At long last, Winter Semester is over! Perhaps one day when you're older I'll tell you why it was the most difficult semester ever encountered, but not now. We have far more enjoyable things to discuss.
For example, I am now in possession of a far greater amount of free time than in the past 3-1/2 months, which means bloggage should experience a rather appreciable increase. So, if you haven't seen fit to abandon me for greener pastures, you now have permission to be excited. In keeping with a tradition that has been sadly neglected for the current extent of 2011, I now deliver the monthly portion of delectables from the vast and sumptuous table that is the English language.
Swank. I'll be honest, until I had it suggested to me, I had never actually seen the word swank. Swanky, sure. But swanky in verb form——no sir. Fortunately I am able to swank, which I sadly performed the opposite of in the last few sentences. In any case, it's one thing to brag, boast, or pontificate, it's another entirely to swank. Which is essentially doing any of the preceding things, but with style. Feel free to pair it with the adjective 'rakish' at your discretion.
Thwart. While the classicist in me is quite visibly in full form during these little monthly jaunts into the land of things lingual, I still have quite a soft spot for Germanic words. Like the word 'word,' to name one of many. Thwart is a lot of fun because it lends itself well to being used actively. When someone's plans are prevented from being brought to fruition, the verb I most often hear used to describe such an event is 'frustrate.' However, frustrate has taken on a much more personal connotation in our day, and it just doesn't make sense for plans themselves to be distressed or upset. Ergo thwart. Plus, it takes on a whole new level of enjoyment when said in an overly-dramatized, baritone British accent.
Ardor. Ardor has always been something of a personal favorite since I remember it being one of the choices for the manner in which my blue-haired avatar would wield his sword in Ogre Battle 64. I picked ardor and got sat with a unit of sorcerers which, for those of you who know of my approach to video game combat, is grossly out of character (maybe they were fire mages or something?). Whatever. Ardor is awesome because in Latin, it means 'to burn,' which lends the person, place, or thing it's describing a far greater intensity than passion, its boring counterpart.
Pilfer. Maybe it has to do with our fascination with lawbreakers and heist stories, but for some reason there are a number of fantastic words to describe the act of stealing. Loot, pillage, plunder, rob, snatch, filch, pinch, abscond(!) with, and pilfer. While it's not winning any beauty contests, pilfer is just a fun word to use to sanitize and enliven the act of thievery. My personal favorite iteration is its noun form——pilferage. Say it. Now try saying it with the same spirited British accent used for thwart. "Such pilferage will not be tolerated!" Splendid...
You are a legend my friend. I can hear your rich baritone British accent all throughout this post.
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