Ben

I post words that I looked up while reading. I also post unfamiliar foreign words I read in books that are presented without explanation.

[Ben @words981]

people who don't read are really missing out. I just read a chapter of "of human bondage" that gave me physical pain and now I have to go buy some alcohol to deal with it

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beati sunt possidentes (latin) - Blessed are the possessors.

from On War

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scotopia (n.) - vision in dim light with dark-adapted eyes believed to be mediated by the rods of the retina

from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace

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coup d'œil (from French): the ability to discern at one glance the tactical advantages and disadvantages of the terrain

from On War

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bataille d'usure (from French) - war of attrition

from On War

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limn (verb) - 1. to draw or paint on a surface

2. to outline in clear sharp detail : delineate

3. describe

from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace

[Ben @words981]

the best of British (luck) (idiom) -
used to wish someone luck, especially when you do not think they have much chance of success or happiness

from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace

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belletristic - belonging to or suggestive of belles lettres

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belletrist (noun) - one who writes belles lettres

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coloratura - 1. elaborate embellishment in vocal music
broadly : music with ornate figuration

2. a soprano with a light agile voice specializing in coloratura

from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace

[Ben @words981]

algolagnia - a perversion (such as sadism or masochism) characterized by pleasure and especially sexual gratification in inflicting or suffering pain

from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace

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depilatory (n) - an agent for removing hair, wool, or bristles

depilatory can also be used as an adjective

from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace

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threnody (n) - a song of lamentation for the dead: elegy

from Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace

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par lapathium acutum de dieu (latin) - by the sharp blade of God

from Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais

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farouche (from French) - 1. wild

2. marked by shyness and lack of social graces

from the Devil Drives by Fawn Brodie

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eupeptic - 1. of, relating to, or having good digestion

2. cheerful, optimistic

from Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell

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je m'en fous (French) - I don't give a damn

from Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell

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difficilis ascensus averni (latin) - the difficult ascent to hell

from Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell

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un peau comme ça ... pendant la vie (French) - Skin like that... throughout a lifetime.

also yikes

from The Devil Drives by Fawn Brodie

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un peau de jeune fille (French) - A young girl's skin

yikes

From The Devil Drives by Fawn Brodie

[Ben @words981]

etiolate (v) - https://t.co/RqrWJkUPw9 bleach and alter the natural development of (a green plant) by excluding sunlight

2.a. to make pale

2.b. to deprive of natural vigor : make feeble

From Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell