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WORD OF THE DAY..........courtesy of Dictionary.com
ifyoucantfixit:
pleach \pleech\, verb:
1. To interweave branches or vines for a hedge or arbor.
2. To make or renew (a hedge, arbor, etc.) by such interweaving.
3. To braid (hair).
Robert got up very early, and went off to pleach the big hedge at the foot of the far pasture.
-- Mary Webb, Seven for a Secret
I might not be able to install plumbing fixtures or to pleach apple trees, but I know how to throw a good party.
-- Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree
Pleach is derived from the Middle French word plais, which meant "a hedge."
ifyoucantfixit:
apotropaic \ap-uh-truh-PEY-ik\, adjective:
Intended to ward off evil.
Ritualistic behaviour used as an apotropaic to ward off private demons, yes. Except to Raymond there's danger everywhere.
-- Leonore Fleischer, Rain Man
ifyoucantfixit:
cumshaw \KUHM-shaw\, noun:
A present; gratuity; tip.
Many had nothing to give, but the younger wives always brought a modest cumshaw—a gift—for whatever mysterious service Dr. Ransome provided.
-- J.G. Ballard, Empire of the Sun
No one in the filthy streets (but for the blessed sea breezes San Francisco would enjoy cholera every season) interfered with my movements, though many asked for cumshaw.
-- Rudyard Kipling, From Sea to Sea
You know, cumshaw is not really understood by Westerners. It is not a bribe in the Western sense. More accurately, it is like a tip that is given in advance.
-- David Desauld, Twilight in Tientsin
Cumshaw stems from the Chinese word gân xiè meaning "grateful thanks
ifyoucantfixit:
caparison \kuh-PAR-uh-suhn\, verb:
1. To dress richly; deck.
2. To cover with a caparison.
noun:
1. A decorative covering for a horse or for the tack or harness of a horse; trappings.
2. Rich and sumptuous clothing or equipment.
The fruit, the fountain that's in all of us; in Edward; in Eleanor; so why caparison ourselves on top?
-- Virginia Woolf, The Years
And he followed her order, bridling and saddling the horse and making every effort to caparison it well.
-- Chrétien de Troyes, The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes
Caparison originally referred to an elaborate covering for horses. It is related to the word chaperon.
ifyoucantfixit:
tony \TOH-nee\, adjective:
High-toned; stylish.
When we ate lunch in a tony restaurant near the Empire State Building, Ricky ordered a turkey sandwich and a glass of milk. I followed suit, not really knowing what to order in a restaurant.
-- David Appleton, Son: Saved from Myself
Then she had an appointment for a massage, and was ending her day by trying on wedding gowns at a tony dress shop on Fifth Avenue that Ava had located during her visit.
-- E. Lynn Harris, Not a Day Goes By
An Americanism, tony entered the language in the 1870s. Its precise origin is unclear, but it is related to the word tone meaning "a particular quality or way of sounding."
Have to say this one seems more American slang, than an actual dictionary word...jus sayin
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