51吃瓜 of the Day
bilious
adjective
extremely unpleasant or distasteful.
More about bilious
Bilious 鈥渆xtremely unpleasant or distasteful鈥� comes from Latin 产墨濒颈艒蝉耻蝉, which is formed from the noun 产墨濒颈蝉 鈥渂ile鈥� and the suffix -艒蝉耻蝉 鈥渇ull of, containing.鈥� The origins of 产墨濒颈蝉 are mysterious, but that has not stopped linguists from developing theories. One hypothesis, however flimsy, is a connection to Latin fel 鈥済补濒濒产濒补诲诲别谤; venom, poison,鈥� which could point to a derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root bhel- 鈥渢o shine; white, yellow,鈥� but this is a bit of a stretch of phonetic logic. Another option, in light of some potential cognates of 产墨濒颈蝉 in Celtic languages (such as Welsh bustl 鈥済all, bile鈥�), could point to a pre-Indo-European source from which only the Celtic and Italic languages borrowed the term. Alternatively, 产墨濒颈蝉 and its Celtic cognates could be distantly related to English bite because of bile鈥檚 digestive effects. Bilious was first recorded in English circa 1540.
how is bilious used?
Almost hypnotized by the distant glow, by that ghost-light that spun and bobbed over the dark mound, the boy stared for a time. Between fear and cold, he became unaware even of his own shaking. Minutes later, racing along, the boy felt that something was wrong. While he should have felt relief at leaving that forsaken encampment, his stomach felt leaden. The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling. Turning, he saw the streaming ball of bilious light, winding its way through the air behind him. The ghost was chasing him.
The euphoria of discovery conveyed by Richard Greenberg through a gay outsider who becomes an impassioned baseball fan hasn鈥檛 dimmed a bit in the two decades since Take Me Out was first produced. Other things, however, have changed …. Issues that once seemed too reflective of the playwright鈥檚 hand at work now seem urgently keyed into a contemporary world in which masculine anxiety and its bilious consequences are being held up for scrutiny.
bilious
baksheesh
noun
a tip, present, or gratuity.
More about baksheesh
Baksheesh 鈥渁 tip, present, or gratuity鈥� is adapted from Persian bakhshish 鈥済ift,鈥� a noun derived from the verb bakhshidan 鈥渢o give.鈥� Because Persian is a member of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family, bakhshidan comes from a Proto-Indo-European root, bhag- 鈥渢o share out, apportion, receive a share鈥�; we learned about this root previously as the source of the 51吃瓜 of the Day nebbish, which comes from a Slavic term meaning 鈥減oor鈥濃�攐r, originally, 鈥渘ot having received a share.鈥� As we saw earlier this week with the 51吃瓜 of the Day auriferous, the Proto-Indo-European sound bh (鈥渂uh鈥� pronounced with a puff of air) often becomes ph in Ancient Greek, which explains how bhag- becomes phagein 鈥渢o eat,鈥� as in esophagus as well as the combining form -phage, which is used to designate cells that eat foreign particles and bacteria. Baksheesh was first recorded in English in 1620.
how is baksheesh used?
It didn鈥檛 take long before my rapidly thinning wallet made me see I had to modify this habit. What鈥檚 more, I discovered there were many parts of the world in which my New York City-style baksheesh was considered inappropriate, even eccentric. In tip-free Japan, where cash is king, and prices, by custom, include all services, I鈥檝e actually had hotel housekeepers chase after me with the tip I鈥檇 left for them in the room.
The sidewalk thrummed with relentless energy. I was immediately enshrouded in a scrim of shouts, laughter, arguments, haggling, vigorous demands for baksheesh. The Cairenes shoved past in djellabas and jeans, T-shirts and head scarves. You could still see men wearing red fezzes, tassels wagging as they rushed by. The temperature was well over 100, but no one wore shorts.
baksheesh
tantivy
interjection
used as a hunting cry when the chase is at full speed.
More about tantivy
Tantivy 鈥渦sed as a hunting cry when the chase is at full speed鈥� is of obscure origin, but the prevailing theory is that the term is of onomatopoeic origin, based on the sound of galloping or blowing a horn. While it may seem odd that a complex word such as tantivy, in comparison to far simpler onomatopoeias such as tap or toot, would result from imitating a sound, tantivy is far from the only term to blaze this trail. Compare the similar interjection tantara, which represents the sound of a trumpet or horn; the noun clippety-clop, which refers to the sound of a horse trotting on pavement; and the noun tarantara, which imitates the sound of a bugle. Tantivy was first recorded in English circa 1640.
how is tantivy used?
Tantivy! Tantivy! Tantivy! He felt now Joe’s pride that he was bringing his coach in on time. How they dashed over the cobbles, how the roans tossed their heads, how through the murk and gloom one could dimly feel figures sliding, horses slipping, voices shouting to be out of the way.
Whilst cheery sportsmen hunt the fox / As blithely as they can, / ‘Tis mine, as I “Tantivy!” cry, / To hunt the missing Plan!
tantivy