Northwest Indiana Discussion

Can you use the word of the day in a sentence about current event ?





Word of the Day for Wednesday, July 1, 2009

penury \PEN-yuh-ree\, noun:

1. Extreme poverty; destitution.
2. Absence of resources; insufficiency.

Charles regretted his departure, and the penury of his treasury, but trusted that God would favour him in his struggle against the king of France.
-- Henry Kamen, Philip of Spain

He was a cooper by trade, a native of Rio de Janeiro, where he would have died in penury and obscurity had he limited himself to the work of barrel-making.
-- Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas

That sovereign of insufferables, Oscar Wilde, has ensued with his opulence of twadle and his penury of sense.

-- Ambrose Bierce, Wasp, March 31, 1882


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The cities and towns of Lake county Indiana property values have fallen severely in value and are reaching a sad state of penury. Voluntarism we be needed to keep many parks and roadsides maintained.

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Gentlemen, start your engines!

In spite of decades of mismanagement and continued penury, the inept mayor of Gary still found funds to overpay his son and buy an ostentatious vehicle.

Word of the Day for Thursday, July 2, 2009

vagary \VAY-guh-ree; vuh-GER-ee\, noun:

An extravagant, erratic, or unpredictable notion, action, or occurrence.

Her words are a dreadful reminder that much of life's consequences are resultant of vagary and caprice, dictated by the tragedy of the ill-considered action, the irrevocable misstep, the irrevocable moment in which a terrible wrong can seem the only right.
-- Rosemary Mahoney, "Acts of Mercy?", New York Times, September 13, 1998

Weather is one of the vagaries of blue-water racing, ruling the sport like a malicious jester.
-- Martin Dugard, Knockdown

This thing called love was a total mystery to me, but the vagaries of passion and despair that accompanied each devotion kept my life in high drama.
-- Jane Alexander, Command Performance

Vagary comes from Latin vagari, "to stroll about, to wander," from vagus, "wandering."

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for vagary

Some people are convinced that Lake County is capable of turning itself around and becoming a worthwhile place to live. Why they think that way continues to be one of life's great vagaries.

if they could bulldoze Gary into the lake and kick all the Lake County politicians out on their asses then MAYBE.....and that's a very slim maybe...

if it weren't for the stigma and blight and reputation of Gary we could probably be as prosperous as the NW suburbs....

sorry but just mentioning the city of Gary brings negative connotations and everybody here is well aware of it...have been for years

Word of the DayFriday, July 03, 2009
doughty

\DOW-tee\ , adjective:
1.
Marked by fearless resolution; valiant; brave.
See the full Dictionary.com entry |See Synonyms on Thesaurus.com

Quotes:
He was obsessed with the Arctic, his imagination stoked by epic accounts of the doughty pioneers who had led wooden ships into uncharted waters and northern mists.

-- Sara Wheeler, "In Cold Blood?", New York Times, February 25, 2001
One day he stumbled, fell against the spinning saw and half severed his left arm. It was three days before a doctor came, but the doughty old Swede was still alive.
-- Quentin Reynolds, "The Bold Victory of a Man Alone", New York Times, September 13, 1953

Origin:
Doughty comes from Old English dohtig, "brave, valiant, fit."

The doughty working class of Gary are determined to turn the city around with daedal artifices which will make the city undesirable for the penury classes of people and drive them out to the unincorporated areas of Lake and Porter counties.

Given Gary's 40+ year history of disappointment, violence, corruption, decay, waste, and underachievment, it takes a doughty sould indeed to make the above statement.

Word of the DayMonday, July 06, 2009
verdant

\VUR-dnt\ , adjective:

1.
Green with vegetation; covered with green growth.
2.
Green.
3.
Lacking experience or sophistication; naive.

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The people of south Lake county are very verdant about the organized crime ongoing in their communities.

In all my years never has anyone ever attempted to rob me but in the south lake mall or Westfield Shopping Town

I don't like verdant things in my refrigerator.

The Oracle of the Region is a perfect example of how verdant the thinking of political whores in Hammond think "The right priorities" are best.

Bit of a stretch, but I couldnt resist!

Word of the Day for Tuesday, July 7, 2009

shibboleth \SHIB-uh-lith; -leth\, noun:

1. A peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress, etc., that distinguishes a particular group of persons.
2. A slogan; a catchword.
3. A common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth.

Accustomed to the veneer of noise, to the shibboleths of promotion, public relations, and market research, society is suspicious of those who value silence.
-- John Lahr

The fish oil shibboleth is only the latest to be overturned in recent years. Vitamin supplements and fibre have also been found to provide no benefits.
-- Nigel Hawkes, "Nice idea, but where's the proof?", Times (London), March 24, 2009

Class size is another shibboleth: First, small class sizes do not increase learning, and, second, class sizes have become quite small anyway.
-- Jay Nordlinger, "The Anti-Excusers", National Review, October 27, 2003

Shibboleth is from Hebrew shibboleth, "stream, flood," from the use of this word in the Bible (Judges 12:4-6) as a test to distinguish Gileadites from Ephraimites, who could not say 'sh' but only 's' as in 'sibboleth'.

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for shibboleth


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