Happy Wednesday — it’s time for some new words! You know how this works – share a few words from your current book that you had to look up, then head over to Bermuda Onion’s Weblog to learn some new ones.

This week, my words are from This Will Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking. It’s a terrific book of short essays about scientific ideas that we should all understand to improve our thinking and understanding of the world around us. It’s also got some tough words!

1. Conspecifics - a member of the same species

“…in which the reproduction of the technique wasn’t passed on to offspring through the genes but transmitted among non-kin conspecifics who picked up the trick of imitation.”

Wow! That’s a very roundabout way of saying they didn’t inherit it from Mom and Dad, but learned it from the neighbors.

2. Eukaryotic - having cells with `good’ or membrane-bound nuclei
3. Prokaryotic – having cells that lack membrane-bound nuclei 

“The complex eukaryotic cells of which we are made are themselves the product of much simpler prokaryotic cells that merged together from the bottom up…”

4. Orthonasal - arising from odor compounds traveling through the “external nares,” or nostrils
5. Retronasal – arising from odor compounds traveling through the “internal nares,” located inside the mouth

“There is good reason to think that we have two senses of smell: (1) an external sense of smell – orthonasal olfaction, produced by inhaling — that enables us to detect such things in the environment as food, predators, and smoke; and an internal sense — retronasal olfaction, produced by exhaling…”

6. Veridical – truthful; coinciding with reality

“First, the notion of applying good (“veridical“) sensory contact with the world becomes a  matter of applying the right expectations to the incoming signal.”

7. Doppio - in espresso, a double shot, extracted using a double filter basket

“If you learn a stranger’s name after drinking a doppio espresso with her at the local java house, it will be easier to remember that name if you meet again at Starbucks.”

There are more, but that’s enough to show you that this is a challenging read! But take my word for it — it’s worth the effort. Check back tomorrow for my review!

Happy Wednesday — it’s time for some new words! You know how this works – share a few words from your current book that you had to look up, then head over to Bermuda Onion’s Weblog to learn some new ones.

This week, my words are from Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway. I have been gushing about this book all over the place, so now, a couple of cool words…

1. Tosher - A tosher is someone who scavenges in the sewers, especially in London during the Victorian era.

“This one requires a key; the toshers have installed a simple lock, not as a serious barrier to entry, but as a polite statement of territoriality.”

2. Horologist - a person who makes clocks or watches.

“Not perfect, horologist.”

3. Pruritus - itching

“Joe, one shoulder still sore from a near miss two weeks ago, says they are Satanic messengers of discord and pruritus.”

4. Trenchant - Vigorous or incisive in expression or style.

“Billy, unsettled, is prone to flights of trenchant fantasy.”

5. Enfilade - A volley of gunfire directed along a line from end to end.

“There are access points along the main corridor, which zigzags  around the rooms, making them more private but also obviating the possibility of an enfilade.

What new words did you learn this week?

Happy Wednesday — it’s time for some new words! You know how this works – share a few words from your current book that you had to look up, then head over to Bermuda Onion’s Weblog to learn some new ones.

This week, my first words are from No Mark upon Her: A Novel by Deborah Crombie. This is a great British mystery – be sure to stop back next week for my review.

1. Primus - a portable paraffin cooking stove, used by campers

“The single space provided him with a workshop, a camp bed, a woodstove, a primus, and a primitive toilet and shower.”

2. Nystagmus - uncontrollable and rapid movement of the eyeball in any direction

“Kieran, you’ve got nystagmus. Have you been drinking?”

3. Nobble – to disable (a racehorse), especially by drugging

“‘Do you know how easy it is to nobble a rower before a race,’ she’d asked.”

4. Squash – (British) a still drink made with fruit juice or fruit syrup diluted with water

“The guys weren’t supposed to be drinking, it was all squash and lemonade and everyone on the very proper sportsmanlike up-and-up, with some fancy canapes to make up for the lack of alcohol.”

Squash was really interesting – I love it when I find a new definition for a common word! What new words did YOU learn this week?

Happy Wednesday — it’s time for some new words! You know how this works – share a few words from your current book that you had to look up, then head over to Bermuda Onion’s Weblog to learn some new ones.

This week, my first words are from Burnedby Thomas Enger. Since this takes place in Norway, I was expecting a few more vocabulary words, but the translation made it pretty seamless, other than the places.

1. Pelargonium - Any of various herbs and shrubs of the genusPelargonium, which includes the geraniums.

“An impressive large pelargonium with pink flowers sits on the windowsill.

2. White Friend - a cigarette, used the way an American might refer to a cigarette as a cancer stick or a coffin nail.

“The small white friend lies there, gasping blue-gray smoke, right next to a puddle.”

Next, I have a few words from Carry the One, a terrific new book from Carol Anshaw. I loved this one and I hope to have the review up this week.

3. Landsmen - a person from the same town, geographical area, region, etc., as another; compatriot.

“Their alliance was deep, formed in the trenches of childhood where they were each other’s landsmen, comrades in strategy and survival, in warding off the contempt of their parents and in protecting their brother.”

4. Eliding - joining together, merging

“Something Virginia Woolf-ish involving tea and conversation and sofas and afternoon eliding into evening, a small lamp needing to be turned on, but left unlit.”

Happy Wednesday — it’s time for some new words! You know how this works – share a few words from your current book that you had to look up, then head over to Bermuda Onion’s Weblog to learn some new ones.

This week, my words are from Bleed for Me by Michael Robotham. Great book — keep your eyes open for my review — and some cool slang terms to share.

1. Bovver - Cockney term for bother boy; a skinhead or other thuggish anti-social type. Comes from a type of heavy boot favored by British teenagers.

“The other defendants look like thugs and bovver boys, grinning at each other and guffawing.”

2. Weir - A low dam built across a river to raise the level of water upstream or regulate its flow.

“The weir is downstream, turning brown water into foam.”

3. Baize - A coarse, feltlike, woolen material that is typically green, used for covering billiard and card tables.

“The baize tables are upstairs and I can hear balls being racked up and broken.”

So there you have it – my new words for the week. What new words did YOU learn?

Happy Wednesday — it’s time for some new words! You know how this works – share a few words from your current book that you had to look up, then head over to Bermuda Onion’s Weblog to learn some new ones.

This week, my words are from The Face Thief by Eli Gottlieb. It’s been a little while since a book challenged me with some new terms, and I’ve been looking forward to sharing them with you!

1. Agnosia – The inability to interpret sensations and hence to recognize things, typically as a result of brain damage.

“…had sustained damage to the occipital lobe og the brain and would thereafter suffer permanently from visual field cuts and movement agnosia.”

2. Stertor - laborious or noisy breathing

“His mother was overweight and the stertor of her breath on the phone as she breathed in and out for a few seconds was like a piece of paper being repeatedly crumpled in his ear.”

3. Satori - A spiritual awakening sought in Zen Buddhism, often coming suddenly.

“This was an exercise recommended by his men’s group as a way, they claimed, of laddering one’s self nearly physically into a state of sartori.”

4. Furze - This is a tough one. It’s the Middle English name for a a variety of shrub with golden-yellow flowers. In this case, I think the definition the author is going for is the way the shrub is usually described: spiky and very dense.

“And here she gave a shake of her head, with its cropped furze of blond hair;”

5. Guanciale - unsmoked Italian bacon

“‘She seems demure,’ she bellowed over the portobello spears, the fried guanciale rolls, and the Kobe carpaccio…”

That’s an interesting assortment, don’t you think? Says some interesting things about the book, too.

What new words did YOU learn this week?

Okay, I’m a little late, I admit it. Still, I’ve got 2 words that I wanted to share with you before the day is out.

Happy Wednesday — it’s time for some new words! You know how this works – share a few words from your current book that you had to look up, then head over to Bermuda Onion’s Weblog to learn some new ones.

This week, I’m reading This Burns My Heart by Samuel Park. I started it a while ago, put it down and now I really want to get it finished. It takes place in South Korea, but I promise not to post every Korean word I come across. But that doesn’t mean I won’t give you a few of them.

1. Makgeolli – Korean rice wine, made from a mixture of wheat and rice, giving it a milky white color

2. Hanbok – traditional Korean dress. This is a case where a picture might be a better definition:

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Check out BermudaOnion’s Weblog for more new words and add yours to the list.

This week, I’ve got one word from The Mirage: A Novel  by Matt Ruff. There were plenty of Arabic terms I wasn’t very familiar with, but many of them were defined in the text for you — always helpful, when it can be done gracefully.

1. Ecumenist - a movement promoting union between religions (especially between Christian churches)

“But as one would expect from the leader of the Arab Unity Party, the president is a true ecumenist.”

What new words did you learn this week?

This week, my words are from The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian. There are a number of herbalists in the story, so a number of my words are associated with plants and herbs.

1. Scapes - A long, leafless flower stalk coming directly from a root.

“Reseda Hill stood in her greenhouse a few steps in front of Anise, inspecting the scapes on the coral root she had transplanted earlier that winter.”

2. Amalki – Indian Gooseberry, Amlaki is known as a rasayana herb that enhances and restores the process of conservation, transformation and resurgence of the life force.

“Basil and parsley had no business mixing with hypnobium, belladonna, or amalaki.”

3. Epazote - A Mexican herb that has a very strong taste and sometimes has a gasoline or perfumey type odor. It has been used in Mexican cuisine for thousands of years dating back to the Aztecs.

“Reseda misted the hypnobium, epazote, and derangia in her greenhouse.”

And in case you were wondering about hypnobium and derangia, I think they are the author’s invention. I can’t find any reference to them elsewhere.

4. Amphisbaena - a serpent with a head at each end of its body

“Consequently, she stepped over the shin-high stone statue of amphisbaena, careful not to trip over either of the serpent’s heads (in myth, amphisbaena meat was an aphrodisiac; its skin could cure colds)”

5. Calandrinia - a large genus of low-growing herbs; widespread throughout tropical and warm temperate regions having usually basal leaves and panicles of purplish ephemeral flowers.

“The rosemary and the calandrinia?”

6. Niveous - Snowy or resembling snow

“…how you never grew less enamoured of the niveous white magnificence of clouds as you gazed down at them from thirty or thirty-five thousand feet.”

7. Inter-cycle - ice which forms between cyclic activation of a mechanical or thermal de-ice system.

8. Runback – ice that is the result of water freezing on unprotected surfaces. Often forming behind deicing boots or heated leading edges

9. Rime – ice that is rough and opaque, formed by supercooled drops rapidly freezing on impact

“…just as you know the federal aviation definitions for ice: Glaze. Inter-cycle. Known or observed. Mixed. Residual. Runback. Rime.”

What new words did YOU learn this week?

Happy Wednesday — it’s time for some new words! You know how this works – share a few words from your current book that you had to look up, then head over to Bermuda Onion’s Weblog to learn some new ones.

This week, I’ve got a few remaining words from Other People’s Money by Justin Cartwright. I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would in the beginning!

1. Passeggiata – (Italian) stroll : evening stroll after work hours by the residents of a town

“For his turtle-dove serenaded and rosemary-scented passeggiata around the garden, he has taken to wearing Harry’s plum-colored trousers and his Lock’s panama.”

2. Oiks – (English slang) Deprecatory schoolboy word for a member of another school; an unpopular or disliked fellow-pupil

“He asks Jade to open the gates, a Victorian Gothic wooden door, studded with fancy medieval ironwork — Cy will love this — and as he arrives at the car park she is waiting, sturdy, beside the gate, plumped up defensively like a hen, as if ready to repel the oiks.”

3. Boffin - (English slang) A person engaged in scientific or technical research: “a computer boffin”

“He has no hope of getting his own computer to work because he can’t afford to get in a boffin until he’s paid.”

4. Epigone - A less distinguished follower or imitator

“…she’s having sex with a huge, hairy Afrikaner, an epigone of Harry, an uncultured, shallow and faintly hectoring athlete.”

I thought this would be pronounced like epitome, it’s opposite, but the pronunciation is entirely different!

5. Spivs - (English slang) a person without employment who makes money by various dubious schemes; goes about smartly dressed and having a good time.

“The spivs in London and Frankfurt have lost hundreds of billions pissing into the wind and now I can’t even get my grant.”

6. Cottager - (British slang) one who engages in anonymous gay sex in public toilets. Has its roots in self-contained English toilet blocks that look like cottages.

“Her own father had lived fairly placidly amongst them for fourteen years, before it turned out he was gay and a vigorous cottager.”

Lots of British slang today! Be sure to check back for my review.