Word of the Day

[Katya]

pirogue - a type of small boat (not to be confused with pirog, a type of Slavic pastry)

They sailed the pirogue out into the bay and quaffed champagne under the moonlight.

[Portia]

Ha! Knew that word from Tikal II, the board game.

[Digit]

Connectome. A comprehensive map of neural connections in the brain, and may be thought of as its "wiring diagram". More broadly, a connectome would include the mapping of all neural connections within an organism's nervous system.

Shaped like two pirogues, Larry's connectome revealed that the word pirogue made him think of and hunger for pierogies.

[Katya]

peroration - the concluding part of a speech, typically intended to inspire enthusiasm in the audience

Source: NPR analysis of the most recent GOP debate.

The lecture on connectomes started out a bit dry, but ended with a rousing peroration, prompting applause from the students.

[Katya]

panjandrum - a person who has or claims to have a great deal of authority or influence

Source: A book on lexicography

I was skeptical of the panjandrum's speech, but I'll give him points for the solid peroration.

[Katya]

donnybrook - a scene of uproar and disorder; a heated argument

etymology: Named from Donnybrook Fair, a notoriously disorderly event, held annually from 1204 until the middle of the 19th century.

Source: The Wilderness, by McKay Coppins

The panjandrum was powerless to restore order to the donnybrook.

[Katya]

epicine - having characteristics of both sexes or no characteristics of either sex; of indeterminate sex.

The debate over nonbinary pronouns (such as "epicine") escalated until it was a regular donnybrook.

[Emiliana]

Doyenne: a woman who is the most respected or prominent person in a particular field

The MC was uncertain whether to refer to the epicine biochemistry expert as the "doyenne" or "doyen" of the field.

[Katya]

tontine: an annuity shared by subscribers to a loan or common fund, the shares increasing as subscribers die until the last survivor enjoys the whole income

(I had come across this word before—on a Simpsons episode, no less!—but I'd never seen it written out and I thought it was spelled differently.)

The economics doyenne warned against investing in a tontine, but she was ignored.

[Cindy]

diaphoretic: (chiefly of a drug) inducing perspiration; (of a person) sweating heavily

Source: a fake news article someone posted on Facebook. (The Onion for doctors, apparently.)


The diaphoretic man planned to use his proceeds from the tontine to buy more deodorant.

[Katya]

internecine - destructive to both sides in a conflict

The protracted internecine conflict rendered both leaders diaphoretic.

[Portia]

Catafalque: a decorated wooden framework supporting the coffin of a distinguished person during a funeral or while lying in state.

Internecine disputes about the appointment of the next Supreme Court justice erupted before Antonin Scalia's body was even on its catafalque.

[Katya]

Internecine disputes about the appointment of the next Supreme Court justice erupted before Antonin Scalia's body was even on its catafalque.

FTW

[Digit]

Germans have some great words

Backpfeifengesicht: A face that needs to be punched.

Even as he laid on his catafalque, the old liar's backpfeifengesicht exuded an unreal lifelike impression that you'd better hold onto your wallet.

[TheBlackSheep]

anasarca (noun): generalized severe edema (swelling)

When the billing representative harassed the patient on his way to surgically relieve his anasarca, the patient spat right in the rep's backpfeifengesicht.