And now for something completely different...

I had another discouraging morning. But I'm tired of blogging about my fear and self-confidence issues. So instead, here's a list of interesting words I've come across in the last year. Gotta love that Virtual Thesaurus!

Tramontane: on or coming from the other side of the mountains

Strident: harsh, loud, grating, or shrill

Umbrageous: providing shade and coolness; easily offended or likely to become irritated

Pulchritudinous: used of persons only—having great physical beauty

Crepitus: the grating sound heard when the broken ends of a bone rub together; a crackling sound heard in the chest of somebody who has a lung disease, for example, pneumonia.

Crepitate: to make a crackling or grating sound; to make the crackling or grating sound of crepitus.

Crepitation: the sharp sound of snapping noises

Cresylic: relating to or containing creosol or creosote

Vituperation: an outburst of violently abusive or harshly critical language; the use of violent abuse or extremely harsh criticism.

Vituperative: marked by harshly abusive criticism.

Stertorous: of breathing, having a heavy snoring sound. Full of or characterized by loud and nonmusical sounds.

Stertor: noisy or laborious snoring, heard when somebody is deeply unconscious or when there are obstructed air passages.

Limen: the smallest detectable sensation

Obstreperous: noisily and aggressively boisterous; strongly objecting to something or noisily refusing to be controlled

Iridesce: be iridescent

Etiolate: (adj.) weak in color, developed without chlorophyll by being deprived of light; (v.) make weak by stunting the growth or development of, bleach and alter the natural development of a green plant by excluding sunlight, make pale or sickly

Rodomontade: vain and empty boasting

Oscitant: showing boredom or lack of attention

Rive: to tear something apart. To split or become split.

Novercal: relating to or said to be typical of a stepmother

Zaftig: with a full-figured body

Embonpoint: a body weight that is above average and causes an impression of roundness

Attrited: worn by rubbing or friction

So don't resort to vituperation if someone calls you pulchritudinous! Now you know...a simple "Thank you" is much more appropriate! ;o)