circadian rhythms (noun)
Circadian (sur-KAY-dee-un) rhythms are natural, internal processes that regulate the body’s 24-hour sleep/wake cycle. They primarily respond to light and dark. As I used it today: “Yes, there are ‘night people’ – individuals whose circadian rhythms favor waking late and working at night. I’m one of them. But I don’t make the mistake of pretending that I am better off submitting to my natural inclinations.”
mundane (adjective)
Mundane (mun-DANE) means common, ordinary, banal, unimaginative. As I used it today: “One out of a thousand startups has the sort of success that makes for a good movie. The rest are mundane.”
impediment (noun)
An impediment (im-PED-uh-muhnt) is an obstacle or hindrance; anything that slows or blocks progress. As I used it today: “Meanwhile, keep in mind that there’s a positive side to these impediments. Thanks to the extra effort it requires to invest in SoftBank, the company is relatively obscure.”
pocketecture (noun)
I just invented a word I’d like to get people using… It’s “pocketecture,” and it refers to the design of pockets in any kind of bag.
For people that love bags (as I do), pocketecture is very important.
K bought me a very nice Louis Vuitton shoulder bag a year ago. I never used it. I couldn’t use it because of the pocketecture. It could not accommodate all the different sized little containers I keep my junk in.
If this word does take off, I predict that it will lead to another new coinage: pocketecturemania – a mental disorder in which otherwise sane people refuse to use perfectly good bags simply because they don’t like the pocket design.
ben trovato (adjective)
Ben trovato (ben-truh-VAH-toh), an Italian phrase, comes from a saying that was common in Italy in the 16thcentury: Se non è vero, è molto ben trovato. It means “Even if it’s not true, it’s a happy invention, a good story.”
A few examples of ben trovato stories: George Washington and the cherry tree… Marie Antoinette saying “Let them eat cake”… Thomas Edison inventing the lightbulb… Albert Einstein being bad at math.
ludicrous (adjective)
Something that’s ludicrous (LOO-dih-krus) is so absurd or silly it makes you laugh. As I used it today: “I like [Quora] because the questions are usually inane and the answers are ludicrous.”
bamboozle (noun)
To bamboozle (bam-BOO-zuhl) is to deceive by trickery, flattery, etc. As used by Bill Bonner, above: “The president and his advisors assure us that the Dow will hit 30,000. Warren, Sanders, et al. have their own debt-financed bamboozles… waiting for their hour to come ’round at last.”
rapacious (adjective)
Rapacious (ruh-PAY-shus) means aggressively greedy. As I used it today: “We know what they are – rapacious, unscrupulous monsters that are getting rich off of the hard work of honest people like me.”
halcyon days (noun)
In Greek mythology, the halcyon (HAL-see-un) bird was said to calm the wind and the waves. The phrase “halcyon days” refers to a tranquil period of happiness, success, and prosperity, especially in the past. As I used it today: “My early experiences [with Uber] made me a big fan and a loyal customer…. Things have changed since those halcyon days.”
magnanimity (noun)
Magnanimity (mag-nuh-NIM-ih-tee) is a display of generosity. As I used it today: “The idea [of investing in start-up businesses brought to me by friends] was to roll the dice out of magnanimity, but not to end up being angry with my friends or myself if the investments went south.”