Each week, The Sun's John McIntyre presents a moderately obscure but evocative word with which you may not be familiar — another brick to add to the wall of your working vocabulary. Use it in a sentence in a comment on his blog, You Don't say, and the best sentence will be featured next week.
This week's word:
LAPIDARY
Lapidary (pronounced LAP-uh-dairy) refers to stones and gems, their cutting and polishing. It derives from the Latin lapidarius, "stonecutter," and ultimately from lapis, "stone." The adjective means engraved on stone, or suitable for engraving on stone.
In current usage, it is most commonly found in the metaphoric sense of "elegant," "polished," "concise." It turns up in the more precious book reviews; should you be advised that an author produces "lapidary prose," run the other way.
Example: Commenting on the skepticism with which one receives the praise displayed in epitaphs, Samuel Johnson remarked, "In lapidary inscriptions a man is not on oath."
From last week: A comment on last week's word, eructate, by ddfairchild:
Latest Maryland
One of my sister's childhood talents was the ability to guzzle a can of soda, then tunefully eructate the "Uh Oh, Spaghettios" jingle.
