Join Kathy to learn even more.
All my words are from A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken. He writes very rich and poetic prose.
1. mot juste
(n) [moh ZHYST]
Definition—the exact, appropriate word [French]
Use—“If any single word captures the essence of her—the mot juste for her, always—it is that: eager.”
(n) [skuht]
Definition—a short tail, esp. that of a hare, rabbit, or deer
Use—“He thought of the curious excitement of waiting for birds to burst upwards or even a rabbit’s white scut bounding across a field.”
(n) [fes]
Definition—a wide horizontal band forming the middle section of an escutcheon (the plate on the stern of a ship inscribed with the ship's name)
Use—“We designed and had a jeweler make grey-goose signet rings in gold like a coat-of-arms: the grey goose, fess, flying over stylized waves at the base, and above it and ahead, dexter, a tiny sapphire star.”
4. bosun
(n) [BOH-suhn]
Definition—a boatswain; a warrant officer on a warship, or a petty officer on a merchant vessel, in charge of rigging, anchors, cables, etc.
Use—“No bosun’s pipes twittered, and other officers and men went calmly about their duties while the ship 
5. yardarm
(n) [YAHRD-ahrm]
Definition—either of the outer portions of the yard of a square sail
Use—“I was the one who—because of another shadow cross, oddly, the shadow of the destroyer’s yardarm—was some day, maybe, going to have another look at Christianity, not Davy.”
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Where have you learned new words this week?
3 comments:
I can remember enough French to figure out mot juste. My dog has a scut, but it's only because the guy we got her from cut her tail off. :( Thanks for participating!!
I have seen bosun and yardarm in books about shipping but have never looked them up. Now I get it. I always like your pictures too. I'm not sure how you find them all but they sure help in understanding.
I love mot juste. I absolutely must write that one down so I can remember it. It seems a very useful phrase.
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