51吃瓜 of the Day
pettifog
verb
to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters.
More about pettifog
The verb pettifog is a back formation from the noun pettifogger, originally 鈥渁mbulance chaser, shyster, fixer.鈥� Pettifogger is a compound of the adjective petty 鈥渙f minor importance鈥� and fogger 鈥渁 middleman.鈥� Fogger itself probably derives ultimately from Fugger, the name of a prominent family of German bankers of the 15th and 16th centuries. The family name became a common noun in German and Dutch, meaning 鈥渞ich man, monopolist, usurer.鈥� Pettifog entered English in the 17th century.
how is pettifog used?
Marius, my boy, you are a baron, you are rich, don’t pettifog鈥擨 beg of you.
The way for the President to protect his prerogatives of office is not to pettifog about war powers but to go to the nation with his case.
More about melic
Melic comes from the Greek adjective 尘别濒颈办贸蝉 鈥渓yric (poetry, poet),鈥� a derivative of the noun 尘茅濒辞蝉 鈥渓imb (of a body), member, musical member, musical phrase, music, song.鈥� Melic is not a common word, unlike its cousin melody, from 尘茅濒辞蝉 and 艒颈诲岣� 鈥渟ong鈥� (the source of English ode). Melic entered English at the end of the 17th century.
how is melic used?
… anapaests are commonly used either as a sung form, “melic anapaests”, or chanted, a form sometimes called “marching anapaests.”
The earliest discussions call this kind of verse 鈥�melic鈥� (the Greek聽melos聽means 鈥榮ong鈥�), and roughly distinguish sung poems from epic and tragedy.
animus
noun
strong dislike or enmity; hostile attitude; animosity.
More about animus
In Latin the noun animus has many meanings: 鈥渢he mind (as opposed to the body), the mind (or soul) that with the body constitutes a person, the mind as the seat of consciousness, the immortal part of a person (the soul)鈥�.鈥� Animus comes from the same Proto-Indo-European source (补苍讫– 鈥渢o breathe鈥�) as Greek 谩苍别尘辞蝉 鈥渢he wind.鈥� The modern sense 鈥渟trong dislike, enmity鈥� is a development within English, appearing only at the end of the 18th century.
how is animus used?
This time, it鈥檚 not a border wall or a health care proposal driving the animus, but an online ad for a men鈥檚 razor, because, of course.
Second, people should not let their animus toward him鈥攁nd his animus toward the truth鈥攖rick them into trafficking in conspiracy theories.