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Indolent (in-dl-uhnt) Adjective having or showing a disposition to avoid exertion; slothful More about Indolent First recorded in 1655–65. Formed from the Latin in-3 + dolent-, (from dolēre, “to be painful, be in pain”); Examples of Indolent The indolent cat spent most of the day lounging in the sun, barely moving from its spot. The company’s indolent response to customer complaints led to a decline in its reputation. Haughty (uh-sij-oo-uhs-lee) Adverb with careful and consistent effort; diligently More about Haughty First recorded in the early 17th century; formed from assiduous + -ly.  From the Latin assiduus, equivalent to assid(ēre), meaning “to sit near or beside, dwell close to.” Examples of Haughty The team assiduously followed the project timeline to ensure they met the tight deadlines. The detective assiduously examined every clue, hoping to solve the mystery. Druthers (druhth-erz) Noun one's own way, choice, or preference More about Druthers First recorded in 1870–75. For

Tootle (toot-l) verb to move or proceed in a leisurely way More about Tootle First recorded in 1810–20;  Examples of Tootle We tootled around town without any real destination in mind. He likes to tootle through the neighbourhood on Sunday afternoons. Bungalow (buhng-guh-loh) noun a one-story cottage More about Bungalow First recorded in 1670–80. From the Hindi word banglā, literally, “of Bengal.” Examples of Bungalow They spent their summer vacation in a cozy bungalow by the beach. We rented a small bungalow for the weekend getaway. Apathy (p-uh-thee) Noun absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement More about Apathy First recorded between 1595–1605. From the Greek apátheia, literally “insensibility to suffering,” from apathe-, “unfeeling.” Examples of Apathy The manager was frustrated by the team’s apathy, as no one seemed interested in meeting the project deadlines. Despite the severe weather warning, there was widespread apathy in the community, and few took precautio

Bengaluru: The alma mater of the 1984th batch of BV Bhoomaraddi College of Engineering and Technology (BVBCET) took time to celebrate their 40th year of graduation at a private resort in Goa on 14th and 15th September. It was a well-attended reunion as 72 batchmates came from different places in the country. Sharad Limaye, settled in Australia made it for the first-ever time along with a handful of others also for the maiden time, apart from five guests. 14th September Bonhomie pervades the entrance! As many batchmates started pouring into the resort it turned out to be bonhomie time. They started greeting one another, exchanging pleasantries and cracking jokes in light humour. As the numbers began to dwindle so did the decibels and it became difficult to grasp what the person next to you was saying unless told in a screaming manner. The skylight at the reception was more than 40 feet high, yet the rumbling appeared to have gone beyond it. However, the hotel staff didn't complain

Juke (jook) verb to make a move intended to deceive (an opponent) More about Juke First used in the 1930s meaning “to dance” at a “juke joint” or to “jukebox" music.” The current sense of “feinting” or “making a move to deceive an opponent” was in use by the 1970s. Examples of Juke The point guard juked her defender with a quick fake before driving to the basket. The boxer juked to avoid the punch, then countered with a jab. Yuppie (yuhp-ee) Noun a young, ambitious, and well-educated city-dweller who has a professional career and an affluent lifestyle More about Yuppie First recorded in 1980–85. An Americanism; y(oung) u(rban) p(rofessional)  Examples of Yuppie The once-quiet neighbourhood is now home to a growing number of yuppies seeking urban lifestyles. He joked that his avocado toast habit officially made him a yuppie. Craven (krey-vuhn) adjective cowardly; contemptibly timid More about Craven First recorded between 1175–1225. From the Middle English cravant, cravaunde, “defe

Bengaluru: On 13 September, there was a festive atmosphere at Shree Katyayani High School, located in Aversa village in Ankola Taluk of North Canara district. The occasion was the launching of the Digital Smart Board and Inverter set, donated by Rajan Vaman Anvekar of Bengaluru at the school run by the Shree Katyayani Education Society. Recalling the contributions of Rajan Anvekar: All guests who spoke at the event were appreciative of the noble gestures of Rajan Vaman Anvekar, a Mechanical Engineering graduate with a Master's in Business Administration, and got into stock broking owning Chaitra Investments organization, Bengaluru. A company with roaring business: The Chaitra Investments organization was incorporated on 18-01-1990 offering its services to its esteemed clients for over 34 years. A series of noble deeds: Although the day's function was meant to launch the Smart Digital Board and Inverter set up, donated by Rajan Vaman Anvekar, they just happened to be his la

Catawampus (kat-uh-wom-puhs) Adjective askew; awry More about Catawampus First recorded in 1830–40 for an earlier sense of “utterly,” (apparently the adverb catawampusly was used before the adjective). Thought to be formed from cata-, “diagonally,” (see cater-cornered) + wampus, perhaps akin to wampish. Examples of Catawampus The construction workers left the beam in a catawampus position, causing concern about the building’s stability. The painting hung in a catawampus way, making it look out of place on the otherwise neat wall. Tweak (tweak) Verb to make a minor adjustment to More about Tweak First recorded in 1595–1605; akin to twitch.  Examples of Tweak After reviewing the report, I decided to tweak the conclusion to make it clearer. The software engineer tweaked the program’s code to improve its speed. Mendacious (men-dey-shuhs) Adjective telling lies, especially habitually; dishonest; lying; untruthful More about Mendacious First used between 1610–20; From Latin mendāci-, (see me

  Ripsnorter (rip-snawr-ter) Noun something or someone remarkably good or exciting More about Ripsnorter An Americanism dating back to 1830–40. Formed from rip1 + snorter.  Examples of Ripsnorter She’s a ripsnorter of a performer, captivating the audience with her incredible talent and stage presence. Their vacation was a ripsnorter, filled with adventure, stunning scenery, and unforgettable experiences. Blinky (bling-kee) Adjective (of milk) sour More about Blinky The first adjectival use needs to be clarified. The verb blink in “to turn sour” has been attested since the 1600s. Compare this with the British dialect of blink, “to bewitch, turn (milk, beer) sour by witchcraft” + -y1.  Examples of Blinky The milk had gone blinky overnight, giving off a sour smell and curdling in the container. He grimaced when he tasted the blinky yoghurt, realizing it had spoiled even though it was still sealed. Iconoclast (ahy-kon-uh-klast) Noun a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional insti

Bengaluru: Kedarnath Nagaraj Rao Havaldar, an accomplished Hindusthani Classical Tabla player has a new feather in his cap due to the accomplishment of the feat of undergoing the 40-day Chilla penance with the Tabla instrument recently. He is widely known for having enthralled audiences worldwide with his laykaari as an accompanist and a Tabla solo artist. He took time to share his experiences of the 40-day solitude with Tabla. Here are the excerpts: Q: What is Chilla and why did you think of venturing the same? Kedarnath Havaldar: Chilla in the Persian language means the number 40. However, when it came to philosophy and spiritualism, the Sufi saints practised penance for 40 days and the same trend continued even in music as well. Interestingly, the same has been evinced more among the Hindusthani classical musicians. From that perspective, many people have been at it since the good old days. The reason why I indulged in Chilla was more of a necessity and to get more insight, and mo

Helter-Skelter   (hel-ter-skel-ter) Adverb in a haphazard manner; without regard for order More about Helter-Skelter First recorded in 1585–95. Rhyming compound, perhaps based on unattested skelt, Middle English skelten, “to hasten,” (further origin unknown); reduplication with initial h parallel to hubble-bubble, higgledy-piggledy, etc. Examples of Helter-Skelter The toys were left helter-skelter on the floor after the children’s playdate, creating a mess. The sudden downpour sent people running helter-skelter to find cover from the rain. Kafkaesque (kahf-kuh-esk) Adjective marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity More about Kafkaesque First recorded in 1945–50. Formed from Kafka (Franz Kafka) + -esque, suffix indicating style, manner, resemblance, or distinctive character. Aside from the -esque suffix, common words/eponyms formed in this fashion include: Homeric, Platonic, Quixotic, Freudian, Orwellian, and Machiavellian.  Examples of Kafkaesque The movie’s Kafk

Piffle  (pif-uhl) Noun nonsense, as trivial or senseless talk More about Piffle First recorded in 1840–50. Perhaps akin to puff.  Examples of Piffle Stop talking such piffle and focus on the facts! His argument was full of piffle — no one took it seriously. Banish (ban-ish) Verb to expel from a country or place by authoritative decree More about Banish First recorded between 1275–1325. From Middle English banisshen, from Anglo-French, Old French baniss-, (long stem of banir), from unrecorded Frankish bannjan, “to proclaim,” akin to ban1.  Examples of Banish The council voted to banish the rebel leader to a remote island as punishment. The dictator threatened to banish all citizens who spoke out against his regime. Levity (lev-i-tee) Noun lack of appropriate seriousness or earnestness More about Levity First used between 1555–65. From the Latin levitās, “lightness, frivolity,” is equivalent to levi(s). Examples of Levity The professor frowned upon any levity in the classroom when discus

  Brentwood (United Kingdom), 26 August: The next day we went to see Lake Nessi also pronounced as Loch Ness in Sweedish. Loch Ness is a freshwater lake. It extends nearly to 37 kilometres and flows from North to South.  Cryptozoological Loch Ness monster: It is also famous for its claimed sighting of the cryptozoological Loch Ness monster, also known as the Nessie. It is one of a series of interconnected murky bodies of water in Scotland River. Ness leads to the North Sea via Moray Firth.  Not been proven authentically. Loch Ness is also known as the home of the mythical character Loch Ness Monster. Though many claims have been made regarding its existence, due to a lack of proper proof, it has not been proven authentically. The feeling of watching a sea: The Lake looks very huge and at times gives the feeling of watching a sea. We spent some time on the beach and proceeded way back to the Caravan. We came across so many hillocks and all along we could witness waterfalls dipping do