An Abstruse Glut of Esoteric Vernacular

If you ever read the New York Times, you might notice that... well, you occasionally can't understand what they're saying. The Times apparently prides itself on using a lot of 25-cent words, to the point where they send countless readers rushing to the dictionary in order to figure out what the hell is going on.

As it turns out, the Times takes data on which words are most commonly looked up. #1 is sui generis, from the Latin essentially meaning "unique", in a legal sense. It's followed by solipsistic (pertaining to the philosophical idea that "My mind is the only thing that I know exists."), louche (of questionable taste or morality), laconic (ironically meaning concise), and saturnine (bitter or scornful).

I suggest you check out this interesting article to get the full gist of it - they've compiled a list of the 50 most commonly researched words from the Times as well as some nice commentary. Check it out, and expand your vocabulary. Don't worry, it's good for your mind. And tasty too.

Word of the Day: Verisimilitude

Today I find myself in the role of English teacher, offering a little tidbit of knowledge on the English language

Verisimilitude: (n.) the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true

I was reading a Joan Didion essay and the word popped up, and I decided to assuage my curiosity by looking up the definition. I don't really know how it relates to anything (although one could say that a statement could exhibit verisimilitude if they were being specious or sophistic) Just thought it would be interesting.

On another note, my entries will be fewer and further between for the next month or so: I have made my school's varsity tennis team, and we have approximately 25 matches over the next 40 days. That equates to about 4 matches per 5 weekdays, plus practices. My earliest arrival will be at 6pm, often later, and then I get to deal with 3 AP courses worth of homework, dinner, and various other responsibilities. Although this will still periodically be updated.