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"When the witty and wry English fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett interviewed Bill Gates for GQ in 1995, only 39% of Americans had access to a home computer. According to the Pew Research Center, the number who were connected to the internet was a paltry [ˈpɔltri] 14%." — Ed Simon, LitHub.com, 25 Nov. 2024
paltry
adj [ˈpɔltri]
Formal word that can describe something that is very small or too small in amount, or something that has little meaning, importance, or worth.
Before paltry was an adjective, it was a noun meaning trash. That now-obsolete noun came from palt or pelt, a dialect term referring to a piece of coarse cloth, or more broadly, to trash. The adjective paltry, which dates to the mid-16th century, originally described things considered worthless, or of very low quality...
English
Dec 9, 2025, 4:12 AM
cowpoke
The lamp, discovered in a neglected corner of a frowsy [ˈfraʊzi] antique store, turned out to be quite valuable.
frowsy
adj [ˈfraʊzi]
Something described as frowsy has a messy or dirty appearance.
Despite its meanings suggesting neglect and inattention, frowsy has been kept in steady rotation by English users since the late 1600s.
English
Dec 4, 2025, 5:19 AM
cowpoke
Their lawyer presented insurmountable exculpatory [ɪkˈskʌlpəˌtɔri] evidence at the trial.
exculpatory
adj [ɪkˈskʌlpəˌtɔri]
Something described as exculpatory serves to prove that someone is not guilty of doing something wrong.
Exculpatory is the adjectival form of the verb exculpate, meaning “to clear from guilt.” The pair of words cannot be accused of being secretive—their joint etymology reveals all: they are tied to the Medieval Latin verb exculpare, a word that combines the prefix ex-, meaning “out of” or “away from,” with the Latin noun culpa, meaning “blame.”
English
Nov 29, 2025, 6:53 AM
cowpoke
It’s this kind of selfishness that leads down the road to perdition [pərˈdɪʃən].
perdition [pərˈdɪʃən]
noun
Perdition refers to hell, or to the state of being in hell forever as punishment after death—in other words, damnation. It is usually used figuratively.
Perdition is a word that gives a darn, and then some. It was borrowed into English in the 14th century from the Anglo-French noun perdiciun and ultimately comes from the Latin verb perdere, meaning “to destroy.”
English
Nov 25, 2025, 3:50 AM
cowpoke
Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood are common examples of metonymy [məˈtɑnəmi].
metonymy
noun [məˈtɑnəmi]
Refers to a figure of speech in which a word that is associated with something is used to refer to the thing itself, as when crown is used to mean “king” or “queen.”
metonymy, (via Latin) from the Greek word of the same meaning, metōnymia: the use of a word that is associated with something to refer to the thing itself. Metonymy often appears in news articles and headlines, as when journalists use the term crown to refer to a king or queen..
English
Nov 22, 2025, 7:29 AM
cowpoke
“The film chooses to render our doughty [ˈdaʊti] heroes’ super-costumes as cerulean-blue rollneck sweaters, which is a puzzling choice both aesthetically and practically: knitwear seems literally ill-fitted to derring-do.” — Glen Weldon, NPR, 25 July 2025
doughty
adj [ˈdaʊti]
Doughty is a word with an old-fashioned flair used to describe someone who is brave, strong, and determined.
traceable all the way back to the Old English word dohtig... you can’t spell doughty without the letters in tough (“physically and emotionally strong”).
English
Nov 11, 2025, 4:08 AM
cowpoke
The directors were blasted at the committee hearing for their improvident [ɪmˈprɑvɪdənt] use of public money.
improvident
adj [ɪmˈprɑvɪdənt]
Improvident is a formal word used to describe something that does not foresee or provide for the future, especially with regard to money. An improvident relationship, habit, or practice is financially unwise or impractical.
English
Nov 9, 2025, 4:38 AM
cowpoke
As the customer’s voice rose, the manager adopted a soothing, conciliatory [kənˈsɪliəˌtɔri] tone and promised that the situation would be remedied.
conciliatory
adj
Something described as conciliatory is intended to reduce hostility or to gain favor or goodwill.
The verb conciliate was borrowed into English in the mid-16th century and descends from the Latin verb conciliare, meaning “to assemble, unite, or win over.” Conciliare, in turn, comes from the noun concilium, meaning “assembly” or “council.”
English
Nov 6, 2025, 3:53 AM
cowpoke
This Halloween we were greeted at our door by werewolves, mummies, and a wide assortment of sweet-toothed hobgoblins [ˈhɑbˌɡɑblɪn].
hobgoblin
noun [ˈhɑbˌɡɑblɪn]
A hobgoblin is a mischievous goblin that plays tricks in children’s stories. When used figuratively, hobgoblin refers to something that causes fear or worry.
While a goblin is traditionally regarded in folklore as a grotesque, evil, and malicious creature, a hobgoblin tends to be more of a playful troublemaker. (The character of Puck from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream might be regarded as one.)
English
Oct 31, 2025, 4:31 AM
cowpoke
The approach of multiple deadlines had put me in a truculent [ˈtrʌkjələnt] mood, and I could tell my colleagues were avoiding me.
truculent
adj [ˈtrʌkjələnt]
Truculent describes a person who is easily annoyed and eager to argue or fight. It can also describe the mood or attitude of such a person.
from Latin in the mid-16th century, trimming truculentus, a form of the Latin adjective trux, meaning “savage,” and keeping the word’s meaning... now typically describes the sort of person who is easily annoyed and eager to argue, or language that is notably harsh.
English
Oct 30, 2025, 4:40 AM
cowpoke
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