Definition: (verb) Fill with sublime emotion.
Synonyms: beatify, inebriate, tickle pink, exalt, thrill.
Usage: The beauty of the art exhibit exhilarated me so much that I could not wait to get home and paint.
Discuss
Month: April 2021
waste
wastrel – Pronounced WAYS-trul, it is either a wasteful or worthless person, derived from the verb “waste,” from Latin vastus, “desert, waste.” More…
bratwurst – From German Brat, “meat without waste,” and Wurst, “sausage.” More…
eat your heart out – Goes back as far as Diogenes Laertius, who credited Pythagoras with saying “Do not eat your heart”—meaning “Don’t waste your life worrying about something”—2,500 years ago. More…
sullage – Waste from household sinks, showers, and baths—but not toilets; it also figuratively means filth or refuse. More…
hit a brick wall
To come up against an immovable or insurmountable difficulty or obstacle. Watch the video
Cellar Doors
Once a common feature of rural American homes, the cellar door is a slanted trapdoor set outside a house to cover a flight of stairs to the basement. Cellar doors are generally unremarkable. The term “cellar door” itself, however, is often proposed as one of the most beautiful phrases in English. It is said to have been a favorite of Edgar Allen Poe, and its beauty has been invoked by H.L. Mencken, Dorothy Parker, and J.R.R. Tolkien. What is supposedly so special about it? Discuss
scurry
summit
colophon – A crowning or finishing touch, from Greek kolophon, “summit” or “finishing stroke.” More…
knoll – The summit or rounded top of a mountain or hill, it seems to derive from Old Teutonic knoo-lo, meaning “ball, clod, knot.” More…
acrobat – Derived from Greek akrobatos, “walking on tiptoe,” from Greek akron, “summit,” and baino, “walk.” More…
breach of etiquette
A violation of established social norms or expectations, especially as relates to polite society or specific professions. Watch the video
German East Africa
Nearly three times the size of modern-day Germany, German East Africa was a colony that spanned what is now Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania. German commercial agents arrived in the area in 1884. In less than a decade, the German government took control of the area and began establishing plantations and railroad and harbor projects. Discontent with their administration led to widespread rebellion, but the revolt was unsuccessful. When did Germany lose control of the colony? Discuss
seclude
storehouse
magazine – Considered a “storehouse” for articles; the word comes from Arabic makhzan, “storehouse,” and was first used in book titles presenting a “store” of information about specific topics. More…
ambry – Another word for a treasury, storehouse, place to keep things. More…
garner – Originally a storehouse or granary. More…
thesaurus – Comes from Greek thesauros, meaning “storehouse, treasury,” and its original sense was “dictionary or encyclopedia,” but this was narrowed to the current meaning with the appearance of Roget’s in 1852. More…