
1. The act of throwing someone or something out the window.
This was the favorite word of someone I met today. The funniest defenestration story that I've heard lately was about a guy at a party on the eighth floor of a building. He sat next to a window to have a cigarette when an animal hopped into his lap. Upon second glance, he realized it was a skunk, screamed and tossed it out the window. Everyone, who has listened to this story, has said that the hosts of the party should have have warned their guests about this unusual pet.

Synonyms: throw out the window.

noun/slang
1. The act of completely removing Microsoft Windows from a PC in favor of a better OS (typically Linux).
I've f**king had it with this computer. It's time for a defenestration.

Synonyms: throw out the windows.

* Defenestration would also be a good name for this Violent Femmes song.

Doohickey

doo-hic-key* (do͞oˌhikē)

noun
1. A thing (used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one cannot recall).
You're absolutely correct, dear! so far we haven't seen a single good-looking pair of legs...a single sequin-encrusted dohickey ...no firm, rounded breasts! this show is a disaster, complete and utter disaster (modified Frank Zappa lyric)!

Synonyms: dohingy, thingamabobber, thingamadoo, thingamajig, thingamajigger, whatchamacallit.

* Not to be confused with "dohickey," which wordnik.com politely describes as an "alternate" spelling of "doohickey." In other words, you may not remember what the thing is, but you better not forget how to spell the substitute word for it!

Draconian

drac-o-ni-an (drey-koh-nee-uhn, druh-)

adjective
1. Very severe or strict.*
I'm tired of draconian servitude toward schedules. I want to work when I feel like it and board a plane when I feel like it. Fuck it, I don't want to work...
2. Of or resembling a dragon.
This draconian princess cannot be killed by fire!

Synonyms: brutal, cruel, drastic, exorbitant, extreme, heavy-handed, oppressive, rough, severe, strict, very severe.

* This usage of the word takes its root from Draco, a famous lawgiver of Athens, 621 b. c. Used especially in the phrase Draconian punishment.

Dilettante

dil-et-tant-e (dĭlˈĭ-täntˌ, dĭlˌĭ-täntˈ, -tänˈtē, -tăntˈ, -tănˈtē)

noun
1. A dabbler in an art or field of knowledge.
The internet makes us dilettantes in almost everything; from comics to medicine, the reign of the professional has ended.
2. A lover of fine arts, a connoisseur.
Dilettantes owe everything to the Bohemians; little private art galleries and coffeehouses exist solely for their enjoyment.

Synonyms: abdecedarian, aesthete, aficionado, amateur, aspirant, cognoscente, connoisseur, dabbler, dallier, greenhorn, hobbyist, learner, neophyte, nonprofessional, noob, putterer, rookie, smatterer, tenderfoot, the ungifted man, trifler, tyro, uninitiate.

Dysphoria

dys-phor-i-a (dĭs-fôrˈē-ə, -fōrˈ-)

noun
1. A gloomy, miserable feeling.
Though I try to tell myself you aren't suffering anymore, it's me steeped in the dysphoria of a world, a life, without you.

Synonyms: anguish, dejection, disconsolateness, distress, dolor, emo-tastic, funk, gloominess, grief, heartache, melancholy, misery, mournfulness, sorrow, tribulation, woe.

Dandle

dan-dle

verb
1. Moving a small child up and down with your knees or arms in a playful way.
2. To pet affectionately.
Dads and mother pandas become the sweetest things in the world with a baby to dandle in their arms.

Synonyms: bounce, bundle, cosset, cuddle, curl up, embrace, enfold, hold, hug, love, nestle, nuzzle, pet, snuggle.

Dentophobia

den-to-pho-bi-a (dnto--fb-)

noun
1. Fear of dentists.
Ever since my dentist removed one of my wisdom teeth, without waiting for the anesthetic to kick in, I've suffered from extreme dentophobia.


Synonyms: a realistic level of caution regarding all members of the most sadistic profession on earth.

Decorous

de-cor-ous (dkr-s OR d-kôrs, -kr-)

adjective
1. A Well Respected Man.
Aside from a few rowdies at the back, a decorous group of young people attended the Kinks concert.
2. Demonstrates an understanding and respect for social convention and general appropriateness.
He found the evening very dull because she was so decorous that she seemed dull and overly conventional. Little did he know, she found her need to adhere to decorum (a word that is closely linked to decorous) almost imprisoning.


Synonyms: becoming, befitting, boring, civilized, comely, conforming, conventional, decent demure, dignified, formal, good, mannerly, meet, moral, polite, prim, proper, punctilious, refined, respectable, sedate, seemly, well-behaved.