51吃瓜 of the Day
脿 la mode
adjective
(of pie or other dessert) served with a portion of ice cream, often as a topping: apple pie 脿 la mode.
More about 脿 la mode
In French the phrase 脿 la mode 鈥渋n the current fashion鈥� is a shortening of 脿 la mode de 鈥渋n the style of (X),鈥� a meaning extant in U.S. English. But to most Americans 脿 la mode means a dessert, typically a wedge of pie, topped with ice cream, a meaning that has been current in U.S. English since the early 1890s but not in British English. 脌 la mode entered English in the 17th century.
how is 脿 la mode used?
If your server mentions apple-and-caramel pie a la mode, don’t hesitate.
You can find a hotel, convenience store, and pay-per-use showers there; more important, though, you can find blueberry pie a la mode.
脿 la mode
hobgoblin
noun
something causing superstitious fear; a bogy.
More about hobgoblin
Hobgoblin is a compound of the nouns hob and goblin. Hob (also Hobbe), a pet form or nickname of Robin or Robert, was used as early as the 15th century as a shortened form of Robin Goodfellow, a.k.a. Puck (as in Shakespeare鈥檚 A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and a.k.a. Hobgoblin (i.e., the common noun used as a personal name). Goblin comes from Middle English gobelin goblin, gobolin 鈥渁 devil, incubus, fairy,鈥� from Middle French gobellin. Further etymology is uncertain and speculative: The French forms may come from Medieval Latin 驳辞产别濒墨苍耻蝉, from an unrecorded Late Latin gobalus, cabalus 鈥渄omestic sprite,鈥� from Greek 办贸产补濒辞蝉 鈥渕alicious knave, mischievous genie.鈥� The Latin suffix –墨苍耻蝉 and French suffix –in complete the word. Hobgoblin entered English in the first half of the 16th century.
how is hobgoblin used?
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
The enemy was very real, literally an existential foe … not just the hobgoblin of alleged McCarthyite paranoia.
hobgoblin
punctilio
noun
a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure.
More about punctilio
The English noun punctilio comes via Italian puntiglio 鈥渕inor point (of detail or behavior),鈥� from Spanish puntillo 鈥渁 dot, minute point, point of honor鈥� a diminutive of punto 鈥減oint, spot, dot.鈥� The Spanish and Italian noun punto comes from Latin punctum 鈥渟mall hole, puncture,鈥� a noun use of the past participle punctus from the verb pungere 鈥渢o pierce, prick, sting (of insects).鈥� The c in Latin punctum is the source of c in English punctilio. Punctilio entered English in the late 16th century.
how is punctilio used?
I omitted not the least punctilio, and was surprised that in these matters I should know without ever having learned. I arranged all my papers, and regulated all my affairs, without the least assistance from any one.
This version of the dance gets a shortened title, 鈥淓rrand鈥� 鈥� a punctilio that the deviations from the original seem too minor to justify.
punctilio