epizootic (adj.): affecting many animals of one kind at the same time. compare EPIDEMIC Doesn’t this word sound made up? I saw it for the first time ever in this week’s New Yorker, in a Talk of the Town piece by John Cassidy, in which he described the recent rash of Wall Street calamities as [...]
GrouSu (n.): group suicide New York City likes to call itself a “City of Neighborhoods,” and it’s certainly true that between the ethnic enclaves, specialized commercial districts, and salient manmade geographical features, the city is broken into pieces that have clear character and distinctive attributes — a walk from the West Village across town to [...]
mundane (adj.): characterized by human affairs, concerns, and activities that are often practical, immediate, transitory, and ordinary. From Old French mondain, from Latin mundus, world I’ve been told that everyone dreams, every night, without fail, and that the sensation of dreamless sleep is merely the dreamer not remembering any of his or her dreams upon [...]
touchtype (v.): to type without needing to look at the keys I’m writing this blog post from my iPhone, because I’m watching tv and I’m too lazy to go all the way to my bedroom to get the laptop. Shut up. I’m sick. I type very fast — like 100 words per minute — and [...]
ambiance (n.): a surrounding or pervading atmosphere; environment; milieu How does one go about lighting a room? I’ve lived in this apartment for over two years and my bedroom is lit only by one profoundly crappy IKEA torchiere and two desk lamps, one on my desk, one on my nightstand, each of which currently holds a [...]
