cack-handed (adj.) = clumsy for full explanation, see box below
e.g. If you put an average person up against a politician in a debate, the layman will inevitably come across as cack-handed
From the Old English, ‘cack’: ‘excrement’, from the Latin ‘cacare’: ‘to defecate’; in the not so distant past – and certainly before Andrex and its puppies came along – our ancestors used to use their left hand for cleaning themselves after defecating, whilst (to keep things simple) the right hand was used exclusively for eating with.
To use one’s ‘cack hand’ was therefore to use one’s left hand and, since most people are right-handed and struggle to fully control their left hand, being ‘cack-handed’ meant being ‘clumsy’.
to be a cakewalk (noun) = to be a walk in the park for full explanation, see box below
e.g. With a mass influx of people (who were fleeing from communist China), the streets of Hong Kong in the 1950s saw many fights between gangs. Bruce Lee was often on the losing side in these – until he took up martial arts, and then such conflicts became a cakewalk for him
From the words ‘cake’ + ‘walk’, referring to a dancing competition arranged by slave-owners in the Southern United States in c. 1890–1910. Specifically, the ‘cake’ was the prize for the most stylish display by a slave couple in this competition; and the ‘walk’ was the name for the dancing competition itself (which was described as ‘a walking competition among negroes’ by one writer of the time, Richard Thornton).
This ‘cakewalk’ was an exaggerated parody of the formal ballroom dancing preferred by the white slave-owners, and was generally considered (by the slave-owners, at any rate) as a fun, recreational pastime.
And so it was that the term ‘cakewalk’ began to be used, from 1909, to indicate something that is fun, and easy to do. (A ‘piece of cake’, to denote an effortless activity, shares the same origin.)
to calcify (into something) (verb) = to turn (into something) more solid (pronounced ‘kal-suh-fy’) from the French calcifier: to calcify, from the Latin calcem: lime (the oxide of the metallic base calcium)
e.g. When faith calcifies into closed-mindedness, religious zealotry can result
canard (noun) = a false rumour (pronounced ‘ka-nar’) for full explanation, see box below
e.g. After hearing that the New York Journal had published an article about his demise, Mark Twain said of this canard, ‘The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated’
‘canard’ is the French for ‘duck’ – and the reason ‘canard’ means ‘false rumour’ in English, is because of a strange habit attributed to ducks.
For it’s said that, if a predator approaches its young, a parent duck will draw the foe away by feigning a broken wing, depicting themselves as the easier target. When the predator gets near the apparently injured duck, the bird takes off (and, meanwhile – with the enemy thus distracted – the young ducks have also hopefully taken flight).
In other words, the duck is lying (to the predator); and a ‘canard’ means a big fat lie of a rumour.
to stand like Canute against the tide
to stand like Canute against the tide (verb) = to believe you have the power to prevent an impending catastrophe when you are in fact powerless (pronounced ‘ka-noot’) for full explanation, see box below
e.g. If a woman is hellbent on getting a divorce, then she will get her way; and any husband who tries to stop her is standing like Canute against the tide
Canute the Great (985–1035), King of England, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, was famous for having his courtiers bring his throne to a beach and then – apparently to show his omnipotence – commanding the tide to halt in its tracks (before it could wet his feet and robes). Naturally the waves completely ignored his order and splashed all over the king, drenching him.
Twelfth-century historian Henry of Huntingdon tells us what happened next: ‘Then the king leapt backwards, saying: “Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the name, but He whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws.” He then hung his gold crown on a crucifix, and never wore it again “to the honour of God the almighty King”. For Canute was no fool and had in fact performed this stunt to show his obsequious courtiers that – despite their claims to the contrary – he did not possess the gift of omnipotence.’
However, popular culture continues to misrepresent this incident, depicting Canute as being arrogant and genuinely believing all along that the ocean would obey him. So, if you say of someone today that they are ‘standing like Canute against the tide’, you are saying they are self-delusional and wrongly believe they possess the necessary skills to stop an imminent disaster – when the events they are trying to stop, are in fact totally out of their control.
capstone (noun) = a crowning achievement from the English words cap + stone, referring literally to the topmost stone in a construction
e.g. Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr Ripley was the capstone of her career
to carouse (verb) = to drink to excess but joyfully (pronounced ‘kuh-rouz’) from the Old German gar aus trinken: to drink heavily, from gar aus: all out, trinken: to drink; the original English expression was ‘to drink carouse’, then ‘to carouse’
e.g. James Joyce’s relentless carousing was punctuated by bouts of writing
carrion (noun) = the rotting flesh of dead animals (pronounced ‘kar-ee-uhn’) from the Old French, charoigne, based on the Latin, caro: flesh
e.g. My uncle buried his dead Alsatian in the garden, and a few days later, the carrion had attracted a family of worms
caryatid (noun) = (in architecture) a supporting pillar that has been carved into a female shape (pronounced ‘kar-ee-at-id’) for full explanation, see box below
e.g. Caryatids placed on either side of a fireplace look a bit naff
The term ‘caryatid’ derives from the Greek ‘Karyatides’, meaning ‘maidens of Caryae (a town in Greece)’. In this town ‘Caryae’, there was a famous temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis, where maidens performed elaborate dances in Artemis’s honour.
During the dances, the maidens of ‘Caryae’ would move around violently whilst all the while carrying atop their heads baskets of live reeds.
Hence the architectural term ‘caryatid’ evolved, to describe pillars carved into the shape of a woman’s body, with the woman’s head – which is, of course, at the top of the pillar – therefore seeming to hold up the roof (which rests on the pillar/head). This is an echo of the female dancers in Caryae using their heads to support baskets.
caste (noun) = a distinct social class (determined from birth); (pronounced ‘cast’) from the Spanish, casta: lineage
e.g. Critics say that, in the United States, it is only those individuals who have received an expensive education that end up in highly paid jobs in banks and law firms, allowing them in turn to pay for their own children’s expensive education and perpetuate the cycle: evidence that an unofficial caste system still operates
casuistic (noun) = clever but intellectually dishonest – often by being overly pedantic (pronounced ‘kas-oo-is-tik’) for full explanation, see box below
e.g. Barristers who defend patently guilty serial killers in court, must be ashamed of the casuistic distinctions they have recourse to, when they defend their despicable clients
‘casuistic’ is from the French ‘casuiste’: ‘one who studies case of conscience’, and ultimately from the Latin ‘casus’: ‘a case of conscience’. The term ‘casuistic’ started life meaning ‘pursuing case-based reasoning’ – usually in the realms of law and ethics – as opposed to ‘rule-based reasoning’. Western casuistry dates from Aristotle (384–322 BC) and – in its original form – worked by extracting theoretical rules from a particular instance (or ‘case’) and then applying them to new instances, so as to resolve moral dilemmas.
‘Casuistic’ reasoning reached its peak of popularity between 1550 and 1650, when (Roman Catholic) Jesuit priests championed case-based reasoning, particularly when administering the Sacrament of Penance (also known as ‘confession’). However, philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623–62) pointed out that the Jesuits were misusing ‘casuistic’ reasoning to justify giving lighter punishments in confession to the rich (whose financial contributions were so important to the Church), whilst doling out heavier penalties to the poor (who had no money to donate). These criticisms of Pascal turned ‘casuistic’ into a dirty word. Today, this pejorative sense persists, with ‘casuistic’ being used to refer to someone who twists the facts – in a clever but intellectually false way – to make a point.
cataract (noun) = a downpour; the other meaning in English is, of course, ‘a lens of the eye that has become opaque, resulting in blurred vision’ (the link to ‘downpour’ here is that rapidly running water turns white, and the medical condition turns the eye white) from the Greek kataraktes: down-striking, from kara-: down, and arassein: strike
e.g. On their first dinner date, she peered out at him from behind cataracts of curls
catarrh (noun) = a build-up of mucus in the nose and throat (pronounced ‘kuh-tar’) from the Greek katarrhous: a head cold, from kata-: down, and rhein: to flow
e.g. No one will want to kiss you when you’ve got a catarrh-filled mouth from the flu
catechism (noun) = a set of rules (or of questions and answers), used for instruction (pronounced ‘kat-i-kiz-uhm’) from the Greek, katekhein: to instruct by word of mouth
e.g. Critics say socialism’s catechism amounts to little more than an ever-expanding welfare state
(to be) catnip (to someone) (verb) = (of an object) to drive someone wild ‘catnip’ is the informal name for ‘nepeta’, a flowering plant known for driving cats crazy (owing to a substance in the plant binding to the olfactory receptors of the cat)
e.g. Mobile phones are catnip to toddlers, who love a well-lit screen
to caucus (verb) = to hold a meeting of a group of people with shared concerns (pronounced ‘kor-kis’) from the Native American caucauasu: gathering of tribal chiefs
e.g. The coffee during the meeting sent us all off to the bathroom, and we ended up caucusing much more effectively around the urinals than we had done at the table earlier
chagrin (noun) = embarrassment at having been publicly humiliated (pronounced ‘sha-grin’) from the French, chagrin: rough skin
e.g. After a few harsh comments from the judges, most X Factor rejects slink off stage, their faces a picture of chagrin
changeling (noun) = a baby who looks so unlike its parents that it must be an imposter (substituted for the parents’ actual baby, by mischevious fairies) from the English word change, combined with the diminutive suffix - ling
e.g. The blonde couple were surprised when their child was born with jet-black hair; and they joked to their friends that their baby was a changeling
chary (of) (adj.) = cautious (about) (pronounced ‘chair-ee’) from the Old English, ‘cearig’: ‘sorrowful’, related to ‘care’; ‘chary’ started to be used in the mid-16th century
e.g. Children are advised to be chary of strangers
chiaroscuro (noun) = the interplay of light and shade on a surface (pronounced ‘kee-ar-uh-roskuro’) from the Italian, chiaro: clear (from the Latin clarus) and oscuro: dark (from the Latin obscurus)
e.g. When sunlight hits a running stream, a pleasing chiaroscuro results
chiliastic / millenarian (adj.) = believing in the imminence of a golden age (originally one lasting 1,000 years) (‘chiliastic’ is pronounced ‘chil-ay-astic’) from the Greek, khilias: a thousand years, from khilioi: thousand; and from the Latin, millenarius: containing a thousand, based on the Latin, mille: thousand; for full explanation, see box below
e.g. Obama’s election to power was greeted with chiliastic / millenarian fervour by Democrats
‘chiliastic’ (which derives from the Greek word for ‘one thousand’) is another word for ‘millenarian’ (which comes from the Latin word for ‘one thousand’). Both words started off referring to a specific religious belief, of a future, thousand-year-long age of blessedness.
For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses allegedly believe that the current world era entered the ‘last days’ in October 1914, and that soon Armageddon (the final battle between Christ and the Devil) will come. And, once Armageddon is out of the way, Christ will rule over the earth – which will be transformed into a paradise similar to the Garden of Eden – for 1,000 years.
But over time, the phrase ‘chiliastic’ or ‘millenarian’ evolved to refer to a much more general (not necessarily religious) belief in a golden age of peace and prosperity (of no specified timeframe).
chthonic (adj.) = from hell; from the underworld (literally: dwelling beneath the surface of the earth) (note: the pronunciation is simply ‘thonic’: the ‘ch-’ is silent) from the Greek, khthonios: in the earth (i.e. under the world’s surface)
e.g. After he said he wanted a divorce, it was as if a chthonic river of repressed rage was suddenly unblocked in her, and she chopped off the right sleeves from all his shirts
chugger (noun) = a charity mugger (one of those people with a clipboard in the street, who blocks your path and asks if you ‘have a minute’) ‘chugger’ is a conflation of ‘charity’ and ‘mugger’ (just like ‘Brangelina’ is a conflation of ‘Brad’ and ‘Angelina’)
e.g. You cannot move down most high streets in London without being accosted by a beaming chugger
cicerone (noun) = a guide who shows strangers the interesting bits of a place (pronounced ‘sis-uh-roh-nee’) for full explanation, see box below
e.g. When my Australian cousins visited London, I was happy to act as cicerone, showing them my favourite haunts
‘cicerone’ derives from the Latin ‘Ciceronem’, from the name of ancient Rome’s greatest orator, Cicero (106–43 BC).
In fact, Marcus Tulius Cicero delivered speeches of such verve that he became one of the most popular men in ancient Rome, with an unrivalled ablility to whip up the populace into a frenzy. In addition, he was renowned in his lifetime for his distinguished political career and for his philosophical writings, especially on the subject of liberty. But it was not just his own era that Cicero influenced: the French Revolution was started by young people allegedly so enthused by their reading of Cicero that they were moved to violence, to reclaim the liberty spoken of so eloquently by the Roman orator. And Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) named Cicero as one of several major figures who had created a tradition ‘of public right’ that informed his draft of the Declaration of Independence (1776).
Cicero was not some academic in an ivory tower: he could be ruthless too, once murdering without trial five men who had threatened to assassinate him (and then overthrow the Roman Republic). So it was no surprise when his own death proved a violent one: his enemy Mark Antony – with whom Cicero was involved in a power struggle following Julius Caesar’s death; and against whom Cicero had whipped the people into yet another frenzy with his oratory – had Cicero decapitated. Then Antony’s wife ripped Cicero’s tongue from his severed head and jabbed it over and over with her hairpin, in final revenge against Cicero’s renowned eloquence. But his name lives on today, as a tribute to anyone with great powers of speech (‘Ciceronian’), or to credit a guide with great wisdom (as a ‘cicerone’).
Ciceronian (adj.) = eloquent (pronounced ‘sis-uh-roh-nee-uhn’) deriving from the name of the legendary Roman orator Cicero; for full explanation, see box on page 31
e.g. Enoch Powell said, “You should do nothing to decrease the tension before making a big speech. If anything, you should seek to increase it.” This was why Powell – to hit Ciceronian heights – delivered speeches on a full bladder
to coarsen (verb) = to become vulgar and crude; ‘to coarsen’ literally means ‘to make rough, coarse’ from the English word coarse, itself deriving from course, in the sense of ‘ordinary in manner’
e.g. Some parents blame the expletive-ridden lyrics of rappers for coarsening their children’s language
cod- (prefix) = fake ‘cod-’ is an abbreviation of ‘cod-head’, an expression used to describe someone who had so little sense that it was as though they had the head of a codfish; this connotation of mindless emptiness then went on to mean ‘without substance’, or, ‘fake’
e.g. Critics of John Fowles’ novel The Magus – the story of a young English teacher who discusses the paradoxical nature of life with a much older Greek intellectual – accuse Fowles of filling his pages with cod- philosophising
codicil (noun) = a supplementary clause (pronounced ‘code-uh-sil’) from the Latin, codicillus: a short piece of writing, the diminutive of codex: a book
e.g. Many people seek fame; but they may not be familiar with fame’s codicil – which is that, once you’re famous, you’re constantly harassed by people
to codify (a situation) (verb) = to arrange (a situation) into a set of codes and rules from the English words, code + -fy: a suffix meaning to make into, from the French, -fier, ultimately from the Latin, -ficare, itself from the verb facere: to make
e.g. Increasingly, governments are setting up committees to codify an official stance towards euthanasia
cognitive dissonance (noun) = the state of having inconsistent beliefs, usually about one’s own behaviour for full explanation, see box below
e.g. An evangelical Christian who loses both arms in a car accident, may well experience some cognitive dissonance as he tries to reconcile a loving deity with his new disfigurement
‘cognitive dissonance’ is a term from psychology, referring to the discomfort felt when you hold two conflicting cognitions (i.e. beliefs) at the same time.
Psychologists have the view that people who are in this state (i.e. most of us), are then likely to reduce dissonance by altering their existing beliefs – by, for example, lying to themselves that one of the ideas that is in conflict with the other is not very important (even when they know that it is, in fact, very important).
The classic example is that of the smoker, who wants to smoke, yet knows that smoking is unhealthy; in this situation, the smoker is then likely to lie to himself, by saying it is very unlikely that the ill effects of smoking will befall him in particular. (Hence, one definition of cognitive dissonance is when one is biased towards a certain decision – in this case, to keep on smoking – even though other factors favour the alternative course, namely to give up smoking since smoking can do you harm.)
collation (noun) = a light, relaxed meal from the Latin, collation-, from conferre, from con-: together, and ferre: to bring
e.g. When my uncle turned up unexpectedly, I managed to transform the roast chicken left over from lunch into a nice collation for us both
to collectivise (something) (verb) = to organise (something) on the basis of ownership by the state, abolishing private ownership from the English words, collective + - ise
e.g. Critics say a socialist government will collectivise the nation’s resources and thus undermine the capitalist impulse
colloquium (noun) = a meeting for the discussion of a subject (pronounced ‘kuh-low-kwee-uhm’) from the Latin colloqui: to converse, from col-: together, and loqui: to talk
e.g. Saddam Hussein tended to kill rivals on a whim – rather than holding a colloquium to discuss the subject
comity (noun) = social harmony (pronounced ‘kom-i-tee’) from the Latin comis: courteous
e.g. Even if a marriage is bursting with mutual animosity, often in public the couple will emit some semblance of comity
commentariat (noun) = members of the news media, viewed as a collective (pronounced ‘com-en-tair-i-at’) from a blend of the English words commentary + proletariat
e.g. After it became clear the UK public seemed to be revelling in the Pope’s visit, the commentariat did a volte-face, dishing out praise – instead of their initial vitriol – towards the pontiff
compendious (adj.) = (of a book) succinctly containing all the essential facts (pronounced ‘kuhm-pen-dee-uhs’) from the Latin, compendiosus: advantageous, from compendium: abbreviation
e.g. Ernst Gombrich’s bestseller A Little History of the World – originally intended for children but often read secretly by adults – is a compendious account of the past
to concertina (into) (verb) = to compress (into) (like you do with a ‘concertina’, a musical instrument that is hand-held, with a bellows in the middle) (pronounced ‘kon-ser-tee-nuh’) the term ‘concertina’ was apparently coined by the original instrument’s inventor, Englishman Charles Wheatstone (1802–75)
e.g. The novel Never Let Me Go is about a group of human clones created to provide organs for non-clones, and who therefore die young (when their last organ has been harvested); much poignancy results from their lives being concertinaed into this shorter-than-usual lifespan
concupiscent (adj.) = lustful (pronounced ‘kon-kyoo-pi-suhnt’) from the Latin, concupiscent-: looking for, coveting, from the Latin, concupiscere: to look for, covet
e.g. Whilst President of the United States, JFK was as concupiscent as a rabbit
condign (adj.) = (of a punishment) deserved (pronounced ‘kuhn-dahyn’) from the Latin con- (which expresses intensive force), and dignus: worthy
e.g. In America, most states continue to execute murderers, as this is considered condign punishment for the taking of a life
to condole with (someone) (verb) = to express sympathy for (someone) from the Latin, condolere, from con-: with + dolere: to suffer
e.g. After Roger Federer beat Andy Murry to win a record seventh Wimbledon title, Federer’s reaction was to condole with his foe, putting an arm around him
confederacy (noun) = a group of people united by a league from the Latin, confoedarare: to join together in league, from con-: together + foederare: to join in league with, from foedus: league
e.g. Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), author of Gulliver’s Travels, once said, ‘When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him’
conflagration (noun) = a destructive fire (pronounced ‘kon-fluh-grey-shuhn’) from the Latin, con- (expressing intensive force), and flagrare: to blaze
e.g. When the two planes hit the World Trade Centre, a terrible conflagration resulted
conjugal / connubial (adj.) = relating to marriage (pronounced ‘kon-juh-guhl’ / ‘kuh-noo-bee-uhl’) ‘conjugal’ is from the Latin, ‘conjug-’: ‘a spouse’, from ‘con-’: together, ‘jugum’: ‘a yoke’; ‘connubial’ is from the Latin, ‘connubium’: ‘marriage’, from ‘con-’: with + ‘nubere’: ‘to marry’
e.g. If a woman catches sight of a wedding ring on a man, she’s often put off pursuing him – for she has no wish to tempt him from his conjugal / connubial duties
constellation (noun) = a cluster of things related to each other from the Latin, constellatio, based on Latin, stella: star; a ‘constellation’ literally refers to a group of stars forming a recognisable pattern that is traditionally named after a mythological character or animal
e.g. The film Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy starred a constellation of British actors, including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch
consumptive (noun) = a person with a wasting disease from the Latin consumpt-, from the verb consumere: to consume
e.g. In Hollywood films, prostitutes are usually depicted as heroin-addled consumptives
contiguous (to) (adj.) = sharing a boundary (with) (pronounced ‘kuhn-tig-yoo-uhs’) from the Latin contiguus: touching, from contingere: to be in contact
e.g. The United States of Amereica is comprised of 48 contiguous states
continent (adj.) = exercising self-control, especially in sexual matters from the Latin, continere: to hold together, restrain oneself, from con-: altogether + tenere: to hold
e.g. The priest had always prided himself on his continent lifestyle
to be co-opted (by) (verb) = to be adopted (for the use of) from the Latin, cooptare: to choose as a colleague of one’s own tribe, from com-: together, and optare: to choose
e.g. In New York, bingo bars are now full of hipsters: bizarrely, it seems bingo is being co-opted by a younger generation
copse (noun) = a small group of bushes (pronounced ‘kops’) copse is an abbreviation of the English word, coppice: a small thicket of trees grown for cutting, deriving from the Old French, copeiz: a cut-over forest
e.g. On the backs of some men, copses of hair sprout
the Corinthian spirit (set phrase) = (of a sportsman) the very highest standards of sportsmanship for full explanation, see box below
e.g. Roger Federer, with his good manners on and off the court, embodies for many the Corinthian spirit
The ancient city of Corinth (700–200 BC) was renowned for its huge wealth, which derived from its location: Corinth stood on the narrow stretch of land that joins mainland Greece to the peninsula of the Peloponnese, and so controlled all land access to the Peloponnese, making Corinth a very busy trading city.
And how did the citizens of Corinth – the ‘Corinthians’ – spend this wealth? On debauched activities, is how. For example, the Temple of Aphrodite was well stocked with more than a thousand ‘temple prostitutes’, who offered sexual intercourse in the context of religious worship (as a kind of fertility rite). It’s no accident that St Paul wrote his letters to the Corinthians – it was they who were most in need of spiritual guidance. In Shakespeare’s day, the term ‘Corinthian’ therefore meant ‘licentious’; in fact, Prince Henry (Hal) refers to himself as: ‘a Corinthian, a lad of mettle, a good boy’ in the play Henry IV, Part I (c. 1597).
But in the British Regency era (1812–20), a slight tweak in meaning was applied to the term ‘Corinthian’, which began to refer to a group of wealthy, hard-living, ‘licentious’ aristocrats who were also dedicated to sports (particularly horse-racing and yacht-sailing). And by 1900, it was this latter nuance that had taken a full grip on the word ‘Corinthian’, which by now had lost its hard-living connotations and retained only the idea of gentlemanliness and amateurism; today, the term ‘Corinthian spirit’ is still used to evoke this idea of maintaining the highest standards in sport (as these amateurs did), and of pursuing sport for the love of the game, rather than for money.
counterposed to (set phrase) = (of an idea) set in opposition to from the English words, counter + pose
e.g. In the TV adaptation of Birdsong, the love story was counterposed to violent scenes from World War I
countervailing (something) (adj.) = offsetting the effect (of something) by countering it with something of equal power from the Anglo–Norman French, contrevaloir, from Latin, contra valere: be of worth against; note that ‘countervailing’ is very much the cousin of ‘prevailing’, which comes from the Latin, ‘prae’: before + ‘valere’: ‘have power’, implying a dominance – whereas ‘countervailing’ implies a stalemate, as the forces in opposition are equal
e.g. In their live debate, the two Presidential candidates were very evenly matched, and their countervailing views meant there was no obvious winner
coup de théâtre (set phrase) = a dramatically sudden outcome, especially in a play (pronounced ‘koo-duh-tey-atr-a’) from the French, coup de théâtre: blow of theatre
e.g. The film The Usual Suspects finishes with a startling coup de théâtre, when the shock identity of the villain is unveiled
(to stick in the) craw (of) (noun) = (of an unpalatable fact) to stick in the throat of related to the Middle Low German, krage: throat
e.g. After she divorced him, what really stuck in her craw was that his new wife had bigger breasts than her
creditable (adj.) = (of an effort) deserving credit (but not necessarily outstanding) (note this is quite different from ‘credible’, which means ‘able to be believed’) (pronounced ‘kred-i-tuh-buhl’) from the English words credit + able
e.g. That the team’s performances have been creditable over the last decade is little consolation for Engand football fans, who crave more victories
crinoline (noun) = a hooped petticoat worn to make a long skirt stand outwards (pronounced ‘krin-il-in’) from the French, crinoline, from the Latin, crinis: hair + linum: thread (since the first crinolines were made from hair and thread)
e.g. To look the part for TV period dramas, actresses are usually forced to climb into crinoline
cupidity (noun) = greed for money or goods from the Latin, cupiditas: desirousness, from cupidus: desirous
e.g. Her New Year’s resolution was to stop buying designer labels, but when she stepped into the Gucci superstore, her cupidity was once again aroused
curate’s egg (set phrase) = (of a situation) something that is in part good, and in part bad for full explanation, see box below
e.g. Certain journalists have called Putin’s latest victory a curate’s egg: for, even if the West might disagree with Putin’s interpretation of democracy, Russia will at least be stable under his reign
The term derives from a cartoon, drawn by George du Maurier (grandfather of Daphne du Maurier) and published in Punch magazine on 9 November 1895. Entitled ‘True Humility’, it pictured a mild-mannered curate, Mr Jones, taking breakfast in the house of his superior, the bishop.
The bishop remarks with disarming honesty to his guest, ‘I’m afraid you’ve got a bad egg, Mr Jones.’ And the curate, the epitome of a man intent on keeping his superior happy, replies, ‘Oh, no, my Lord, I assure you that parts of it are excellent!’
In the very final issue of Punch published in 1992, the cartoon was re-printed with the caption, ‘Curate: This f***ing egg’s off!’ (This was apparently so as to draw a contrast between the Victorian good manners prevalent at the time of the original cartoon, and today’s yobbishness.)
curlicue (noun) = a fancy curl from the mid-19th century, a conflation of the words ‘curly’ (like a ‘pigtail’) + ‘cue’ (representing the letter ‘q’)
e.g. At weddings, the dinner tables often have placards for guests rendered in black curlicues against white card
cursory (adj.) = hasty, and therefore not thought through (note that the way ‘cursory’ differs from ‘perfunctory’ is that ‘cursory’ is speedy, whereas ‘perfunctory’ need not be; both refer to actions thoughtlessly performed) from the Latin, cursorius: of a runner, from cursor: runner
e.g. Jack the Ripper – who usually stole the uterus from his victims before making his escape – was never caught, so he must have given more than a cursory glance to the crime scene before he made off, to ensure he left no traces
cyclorama (noun) = a background to a stage, often depicting a sky (pronounced ‘sahy-kluh-rahm-uh’) from cyclo-, along the pattern of words like panorama
e.g. The David Letterman Show cyclorama has a metropolitan backdrop, composed of bright lights and tall buildings
cynosure (noun) = a person or thing that is the centre of attention (pronounced ‘sahyn-uh-shoor’) for full explanation, see box below
e.g. Mother Theresa of Calcutta was for decades the cynosure of the poor in India
‘cynosure’ is from the Greek ‘kynosoura’, meaning ‘dog’s tail’: the name given by the Greeks to one of the brightest stars in the sky (which we now call ‘Polaris’). The reason? Well, this star was – and still is – part of a bigger constellation of stars that the Greeks saw as a ‘dog’, with this particular (very bright) star corresponding to the location of the ‘dog’s tail’. (Today, this same constellation is known as ‘Ursa Minor’, meaning ‘Smaller Bear’ in Latin; as astrologers have now decided that the constellation does, after all, look more like a bear than a dog.)
Because it lies in an almost direct line with the axis of the earth’s rotation, the star called ‘kynosoura’ / ‘Polaris’ appears to stand almost motionless in the sky, with other stars seeming to rotate around it. In the days before GPS was used (i.e. before 1960), sailors used this star as a guide, because its apparently fixed position meant you could use it to work out where you were on a dark night at sea.
So – because of its importance in this activity of ‘celestial navigation’ (the posh term for a sailor trying to work out where the hell he is) – the eyes of sailors and travellers were often directed to ‘kynosoura’, the fixed star. And this is why the word ‘cynosure’ today means ‘a person or object that is the centre of attention’.