“When he dreams, he dreams about moving to Wyoming, which he has visited with his family. ... Sometimes when he talks about this, it sounds as ordinary and hard-boiled as a real estate appraisal; other times it can sound fantastical and wifty [ˈwɪfti] and achingly naive ...” — Susan Orlean, Joyride: A Memoir, 2025wifty
adj [ˈwɪfti]
Wifty, a synonym of ditzy [ˈdɪtsi], describes something or someone eccentrically silly or scatterbrained.
...could come from whiff, which as a noun can refer to a quick puff or slight gust of air—a person described by the word wifty might also, if unkindly, be called an airhead. Or perhaps the wift is related to waft, “to move or go lightly on a buoyant medium,” if it’s fair to say that the wifty among us have their heads in the clouds. English Jun 17, 2026, 8:37 AM cowpoke
Their mother remains hale [heɪl] and hearty in her old age.hale [heɪl]
adj
Someone described as hale is in good and often exceptional health. Hale is commonly used in the phrase "hale and hearty."
English has two hale homographs: the adjective that is frequently paired with hearty to describe those healthy and strong, and the somewhat uncommon verb that has to do with literal or figurative hauling or pulling. (One can hale a boat onto shore, or hale a person into a courtroom with the aid of legal ramifications for resistance.) English Jun 13, 2026, 7:30 AM cowpoke
“Did I regret not catching a retrospective showing of ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ in a special valedictory [ˌvæləˈdɪktri] program of Sundance sensations from over the years? Perhaps—though not as much as I regretted missing the screening of Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s ‘Half Nelson’ (2006). That’s the title that I remember most fondly from my first year at Sundance ...” — Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2026valedictory
adj [ˌvæləˈdɪktəri] or [ˌvæləˈdɪktri]
Valedictory describes something expressing or containing a farewell.
Since a valedictory speech is given at the end of an academic career, it is perfectly in keeping with the meaning of its Latin ancestor, valedīcere, which means “to say goodbye.” English Jun 6, 2026, 8:39 AM cowpoke
The organization’s change in leadership is being widely applauded as a step toward stability, but many are less than optimistic about the new director’s ability to cut the Gordian knot [ˈɡɔɹdiən nɑt] at the center of its troubles.Gordian knot
[ˈɡɔrdiən ˈnɑt]
noun
Refers to a complicated and difficult problem. Often used in the phrase cut the Gordian knot, which means “to solve a difficult problem in a very direct way by doing something forceful or extreme.”
According to legend, when the peasant Gordius became king of Gordium... he fastened the yoke of his wagon to a beam with a very complex knot. Centuries later... Alexander the Great... solved his problem... by slicing the knot in half with his sword English May 26, 2026, 4:25 AM cowpoke
The performers had a kiki [ˈkiki] backstage before the show.kiki [ˈkiki]
noun
Kiki is a slang term used for an informal gathering among close friends, especially to share lively gossip or frank conversation. It can also refer more broadly to gossipy conversation. Kiki is especially used in and associated with LGBTQ+ and Black communities.
While its exact origins are unclear, we know that kiki has roots in the ballroom community, a primarily Black and Latino drag subculture that spread in US cities especially in the 1980s–90s. English May 16, 2026, 5:39 AM cowpoke
“A tangled web of interpersonal feuds, played out in letters to the local newspaper, in social media posts and via legal filings in county court, has left the town with no clear path out of a situation that’s not covered by state law. The imbroglio [ɪmˈbroʊljoʊ] has even reached the state Capitol ...” — Seth Klamann and Sam Tabachnik, The Denver Post, 8 Mar. 2026imbroglio
noun [ɪmˈbroʊljoʊ] or [ɪmˈbroʊlˌjoʊ]]
A formal word that refers to a complex dispute or argument.
Ever noticed how an imbroglio embroils people in controversy? There’s a reason for that—an etymological one, anyway. Both the noun imbroglio (referring to, among other things, a scandal or bitter argument) and verb embroil (“to involve in conflicts or difficulties”) come from the Middle French word embrouiller, a combination of the prefix en- and brouiller, meaning “to jumble,”... English May 14, 2026, 4:47 AM cowpoke
The customer stormed out of the store in high dudgeon [ˈdʌdʒən] after the manager refused to give them a refund for their purchase.dudgeon
noun [ˈdʌdʒən]
Dudgeon is typically used in the phrase “in high dudgeon” to describe someone who is angry and offended by something they perceive to be unfair or wrong.
Dudgeon is today most often used in the phrase “in high dudgeon” to describe someone in a fit of pique, or more colloquially, in a snit: they are angry and offended because of something they perceive as unfair or wrong. ... part of the English language since at least the late 1500s, but its origins are mystery. English May 7, 2026, 4:17 AM cowpoke
“Turning from his father’s trade of corset-making, [Thomas] Paine tried his hand at business, met and impressed Benjamin Franklin in London, sailed to America, and there found his true metier [ˈmɛtjeɪ] as a pamphleteer and radical.” — Matthew Redmond, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025métier
noun [ˈmɛtjeɪ]
Métier, sometimes styled metier, is a formal word that refers to something that a person does very well.
Métier is sometimes translated from its original French as “job” or “career” but in that language it more accurately refers to the trade or profession in which one works.
In English we tend toward a narrower meaning for métier, referring either to a job for which one is perfectly suited or a particular field in which one is extremely skilled. English May 3, 2026, 6:12 AM cowpoke
"During the chess games, the telegraph operators occasionally asked each other how many people were in the room. At times, a dozen kibitzers [ˈkɪbɪtsɚ] looked on. At others, only the rotating cast of chess players and telegraph operators was present." — Greg Uyeno, IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2025kibitzer [ˈkɪbɪtsɚ]
noun
A kibitzer is someone who watches other people and makes unwanted comments about what they are doing.
Kibitzer came into English—by way of the Yiddish kibitser—from the German word kiebitzen, meaning "to look on (at a card game)." (Like its ancestor, kibitzer was originally, and sometimes still is, applied to vocal observers of cards as well as other games.) Although kibitzer usually implies the imparting of unwanted advice... English Apr 13, 2026, 5:15 AM cowpoke
// His glaucous [ˈɡlɔkəs] eyes grew wide with curiosity.
// The tree's glaucous [ˈɡlɔkəs] leaves help prevent sun damage.https://www.colorxs.com/color/glaucous
glaucous
adj [ˈɡlɔkəs]
Glaucous as a color word can describe things of two rather different shades: a light bluish-gray or bluish-white color, or a pale yellow-green. It can also mean "having a powdery or waxy coating that gives a frosted appearance and tends to rub off."
Glaucous came to English—by way of the Latin adjective glaucus—from the Greek glaukos, meaning "gleaming" or "gray." ... English Apr 10, 2026, 4:34 AM cowpoke
