Creative vocabulary makes for inspired speech.And having the right word at hand is like having the right tool for the job.So my most worn and dog-eared reference book is a thesaurus.
As we close out the year, I will divert from political analysis and share my most recent collection of intriguing terms; a jog through jargon; the art of argot; the pleasance of parlance:
arrogate | 'ar??gat |
verb
take or claim (something) for oneself without justification
Statists arrogate powers not enumerated in the Constitution.
perennial | p?'rene?l |
adjective
lasting or existing for a long or apparently infinite time; enduring or continually recurring
Benghazi, Fast and Furious, IRS targeting, Extortion 17, Rosengate, GSA partying, and Solyndra are floats on the administration’s perennial scandal parade.
phantasmagorical
adjective
dreamlike, psychedelic, kaleidoscopic, surreal, unreal, hallucinatory, fantastic, fantastical, chimerical
Susan Rice’s story that an obscure video caused the Benghazi attack was a phantasmagorical representation.
force majeure |?fôrs mä'ZH?r |
noun
unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract.
The force majeure of truth has superseded promises to Americans that they can keep their current health care plans and doctors – period.
laconic | l?'känik |
adjective
(of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words
The White House Press Corps keeps hoping for a laconic reply from Jay Carney on any of the perennial scandals from the Obama Administration.
inveigh | in'va |
verb
speak or write about (something) with great hostility
Sarah Palin is brutally inveighed for coming across as simultaneously unsophisticated and wise.
subterfuge | 's?bt?r?fyo?oj |
noun
deceit used in order to achieve one's goal
Barack Obama, subterfuge.
mountebank | 'mounti?baNGk |
noun
a person who deceives others, esp. in order to trick them out of their money; a charlatan;a person who sold patent medicines in public places.
Barack Obama, mountebank.
limbic system | 'limbik |
noun
a complex system of nerves and networks in the brain, involving several areas near the edge of the cortex concerned with instinct and mood. It controls the basic emotions (fear, pleasure, anger) and drives (hunger, sex, dominance, care of offspring).
Liberals suffer the condition of reasoning with their limbic system.
soliloquy | s?'lil?kwe |
noun
an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, esp. by a character in a play
The ability to actually have a soliloquy moment has been all but eliminated by the ever-present observations of the NSA.
vituperation | v??t(y)o?op?'raSH?n |
noun
bitter and abusive language
Congressman Trey Gowdy delivers the most constructive examples of vituperation while questioning IRS leadership during hearings for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
asceticism | ?'seti?siz?m |
noun
severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons
Respect for the Tenth Amendment would seem to Harry Reid as asceticism.
recherché| r??SHer'SHa, r?'SHer?SHa |
adjective
rare, exotic, or obscure
The actions of Democratic Party leadership are perhaps a bit recherché for the average Democratic Party voter.
coda |'kod? |
noun
the concluding passage of a musical piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure;a concluding event, remark, or section
A Hillary Clinton presidency would serve as a coda for the Bill Clinton administration.
muckraking |'m?k?rakiNG |
noun
the action of searching out and publicizing scandalous information about famous people in an underhanded way
Nothing keeps good people from serving in public office like the threat of personal muckraking.
stochastic | st?'kastik |
adjective
randomly determined; having a random probability distribution or pattern that may be analyzed statistically but may not be predicted precisely
Surely, 21st Century technology could offer stochastic congressional redistricting to put an end to the practice of gerrymandering.
Scupper| 'sk?p?r |
verb
sink (a ship or its crew) deliberately; thwart
While insurance companies supported Obamacare with the promise of new customers, the actual intent is to scupper their industry.
codicil | 'käd?s?l, -?sil |
noun
an addition or supplement that explains, modifies, or revokes a will or part of one
The 13th Amendment was the codicil that put an end to the Democratic Party’s longstanding argument for preserving slavery.
rueful | 'roof?l |
adjective
expressing sorrow or regret, esp. when in a slightly humorous way
Staring at the net amount of his first paycheck, the recent grad was rueful regarding his history as a College Democrat.
docent |'dos?nt |
noun
a person who acts as a guide, typically on a voluntary basis, in a museum, art gallery, or zoo.
Over $54 million is being spent to hire docents who will navigate citizens through the awkward process of signing up for Obamacare.
abreaction |?abre'ak sh ?n |
noun
the expression and consequent release of a previously repressed emotion, achieved through reliving the experience that caused it
Inspector General Russell George paused in abreaction during his testimony before Congress on the IRS scandal.
pettifog |'pete?fôg |
verb
quibble about petty points
Hillary Clinton called it pettifogging with, “What difference, at this point, does it make?”
lacuna | l?'k(y)oon? |
noun
an unfilled space or interval; a gap
There remains a glaring lacuna in Eric Holder’s testimony on Fast and Furious.
theodicy | THe'äd?se |
noun
the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil
The Hippocratic Oath remains a contrasting theodicy for Obamacare.
insouciance | in'soose?ns |
noun
casual lack of concern; indifference
Nancy Pelosi’s insistence on the socialist agenda reveals her liberal insouciance.
cant| kant |
noun
hypocritical and sanctimonious talk, typically of a moral, religious, or political nature
Liberal whining against censorship is demonstrably cant.
raillery | 'ral?re |
noun
good-humored teasing
There is nothing like dictionary raillery to wrap up the year with Townhall readers.
Happy New Year to my fellow wordsmiths.