Word of the day September 18
 

The Word of the Day for September 18 is:

de minimis • \dee-MIH-nih-miss\ • (adjective) lacking significance or importance; so minor as to merit disregard

A little more information about today’s word:
Proponents of readable prose over jargon and legalese might argue that the last thing 20th-century American jurisprudence needed was another Latin term. Yet here we have a legal term that entered English only around 1950. Perhaps we should clarify: the legal doctrine of "de minimis non curat lex" ("the law does not concern itself with trifling matters") has been around for awhile, but use of "de minimis" on its own is relatively recent. At first, the shortened phrase was simply used to refer to the legal doctrine itself ("the de minimis rule"). Then it came to be used more broadly as an adjective ("de minimis contacts with the defendant"). Finally, "de minimis" leaked out of the courtroom and into the world at large.

My sentence:
"The likelihood that I’m going to win the lottery is de minimis," said the struggling young law student, "so I don’t expect to be buying that luxury yacht I’ve got my eye on anytime soon."

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

Do you want the large, or de minimis ?

Making de minimis payments on high interest debt is a really bad idea.

Although they were missing a thousand dollars, Genereal Motors considered it de minimis and ignored it.

People are often afraid of things that have a de minimis chance of happening.

I much prefer the RIAA's "egregious". :)

Word of the day September 19
 

The Word of the Day for September 19 is:

malinger • \muh-LING-gur\ • (verb) to pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness (as to avoid duty or work)

A little more information about today’s word:
Do you know someone who always seems to develop an ailment when there's work to be done? Someone who merits an Academy Award for his or her superb simulation of symptoms? Then you know a malingerer. The verb "malinger" comes from the French word "malingre," meaning "sickly," and one who malingers feigns illness. In its earliest uses in the 19th century, "malinger" usually referred to a soldier or sailor pretending to be sick or insane to shirk duty. Later, psychologists began using "malingering" as a clinical term to describe the feigning of illness in avoidance of a duty or for personal gain. Today, "malinger" is used in just about any context in which someone fakes sickness or injury to get out of an undesirable task.

My sentence:
When Kim called in sick on yet another beautiful summer day, her boss began to suspect she was malingering.

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

I malinger here a while longer; thereby making the boss think I’ve been working overtime on this stupid project.

In Dan's office people were so afraid of being accused of malingering, the they would come to work sick.

The teacher suspected many of the students were malingering when they didn't show up on the day their paper was due.

I must be malingering my insanity to be replying to this post.

Heh. Only kiddin', of course.

He who habitually procrasinates is surely one who shamelessly malingers when work is to be done.

Despite his obssession with demonic themes, he hangs a froufrou poster of ballerinas in the far corner of the room.

Amid the quietus of the rowdy crowd, the candidate was finally able to speak.

Ever relying on his compadre to bail him out of trouble, the two shared fond adventures together.

No amount of ratiocination can ever prepare humanity from the wraths of a madman.

He who shamelessly malingers is surely one who habitually procrastinatates when WORK is to be done.

TALKIN' BOUT

This paladin shall cleanse this unholy land.

:)

Let us dine and be plentiful in viands as we welcome and celebrate our very honored guest tonight!

Arr matey! Ye be savvy or ye be visiting Davy Jone's Locker, ye swashbuckler!

After much anticipation, the lovestruck couple osculated the night away.

Pbbbbbhhtttt! :p

While malingering around the house, I checked my word of the day from Marriam-Webster and it was yuppify.

What kind of word is yuppify?

to make appealing to yuppies; also : to infuse with the qualities or values of yuppies

I kid you not.

Hmm.. now to look up yuppies..

Word of the day September 22
 

The Word of the Day for September 22 is:

agita • \AJ-uh-tuh\ • (noun) a feeling of agitation or anxiety

A little more information about today’s word:
Judging by its spelling and meaning, you might think that "agita" is simply a shortened version of "agitation," but that's not the case. Both "agitation" and the verb "agitate" derive from the Latin "agere" ("to drive"). "Agita," which first appeared in English in the early 1980s, comes from a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian "acido," meaning "heartburn" or "acid," which derives from the Latin "acidus." For a while its usage in American English was limited to New York City and surrounding regions, but the word became more widespread in the mid-90s.

My sentence:
The prosecuting attorney’s aggressive cross-examination seemed to give the defendant agita.

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition.

Next sentence?

The oncoming hurricane created a state of agita among the residents.

Being in Jane's presence always put Jack in a state of agita.

My altitude was so incredibly high during that test flight, I felt like I was on the agita world!

Mom mastered the art of nagging -- delivering relentless blows of agita to the household.

Word of the day September 23
 

The Word of the Day for September 23 is:

bright-line • \BRYTE-lyne\ • (adjective) providing an unambiguous criterion or guideline especially in law

A little more information about today’s word:
In the first half of the 20th century, courts began referring to a "bright line" that could or could not be drawn to make clear-cut distinctions between legal issues, such as a bright line to distinguish negligence from nonnegligence. Early users may have been influenced by the term "bright line," used by physicists to refer to the distinct color lines in the light spectrum. Before that, judges were content with wording that was more prosaic, such as "line of demarcation." In the second half of the 20th century, we began using "bright-line" as an adjective. Nonlegal types looking for unambiguous distinctions in other walks of life took a shine to "bright-line" sometime in the 1980s.

My sentence:
While there is no bright-line rule, cost spreads of more than five percent
are considered excessive for certain municipal bonds.

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition.

Next sentence?

Jim's attorney argued that there was no bright-line law saying that what he did was illegal.

Since his boss saw him at the mall that day, he was not too
bright-line about being too sick to work that day.

There seems to no bright-line between selfishness and self interest.

Word of the day September 24
 

The Word of the Day for September 24 is:

chasten • \CHAY-sun\ • (verb) 1. to correct by punishment or suffering; discipline; 2. to cause to be more humble or restrained; subdue

A little more information about today’s word:
If you say you would castigate or chastise someone in order to chasten them, you demonstrate a good knowledge of the origin of "chasten"—all three verbs derive from the Latin verb "castigare," meaning "to punish." The verb trio share an initial sense of "to subject to severe and often physical punishment," but all three are now as likely to refer to a verbal dressing-down as a physical lesson. "Chasten" (which arrived in English via the Anglo-French "chastier") can also be used to mean "to prune (as a work of art) of excess, pretense, or falsity." This led to the more general sense of "to make more subdued," although the humility can be imposed by a humiliating situation as easily as by a strict taskmaster.

My sentence (using definition #2):
The humiliation of having to ask his parents for help chastened Jim, but made him wiser about spending his money.

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

After a 30 point loss, the team, that normally likes to run up the score on opponents, felt chastened.

Dave was chastened when he had to ask his 13 year old son to help fix a mess he had made with the computer.

You got to admit, it's pretty funny anytime you see a dog chasten his tail.

Word of the day September 25
 

The Word of the Day for September 25 is:

eighty-six • \ay-tee-SIKS\ • (verb) slang: to refuse to serve (a customer); also to get rid of; throw out

A little more information about today’s word:
In the early 1900s, people began using the verb "nix" to mean "to veto" or "to reject." Approximately 50 years later the verb "eighty-six," which may have been created as a rhyming slang word for "nix," began popping up in the lingo of restaurant and bar employees. If you work in a restaurant or bar, you might eighty-six (or "eliminate") an item from the menu offerings, or you might eighty-six (or "cut off") a customer who should no longer be served. "Eighty-six" is still used in this specific context, but it has also entered the general language. These days, you don’t have to be a worker in a restaurant or bar to eighty-six something—you just have to be someone with something to get rid of or discard.

My sentence:
"I think it's about time you eighty-sixed those sneakers, before they simply disintegrate," Ben's mother informed him.

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

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