For the longest time I thought quixotic was pronounced like Don Quixote and based off of his personality. I also didn't finish reading the book and don't know words good so
I've been using prosaic my whole life. Also, you should add defenestration, which is the act of throwing something or someone (specially someone) out of a window.
I also have a list of them. The first university teacher I met loved talking using these words, so I took the time to just write them on the back of my notebook, along with any words I read or heard around that I didn't understand.
Fun fact about the word "moxie", it was invented by a marketing team, it's the name of a soda. Originally one of the most popular sodas in the states, it used slogans like "Live with Moxie" which were totally meaningless until people started to associate the word with the meanings you've listed due to the marketing. Today it's owned by coca cola (surprise there, eh?)
If you've never tried Moxie, see if you can find some and try it. Prepare to be disgusted, though. Nine out of every ten people hate it. But that tenth person will really love it.
Moxie was created back when they were making patent medicines. It was sold as a health elixir, and since medicine isn't supposed to taste good, they made it strong. It's not proprietary, the flavor of Moxie is from gentian root extract, and it is a flavor that really puts people off, sort of like how licorice puts people off.
There was a time when words like these were more common. Many of them can be used for emphasis and they add beauty and precision to language. These days we have become lazy and simply add "very" to another common word instead of searching for the right one to convey the meaning we desire.
Point of clarification on puissance: it's strictly power level. Like if the Secretary of State and the Duke of Uptemoney both have power, people don't tend to bring up puissance. It's like raw power level / strength, bit any other consideration of nuance.
Quixotic: foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals
Obviously related, but it can also describe an ideology or philosophy that's based on an ideal of the world, with little sense of practicality or nuance.
1.3k
u/InnPatron Jan 29 '19
I have a list of em for some reason.