Be Fore Earnest

\fawr-SOOTH\

adverb 1. Archaic. (now used in derision or to express disbelief) in truth; in fact; indeed.

Quotes

…but he is a gentleman forsooth, though he had not cloths on his back when he came hither first. -- Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, 1749

Origin

Forsooth has existed in English since before 900, and derives from the Old Englishforsōth. \den-droh-kruh-NOL-uh-jee\ noun 1. the science dealing with the study of the annual rings of trees in determining the dates and chronological order of past events. Quotes How many hours have I sat through your harangue about carbon dating as compared todendrochronology and geochronology. -- Naomi A. Hintze, Ghost Child, 1983 Origin Dendrochronology entered English in the 1920s. It is derived from the Greek termsdéndron meaning “tree” and chrónos meaning “time.” The combining form -logy is used in the names of sciences. \FUR-ther-uhns\ noun 1. the act of furthering; promotion; advancement. Quotes If you asked me what were the best possible organisation for the Men of Letters in modern society; the arrangement of furtherance and regulation, grounded the most accurately on the actual facts of their position and of the world's position,—I should beg to say that the problem far exceeded my faculty! -- Thomas Carlyle, “The Hero as Man of Letters,” On Heroes, Hero-worship and the Heroic in History, 1840 Origin Furtherance came to English in the 1400s from the late Middle English fortheraunce. \non-i-VENT\ noun 1. an occurrence of only superficial interest or content; a dull or insignificant occasion.  2. an event or situation that is anticipated but does not occur or occurs with much less than the expected impact, especially one that has been widely publicized; anticlimax. Quotes A non-event, says Phil, is better to write about than an event, because with a non-event you can make up the meaning yourself, it means whatever you say it means. -- Margaret Atwood, Bluebeard's Egg, 1983 Origin Nonevent came to English in the mid-1900s as a combination of non- and event. \JIB-er, GIB-\ verb 1. to speak inarticulately or meaninglessly.  2. to speak foolishly; chatter. Quotes Representation gets a bad rap. Its inadequacy is inbuilt; it’s doomed to fail us; the thing it strives to capture and communicate endlessly eludes it. But it’s what we have, so we use our crude visual and verbal tools to circumscribe, gibber, and gesture. -- Cassie Packard, "Martha Rosler Tackles the Problem of Representation," Hyperallergic, October 16, 2014 Origin Gibber entered English around 1600 and is of uncertain origin. It is perhaps related to the obsolete word gib meaning "caterwaul, to utter long wailing cries." \mal duh MER\ noun 1. French. seasickness. Quotes When the mal de mer seizes me I, Hercule Poirot, am a creature with no gray cells… -- Agatha Christie, Death in the Clouds, 1935 Origin Mal de mer came to English in the 1700s from French. \an-THEE-sis\ noun 1. Botany. the period or act of expansion in flowers, especially the maturing of the stamens. Quotes During anthesis, the avocado tree is sensitive to temperature which can severely disrupt the dichogamy mechanism. -- Bruce Schaffer, Peter C. Andersen, Handbook of Environmental Physiology of Fruit Crops, Volume 2, 1994 Origin Anthesis is a New Latin construction that entered English in the 1800s. Its roots lie in the Greek ánthēsis meaning "bloom." \uh-MEYN\ adverb 1. Archaic. with full force.  2. Archaic. at full speed. Quotes So, grasping the rough protuberances of the rock, he tugged and toiled amain, and got himself quite out of breath, without being able to stir the heavy stone. -- Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Minotaur," Tanglewood Tales for Girls and Boys, 1853 Origin Amain entered English in the mid-1500s as a combination of a- and main, which in turn comes from the Old English mægen meaning "power, strength." \BEE-mish\ adjective 1. bright, cheerful, and optimistic. Quotes "…I should simply adore seeing myself in a play," sighed Mary. “Well, you never will,” Madeline assured her blandly. “Not while you call me 'my child,' and patronize me instead of my tea shop.” Mary listened, wearing her beamish smile. -- Margaret Warde, Betty Whale Decides, 1911 Origin Beamish came to English in the 1500s from the noun beam, which in turn derives from the Old English bēam meaning "tree, post, ray of light." \brohg\ noun 1. an Irish accent in the pronunciation of English.  2. any strong regional accent. Quotes She remembered Mother on the day Charley was christened, taking the baby from Dottie and blessing him under her breath in the heavy brogue she carried all her life. -- Rebecca Johns, Icebergs, 2006 Origin Though the origin is unknown, it might be linked to the shoe of the same name that originated in Scotland and Ireland. \KOL-ee-wob-uhlz\ noun 1. Informal. a feeling of fear, apprehension, or nervousness.  2. Informal. intestinal cramps or other intestinal disturbances. Quotes We must pack off to Brother Michael because we have the collywobbles! -- James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 1916 Origin Collywobbles came to English in the early 1800s and is presumably based on the termcolic meaning "a sudden pain in the abdomen or bowels." \NAK-erd\ adjective 1. British Slang. exhausted; very tired: He is really knackered after work. Quotes “It’s been … exhausting,” Oborne says, sounding a little dazed. “I’m all right. I’m a bitknackered. I expected it to be well covered, but I didn’t expect it to be on the front page. But I haven’t seen any schadenfreude. There’s been no glee.” -- Archie Bland, "Peter Oborne: what I have seen is unprecedented in a quality newspaper," The Guardian, February 18, 2015 Origin Knackered entered English in the late 1800s from the verb knacker meaning "to tire." \DIS-fuh-miz-uhm\ noun 1. the substitution of a harsh, disparaging, or unpleasant expression for a more neutral one.  2. an expression so substituted. Quotes They were given considerable latitude in determining who should become a target of their "collection efforts." (The term "spying" was considered a dysphemism, though many believed it to be a more honest description of domestic intelligence work.) -- David Lindsey, An Absence of Light, 1994 Origin Dysphemism is derived from the Greek dys- meaning “ill, bad” and phḗmē meaning “speaking.” It entered English in the late 1800s. \in-TEN-uh-reyt\ verb 1. to make soft or tender; soften. Quotes I know not whether I do not too much indulge the vain longings of affection; but I hope they intenerate my heart, and that when I die like my Tetty, this affection will be acknowledged in a happy interview… -- , Samuel Johnson in The Life of Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, 1791 Origin Intenerate entered English in the late 1500s and finds its roots in the Latin term tenermeaning "tender." \spon-DOO-liks\ noun 1. Older Slang. money; cash. Quotes …I've told him a many a time I wouldn't trade places with him; for, says I, a sailor's life's the life for me, and I'm derned if I'd live two mile out o' town, where there ain't nothing ever goin' on, not for all his spondulicks and as much more on top of it. -- Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1884 Origin Spondulicks came to English in the mid-1800s and is an Americanism of uncertain origin. \fawr-mi-KEY-shuhn\ noun 1. a tactile hallucination involving the belief that something is crawling on the body or under the skin. Quotes “They say not.” “I was told he was.” “Perhaps you will allow me to know better,” said the doctor. As though to resolve the argument, a muffled voice from the stretcher said: “Itching, Eddie. Itching all over like hell.” “Formication,” said the doctor. -- Evelyn Waugh, Officers and Gentlemen, 1955 Origin Formication came to English in the early 1700s from the Latin formīcāre "to have a sensation that ants are crawling on one's skin."