Just as “there are no old movies [or books] – just good movies (or books) you haven’t seen (or read), (Peter Bogdanovich) – so are there archaic words even more appropriate for use today!
Resurrecting interesting (and often amusing) vocabulary and expressions no longer used – but still appropo -with a bit of editorial comment.
Diction: the choice and use of words and phrases in writing or speech encompassing the writer’s or speaker’s vocabulary, style, and tone; significantly impacting how a message is conveyed.
Words:
Aporia: a state of realization of ignorance. A state of philosophical perplexity, puzzlement, or a logical impasse where a problem seems to have no clear solution (i.e. Trump’s attack on Iran), often to highlight inadequate thinking. As a rhetorical device, it is the expression of genuine or feigned doubt.
Key Aspects of Aporia in Philosophy: It represents an insurmountable contradiction or a state of bewilderment, often seen in Socratic dialogues [or Congress, or Trump, Biden, Obama, Bush, Jr. – any recent – presidential administration] where the interlocutor is left not knowing how to proceed.
Prolixity: the noun form of prolix, referring to the quality of being tediously wordy, long-winded, or using an excessive number of words in speech or writing. It denotes an often self-satisfied, excessive length that can bore the reader or listener. (see: Trump’s 2026 State of the Union Address; any Congressman whose lips are moving, most MAGA media flacks and their “subject-matter experts” who pay $10k to the Speakers’ Bureau to get their faces on national media just to pad their weak resumes.)
Dissonance: refers to a lack of agreement, consistency, or harmony between elements, often resulting in tension, discord, or discomfort. It applies to clashing sounds in music, harsh, jarring elements in poetry, or internal psychological conflict between beliefs and behaviors. (see: Congress: GOP, DNC, Political Parties, Trump Administration]
Churl: a rude, surly ill-bred, or impolite person. A person lacking manners; a loutish, selfish, or uncultivated individual. Syn: Boor, Lout
Tatterdemalion: a person wearing ragged, torn, or disreputable clothing. Often used to describe a shabby, unkempt individual or a dilapidated, broken-down object. (see: Congressmen who appear on committees drunk on their asses)
Cupidity: an intense, inordinate, or excessive desire for wealth, possessions, or power [or all three like Trump!] It signifies extreme greed or covetousness.
Key Aspect of Cupidity: An eager, often unlawful, desire to possess something, usually material beyond what is necessary [like Greenland].
Flack: refers to a public relations agent, or as a verb, to promote something; i.e. members of Trump’s Cabinet; “Public Intellectuals” (see Posner) on CNN, MSNBC, NewsMax, FoxNews]
Mensa: the German and Dutch word for “cafeteria;” the Spanish word for “stupid.” [and you thought it meant “genius”!]
Gnosis: “knowledge”, represents direct, experiential, and mystical knowledge of the Divine, serving as the central, saving insight in Gnosticism that reveals humanity’s true spiritual nature and initiates deliverance from the material world. It emphasizes self-knowledge and direct, personal understanding of God rather than blind faith or dogmatic belief [demanded by paid clergy!]
– Divine Spark: Gnosis asserts that a Divine, inner spark within humanity is imprisoned in the material world. [if you’ve read the Bible this may sound familiar – it’s the Holy Ghost]
– Liberation through Knowledge: True knowledge [yes, there IS objective Truth – ask Mortimer J. Adler) of one’s origin and Divine Nature is the means to achieve Salvation and escape the material world [Read the Book of Genesis, DUH.]
– The ‘Unknown” God: Gnosis involves realizing that the Supreme, Divine, and True God is entirely distinct from the lower, flawed Creator God of the material world. DUH. Elohim – God the Father is our Heavenly Father; Jesus Christ was commissioned by our Heavenly Father to go down and create this earth. Jesus, the Son of God, is the Lord and Savior of this Earth. It ain’t that complicated!}
– “Radical”Self-Knowledge: The journey toward the Divine is inward, recognizing one’s True Divine Self. [The “Secret” Key during the 32nd Degree Masonry ceremony is simply “We are [literally] created in God’s Image.” DUH. It can’t get any plainer than Genesis. It’s no mystery if you read the scriptures: “If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God, Who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” –James 1:5, KJV
Oneiromancer: someone who divines through the interpretation of dreams. Someone who claims to discover hidden knowledge with the aid of supernatural powers. (see: Trump, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent)
Libyan Lizard (Uromastyx): 1. Darts forward then retreats into the nearest hole; darts its head in and out of many holes; 2. They spend most of their waking hours basking in the sun, hiding in underground chambers at nighttime or when danger appears. (see: Congress, Politicians, Trump)
Geomancy (Geomancer):
A compound of Greek roots denoting “earth divination”, was originally used to mean methods of divination that interpret geographic features, markings on the ground, or the patterns formed by soil, rocks, or sand. Its definition has expanded over time to include any spiritual, metaphysical, or pseudoscientific practice that is related to the Earth.
In recent times the term has been applied to a wide range of other occult and fringe activities including Earth Mysteries:
– as in “Geomancer Al Gore and The Climate ‘Reality’ Project; Environmental Defense Fund, and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Polemicist: a person skilled at making forceful, often controversial, arguments against a belief or opinion, using either written or spoken words. The term comes from the Greek word for “warlike” (polemikos). A polemicist’s approach can be aggressive, engaging in a kind of “war of words” to vehemently attack an opposing viewpoint.
Polemics often concern questions of religion or politics. Famous polemicists have included Galileo, Voltaire, and Leo Tolstoy.
Currish: bad tempered, quarrelsome. (see: Trump when he’s confronted with being wrong.)
Conspectus: a usually brief survey or summary of an extensive subject often providing an overall view.
Excrescence: a distinct outgrowth on a human or animal body or on a plant; especially one that is the result of disease or abnormality.
Example: “Do you take this excrescence to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Portmanteau: a word made by blending at least two words. The new word combines both the sounds and meanings of the originals. To form a portmanteau, usually the first segment of one word is attached to the final segment of another word.
– a portmanteau is a literary device that encourages linguistic creativity. By combining two distinct words into one a new word is created that holds its own meaning.
– this wordplay expands the boundaries of language while keeping readers engaged in the creative work. i.e. “Trump” and “Humpty.” (as in Humpty Dumpty) becoming “Trumph.”
Aphron: without reason; senseless, foolish, stupid. Without reflection or intelligence; acting rashly. As in: “Trump’s Aphron Administration.”
Oleaginous: 1. rich in, covered with, or producing oil; oily or greasy; 2. exaggeratedly and distastefully complimentary; obsequious – “political candidates made the oleaginous speeches in the debate.”
Sophophile: someone who loves seeking or acquiring knowledge and wisdom; a characteristic often described as being a philomath or having sophophilia. The term derives from the Greek word sophos (wise) and the suffix phile (lover of) indicating a deep love and enduring passion for learning.
– a sophophile is inherently driven by a desire to understand and learn new things.
– They possess a profound curiosity that pushes them to seek out and explore new information.
– Beyond just accumulating facts, a sophophile has a yearning for wisdom and deeper understanding.
– This often manifests itself as a voracious appetite for reading and engaging with intellectual content.
– They are open-minded and receptive to new ideas, making them easily teachable.
Defenestrate: to throw a person or thing out of a window. From the Latin fenestre meaning “window.” While its primary meaning is literal, it can also be used figuratively to mean suddenly removing someone from an important position or office.
The term gained prominence due to the Defenestrations of Prague – historical events where people were thrown from windows, most notable the 1618 incident that helped trigger the Thirty Years War.
Stakhanovite: an exceptionally productive Soviet worker, named after Soviet coal miner Alexei Stakhanov who famously exceeded his production quota by a massive margin in 1935.
Paideia: the holistic upbringing, training, and discipline that forms a child’s soul and character, shaping their desires, actions, and entire worldview to align with God’s will and cultivate virtue.
While often translated as “nurture,” “instruction,” or “discipline,” it encompasses more than just knowledge, involving the shaping of affections and the instilling of a proper understanding of God and His Kingdom. (see: Mortimer J. Adler’s Paideia Program)
Nugatory: 1. of little or no consequence; trifling, inconsequential.
Example: comments too nugatory to merit attention; 2. having no force; inoperative,
Eidetic: relating to or denoting mental images having unusual vividness and detail, as if actually visible; as in “an eidetic memory.”
Bloviate: a pompous, wordy, and empty kind of speech; includes verbosity, pomposity, ranting, harangue, oratory, and fulmination. These words capture the essence of speaking at length in an inflated and often pretentious manner. See: politician or pundit.
Adiaphoria: morally irrelevant issues; the concept of “indifferent things” that are neither commanded nor forbidden, particularly in philosophical and religious contexts.
Aporia: The state of realization of one’s own ignorance. [Confucius says that is the beginning of wisdom]
Mendacious: given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute Truth. (see: Trump re: details in “solving” 7 wars or conflicts, or any time Trump says “I don’t know anything about that” as in the raid on John Bolton’s home for “classified material” the exact political revenge tactic used by Biden on Trump himself; or any politician, MAGA or Main Stream media personality; Political Party leadership or spokesperson)
Demagogue: a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument;
– verb: rhetorically exploit an issue for political purposes in a way calculated to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people. (see: Politician, Congress, GOP, DNC)
Braggadocio: boastful or arrogant behavior (see: Trump, “Vacation” Vance,)
Pleonexia: extreme greed for wealth or material possessions; avarice (see: Trump)
Persiflage: light, mocking bantering talk or writing; a frivolous or flippant style of treating a subject, i.e. when Trump says “I don’t know anything about that.”
Parochial: someone too concerned with their own affairs; selfish, small-minded, or focused on a small group of people in terms of standpoints. (see: Trump, GOP, DNC, Political Parties)
Senescence: a cellular stress response that causes cells to permanently stop dividing and enter a state of growth arrest, without dying. (See: Democrat, Liberal, AOC, Kamallah Harris, Joe Biden, Left and MAGA media).
Dirigiste: an economic system where the State actively directs and controls economic activities, often through planning, investment (taxpayers’ money) and regulation.
It’s a system that blends elements of both capitalism and socialism, where the government plays a “significant role” in shaping the economy, rather than solely relying on free market forces.
Examples of dirigiste policies include nationalizing key industries like transportation and energy, providing subsidies for specific sectors, and using State-owned enterprises to drive economic development.
Batten (as a verb): To thrive; to grow fat – especially at the expense of others. (see: Politician, Congress, federal employee, Welfare recipients, Democrat, Republican, Political Party)
Hegira: used to describe any journey undertaken to escape a dangerous or undesirable situation.
Jeremiad: a long, mournful complaint or lamentation, a list of woes.
Neoterism: a newly invented word of phrase; the introduction of new phrases; someone who embraces new ideas – or a modern author.
Fallacy of Induction: the tendency to generalize from past to future without an adequate theoretical basis.
Naive Extrapolation: assuming the future will be like the present; a common sign of a lack of causal theory.
Sophist: someone who, motivated by a desire for personal gain or influence, utilizes cunning rhetoric and arguments that lack genuine intellectual rigor, often promoting moral relativism and denying the existence of objective Truth. – Mortimer J. Adler, Reforming Education: The Opening of the American Mind, 1977.
Didactic: intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive. i.e. “a didactic novel that set out to expose social injustice; In the manner of a teacher, particularly so as to treat someone in a patronizing way.
Qua: Latin meaning “in the capacity of” or “as.”
Procrustean: a situation where conformity is enforced through violent of ruthless means, disregarding individual differences or special circumstances. It originates from the Greek myth of Procrustes who would force travelers to fit his bed by stretching them or cutting them.
– Forced conformity: trying to make everyone fit into the same mold, even if it means harming or mistreating them.
– Disregarding differences: implies a lack of consideration for unique needs, abilities, or situations
Shill: an accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others.
Maieutic: of or denoting the Socratic mode of inquiry, which aims to bring a person’s latent ideas into clear consciousness.
Rodomontade: boastful or inflated talk or behavior; “the corrupting effect of [pseudo] macho rodomontade.” – Myers, History. p. 597;
See:
Trump’s Golden Calf
Unctuous: 1. something oily or greasy in texture; 2. someone’s behavior as overly smooth, suave, and insincere, or even excessive in their piousness. (see: members of Congress, paid clergy, TV evangelists, etc.)
Humbuggery: deceptive or nonsensical language, behavior, or ideas intended to mislead or deceive people; 2. a person who is deceptive or fraudulent, derived from “humbug” meaning something false or ridiculous. (see: members of Congress, Immigration “Reform.”
Vaniloquent: (vayn-il-i-quent); adj. describing someone who speaks excessively about themselves or with a sense of self-importance, often in a vain or egotistical manner.
1. Talking in a vain or foolish way; as in whenever You-Know-Who opens his mouth
Trump’s Felony
2. “While those assuming the most vaniloquent expressions were, in fact, seen in their nakedness as perjurers, cheats, and frauds. (see: Trump Townhouses; and Trump Tower nightly rates compared to other hotels in downtown NYC -paying for the label)
3. a fine or compulsory payment.
Mulct: to defraud especially of money; to obtain by dishonest means.
1. extract money from someone by fine or taxation; “they have turned mulcting taxpayers into an art form”.
2. noun: a fine or compulsory payment.
(see: Wall Street, Congress, The Republican National Committee, The Democrat National Committee, Defense Contractors; )
read: The History of the Great American Fortunes by Gustavus Myers, 1936; 712pgs.
Pissant: [I LOVE this one!] an epithet for an inconsequential, irrelevant, or worthless person; especially one who is irritating or contemptible, out of proportion to his or her perceived significance. see: King Charles, III; Greg “Beavis” Gutfeld, Brian Kilmead, Jesse Watters, et al.
Pissant is an onomotopoeia: a word that sounds just like the thing it describes.
Turgid: bombastic, inflated, overblown; pompously pretentious;
Monomania: an excessive or pathological preoccupation with a single idea, object, or interest; often to the exclusion of other concerns. It can range from a strong interest to a mental disorder where the obsession is irrational and interferes with daily life. see: Trump’s Tower: Moscow and Putin’s restoring the Soviet Union.
Pelf: used in a disparaging way meaning money or riches, especially when viewed as a source of dishonor or acquired dishonestly. It can also refer to ill-gotten gains or stolen goods. see: Trump’s Townhouses; Trump Tower: Moscow.
Bagatelle: a trifle or a trinket; a little thing without too much importance or value. As in what was paid the Indians for Manhattan; or how John Jacob Astor and all the other Robber Barons obtained their wealth by providing Indians with alcohol to get them drunk while giving them bagatelles for their furs which were sold back East at exorbitant prices; or what wealthy industrialists paid for Western public lands they bribed Land Agents of the federal government to classify as “swamp” land that in reality was prime lumber and mineral rich – denying hundreds of millions of acres of fertile land to honest pioneers. (see: History of the Great American Fortunes by Gustavus Myers, 1936; 712 pgs)
Cupidity: 1. inordinate desire for wealth; avarice, greed for money. As in Donald Trump, most members of Congress; both Political Parties and the National Chamber of Commerce who colluded with Congress and the Biden administration in opening the border to over ten million illegal aliens.
*****Because not only does more illegal aliens mean more voters and demographic sabotage of the electoral system (Dems) but more illegals means more consumers (GOP and the National Chamber of Commerce)
Termagent: a harsh-tempered or overbearing woman. – see: Hillary Clinton or Dagan McDowell.
Harridan: a scolding, unpleasant, or aggressive woman. see Hillary Clinton or Dagan McDowell (or my ex-wife).
Thaumaturgic: comes from the Greek word thaumaturgic meaning “wonder worker” or “miracle worker;” as an adjective to describe someone or something as “performing miracles.” As in Donald Trump promising to end the Russo-Ukraine war in 24 hours with “half a brain” or by pissing off the entire economic world and promising Tariffs won’t adversely affect the American consumer.
Persona: The term persona comes from the Latin word persona which refers to the masks worn by Etruscan mimes.
1. the personality a person presents to the public, especially a celebrity or politician. Their public persona rarely portrays their true personality.
2. the identity and social face a person presents to the world; a way to make an impression on others while concealing their true nature; serial killers, wife and child abusers have personas in common with celebrities, politicians, con artists (but I repeat myself) many to be found working on Wall Street and in the Left and Right media.
Bauble: a piece of bright but cheap jewelry; as in a female media personality: “She is a bauble of broadcasting media due to her reliance on looks rather than intellect.”
[Although, as I perused the list of conservative female personalities, I find almost all of them are imminently more qualified than their metrosexual, shallow and less intelligent male counterparts! Their conservativism appears much more sincere, informed and articulate compared to their male counterparts.
Celador: considered the most beautiful word in the English language. In Spanish it means “to guard” or “warder” referring to someone who maintains order in a public place or guards convicts – as in the Sergeant at Arms in the Senate and House of Representatives
Bumfuzzle: refers to being confused, perplexed, or flustered or to cause confusion; i.e. Joe Biden; or Trump on foreign policy and national security; Any member of Congress who hasn’t read the latest poll numbers on any issue; the average American citizen when a fact contradicts their emotionally-based opinion (as in Trump Derangement Syndrome and its’ opposite Trump Terminal Euphoria).
Omnishambles: a neologism meaning a situation that is bad in many different ways due to to poor organization and serious mistakes; often used in political contexts to describe a situation that has been poorly handled or managed (see: Congress). i.e., Kamallah Harris’ presidential campaign; Joe Biden’s administration; president Trump’s “24-hour” solution to the war in Ukraine; Trump’s bumbling bull-dozing of the “reciprocal” tariffs (coining a new economic practice called “one-step forward, two steps backward” – equally applied to his foreign policies.
Fugacious: lasting a very short time; ephemeral, passing, short-lived, transient, transitory, [Like D.O.G.E.’s elimination of Fraud, Waste and Abuse within the U.S. government]
Phrases that. if heard more often, would restore law and order in America:
– “If you don’t stop crying I’ll give you something to cry about!”
– “If I have to pull this car over you’re both going to get a spanking!”
– “Wait ’til your DADDY gets home!”
– “Don’t make me take my belt off!”
For not only have fathers been emasculated from any parental authority, but children who don’t fear swift and consistent negative consequences from their parents for bad behavior have no concept of the more severe and longer lasting negative consequences of disrespecting civilian authority. – Ligon
Balderdash: An archaic term meaning something that doesn’t make sense, complete and utter nonsense. Though Merriam Webster offers many synonyms, the pre-PC dictionary’s last definition said it was British for bullshit – heard mostly from within the hallowed halls of governments and the mouths of politicians; identified by their lips moving – especially in front of camera and microphone. Think Back to the Future when “Biff” is knocked unconscious into a wagon of horse apples and rises to spit horse manure from his mouth.
Poppycock:
First used in 1852 originally from the Dutch dialect pappekak – literally soft dung. Often used in conjunction with Balderdash (see above). Its use has been discouraged by the British monarchy (for obvious reasons).
Platitude: a sanctimonious cliche’; a statement that is not only old and overused but often over moralistic and imperious. Platitudes have been criticized as giving a false impression of wisdom, making it easy to accept falsehoods. It is a statement seen as trite or meaningless aimed at quelling social, emotional, or cognitive unease. The statement may be true, but its meaning has been lost due to its excessive use as a thought terminating cliche’. Used by politicians to confuse both the media and the public in order to avoid personal responsibility for crises they created, ignored, or can’t resolve (see: 9/11 Commission Report, The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America by David Stockman; the Commission Report on the 2008 Mortgage Crisis , The COVID-19 Pandemic, etc. (see also: Gavin Newsom, the L.A. Fire)
Jargogle: to confuse or mix things up. (see: Joe Biden)
Surd: lacking sense; irrational. (see: Joe Biden)
Semantic Satiation: a psychological phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who then perceives the speech as repeated meaningless sounds. (see: Congress’ reform)
Zabernism: the misuse of military power; aggression; bullying. After Zabern, German word for Saverne, a village in Alsace, France. (see: Political-Military-Industrial Complex; Pentagon, George Bush, Jr. Major General Yoo, and whoever the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is at the moment; and Undue Command Influence (UCI) in the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Kruppism: an eponym, coined after Alfred Krupp,1812-1887 German industrialist and armaments manufacturer (or Robert McNamara, Casper Weinberger, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld,). It implies indiscriminate trade in arms and war profiteering. (see: Department of Defense, Political-Military-Industrial Complex, and Trading with the Enemy: An Expose’ of the Nazi-American Money Plot 1933-1949 by Charles Higham, 1983)
Profiteering: the act of making an excessive profit by taking advantage of a situation, often by selling goods in high demand at inflated prices. It can also refer to making an unreasonable profit on the sale of essential goods, particularly during times of emergency:
– Natural disasters: Stores charging high prices for water and batteries because they know the people need them.
– New Products: buying a lot of a new product and then selling it for a much higher price.
– Olympics: hotels charging exorbitantly higher prices during the Olympics.
– Big Pharma: charging higher prices for essential medicines because the company has a monopoly on the supply – and / or they have pigeon holed the medicines that will actually cure the disease. (see also: General Motors)
Profiteering is illegal in countries like the UK, Germany, and Austria. . . .
Cannonism: concentration of the means of power over the procedure and business in the hands of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. After Joseph G. Cannon, a Republican politician who served in the House for 46 years – ousted from the Committee on Rules (yes, there actually is a “committee on rules!). (see: Political Parties, UniParty)
Not to be confused with ‘canon‘ – a set of rules or traditions from an authoritative list of books or texts [like the Constitution] considered permanent guides to morality that are followed.
Sisyphean: tasks that are both laborious and futile. (see: Congressional Budget, Government Reform; or Trump Draining the Swamp)
Dystopia: a “fictional” society (you be the judge) or community that is extremely bad or frightening, where people live under a highly controlled, totalitarian system. The word comes from Latin prefix “dys” meaning “bad” and the word “utopia” a place that doesn’t exist. Characteristics of a dystopia are:
– Dehumanization: people lead wretched lives.
– Suppressed identity
– Lack of families
– Fear: of speaking one’s mind or acting freely
See: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World – or Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, L.A., Minneapolis, Seattle, San Francisco, or any other Red state or Sanctuary City)
Objectivism: a tenet that reality exists independently of consciousness, that human beings have direct contact with reality through sense perception, that one can attain objective knowledge from perception through the process of concept formation and inductive logic, that the proper moral purpose of one’s life is the pursuit of one’s own happiness (see rational egoism), that the only social system consistent with this morality is one that displays full respect for individual rights embodied in laissez-faire capitalism, and that the role of art in human life is to transform humans’ metaphysical ideas by selective reproduction of reality into a physical form that one can comprehend and respond emotionally. (see: The Ten Great Mistakes by Mortimer J. Adler or, Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin, Communist Party, Socialism, the Democrat Party, The Left, Progressive, Hillary Clinton, Kamalla Harris)
Solipsism: from Latin solus “alone” and ipse “self”; the philosophical idea that only one’s mind is sure to exist. Holding that knowledge of anything outside one’s own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist outside the mind. (see: Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Kamallah Harris, Pelosi, McConnell, Schumer, Democrat Party, Left and Right media talking heads; CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Newsmax, Fox News, Brian Kilmead)
