Word of the day: bagatelle

The word of the day is bagatelle:

1. something of little value or importance; a trifle.
2. a game played on a board having holes at one end into which balls are to be struck with a cue.
3. pinball.
4. a short and light musical composition, typically for the piano.

1630s, "a trifle," from Fr. bagatelle "knicknack, bauble, trinket" (16c.), from It. bagatella "a trifle," dim. of L. baca "berry." As "a piece of light music," it is attested from 1827.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bagatelle)

"Until we solve the world's desperate socio-economic problems, we can't waste our time on bagatelles like obscure Native American languages."

 - Jared Diamond quoting a hypothetical counterargument in The World Until Yesterday

Word of the day: tsuris

The word of the day is tsuris:

1. trouble; woe.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tsuris)

"Really, why go through the trouble of leaving home, battling T.S.A. lines, enduring delayed flights, and all the other travel tsuris when you can just stay where all the tourists want to be anyway, in N.Y.C.?"

 - Bob Mankoff, "The Cartoon Lounge: No Place Like Home", 27 July 2016 (http://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/bob-mankoff/the-cartoon-lounge-no-place-like-home?mbid=nl_07272016%20Cartoon%20Newsletter%20Final&CNDID=18333662&spMailingID=9265608&spUserID=MTA5MjM5OTU5NTI2S0&spJobID=962205615&spReportId=OTYyMjA1NjE1S0)

Word of the day: regnant

The word of the day is regnant:

1. reigning; ruling (usually used following the noun it modifies)
2. exercising authority, rule, or influence.
3. prevalent; widespread.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/regnant)

"Though the term is only used three times in the full body of his work, the invisible hand has become the regnant image of Smith’s philosophy."

 - John Paul Rollert, "Of Morals and Markets", Spring 2016 The University of Chicago Magazine (https://mag.uchicago.edu/economics-business/morals-and-markets)

Word of the day: nuncio

The word of the day is nuncio:

1. a diplomatic representative of the pope at a foreign court or capital: equal in status to an ambassador.

papal envoy, 1528, from It. nuncio (now nunzio), from L. nuntius "messenger," from PIE base *neu- "to shout" (cf. Gk. neuo "to nod, beckon," O.Ir. noid "make known").

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nuncio)

"When an American general arrived to confer with the papal nuncio, the U.S. Army blared music from loudspeakers to prevent journalists from eavesdropping."

 - Alex Ross, "The sound of hate", 4 July 2016 The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/04/when-music-is-violence)

Word of the day: inveigh

The word of the day is inveigh:

to protest strongly or attack vehemently with words; rail (usually followed by against)

1486, "to introduce," from L. invehi "to attack with words," originally "carry oneself against," from passive inf. of invehere "bring in, carry in," from in- "against" + vehere "to carry" (see vehicle). Meaning "to give vent to violent denunciation" is from 1529.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inveigh)

"Most important, if Bush’s faith gave him certainties that became overweening and dangerous during his Presidency, why did they not so manifest themselves while he was on the road to Damascus fifteen years earlier, or when he was inveighing against nation-building in 2000?"

 - Thomas Mallon, "W is for why", 4 July The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/04/bush-by-jean-edward-smith)

Word of the day: mentation

The word of the day is mentation:

1. mental activity.

1850, from L. ment- "mind" (see mental) + -ation.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mentation)

"Unlike Foster's emphasis on the mentation of his beasts, Thwaites is focused on achieving the physicality of the goat."

 - Carolyn Ristau, "Wild Things", 17 June 2016 Science (http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6292/1402)

Word of the day: sclerosed

The word of the day is sclerosed:

1. hardened or indurated, as by sclerosis.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sclerosed)

"The swift's minute filoplumes would convey essential information on feather orientation to its brain; Foster's body hair ruffles empathetically.  The urban fox engenders his deep respect: choosing to hunt, even though it could survive on pizza scraps.  In contrast, humans seem 'sclerosed superspecialists.'"

 - Carolyn Ristau, "Wild Things", 17 June 2016 Science (http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6292/1402)

No, I don't get it.  In those examples, aren't the swifts and foxes specialized?