word of the day: rumptytum

The word of the day is rumptytum:

 

Etymology:  Imitative of the sound of a drum roll.

A. int.  Used as a meaningless refrain or to represent a regular rhythmic sound.  

B. n.  Rhythmic repetitiveness, esp. in music or verse; an instance of this.  

C. adj.  Esp. of music or verse: repetitive, trivial, commonplace.

"No matter how rumpty-tum her diction, nothing can domesticate the freakish Land of Topsy-Turvy, dilute the glacial awe of the Land of Ice and Snow, or still the fear invoked by the fucking Land of Smack—an entire world whose quiddity is pain."


 - China Miéville, "Forward thinking", 4 & 11 June 2012 The New Yorker