Carpet-bagger: A Northern political adventurer in the South after the American Civil War (1865) usually seeking private gain under the reconstruction governments. Their only “property qualification” was their “carpet bag” of personal belongings and were regarded as exploiters. 2. Outsider;especially: a nonresident or new resident who seeks private gain from an area often by meddling [...]
Desultory – marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose. Roman circus-riders who used to leap from one horse to another were called desultores; hence used figuratively in Latin to mean an inconstant person, or one who went from one thing to another; and desultory thus means ‘after the manner of a desultor’ (Lat: [...]
Lanyard (laniard, keychain,) is a rope or cord often worn around the neck or wrist to carry something. Usually it is used where there is a risk of losing the object or to ensure it is visible at all times. Aboard ship, it may refer to a piece of rigging used to secure objects.Lanyards are [...]
Refusenik (from “отказ”, “refusal”), was an unofficial term for individuals, typically but not exclusively Soviet Jews, who were denied permission to emigrate abroad by the authorities of the former Soviet Union. The term refusenik derived from the “refusal,” handed down to a prospective emigrant from the Soviet authorities. Over time, “refusenik” has entered colloquial English [...]
Boondoggle – 1) A product of simple manual skill, as a plaited leather cord for the neck or a knife sheath, made typically by a camper or a scout. 2) Work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy. 3) A project funded by the government out of political favoritism that [...]
Panacea (Gr. all-healing) A universal remedy. An answer or solution for all problems. Panacea (Goddess of Cures) was the daughter of Aesculapius (God of Medicine). In the Middle Ages the search for the panacea was one of the self imposed tasks of alchemists. Fable tells of many panaceas, such as Promethean Unguent (which rendered the [...]
apocryphal (Gr. apokrupto, hide away) hence the meaning ‘ withheld form general circulation’ and therefore coming to be regarded as of doubtful origin, false or spurious. The usage usually involves fictitious or legendary accounts that are plausible enough to be commonly considered as truth. E.g, Laozi’s alleged authorship of the Tao Te Ching and Napoleon’s [...]
Hanlon’s Razor – Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. From Robert A. Heinlein’s 1941 short story “Logic of Empire” (“You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity”). A common (and more laconic) British English version, coined by Sir Bernard Ingham, is the saying “Cock-up before conspiracy”.
Malapropism – Malapropos is an adjective or adverb meaning “inappropriate” or “inappropriately”,derived from the French phrase mal à propos (“ill-suited”). The terms malapropism and the earlier variant malaprop come from Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals, and in particular the character Mrs. Malaprop, who frequently misspoke to great comic effect. E.g. “It’s not the [...]
Jingoism – Aggressive “patriotism”, the equivalent of Fr. chauvinisime. The term derives from the popular musical-hall song by G.W.Hunt which appeared at the time of the Russo-Turkish War(1877-78) when anti-Russian feeling ran high in Britain. ” We don’t want to fight, but by jingo if we do,”…….. The Russophobes became know as Jingoes and a [...]