“Standing 787 feet tall, the tower was one of the last of the era—when downtown Dallas’ skyline was defined by highfalutin [ˌhaɪfəˈlutən] oil execs, bankers, financiers and the architects who used steel, concrete and glass to erect opulent monuments to their economic success.” — Nick Wooten, The Dallas Morning News, 9 Jan. 2026highfalutin
adj [ˌhaɪfəˈlutən]
Something or someone described as highfalutin seems, or is trying to seem, great or important.
Highfalutin has a fine purpose: to describe pretentious people or language without making the person using it sound, well, pretentious... Highfalutin first appeared as American slang in the early 1800s, and like many slang terms... English Aug 2, 2026, 9:22 AM cowpoke
“White-capped waves crash far below the cliffs and sweep out to the horizon, spindrift [ˈspɪnˌdrɪft] tosses up mini-rainbows and creamy plumes of sea froth float up and over.” — Amanda Thomson, The Guardian (London), 5 Sept. 2024spindrift
noun Sspindrift [ˈspɪnˌdrɪft]
Spindrift refers to spray blown from waves during a gale or to fine wind-borne snow or sand.
...The Scots had by that point been using speendrift for well over a century; their verb speen means “to rush forcefully along with a strong wind,” so speendrift referred to a drift of salty sea spray during such sailing. In the 1820s, English speakers recruited the word, but signed it up as spindrift English Aug 1, 2026, 8:12 AM cowpoke
“It’s a sultry [ˈsʌltri] morning in the Maldives and the mechanic is sweating as he tinkers with the sparkling La Marzocco espresso machine. All the while, hopeful guests watch, desperate for a morning hit.” — Belinda Jackson, The Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, 15 Nov. 2025sultry
adj sultry [ˈsʌltri]
Sultry means “very hot and humid” when it describes such things as seasons, days, and weather. When it describes things humans do and possess—voices, poses, looks, and the like—it means “exciting or capable of exciting strong sexual desire.”
Sultry days and glances both burn hot—one literally, and the other figuratively. Sultry is a late 16th century alteration of the obsolete word sulter, itself an alteration of swelter... English Jul 30, 2026, 4:06 AM cowpoke
For some, college can be an expansive experience that lifts them out of a parochial [pəˈroʊkiəl] mindset.parochial
adj [pəˈroʊkiəl]
Parochial is a formal word that is usually used in a disapproving way to describe something that is limited in range or scope, as to a narrow region or area.
Both parish and its related adjective parochial were borrowed at that time directly from Anglo-French terms that came from parochia. English Jul 27, 2026, 3:49 AM cowpoke
From the lighthouse's aerie [ˈɛri] tourists can get a bird's-eye view of the rocky coastline.aerie
noun [ˈɛri]
Aerie refers to the nest of a bird (such as an eagle or hawk) built high up on a cliff or on the top of a mountain. It can also be used for a room or building built high up so that people inside can see things happening below them.
via Medieval Latin and Old French and probably traces to an earlier Latin word, ager, meaning “field.” English Jul 26, 2026, 7:28 AM cowpoke
She didn't expect to like him but his raffish [ˈræfɪʃ] charm quickly won her over.raffish
adj [ˈræfɪʃ]
Raffish describes people and things that show a careless but usually attractive unconventionality.
Raffish combines the English noun raff with the suffix -ish, which in this case means "characteristic of"... Raff comes directly from the Middle English raf, meaning "rubbish,"... English Jul 20, 2026, 3:53 AM cowpoke
She is a botanist who primarily studies xeric [ˈzɪrɪk] plants.xeric
adj [ˈzɪrɪk]
Xeric means "characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture." Like: arid English Jul 11, 2026, 8:20 AM cowpoke
There are few sights more charming than that of lambs gamboling [ˈɡæmbəl] about in a meadow in full flower.gambol
verb [ˈɡæmbəl]
Gambol means "to run or jump in a lively way." It is used as a synonym of frolic.
In Middle French, the noun gambade referred to the frisky spring of a jumping horse. In the early 1500s, its influence leapt into English twice, lending a playful bounce to both noun and verb forms of gambol. (The noun means "a skipping or leaping about in play.") Neither English word is restricted to horses, but rather can be used of any frolicsome creature. English Jul 8, 2026, 3:48 AM cowpoke
"Each piece is made of durable steel with a powder coating that won’t rust, fade, or corrode [kəˈroʊd] in the weather." — Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2026corrode
verb [kəˈroʊd]
Corrode means "to slowly break apart and destroy (metal, an object, etc.) through a chemical process" or "to undergo such a process." It is also used as a synonym of undermine to mean "to gradually destroy or weaken."
Corrode comes from the Latin verb corrōdere, meaning "to gnaw or chew up." Corrōdere, in turn, combines the prefix cor- (used here as an intensifier with the meaning of "completely") with the verb rōder... English Jul 3, 2026, 9:52 AM cowpoke
"... this morning when I was going out to play in the gardens, I went to put on my favorite baseball cap since the sun was hot and, being bereft [bɪˈrɛft] of my own natural covering, I wished to avoid a sun-scorched scalp." — Dick Brooks, The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, New York), 7 May 2026bereft
adj [bɪˈrɛft]
To be bereft is to be deprived or robbed of something, or to lack something that you need, want, or expect. Bereft is also used as a synonym of bereaved.
In Old English, the verb berēafian meant "to deprive of something." The modern equivalent (and descendant) of berēafian is bereave, a verb used to say that one has deprived or stripped someone of something, often suddenly and unexpectedly, and sometimes by force. Bereft comes from the past participle of ber... English Jun 30, 2026, 4:52 AM cowpoke
