Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Wondrous Words Wednesday (4)



Word Nerd Time!

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Bermudaonion each week.  It's an opportunity to share new words you've encountered in your reading, or highlight words that you particularly enjoy.

Here are three of my favorites new-to-me words from some of my recent reads.  All definitions from Dictionary.com.


1. legerdemain.   "...Ronald Reagan was doing quite well with his brand of verbal legerdemain..." (from Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama)

noun
1.  sleight of hand.
2.  trickery; deception.
3.  any artful trick.

2. plangently.   "This smell was plangently like that—sickish sweet and decayed sour, mixed together and fermenting wildly."  (from 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King)

adjective
resounding loudly, especially with a plaintive soundas a bell.

3. beldam.  "Hush and shush, for the beldam might be listening!"  (from Coraline by Neil Gaiman)

noun
an old woman, especially an ugly one; hag.

What are your new words this week?

7 comments:

  1. I think I've looked all three of those words up but only remembered the last one. I usually have to do a double take when I see it because I always think it's bedlam.

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  2. I know I've looked up beldam before, but had forgotten it already. Thanks for reminding me. I think I've seen legerdemain before too. Three great words.

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  3. Three good words, beldam does remind me of bedlam.

    http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2012/11/wondrous-words-wednesday.html

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  4. Agreed about beldam vs bedlam--it confused me at first!

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  5. Interesting use of "plangently" in the Stephen King quote. All three words are new ones for me! Here’s MINE.

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  6. Interesting words, and I find it funny that all three of them seem to have a French basis. thank you for sharing!

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  7. Three good words that are new to me. I like beldam and find it funny. It makes me think of drawings in nursery books.

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