Word Of The Day

[Altobelli]

HEDONISM noun (heed-n-iz-uh m)

noun

1. devotion to pleasure as a way of life: The later Roman emperors were notorious for their hedonism.

2. the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good.

Quotes

In everyday language, the term "hedonism" denotes an amoral tendency to a life of sensuality if not of outright vice.
--*Milan Kundera,*Slowness, translated by Linda Asher, 1996

Not surprisingly, his many children loathed their father's miserly ways and spent their adulthoods compensating with unbridled hedonism, which aged them prematurely and generated crushing debt.
--*J. Robert Lennon,*"Wake," Pieces for the Left Hand, 2005



Origin

Hedonism is a modern word derived from Greek hēdonḗ “pleasure, enjoyment.” The Greek noun derives from the Greek root hēd- (and hād- and hwād- in dialects). The Greek roots reflect the Proto-Indo-European root swād- “sweet, pleasant,” represented in Latin by suāvis “sweet” and suādēre “to persuade,” and in Germanic by Old English swēte (modern English sweet), Old High German swuozi (modern German süss). Hedonism entered English in the 19th century.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

I live a hedonistic lifestyle on a pittance. No idea how I do it, but Hey Ho!

[Altobelli]

I live a hedonistic lifestyle on a pittance. No idea how I do it, but Hey Ho!

Caligula MK 11 BT

[Altobelli]

TRUE-BLUE adjective (troo-bloo)

adjective

1. unwaveringly loyal or faithful; staunch; unchangingly true.

Quotes

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen rode into town in the 1950s on the new main street of the United States, the television set, like a true-blue American hero.
--*Paul Vitello,*"Remembrance, and Maybe Sainthood, for Bishop Fulton J. Sheen," New York Times, December 9, 2009

... Mehmet had a great sense of humor and was a true-blue friend.
--*Orhan Pamuk,*The New Life, translated by Güneli Gün, 1997



Origin

There are several theories about the origin of the phrase true-blue. One is that the phrase derives from the blue cloth made in Coventry, England, in the late Middle Ages (ca. 1500). The dyers of the town had a reputation for producing cloth that didn't fade with washing but remained colorfast, or “true.” The phrase is also associated with the Covenanters (Scottish Presbyterians) of the 17th century, whose flag, a white St. Andrew’s Cross on a blue field (still the national flag of Scotland), was in opposition to the red scarves of the Royalist cavalry. The sense of “steadfast loyalty” was adopted especially by conservative political parties. The phrase entered English in the 17th century.

[Altobelli]

KEYSMASH noun (kee-smash)

noun

1. a random string of letters and symbols typed out on a keyboard or touchscreen, used to signal intense emotion in written communication: The photo of the actor was accompanied by a heartfelt keysmash.

2. the action of typing out such a random string of letters or symbols: Keysmash was the only appropriate response.
verb
1. to use keysmashes to signal intense emotion in written communication: I was so excited I couldn’t stop keysmashing.


Quotes

A close relative of “I can’t even” is the keysmash, a string of actual gibberish — asdf;lkl, maybe — meant to signal that the typist has become so excited that she has lost control of her fingers.
--*Amanda Hess,*"When You 'Literally Can't Even' Understand Your ****ager," New York Times, June 9, 2015

How much respect can you have for a civilization whose notation for all years after 2000 sounds like Hanson single? MM...CIV! MM...LI! MMXIV! And that's neater than it was last century. MCMLXIV? It looks like a keysmash.
--*Alexandra Petri,*"Super Bowl 50 is right. Roman numerals, good riddance!" Washington Post, June 9, 2014



Origin

Keysmash combines the words key (referring to a keyboard) and smash “to hit or strike (something) with force.” It entered English in the mid- to late 1990s.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Theresa Phooking May had a proper KEYSMASH last night! OMG she is phooking useless!

Her sense of entitlement is nauseating!

[Altobelli]

We have to live with it (her) BT, the trouble is there is no one out there who is more decent or has the bollox to drastically change our Country which is sinking in the mire for all to see.

[Altobelli]

PUFFERY noun (puhf-uh-ree)

noun

1. undue or exaggerated praise.
2. publicity, acclaim, etc., that is full of undue or exaggerated praise.

Quotes

The one TV critic whom no one is paranoid about is the Times's otherworldly right-winger, John Corry, who wrote a piece praising the universally excoriated debut of 48 Hours one week and then, having been lambasted for this puffery by his fellow Timesmen, wrote a piece the following week, before an episode of the show had aired, recanting his praise.
--*Charles Pooter,*"Calling All Critics," Spy, April 1988

He was all concern and sympathy and told me how much he admired me standing up for my home and family, and somehow all that puffery ended up with me being told that there's no way the party could support me this election cycle.
--*John Scalzi,*Lock In, 2014



Origin

The word puffery has always meant “excessive, fulsome praise.” In the US puffery has legal or quasi-legal status. In 1957 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that puffery was “frequently used to denote the exaggerations reasonably to be expected of a seller as to the degree of quality of his product, the truth or falsity of which cannot be precisely determined." And in 1984 the FTC stated that puffery, e.g, all that French on a restaurant menu, does not authorize enforcement by the FTC: "The Commission generally will not pursue cases involving obviously exaggerated or puffing representations, i.e., those that the ordinary consumers do not take seriously." Puffery entered English in the 18th century.

[Altobelli]

CENTENARIAN noun (sen-tn-air-ee-uh n)

noun

1. a person who has reached the age of 100.

adjective

1. pertaining to or having lived 100 years.

Quotes

Allan cut across the churchyard to the south, until a stone wall appeared in his path. It wasn't more than three feet high, but Allan was a centenarian, not a high jumper.
--*Jonas Jonasson,*The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, translated by Rod Bradbury, 2012

A spry centenarian, he still drives and is known for his sharp sense of humor.
--*"Milestones: Rotarians in Action," Rotarian, June 2002



Origin

Centenarian comes from the Latin adjective centēnārius “consisting of a hundred” but in classical Latin refers to measurements or solid things (e.g., 100-pound boulders for hurling in a ballista, an ancient artillery piece) but not to persons. The senses of “lasting a hundred years, a hundred years old" is a development in Late Latin. Centēnārius is a derivative of the adjective centēnī “a hundred each, a hundred,” and may be used for persons. It is all too easy (and reasonable) to think that centenarian should be spelled centennarian (i.e., with two n’s) on the analogy of centennial, bicentennial, etc., in which the -enn is a combining form from the noun annus “year.” Centenarian entered English in the mid-18th century.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

You are almost there Alto!