Vocabulary Mnemonics

September 28, 2024

Matt’s words

Fatuous (adj): silly and pointless

There were a lot of fatuous comments coming from the peanut gallery.

Mnemonic: Think of “chewing the fat.”

Byzantine (adj): complex or intricate (referring to a system)

Our Byzantine tax code…

The Cheesecake Factory’s byzantine menu…

Mnemonic: Byzantine starts off with “busy,” which is a characteristic of a Byzantine system.

Dilatory (adj): slow to act; intended to cause delay

The boss was known to be dilatory in hiring.

Dilatory tactics like exaggerating injuries are commonplace in soccer.

Mnemonic: Think of “dilly dally.”

Eudaimonia (n): happiness; living well; the state of being happy

Eudaimonia was the highest pursuit in Aristotle’s worldview.

I’m striving for eudaimonia.

Mnemonic: Combine “you” with “pandemonium” and we get “really happy about you.”

Googol (number): 1 followed by 100 zeroes

Mnemonic: Think of a google search where you give a bazillion answers for each query.

Dr. Mom’s words

Ineffable (adj):incapable of being expressed in words; indescribable

…the ineffable mystery of great music.

“The hearing of those wild notes always depressed my spirit, and filled me with ineffable sadness.” Frederick Douglass, abolitionist and social reformer, in his autobiography

Mnemonic: Breaking down the word, “in” means “not,” and “able” is self-evident, so we are left with “eff.” What about “eff”? We don’t say the “f” word in polite society. (In Latin, effabilis means capable of being expressed, but who knows that?)

Lithe (adj): slim of body, thin; supple, full of grace

The male ballet dancer lifted his lithe female counterpart in the air as if she weighed nothing.

My mechanic is a tall, lanky guy who is surprisingly lithe and flexible as he maneuvers around my car’s engine.

Mnemonic: Sounds like “lift.” Without much effort, you can lift someone who is lithe (think: ballet dancer).

Mellifluous (adj):having a pleasant and flowing sound; also, though typically describing sound, can mean having a smooth, rich flow, as in edibles or potables

My mother had a mellifluous voice that could lull me to sleep like nothing else.

…the mellifluous confections…

Mnemonic: When you hear “mel,” think of “mel”ody. A good melody is often fluid, flowing along from note to note in a singable way that is pleasant to the ear. Indeed, in Latin, “mel” means sweet.

Xertz (v): to gulp something down quickly; to eat or drink greedily

During halftime of a very hot soccer game, the star player desperately needed to xertz a jug of water.

Mnemonic: Xertz rhymes with desserts. Desserts are so good we want to devour them and might even make the “zertz-y” sound.

Propinquity (n): nearness to something; proximity; also, closeness of blood or kinship

Unfortunately, the propinquity of the cute bungalow to an exquisitely picturesque beach meant the asking price was way beyond our reach.

Mnemonic: Proximity means in the general area, but pro”pin”quity means you’re so close you can put a pin in it on the map. You’re spot on, very close.

BIG sentence:

Googol years ago, a few dilatory and fatuous Byzantines living in propinquity to Nirvana resolved to achieve eudaimonia by first suppressing their xertzy behavior to become more lithe, then by uttering mellifluous, ineffable pearls of wisdom in the town square.