Welcome
to
The Q WORD ARCHIVES
If
you really need to sharpen up your SAT skills, or if you just
need to impress the new boss or that blind date you're going
on tonight, you've come to the right place. I've taken pains
to collect some of the most unusual, uncommon, and just plain
cool words in the English language, and I've put them all
in one place - here. You can search by subject or part of
speech, or just browse by letter.
Download a list of all 89 words in the Archives:
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WORDS OF THE MONTH
February 2007 : words that sound silly
| widdershins
(WI-dur-shinz) - adverb |
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1. in a direction opposite to the usual; the wrong way; counterclockwise
2. in a direction contrary to the apparent course of the sun (considered as unlucky or causing disaster)
"The coracle whirled round, clockwise, then widdershins." (Anthony Bailey)
* Likely from the Middle Low German weddersinnes, literally "against the way"
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| boondoggle
(BOON-daw-gul) - noun, verb |
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1. a braided cord worn by Boy Scouts as a hatband or ornament
2. a wasteful or impractical project often involving graft
3. verb : to do useless, wasteful, or trivial work
4. verb : to deceive or attempt to deceive
Enron's CEO was jailed for boondoggling investors.
* Perhaps coined by R.H. Link, American scoutmaster, as a name for definition 1.
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| tenterhook (TEN-tur-hook) - noun |
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1.
a sharp, hooked nail for fastening cloth to a tenter
2. something that causes suffering or painful suspense
Fans of thrillers enjoy being kept on tenterhooks until the final minutes.
* From the Middle English teyntur, from medieval Latin tentura, from tenta, "tent"
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