Definition: (noun) A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud.
Synonyms: mountebank.
Usage: In a somber tone, the charlatan proclaimed that he could cure the woman with only a banana peel—for a small fee, of course.
Discuss
Month: December 2021
pleasant
amicable, amiable – Amicable implies being well disposed; amiable is acting well disposed and is commonly applied only to people—though sometimes it is used for occasions, while amicable is not applied to people at all but to human interactions and their outcomes. Amiable first meant “kind” or “lovely, lovable,” and amicable first applied to things and meant “pleasant, benign.” More…
jolly – Comes from Old French jolif, “merry, festive, pleasant.” More…
merry – First meant “peaceful” or “pleasant,” which is what it first meant in “Merry Christmas.” More…
a mixed picture
A portrayal of a situation highlighting both positive and negative aspects of its nature or status. Watch the video
The Komos
The komos was a ritualistic drunken procession performed by revelers—called komasts—in ancient Greece at events like weddings and feasts. Though its precise nature can only be guessed from its depiction in vase paintings, scholars have determined that the komos is separate from two similar processions: the formal pompe and the scripted chorus, which, unlike the komos, had a leader. The komos featured music and dancing, and komasts might have carried torches and worn what? Discuss
harangue
pupil
eleve – A French term used for a pupil or scholar. More…
indocible – Means unteachable as a pupil. More…
pupil – From Latin pupilla, it first meant “orphan, ward, minor.” More…
apple of his eye – Results from the fact that the pupil of the eye was called the “apple” in earlier English because it was thought to be a solid sphere. More…
mixed signal
A signal, message, or communication that has, or is interpreted as having, multiple, ambiguous, or contradictory meanings. (Often plural.) Watch the video
Umar ibn al-Khattab
After serving as an adviser to Muhammad, Umar succeeded Abu Bakr as caliph of Islam in 634 CE. During his 10-year reign, Islam became an imperial power, with conquests in Syria, Egypt, and the Persian Empire. Umar further laid the administrative base of the empire and reopened the canals of Mesopotamia and the waterway from the Nile to the Red Sea. Before he converted, Umar was hostile to Islam and had in fact plotted to kill Muhammad. Ultimately, however, it was he who was assassinated—by whom? Discuss
inveigle
Definition: (verb) To win over by coaxing, flattery, or artful talk.
Synonyms: cajole, coax, sweet-talk, wheedle.
Usage: The salesman inveigled him so successfully that he paid twice the original price.
Discuss
mysterious
arcane – Meaning “hidden, secret; mysterious, abstruse,” it is from Latin arcere, “shut up,” from arca, “chest.” More…
god moves in a mysterious way, the worse for wear, variety is the spice of life – “God moves in a mysterious way” originated with poet William Cowper—as did the phrases “the worse for wear” and “variety is the spice of life.” More…
handwriting on the wall, writing on the wall – Handwriting on the wall (or writing on the wall) comes from the Bible (Daniel 5:5-31), in which the prophet interprets some mysterious writing that a disembodied hand has inscribed on the palace wall, telling King Belshazzar that he will be overthrown. More…
fluence – To put the fluence on is to use one’s mysterious, magical, or hypnotic power. More…