Wordz

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 self-coronation rather than at the hands of Pope Pius VII.

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 heat, it’s the humility”-Yogi Berra

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 noisy war mongering policy has been labelled jingoism ever since.

Micawber – An incurable optimist: from Dickens’s Mr. Wilkins Micawber (David Copperfield). Notwithstanding his ill success at “bubble schemes”, Micawber felt certain that something would “turn up” to change his fortunes. After failing in every adventure, he eventually migrates to Australia, where he becomes a magistrate.

Lesbian is derived from the name of the Greek island of Lesbos, home to the 6th-century BCE poet Sappho.From various ancient writings, historians have gathered that a group of young women were left in Sappho’s charge for their instruction or cultural edification.Sappho’s poetry reflect women’s daily lives, their relationships, and rituals. She focused on the beauty of women and proclaimed her love for girls.

Schadenfreude – From the German, Schaden (damage), and Freude (joy), it means the enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others. It is the easiest, and often the most fulfilling, enjoyment available. From the laughs generated by the clown slipping on the banana peel to the guilty viewing of “Cops” and other ‘caught on tape’ shows, shameful pleasure has been refined over the decades. (Source: BBC)

Son of a gun. This familiar designation implying contempt but now used with jocular familiarity derives from the days when women were allowed to live on naval ships. The “son of a gun” was one born in the ship, often near the midship gun, behind a canvas screen. If paternity was uncertain the child was entered into the logs as “Son of a gun”

Sensex or Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index is a value-weighted index composed of 30 stocks started in 01 of Jan, 1986. It consists of the 30 largest and most actively traded stocks, representative of various sectors, on the Bombay Stock Exchange. These companies account for around one-fifth of the market capitalization of the BSE. The base value of the sensex is 100 as on April 1, 1979.

Fiscal Deficit – When a government’s total expenditures exceed the revenue that it generates (excluding money from borrowings). Deficit differs from debt, which is an accumulation of yearly deficits. A fiscal deficit is regarded by some as a positive economic event. For example, economist John Maynard Keynes believed that deficits help countries climb out of economic recession.