Vocabulary Mnemonics

July 5, 2025

Matt’s words

Transpontine (adj):  on the other side of a bridge

The transpontine city…

The fireworks attracted a transpontine crowd…

We have to go to the transpontine theater…

Mnemonic: Trans means “across” as in “transcontinental railroad.” “Pontoon” is a type of boat… which you would use instead of a bridge.

Elucubrate (v): To study or work at night; to work out by studious effort

In 1980, he became the national champion by correctly spelling “elucubrate,” a word with Latin origins that means to study at night. – Seattle Times

Thomas Jefferson likely elucubrated while writing the Declaration of Independence.

Mnemonic: “luc” in the middle is light.

Imagine Lou making a “q” and an “eight” by candlelight

Eclaircissement (n): an enlightening explanation of something, typically someone’s conduct, that has been hitherto inexplicable; clarify a mystery

In The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the éclaircissement happens sooner in the book than Matt expected.

Mnemonic: “clair” is like “clear.” You have to make it clear to your “sis” and your “ma.”

Fratricide (n): the killing of a sibling; often used with royalty

He became king through fratricide… His fratricidal assent to the throne…

The fratricideovershadowed Caracalla’s achievements, including the passage of an edict granting all free men in the Roman Empire citizenship and the construction of a luxurious public bath complex that bore the emperor’s name.—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2024

Mnemonic: “Frat” means brother and “cide” means killer (as in infanticide)

Ormolu (n): gold coating on decorations; golden or gilded brass used for decorative purposes

Specialists stabilized the ormolu(gilt bronze) and enamel panels and, most critically, dismantled and repaired clockworks that had been corroded by dirty floodwaters.—Drew Broach, NOLA.com, 21 Oct. 2017

Ormolu statue… ormolu figurines?

Mnemonic: “or” is like oro, or gold. “Moulu” means ground, so it literally means “ground gold.”

Mole lives in the ground, so think of oro and ground.

Dr. Mom’s words

Time immemorial (n): extending beyond the reach of time; farther back than one can remember

The mysterious nature of twins — particularly identical twins — has been a devious source of curiosity and fascination in Hollywood for time immemorial. —Barry Levitt, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025

Mnemonic: “Im” means “not” (as in impossible), and “memorial” means something one remembers. Preceded by “time,” the phrase means something that happened so far back it is not remembered.

Egregious (adj): conspicuously bad; flagrant

…egregious errors…

…egregious padding of the evidence…  –Christopher Hitchens

…the public perception is that too many corporate executives have committed egregious breaches of trust by cooking the books, shading the truth, and enriching themselves with huge stock-option profits while shareholders suffered breathtaking losses. —John A. Byrne et al., Business Week, 6 May 2002

Mnemonic: “Greg” in the middle of the word comes from the Latin and means “group” or “flock.” “E” means out or away, as in “eject” or “emit.” So “e-greg” means “out of the flock,” or something or someone that stands out. This person might also be “gregarious.” “Aggregate” (noun) means loosely associated things brought together into a group, or the sum total.

Burke’s law (n): The principle of uniformitarianism. This states that the geological processes, for example, we observe today have also operated in the past and can be used to interpret past geological events. Physical scientists generally believe we can never prove something true but only falsify hypothetical propositions. It is related to the idea that absence of evidence should not be confused with evidence of absence.

Thus, our support of Burke’s Law is only part of the necessary analysis. We need to examine the epistemic basis for any claim of knowledge of Earth behavior in deep time. T. Mark Harrison, Adrian Lenardic

Mnemonic: Burke rhymes with “cirque,” meaning a circle. Burke wants us to think of history as a big circle that begins and ends with the same thing, absent any unforeseen influence or circumstances.  

Doula (n): a non-medical professional (usually a woman) trained to provide physical and emotional support to a woman before, during, and just after childbirth; first known use was in 1969

The collective assigns doulas to serve families and also trains and employs people to work as doulas. —Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2025

Mnemonic: Picture a very pregnant woman and another woman, her doula, standing next to her. The doula is coaching the expectant mother to “do the hula” to get her baby to come. “Do the hula with your doula.”

Trope (n): a literary or rhetorical device; a recurring theme, motif, or device in storytelling; if overused, it is a cliche

Examples: The chosen one in fantasy stories

The damsel in distress in adventure stories

The evil twin in various genres (Merriam Webster)

Ghostface gave us the definitive horror villain of the ’90s, the opening sequence with Drew Barrymore and a telephone remains an all-timer, plus its cleverness hasn’t waned since horror tropes never die. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 14 June 2025

Mnemonic: Using rhyming…”Say nope to dopey tropes.”

COLOSSAL COMPILATION:

Burke’s law suggests that some tired tropes—such as the one where the doula makes an egregious mistake which led years later to fratricide in a transpontine neighborhood safely distanced from an ormolu-covered bridge–have been with us since time immemorial, and elucubration is not required to understand their éclaircissement.