Spanish Word of the Day
Friday, July 19, 2013
intentar, verb
to try
to try
Intentar is the basic verb in Spanish for to try, and, incidentally, has nothing to do with ‘intend.’
¿Por qué no lo intentas otra vez?
Why don’t you try again?
Con intentarlo nada se pierde.
There’s no harm in trying.
You also use it with an infinitive and no preposition when you want to express to try to do:
Intenté explicárselo, pero no sirvió de nada.
I tried to explain it to him, but it was no use.
Intente fumar menos.
Try to smoke less.
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Word of the Day for Friday, July 19, 2013
rendezvous \RAHN-duh-voo, -dey-; Fr. rahn-de-VOO\, verb:
1. to assemble at an agreed time and place.
noun:
1. an agreement between two or more persons to meet at a certain time and place.
2. the meeting itself.
3. a place designated for a meeting or assembling, especially of troops or ships.
4. a meeting of two or more spacecraft in outer space.
5. a favorite or popular gathering place.
1. an agreement between two or more persons to meet at a certain time and place.
2. the meeting itself.
3. a place designated for a meeting or assembling, especially of troops or ships.
4. a meeting of two or more spacecraft in outer space.
5. a favorite or popular gathering place.
Tomorrow morning at five-forty-five A.M., we will rendezvous in front of handsome Eddie's courtyard.
-- James Ellroy, Clandestine, 2011
On July 22nd, the Odyssey finally emerged from the ice and rendezvoused with its sister ship, the Nordic Orion.
-- Keith Gessen, "Polar Express," The New Yorker, Dec. 24, 2004
Rendezvous comes from the French word of the same spelling which literally means "present yourselves." It is also related to the common English word render.
Spanish Word of the Day
Saturday, July 20, 2013
interés, noun
interest
interest
Interés is an often used word which shares the same two main meanings that English interest has.
El tema suscitó el interés del gran público.
The subject aroused the interest of the general public.
Dan un interés del 5%.
They pay 5% interest.
There are a couple of useful phrases connected with the first meaning:
tener interés en hacer algo
to be interested in doing something
Tengo interés por saber cómo le fue al final.
I’m interested in finding out how he got on in the end.
...and
no tener el menor interés en algo
not to be the least bit interested in something
Confieso no tener el menor interés en el asunto.
I have to confess that I’m not the least bit interested in the matter.
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Word of the Day for Saturday, July 20, 2013
bushwa \BOOSH-wah, -waw\, noun:
rubbishy nonsense; baloney; bull: You'll hear a lot of boring bushwa about his mechanical skill.
“Bushwa,” she said. “'Bushwa'?” I echoed scornfully. “I suppose that's the high level of intellectual discourse one might expect from the author of the Polly Madison books."
-- Kurt Vonnegut, Bluebeard, 2009
This is all bushwa, if I pressed Butler he would tell me; but I know who they are already.
-- Ward Just, Family Trust, 2007
Bushwa arose in English in the early 1900s, but its origin is unknown. It might be a variation of bourgeois.
Spanish Word of the Day
Sunday, July 21, 2013
introducir, verb
to bring in, to introduce; to insert
to bring in, to introduce; to insert
One of the meanings of introducir is to introduce. But be careful: it’s not in the sense of ‘introducing’ people, for which the verb ispresentar.
Esperan introducir un nuevo sistema de trabajo.
They’re hoping to introduce OR bring in new working methods.
Introducir la nueva ley causó muchos problemas.
Introducing the new law caused a lot of problems.
Another basic meaning is one that you might see in instructions for using or assembling appliances: to insert.
Introduzca una moneda de diez pesos.
Insert a ten-peso coin.
Remember that introducir, like any verb ending in ‘-ducir’, needs a letter ‘z’ before the ‘c’ in some cases.
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Word of the Day for Sunday, July 21, 2013
clangor \KLANG-er, KLANG-ger\, noun:
1. a loud, resonant sound; clang.
2. clamorous noise.
2. clamorous noise.
verb:
1. to make a clangor; clang.
1. to make a clangor; clang.
And in any case they did not sound distant to him, these ringing booming bells; their triumphal clangor was swept along by the wind and seemed to come from somewhere close by...
-- László Krasznahorkai, translated by George Szirtes, Satantango, 1985
And now the melodious clangor of bells from church towers summons their several flocks to the fold.
-- Washington Irving, "A Sunday in London," The Sketch Book, 1819-1820
Clangor entered English from the Latin word of the same spelling which referred to the sound of trumpets, birds, and other loud noises.
Spanish Word of the Day
Monday, July 22, 2013
perderse, reflexive verb
to get lost; to be lost
to get lost; to be lost
You’ll know perder meaning to lose. Today we’re looking at how you can use the reflexive form perderse to mean to get lost or to be lost.
If you can’t find your way, it’s the verb you use:
If you can’t find your way, it’s the verb you use:
Tenía miedo de perderse.
She was afraid of getting lost.
Se perdió en la selva.
He got lost in the jungle.
You also use it instead of the passive to talk about things being lost:
Se me perdieron las llaves.
I lost my keys.
Notice how you use the personal pronoun me in the previous example.
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Word of the Day for Monday, July 22, 2013
quillet \KWIL-it\, noun:
a subtlety or quibble.
Some points involved in the discussion of the question under consideration suggest legal quillets, and exercises in scholastic logic, of a kind in which Aquinas and his brother schoolmen, writers of patristic and mediaeval divinity, would have fairly reveled.
-- Edited by Sir Frederick Pollock, The Law Quarterly Review, 1894
O! some authority how to proceed; Some tricks, some quillets, how to cheat the devil.
-- William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost, 1598
Quillet is related to the word quiddity meaning "a trifling nicety."
Spanish Word of the Day
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
ponerse, reflexive verb
to become; to be
to become; to be
Using ponerse, the reflexive form of poner, with a following adjective is a very common way of saying to become or to be. It often applies to people:
Cuando tiene que viajar en avión se pone muy nervioso.
He gets very nervous when he has to travel by plane.
It is often used with the adjective contento:
Me puse muy contento al saber la decisión.
When I found out about the decision I was very happy.
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Word of the Day for Tuesday, July 23, 2013
sidle \SAHYD-l\, verb:
1. to move sideways or obliquely.
2. to edge along furtively.
2. to edge along furtively.
noun:
1. a sidling movement.
1. a sidling movement.
I don't want to sidle up to the wrong man. Not that I'd really know how to sidle.
-- Alexander McCall Smith, The Lost Art of Gratitude, 2009
Turning his own back on the Bank of England, Dave would sidle down to the river, then idle over one of the bridges.
-- Will Self, The Book of Dave, 2008
Sidle is a backformation of the word sideling which means "sidelong or sideways; obliquely."
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