obnubilate
v. to cloud or obscure
Language
Active Voice
In 2004, French writer Michel Dansel published The Train from Nowhere, a 233-page novel written entirely without verbs.
He even organized a funeral for the verb at Sorbonne in Paris, calling it the “invader, dictator, usurper of our literature.” No word where it’s interred.
In a Word
hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
n. fear of long words
Snap, Crackle, Pop
The sound of Rice Krispies in other languages:
- Finnish: “Riks! Raks! Poks!”
- French: “Cric! Crac! Croc!”
- German: “Knisper! Knasper! Knusper!”
- Swedish: “Piff! Paff! Puff!”
- Spanish: “Pim! Pum! Pam!”
In 2002, pollster Kellyanne Conway found that most Americans could name the three elves but could not name any three of the nine sitting Supreme Court justices.
In a Word
astrologaster
n. a foolish or petty astrologer
Fitting
DORMITORY is an anagram of DIRTY ROOM.
Lingua Franca
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
“Whatever is said in Latin seems profound.”
In a Word
claustrophilia
n. the liking of small, enclosed spaces
In a Word
deipnosophy
n. learned dinner conversation
In a Word
antichthon
n. hypothetical second Earth on the opposite side of the sun