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51勛圖 of the Day

51勛圖 of the day

threequel

[ three-kwuhl ]

noun

the third in a series of literary works, movies, etc.; a second sequel: The first two films in this underworld anthology were cinematic gems, but the threequel was at best a disappointment.

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More about threequel

Threequel, the third in a series of literary works, movies, etc.; a second sequel, is a very recent neologism dating from around 1980. Threequel is an obvious compound of three and (se)quel. The term pops up泭in amusingly dismissive reviews of Jaws 3-D (a.k.a. Jaws III and Jaws 3), Rambo III, and RoboCop 3.

how is threequel used?

Threequels present a unique challenge: audiences expect the exact same cast to make them feel the exact same way the first two installments did, but with an entirely new and original storyline.

Seth Grossman, "This Wasnt Even Good Reality TV," New York Times, October 20, 2016

2011’s five top-grossing films tell a very different story: one sequel (The Hangover Part II), one threequel (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), two fourquels (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1泭硃紳餃泭Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides)and one泭eightquel泭(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2).

Scott Meslow, "Between 'Potter' and 'Hunger Games,' a Spotty Decade for Teen-Lit Films," The Atlantic, March 22, 2012

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ineffable

[ in-ef-uh-buhl ]

adjective

incapable of being expressed or described in words; inexpressible.

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More about ineffable

Ineffable ultimately comes from Latin 勳紳梗款款櫻莉勳梭勳莽 (of a word) unpronounceable, and in Late Latin and Christian Latin (of the divine name) that cannot or must not be spoken. 梆紳梗款款櫻莉勳梭勳莽 is a compound of in-, the Latin negative prefix that is equivalent to English un– (as in unspoken), and the verb 梗款款櫻娶蘋 to speak, speak out, speak solemnly, declare (itself a compound of the preposition and prefix ex, ex– out, out of and 款櫻娶蘋 to speak). Another English derivative, infant, comes from Latin 勳紳款櫻紳莽 (inflectional stem infant-) small child, infant, literally nonspeaking, formed from the same prefix in– and 款櫻紳莽, the present participle of 款櫻娶蘋. Ineffable entered English in the late 14th century.

how is ineffable used?

As a child, I loved reading the dictionary in search of the precise words for everything. Reading this poem, whose title is a Japanese word often translated as sunshine filtering through leaves, I felt that wonder againhow the language of poetry can move us closer to naming what is ineffable.

Natasha Trethewey, "'Komorebi,' by Caitriona O'Reilly," New York Times Magazine, November 20, 2015

Again, I was listening very hard to jazz and hoping, one day, to translate it into language, and Shakespeare’s bawdiness became very important to me since bawdiness was one of the elements of jazz and revealed a tremendous, loving and realistic respect for the body, and that ineffable force which the body contains …

James Baldwin, "This Nettle, Danger ..." Show, Vol. 4, February 1964

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vale

[ veyl ]

noun

the world, or mortal or earthly life: this vale of tears.

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More about vale

Vale泭may be familiar to some readers from the woeful expression vale of tears, which casts the world as a place of sorrow and difficulty.Vale, a valley, a low-lying piece of land usually having a brook, comes from Middle English val, valle, vaile (and more variants), from Old French val, vau, vauls (and more variants), from Latin 措硃梭梭襲莽 (inflectional stem valli-) valley. Vale in its literal sense as a geographical feature dates from the second half of the 14th century; the extended, figurative sense, the world, mortal life, earthly existence, dates from the first half of the 15th century.

how is vale used?

all he really wanted to do in company was to make jokes, to turn the world upside down and laugh at it, to enrich and enliven this vale of tears with a little fantasy.

Auberon Waugh, Will This Do?, 1991

As Keats witnessed more and more sufferinghis brother Toms death; the infectious illnesses sweeping Londonhe connected his aesthetic vision to lived experience, and wrote in a letter that life is a vale of soul-making: Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?

Meghan O'Rourke, "Americans Have to Accept Uncertainty," The Atlantic, May 6, 2020  

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