word of the day

Michael Wolf - From the Tokyo Compression series

castrate |ˈkasˌtrāt|verb remove the testicles of (a male animal or man).• figurative deprive of power, vitality, or vigor : [as adj. ] ( castrated) the nation is a castrated giant, afraid to really punish subversives.nouna man or male animal whose testicles have been remove

*what does it mean to be

word of the day

exodus |ek-suh-duh s
noun • a going out; a departure or emigration, usually of a large number of people• the Exodus, the departure of the Israelites from Egypt

* so, where are the swallows today? 

word of the day

Fabien de Chavanes - currently exhibited at galerie binôme/Paris

limp(ly) adjectivelacking internal strength or structure; not stiff or firm • having or denoting a book cover that is not stiffened with board.• without energy or will
* because I saw the word twice within two hours in two completely different texts [New Yorker, Feb 28th; Nausea by Sartre] - I was having a bottle of wine by myself, in a London Cafe. Yes, an entire bottle. 

word of the day

teetotal |ˈtēˌtōtl|adjectivechoosing or characterized by abstinence from alcohol teetotalism |-ˌizəm| |ˈtiˈˈtoʊdlˈɪzəm| nounORIGIN mid 19th cent.: emphatic extension of total , apparently first used by Richard Turner, a worker from Preston, England, in a speech (1833)urging total abstinence from all alcohol, rather than mere abstinence from spirits, advocated by some early temperance reformers.

word of the day

Lucy McKenzie

apparatus |ˌapəˈratəs; -ˈrātəs|noun1 the equipment needed for a particular activity or purpose • the organs used to perform a particular bodily function 2 a complex structure within an organization or system 

word of the day

Frizzle  |ˈfrɪzəl| |ˈfrɪz(ə)l|

1. form (hair) into tight curls. [verb]
2. a tight curl in hair. [noun]3. A type of chicken with feathers that curl outwards, rather than laying flat as in most chickens. While many consider the Frizzle to be an entirely separate breed, chickens from all breeds may have a frizzled appearance.

word of the day

Pablo Picasso: Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto

fideism |ˈfēdāˌizəm|noun-
1 the doctrine that knowledge depends on faith or revelation.
2 exclusive reliance in religious matters upon faith, with consequent rejection of appeals to science or philosophy.


*this word of the day is brought to you by Rachel Taylor, the wonderful.

word of the day

Alinka Echeverria

daemon 1 |ˈdēmən| (also daimon)noun1 (in ancient Greek belief) a divinity or supernatural being of a nature between gods and humans.• an inner or attendant spirit or inspiring force.

Daemons are good or benevolent "supernatural beings between mortals and gods, such as inferior divinities and ghosts of dead heroes" (see Plato's Symposium), and differ from the Judeo-Christian usage of demon, a malignant spirit that can seduce, afflict, or possess humans.

word of the day

kaleidoscope |kəˈlīdəˌskōp|nouna toy consisting of a tube containing mirrors and pieces of colored glass or paper, whose reflections produce changing patterns that are visible through an eyehole when the tube is rotated.• [in sing. ] a constantly changing pattern or sequence of objects or elements : the dancers moved in a kaleidoscope of color.

* image: Kandinsky - Movimiento 1

word of the day

quipu |ˈkēpoō; ˈkwipoō|noun
an ancient Inca device for recording information, consisting of variously colored threads knotted in different ways.

word of the day

can you be my . . .

bête noire |ˌbāt ˈnwär; ˌbet|noun ( pl. bêtes noires pronunc. same or |ˈnwärz|)a person or thing that one particularly dislikes : great-uncle Edward was my father's bête noire.ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: French, literally ‘black beast.’

word of the day

a1one -Tehran, Iran

graffiti |grəˈfētē|
plural noun ( sing. -to |-tō|) [treated as sing. or pl. ]


writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place : the walls were covered with graffiti | [as adj. ] a graffiti artist.


write or draw graffiti on (something) : he and another artist graffitied an entire train.


ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from Italian (plural), from graffio ‘a scratch.’

word of the day

ingratiate |inˈgrā sh ēˌāt|verb ( ingratiate oneself)bring oneself into favor with someone by flattering or trying to please them : a social climber who had tried to ingratiate herself with the city gentry.

* a.k.a the other intern, and not me.*

word of the day

newspaper |ˈn(y)oōzˌpāpər|nouna printed publication (usually issued daily or weekly) consisting of folded unstapled sheets and containing news, feature articles, advertisements, and correspondence.• the organization responsible for producing a particular newspaper.• another term for newsprint .

word of the day

provenance |ˈprävənəns|nounthe place of origin or earliest known history of something : an orange rug of Iranian provenance.• the beginning of something's existence; something's origin : they try to understand the whole universe, its provenance and fate.See note at origin .• a record of ownership of a work of art or an antique, used as a guide to authenticity or quality : the manuscript has a distinguished provenance.

word of the day

decadent |ˈdekədənt|

characterized by or reflecting a state of moral or cultural decline.• luxuriously self-indulgent : a decadent soak in a scented bath.a person who is luxuriously self-indulgent.• a member of a group of late 19th-cent. Frenchand English poets associated with the Aesthetic Movement.

word of the day

big⋅ot

–noun

a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion. one who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.

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Origin:
1590–1600; < class="ital-inline">bī God by God

(insulting) word of the day

frump : (noun) A girl or woman regarded as dull, plain, or unfashionable.

Synonyms: dog

Usage: Her hairstyle had not changed since the early 1970s, and she did little to shed her reputation as a frump.