Today’s word of the day is bespawl, which means “to soil or make foul with or as with spittle.” In other words, to spit on something. Spawl (or spall) is “saliva or spittle thrown out carelessly; slaver.”
Author Archives: Grant Barrett
Things animal-ine
Today’s list of the day is made of those adjectives meaning “of or like a certain kind of animal” and ending in -ine You known canine and bovine, but what about crotaline (like a rattlesnake), arietine (like a ram), and rangiferine (like a reindeer)?
Lambent
Today’s word of the day is lambent, meaning “flickering lightly over or on a surface,” “effortlessly light or brilliant” or “having a gentle glow; luminous.”
Words about words
Today’s list of the day is words about words, including asperand, which is an uncommon name for the @ symbol. Also on the list are chrestomathy, calumny, aubade, and more.
Skep
Today’s word of the day is skep, which is, at its most basic, a beehive made out of straw or wicker.
Bee skeps rendered on a tapestry at the Hearst Castle. Photo by Erica Olsen. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Words from “Infinite Jest”
Today’s list of the day features words from David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. A second such list. A third (and the largest) one. A fourth one.