death death / dĕth noun 1. the end of life Every man goes down to his death bearing in his hands only that which he has given away. Persian Proverb 2. the end of something, termination The fear of God is the death of every other fear; like a mighty lion, it chases all other fears before it. Charles Spurgeon, 1834 – 1892 3. murder; the act of... Read More

nightmare night-mare / nīt–mâr noun 1. a bad dream that produces feelings of terror or distress Just because you have a nightmare doesn’t mean you stop dreaming. Jill Scott, 1972 –  2. something that produces a feeling of fear or distress Vision with action is a daydream; action without vision is a nightmare. Japanese Proverb 3. an evil spirit that was thought to suffocate or cause suffering in... Read More

macabre ma-ca-bre / mə-kä-brə, mə-käb, mə-kä-bər adjective 1. horror provoking; gruesome; ghastly Every generation has a macabre notion that wars, government prohibition, natural disasters or mankind itself could be the downfall of society and the world as a whole. Lauren DeStefano, 1984 – 2. representing or pertaining to death It was like a macabre march of struggling corpses towards a distant grave. From “A Set of Six”... Read More

conviviality con-viv-i-al-i-ty / kən-vĭv-ē-ăl-ĭ-tē noun 1. a jolly or sociable temperament; the state of having good humor If time, so fleeting, must like humans die, let it be filled with good food and good talk, and then embalmed in the perfumes of conviviality. From “The Art of Eating” by M. F. K. Fisher, 1908 – 1992 2. a festive or lively celebration After you have exhausted what... Read More

sticker stick-er / stĭk-ər noun 1. something or someone that adheres or attaches to another The sticker has no meaning, but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning. Shepard Fairey, 1970 – 2. something or someone that sticks, pierces or stabs Most toad stickers are actually barbed spears with two or prongs. From “Rough Rider’s Long Bladed Toad Stickers”, www.blindkat.hegewisch.net/RRR/rr_toadstickers.html, accessed October... Read More

banal ba-nal / bə-năl, bā-nəl, bə-näl adjective 1. ordinary, commonplace, trite; unoriginal It is almost banal to say so yet it needs to be stressed continually: all is creation, all is change, all is flux, all is metamorphosis. Henry Miller, 1891 – 1980

meticulous me-tic-u-lous / mĭ-tĭk-yə-ləs adjective 1. extremely careful or detail oriented; very thorough We do not fear being called meticulous, inclining as we do to the view that only the exhaustive can be truly interesting. Thomas Mann, 1875 – 1955

leak leak / lēk noun 1. a crack or unintended hole through which something such as liquid, gas, or light, can escape or enter Watch the little things; a small leak will sink a great ship. Ben Franklin, 1706-1790 2. the act of liquid, gas, light, etc. entering or escaping through a crack or unintended hole, or an instance thereof It’s amazing how people can get so excited... Read More

bombast bom-bast / bŏm–băst noun 1. pompous, pretentious or grandiloquent language What torture it is to hear a frigid speech being pompously declaimed, or second-rate verse spoken with all a bad poet’s bombast! Jean de la Bruyere, 1645 – 1696

voluble vol-u-ble / vŏl-yə-bəl adjective 1. talkative, fluent, glib It is a common error to imagine that to be stirring and voluble in a worthy cause is to be good and to do good. John Lancaster Spalding, 1840 – 1916 2. (archaic) able to turn or rotate easily Neither the weight of the matter of which a cylinder is made, nor its round voluble form, which,... Read More