WoW: Illaqueate
ILLAQUEATE - to entrap, or entangle [From Latin illequeare, with prefix il- (in) + laqueare (to ensnare), from laqueus (noose)] An insurance policy's small print tends to illaqueate the unwary.
WoW: Chope
CHOPE [show-PAY] - to reserve a table or cafe nook by depositing a personal item upon the surface [Singapore slang via the 'chup' cry in Malay gameplay, requesting a halt or the retraction of a point, possibly from Hindi - cup: silence!] Incidental items, such as a book or even tissue can be used to chope a niche.
WoW: Sfumato
SFUMATO - painting technique that blurs the lines or colour shifts, replicating our own perception of the world [Via Italian, sfumare to shade off, deriving from Latin, fumare: to smoke] From Da Vinci's faces to Turner's clouds, artists have been relying on the subtlety of sfumato.
WoW: Mondo
MONDO - (in Zen Buddhism) a question directed to a student where an immediate response is needed, the spontaneity often illuminating for both master and learner. [From Japan mondō, equivalent to Mandarin, wèn inquire + dá reply] Mondo is the Zen equivalent to word association.
WoW: Digital Removalist
DIGITAL REMOVALIST - person hired to cull any content from a person’s social media posts that may harm their reputation [Neologism] Job applicants would be wise to seek the services of a digital removalist.
WoW: Verecund
VERECUND – modest; bashful; extremely shy [From Latin verēcundus diffident, from verērī to fear] The hospital interne was verecund to a point of introvert.
WoW: Taonga
TAONGA - cultural treasure, either tangible or intagible [From te reo Maori, translating as treasure] Taonga may apply to anything a people prize, be that ideas, resources, crafts or sacred objects.
WoW: Kwashiorkor
KWASHIORKOR [kwash-ee-OR-kah] - acute malnutrition of infants and young children, especially soon after weaning [From a native Ghana word] A life-or-death matter, kwashiorkor arises from a dietary deficiency of protein.
WoW: Schleifer
SCHLEIFER [SHLY-fur] - ten-pin bowling strike where every pin seems to fall down singly in a sequence [Sporting slang from German, literally 'grinder' or 'cutter'] Nerve-racking to watch, a schliefer encapsulates domino theory in action.
WoW: Fanum Tax
FANUM TAX - (slang, humorous) a portion of food taken from a friend's plate without asking first. [Named after Bronx-born YouTuber Roberto 'Fanum' Gonzalez who popularised the prank on Kai Cenat's Twitch platform.] French fries or potato wedges are the common costs of Fanum tax.
WoW: Palapa
PALAPA - a basic shack, or open-sided shelter, with a thatched roof made of dried palm leaves. [perh. ‹ MexSp: a kind of palm tree] Integral to most beachside cantinas of Mexico is the adjacent relief of a palapa.
WoW: Colexify
COLEXIFY - to ascribe multiple meaning to the same word [From Latin co- (joint) plus, Greek, lexikon, dictionary] Rather than coin new words, we often colexify common words - like set or run - with yet another sense.
WoW: Gottle O' Geer
GOTTLE O' GEER - any ventriloquy utterance compromised in clarity, owing to the suppression of labial consonants [Mimicry of the notoriously difficult 'bottle of beer'] Glinky Gill is the gottle o' geer version of Blinky Bill.
WoW: Meeple
MEEPLE - human-shaped figurine (or figurines) used in a board-game. [Blend of 'my people', attributed to American Alison Hansel, a keen player of Carcassonne, in 2000.] Game theorists quibble whether bishop chesspieces qualify as meeple.
WoW: Carioca
CARIOCA - Rio resident; samba variant; sideways dance step where one leg crosses the other. [Literally 'white house' in Tupi, a native language of Brazil.] The carioca equivalent can be seen in equestrian events.
WoW: Pommer's Law
POMMER'S LAW - a rule stating, 'A person's mind can be changed by reading info online, whereby the nature of this change will be from having no opinion to having a wrong opinion.' [Named after Wiki contributor, Rob Pommer in early 2007] Public health policies can be hampered by volatile lobby groups, swung via Pommer's Law
WoW: Festucine
FESTUCINE [fair-STOO-sign] - straw-coloured; greenish-yellow [From Latin festula - stalk or straw, the same origin of fescue, a teacher's pointer.] Sauvignon blanc is festucine.
WoW: Dumaresq
DUMARESQ - mechanical device gauging the speed of an enemy ship, or missile. [Named after its inventor RN Lieutenant John Dumaresq who applied a set of sliding and rotating bars to emulate the motion of two ships.] The dumaresq was used during both World Wars as a complement to the Vickers range clock.
WoW: Khedda
KHEDDA (or khedah or keddah) - an enclosure into which wild elephants are driven to be captured; an elephant trap [From Hindi] The khedda is the sheep pen of the savannah.
WoW: Act blur
ACT BLUR - feign ignorance [From Singlish - or Singapore English] Different from the general blur of New Year's Eve, to act blur is to pretend oblivion about a divisive or shaming topic.
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