Tag: New Words (Page 4 of 16)

Palaver – profuse and idle talk; a conference or discussion

“Almost inevitably, given the emotional state of the nation, Congress stepped into action, passing a bill authorizing fifty million dollars for the construction of three battleships, sixteen destroyers, fourteen torpedo boats, four submarines, and funds to buy auxiliary ships abroad.

Roosevelt was elated, if puzzled, by the sudden activity after so much delay and palaver.”

The Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald

(I have to add that this word, Palaver, is used in a song in Les Miserables, my favorite musical. I was delighted to find the word in my book so I could share it with you!)

Peregrinate – to travel from place to place, or from one country to another; to live in foreign countries

“The records for the fall of 1886 are sparse, for Roosevelt was carrying the biggest secret of his peregrinating life. He had fallen in love with Edith Carow and planned to marry her; he wanted no publicity.

Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald

Halcyon – calm, quiet, peaceful, undisturbed, happy; a number of days occurring about the winter solstice, when the weather is calm; hence, days of peace and tranquility

“After this and other political atrocities, the legislative body was labeled the most corrupt since the halcyon days of Boss Tweed and his henchmen, who bilked the city out of tens of millions of dollars.”

Lion in the white house, Aida D. Donald

Bloviate – to talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way

“[Roosevelt’s] resolution of impeachment was tabled, as an old warhorse of the system attacked him. As reported in one account, he bloviated about “that dude,” Roosevelt.”

Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald

Sartorial – of or pertaining to a tailor or to tailoring

“The evening at the party’s caucus, he showed up in a formal cutaway coat with tails and carried a high silk top hat. He sported a gold watch and fob and a gold-topped cane. The sartorially splendid Rosevelt had a round, ruddy face, ample brown hair parted in the middle, and thick, reddish sideburns.”

Lion in the white house, Aida D. Donald

Pyrrhic Victory – a too costly victory; in reference to the victory of Pyrrhus over the Romans as Asculum in 279 BC, in which the losses were extremely heavy

“Roosevelt fought an intense battle, but he scored only a pyrrhic victory. At the next general election, German Americans made a revolutionary political switch to the Democrats.”

Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald

Acclimatize – to accustom to a new climate or different environment; acclimate

“[Roosevelt] turned to his uncle, James Alfred Roosevelt, the Hudson River aristocrat and influential Democrat (not the father of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was to marry Theodore’s niece Eleanor), for advice about the sordid legislative arrangement, but James only tried to acclimatize his nephew to the prevailing practices of the day: go along to get along.”

Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald

Excoriate – to denounce strongly

“It was this kind of [corrupt] political system, controlled mostly by Tammany Hall, as the Democratic Party’s office was known, that men like Roosevelt and other reformers had excoriated over the years.”

Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald

Dude – a man too much concerned with his manners and appearance; a fop; a dandy; a city fellow or tourist, especially an Easterner (Western Slang)

Locutions – a word, phrase, or expression; a particular style of speech

“Roosevelt immersed himself in western surroundings and folkways. Despite his dudelike, fringed buckskin clothing, eyeglasses, and fancy locutions like “hasten forward there” spoken in a squeaky voice, he was a cowboy.

Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald