It’s time for me to talk a bit about one of the most ridiculous words on record. There has been quite a bit of confusion about whether it’s “pompom” or “pompon.” If you’re anything like me, you assumed this word was “pom-pom” or maybe “pompom,” but not “pom-pon” and definitely not “pompon.” Recently, I was told that the correct term is “pompon.” While I thought that was ridiculous, I accepted it as truth. However, recent research has shown otherwise. According to my sources, it seems that a “pompom” is a type of “pompon.” This is suggested by their dictionary.com entries, but not clearly explained.

What’s the relevance of this research? Well, it seems that there’s significant misusage of the term for pompom squads. Google searches of “pompom squad” and “pompon squad” give 366 and 548 hits, respectively, which means that approximately 60% of people are mistaken. Let’s get it straight people:

pompon, noun: A tuft or ball of material such as wool or ribbon, used as a decoration, especially on shoes, caps, or curtains.

pompom, noun: A ball of fluffy material, such as feathers or strips of colored paper, that is waved by cheerleaders and sports fans.

In my current reading of The Power and the Glory, the word ‘darn’ came up outside of it’s usual usages as an interjection or substitute for damn, unless Miss Lehr has something against socks. In relation to clothing, ‘darn‘ has a different meaning:

darn
verb
To mend (a garment, for example) by weaving thread or yarn across a gap or hole.
noun
A hole repaired by weaving thread or yarn across it.

Here’s a word that Jim O’Donoghue used the other day, but neither his wife nor his son believed it was truly a word. Well chalk it up! Dictionary.com notes that it’s “chiefly British” and derived from Australian slang.

wonky
adjective
1. Shaky; feeble.
2. Wrong; awry.

I’ve been pretty lax about posting new words that I’ve found in my readings. Here’s an update:

From Reading Lolita in Tehran:

From Guns, Germs, and Steel:

From Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom:

We were at the College of Chemistry commencement last night, and one of the student speakers used the word “sagacity.” It was clearly a suggestion from the Microsoft Word thesaurus. Anyway, I thought I should look it up, although Odie knew the definition.

noun
The quality of being discerning, sound in judgment, and farsighted; wisdom.

I first heard “pedantic” on a Seinfeld episode (The Big Salad) when George’s girlfriend describes a New York columnist as pedantic. George replies, “He can be pedantic. He can be pedantic!” I saw the word again reading 1984, so I thought I should finally learn what it means:

adjective
Characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious concern for book learning and formal rules
e.g.: a pedantic attention to details

Volgraf has come across some good words lately. Submitted for your approval is ablate:

verb (transitive)
To remove by erosion, melting, evaporation, or vaporization.
Medicine. To remove especially by cutting

I don’t want to sound like my vocabulary conversations with Beaudry are a one way street. He offered up “Bodhisattva.”

(Buddhism) noun
An enlightened being who, out of compassion, forgoes nirvana in order to save others.

I think all this learning merits it’s own category.

Beaudry wanted to know the definition of “spry.” Here it is according to dictionary.com.

adjective
Lively, active, and brisk; vigorous.

[Perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Swedish dialectal sprygg, brisk.]

So there you have it.

I used the word “catharsis” last night in a conversation with Beaudry, and he wanted to know what it meant. Here’s the definition according to The American Heritage Dictionary (via dictionary.com):

noun
1. Medicine. Purgation, especially for the digestive system.
2. A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience.
3. A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.
4. Psychology.

a. A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.
b. The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

Doesn’t it feel good to learn.