cynosure \SY-nuh-shoor; SIN-uh-shoor\ (noun) - 1 : Anything to which attention is strongly turned; a center of attraction. 2 : That which serves to guide or direct. 3 : [Capitalized]. The northern constellation Ursa Minor,...Read More

excoriate \ek-SKOR-ee-ayt\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To express strong disapproval of; to denounce. 2 : To tear or wear off the skin of.

"Besides which there stirred not the least breath of wind, and flies and gadflies did...Read More

flippant \FLIP-uhnt\ (adjective) - Lacking proper seriousness or respect; showing inappropriate levity; pert.

"Ann is flippant where I'm serious, and I'm flippant where Ann is serious." -- John Cowper Powys, 'Wolf Solent'...Read More

officious \uh-FISH-uhs\ (adjective) - Marked by excessive eagerness in offering services or advice where they are neither requested nor needed; meddlesome.

"You are too officious
In her behalf that scorns your ...Read More

congeries \KON-juh-reez\ (noun) - A collection; an aggregation.

"But if the congeries of past events, if congeries it was, could be separated from its usual partnership with sentiment, it cannot have been too much to ...Read More

felicitous \fuh-LIS-uh-tuhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Suitably applied or expressed; appropriate; apt. 2 : Happy; delightful; marked by good fortune.

"His end fell well on the feast of Felix, for he was felicitous in all things ...Read More