November 9, 2024
Matt’s words
Logorrhea (n): pathologically talkative; extremely loquacious
Larry, known for his logorrhea, wouldn’t stop talking during the meeting.
If you have an ear for logorrhea and a hankering for quirk, these new “Fargo” episodes should deliver satisfaction. – Salon Sep 26, 2020
Mnemonic: Think “diarrhea of the mouth.” “Lo” has to do with words, as in loquacious. “Rrhea” is like diarrhea.
Eschew (v): deliberately avoid; abstain from
He eschewed hard work like it was the plague.
We should eschew pejoratives.
Pronunciation: “es-que”, “es-shew,” “es-chew”
Mnemonic: Sounds like “achoo,” which is your body avoiding something.
Pejorative (adj): expressing contempt or disapproval
The term “Yankee Doodle,” started out as a pejorative, but the Yankees turned it into a rallying cry.
Her hair is wild… I don’t mean that as a pejorative.
Mnemonic: Think “pejorative putdown.”
Quisling (n): a person who collaborates with an enemy occupying force
Comes from a Norwegian politician named Vidkun Quisling, Nazi collaborator during WWII.
The quisling storeowner was eventually discovered by his neighbors.
Mnemonic: A quisling is always going to be quizzing you for information.
Funambulist (n): tightrope walker (fyoon)
Many of his daredevil acts have been inspired by his fellow funambulist family members, and carrying on his family tradition has earned him 9 Guinness World Records and made him a household name. – Time May 10, 2015
Jay O. Sanders, her husband, is another dramatic funambulist who has appeared in all 12 plays. –
Mnemonic: Fun = rope and ambulare = walk
Mnemonic 2: Fun = fun and ambulist = ambulance
Dr. Mom’s words
Jocular (adj): funny or intended to make someone laugh
My father-in-law was always the life of the party with his jocularity.
Mnemonic: The first syllable can remind you of “joke.”
Insouciance (n): lighthearted unconcern
I was irked at my colleague’s insouciance about arriving late to the meeting.
Mnemonic: You’re about to “ensue” with a “séance.” You’re unruffled, calm, meditative, as sit together holding hands with others.
Maelstrom (n): literally, a powerful whirlpool in a sea or river; figuratively, a situation or state of confused movement or violent turmoil
…a maelstrom of emotions, change, questions
The ship was drawn into the maelstrom.
Mnemonic: Think of letters, or mail, swept up in a storm, like a tornado.
Obambulate (v): to walk in a leisurely, casual, or aimless way; to mosey or saunter; to meander
Mnemonic: Ambulate like Obama. He always seems casual as he moves about a room.
Abditory (n): a concealed location used for storage or as a place to hide items (usually valuables); a hiding place; “nook and cranny”
The abditory under the front hall stairway was a temporary sanctuary for the harried mother when her children and their friends ruled the house.
Mnemonic: “Ab” means from, away, or off. You’re away from everybody in the lava”tory.” It’s a place to be safe from the events or eyes around you.
BIG sentence:
The jocular, obambulating quisling, a man prone to spewing perjoratives during bouts of funambulistic logorrhea and displaying insouciance during maelstroms of bad publicity, eschewed cultural norms and ultimately took to his favorite abditory in disgrace.
Vocabulary Mnemonics 
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