n. 1. The act of cursing. 2. A curse. 3. Something that is cursed or loathed.
[He] ran from me tittering execrations, and vowing I had burst his nose.
– Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Surfeit
n. 1. a. Overindulgence in food or drink. b. The result of such overindulgence; satiety or disgust. 2. An excessive amount.
He died old and respected — of a surfeit of violets some say — he never could get enough violets.
Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn
Comeuppance
n. A punishment or retribution that one deserves; one’s just deserts.
Exculpatory
adj. Acting or tending to clear of guilt or blame
The meritocracy narrative was a cover for lack of structural analysis. It smoothed things out. It was flattering, and exculpatory, and painful for some people to part with.
Anna Wiener, Uncanny Valley
Capitulation
n. 1. The act of surrendering.
She viewed corporate capitalism as an integral component of structural racism in America, and working for Target had felt as demoralizing as shopping there — a capitulation to the same rigged game whose unfair rules were upheld by the police.
Luke Mogelson, “Letter from Minneapolis: The Uprising,” The New Yorker
Espalier
n. 1. A tree or shrub trained to grow in a flat plane against a wall, often in a symmetrical pattern. 2. A trellis or other framework on which an espalier is grown. — tr.v. 1. To train as or on an espalier.
She looked up and spoke to Sabine, who was pushed back against the brick wall as if espaliered there by years of careful pruning.
Ann Patchett, The Magician’s Assistant
Accretion
n. 1. a. Growth or increase in size by gradual external addition, fusion, or inclusion. b. Something added externally to promote such growth or increase.
Now it seemed to Marta that she was filled with a vapor, such a smoke as folk have in their steadings toward the end of winter, that is the accretion of all the fires that have been made over the winter, and all the food that has been cooked, and all the breaths that have been taken.
– Jane Smiley, The Greenlanders
I saw this word at work this week and fell in love with it, and then it appeared in my book today.
Sangfroid
n. Coolness and composure, esp. in trying circumstances.
At least Walter was giving me the respect of being angry. Edna’s unshakable sangfroid had been so minimizing.
Elizabeth Gilbert, City of Girls
Panache
n. 1. Dash; verve. 2. A bunch of feathers or a plume, esp. on a helmet.
Celia didn’t eat anything, but sat quietly on one of the couches, handling her martini glass and cigarette with more panache than anything I’d ever seen.
Elizabeth Gilbert, City of Girls
Cinder
n. 1.a. A burned substance, such as coal, that is not reduced to ashes but it incapable of further combustion. b. A partly charred substance that can burn further but without flame.
