51吃瓜 of the Day
pantofle
noun
a slipper.
More about pantofle
Pantofle 鈥渋ndoor shoe, slipper鈥� comes from Middle French pantoufle, pantophle (and other spellings). The word occurs in other Romance languages, e.g., Occitan and Italian have pantofla (and other spellings), and Spanish has pantufla. Catalan changed the position of the l in original pantofla to plantofa under the influence of planta 鈥渟ole (of the foot)鈥�; compare English plantar (wart). Further etymology of pantofle is speculative. Pantofle entered English in the late 15th century.
how is pantofle used?
“I’ve lost a pantofle!” he whispered desperately.
… your art / Can blind a jealous husband, and, disguised / Like a milliner or shoemaker, convey / A letter in a pantofle or glove, / Without suspicion, nay at his table …
More about carking
Carking derives from Norman French carquier 鈥渢o load, burden,鈥� from Late Latin 肠补谤肠腻谤别, 肠补谤谤颈肠腻谤别 鈥渢o load.鈥� In Old French, i.e., Parisian French, the dialect spoken in the 卯le de France (the region of France that includes Paris), Late Latin 肠补谤肠腻谤别 becomes chargier (which becomes charge in English). Norman French does not palatalize c (representing the sound k) before a, which Old French does; thus in English we have the doublets cattle (from Norman French) and chattel from Parisian French. Late Latin 肠补谤肠腻谤别 becomes cargar 鈥渢o load鈥� in Spanish, the source of English cargo. Carking entered English in the early 14th century.
how is carking used?
Laranger’s answering smile showed no trace of the carking anxiety and deadly uncertainty which filled him at the thought of the future.
If we get our victuals daily we can lift our voices gaily / In a song that chants farewell to carking care.
tub-thump
verb
Informal. to promote something or express opinions vociferously.
More about tub-thump
Tub-thump, a very rare word, is a back formation of tub-thumper 鈥渁 vociferous supporter of a cause.鈥� The verb tub-thump was coined by the British author Herman C. McNeile (1888鈥�1937), whose pen name was 鈥淪apper,” and who wrote the series of thrillers whose hero was Bulldog Drummond. The only other author to use the verb tub-thump was the American poet and editor Ezra Pound (1885-1972). Tub-thump entered English in 1920.
how is tub-thump used?
Ever eager to tub-thump America’s vast superiority, local civic chauvinists wanted our homegrown exposition to outstrip them all.
Whereas the United States and many other countries are finding pollution control easier to tub-thump with than to implement, Britain has the existing machinery of the Alkali Inspectorate, the Clean Air Acts and the river authorities whose ambitious programmes were well under way before the word environment was heard in Westminster.