Word of the Day: Akratic

Definition: Characterised by weakness of will resulting in action against one's better judgement. Should you watch just one more episode of Game of Thrones before bed, or have that extra piece of pie? Probably not. Drug addicts, gamblers, hedge fund managers. You and me. We’re all akratic, to varying degrees. We’re all swimming through a [...]

By |2018-04-16T14:18:35+10:00April 10th, 2018|Marketing, Psychology, WOTD, Writing|Comments Off on Word of the Day: Akratic

Word of the Day: Mondegreen

Definition: A misunderstood or misinterpreted word or phrase resulting from mishearing the lyrics of a song. The word, ‘mondegreen’ was coined in the 1950s. Writer, Sylvia Wright, described listening to her mother read old poems to her when she was a child. One had the line ‘…and laid him on the green’, which she misheard [...]

By |2017-02-22T21:45:49+10:00February 23rd, 2017|WOTD|4 Comments

Word of the Day: Millennial

Definition: People reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century (there are other unrelated definitions too). But what is ‘young adulthood’? And is the ‘early 21st century’ earlier than 4am? I’m not the only one confused, am I? A dedicated millennial marketing firm says that a ‘millennial’ is anyone born between 1977 and 2000 (gosh, [...]

By |2017-02-05T22:48:31+10:00February 6th, 2017|Personal, WOTD|3 Comments

Word of the Day: Polymath

Definition: A person of wide knowledge or learning. The word comes from ‘polumathes’—a 17th-century Greek word that means ‘having learned much’. Polymaths are usually associated with the explosion of art, creativity and critical thinking that happened during the Renaissance. One example was Leonardo da Vinci—a great painter, sculptor, cartographer and writer, who may have invented [...]

By |2017-05-19T08:20:29+10:00January 29th, 2016|WOTD|2 Comments

Word of the Day: Epizuexis

This is both a Word of the Day and a figure of speech. (Double word score?) Definition: Repeating a word (or phrase) for emphasis. (Usually 3 times.) For example, if you asked me what I did over Christmas, I might say: Eat and drink, eat and drink, eat and drink. At which point, you might [...]

By |2016-12-27T14:29:12+10:00January 5th, 2016|Did you know, Personal, Rhetoric, WOTD|Comments Off on Word of the Day: Epizuexis

Word of the Day: Cimicine

Definition: Smelling like bugs. (Or, the actual noun for bug secretions…) Cimicine is one of those wonderfully specific descriptive words that lends itself well to erudite-sounding insults. The pie was cold, and the salad was warm. The meal was served with a weak, cimicine cocktail, which made me wish I’d kept my 16 dollars and [...]

By |2017-09-22T13:51:13+10:00November 7th, 2015|WOTD|Comments Off on Word of the Day: Cimicine
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