09.25.05

Words for the day

Posted in Uncategorized at 8:28 pm by falstaff

New words I learnt today (I hate Banville. Every time I read a book of his [1] he makes me feel illiterate):

Gallimaufry n. A heterogeneous mixture, a confused jumble, a ridiculous medley

Pococurante a. adj. Caring little; careless, indifferent, nonchalant. b. n. A careless or indifferent person; one who shows little interest or concern.

Also, a wonderful word that I suspect Banville just made up – gonadolescent. As in “I was as gone on her as any gonadolescent on his girl”. What a splendid term – so physical, so scornful.

[1] The Shroud. See my review here

4 Comments »

  1. ph said,

    JUST the word I needed to learn @ Pococurante. Really.

  2. Karthik said,

    I learnt gallimaufry from Neal Stephenson – Diamond Age, I think. His considerable vocabulary is one of the things that sets Stephenson apart from other writers in his genre.

  3. ph said,

    JUST the word I needed to learn @ Pococurante. Really.

  4. Karthik said,

    I learnt gallimaufry from Neal Stephenson – Diamond Age, I think. His considerable vocabulary is one of the things that sets Stephenson apart from other writers in his genre.


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