1. econophysics — unorthodox use of mathematical models from physics to analyze economics In spite of a strong debate about the fertility and benefits of econophysics, it mostly seems another example of economists at the highest levels using overly complicated mathematics to explain either the inexplicable or why they got the last explanation wrong. …
Category Archives: Vocabulary
Friday Vocabulary
1. peroration — [rhetoric] concluding section of speech, in which orator sums up main points and attempts to inspire enthusiasm By the resumption of the strident tones with which he’d begun his overlong speech, I judged that he was building up to his peroration and trying to arouse his audience from their irritable slumber. …
Friday Vocabulary
1. excogitate — to think over, to plan, to scheme As the garbage truck pulled into the alley, blocking his exit, Benny reflected how the brilliant plan the boss had excogitated kept running aground when trying to navigate the turbulent river of reality. 2. shelve — to slope gradually We made anchor in a …
Friday Vocabulary
1. vicissitudes — ups and downs, recurring changes And as he stood there in the sunshine contemplating the various and impenetrable vicissitudes of life, he was stung behind the ear by a gnat. 2. scabrous — having a rough surface, scaly; difficult, harsh; obscene, indecent He blamed his rubicund and scabrous complexion upon the …
Friday Vocabulary
1. poll — human head; the part of the head where grows the hair His encounter with the irate barber left him with a poll looking like a golf fairway covered with diseased fescue and dangerous divots. 2. puckfist — [archaic] braggart I’d not give a farthing for the whole puckfist band of pusillanimous …
Friday Vocabulary
1. plinth — square slab supporting a column; pedestal for statue The fancifully decorated sarcophagus lay upon a rough-hewn stone plinth, upon which was a tiny inscription bearing the name of some long dead mason. 2. kedgeree — Indian dish of rice, onion, lentils, and spices; European dish of rice, fish, eggs My mother’s …
Friday Vocabulary
1. tempestivity — timeliness, quality of occurring at the proper season or time You return from the wars with rare tempestivity, for your younger brother even this week has filed a writ with the sheriff laying claim to your mother’s property. 2. purler — spectacular fall; [obsolete] resounding blow sending one to the ground …
Friday Vocabulary
1. castellan — governor of a castle The handsome castellan worried more for his clothes and his hair than for the health of the peasantry in his care. 2. rose cold — rose fever, allergic condition triggered by rose pollen Though the storm shattered the windows, damaged the garden, and flooded the basement, at …
Friday Vocabulary
1. zone — girdle, belt, cestus Such his charm and then his force that at the end of this unequal warfare she threw away her virgin zone and ever after they cleaved together like the antient Mother and Father of our human race. 2. haycock — hay heaped into a cone We sat against …
Friday Vocabulary
1. tantalum — element with atomic number 73, a silver-grey rare metal The replacement of carbon filaments with tungsten, tantalum, or osmium was an important economic measure for the city, due to the significantly less current required to produce the same illumination. 2. cocker — patron or promoter of cockfights; spaniel breed trained to …