Lionize - verb

lionize

: to treat as an object of great interest or importance (Merriam Webster)

: to look on or treat (a person) as a celebrity.

: give a lot of public attention and approval to (someone); treat as a celebrity.

First Known Use: 1809

examples:

Conservatives may lionize Edward Snowden now, says Michael Tomasky, but ultimately his actions are going to tear apart the GOP.

As seen in a review about the film Hidden Figures from The Guardian.

" It tries to be a feel-good movie about a historical period in which black people were often brutally denied their civil rights, and it lionizes a problematic technological proxy war."

Words from the Dictionary Game: dornick

dornick: A stone small enough to throw from a field being cleared.

luthier: One that makes or repairs stringed instruments, such as violins.

perron: an external flight of steps, esp one at the front entrance of a building

helminth: A worm, especially a parasitic roundworm or tapeworm.

jaguarundi: A long-tailed, grayish-brown wildcat (Felis yagouaroundi) of tropical America.

Words from my first "Dictionary Game" experience

majolica: Tin-glazed earthenware that is often richly colored and decorated, especially an earthenware of this type produced in Italy.

eloign: To remove or carry away to a distance, especially so as to conceal.

storax: An aromatic resin obtained from the snowbell.

sward: Land covered with grassy turf.
[Middle English, from Old English sweard, skin.]

Words of the Week: yaw, pease, salvo, pangram

salvo:

1.

a. A simultaneous discharge of firearms.

b. The simultaneous release of a rack of bombs from an aircraft.

c. The projectiles or bombs thus released.

2. Something resembling a release or discharge of bombs or firearms, as:

a. A sudden outburst, as of cheers or praise.

b. A forceful verbal or written assault.

[Italian salva, from French salve, from Latin salv, hail, imperative of salvre, to be in good health, from salvus, safe; see sol- in Indo-European roots.]

pangram: A sentence that uses all the letters of the alphabet.

yaw:

trow:

fey:

ti:

pease:

dullard:

Words of the Day - reticence and insouciance

reticent:

1. Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself. See Synonyms at silent.

2. Restrained or reserved in style.

3. Reluctant; unwilling.

[Latin reticns, reticent-, present participle of reticre, to keep silent : re-, re- + tacre, to be silent.]

insouciance:
Blithe lack of concern; nonchalance.

Words of the Day: deicide, mondegreen

Status quo ante: means "the way things were before"

chicanery

usage: He drew accusations of insider trading chicanery in 1999 when he made nearly $800,000 in three trades of Kopin Corporation stock in a single day

altercation: A vehement quarrel.
[Latin altercari to quarrel]

usage: Despite his busy schedule, he still found time to get into an altercation with a stockbroker at a Knicks game in 1993 and later unsuccessfully lobbied for pardons for his drug-dealing chums.

bumpkin:

caper:

1. A playful leap or hop.

2. A frivolous escapade or prank.

3. Slang An illegal plot or enterprise, especially one involving theft.

hyperbole: A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect, as in I could sleep for a year or This book weighs a ton.

incorrigible:

1. Incapable of being corrected or reformed: an incorrigible criminal.

2. Firmly rooted; ineradicable: incorrigible faults.

3. Difficult or impossible to control or manage: an incorrigible, spoiled child.
[Middle English, from Latin incorrigibilis : in-, not; see in-¹ + corrigere, to correct; see correct.]

Deicide is the killing of a god, goddess, or similar deity.

mondegreen: A series of words that result from the mishearing or misinterpretation of a statement or song lyric. For example, I led the pigeons to the flag for I pledge allegiance to the flag.

Words of the Week

Gravitas:

1. Substance; weightiness: a frivolous biography that lacks the gravitas of its subject.

2. A serious or dignified demeanor: "Our national father figure needs gravitas, [but] he's pitched himself as the kid brother" John Leo.

After a hit show is over, you soon realize this is a very tough business ... brutally tough. But I'm a better actor and I have more gravitas than I had at 24 with bleached-blonde hair.
- Jack Coleman

bravura:

n.

1. Music

a. Brilliant technique or style in performance.

b. A piece or passage that emphasizes a performer's virtuosity.

2. A showy manner or display.

adj.

1. Music Of, relating to, or being a brilliant performance technique or style.

2. Showy; ostentatious.