Wondrous Words Wednesday
Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. If you want to play along, grab the button, write a post and come back and add your link to Mr. Linky!
My first word this week is from Guilt by Association by Marcia Clark.
1. legerdemain – “It was an act of legerdemain: she moved at warp speed while appearing to stand still.”
I should have been able to figure this one out, but I didn’t. Legerdemain means sleight of hand: a display of skill or adroitness. It comes from the French phrase leger de main, which I know means sleight of hand.
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My second word this week comes from Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft.
2. chandelle – “It banked – a rather beautiful chandelle – and came straight at us, low, no more than ten or fifteen feet off the water.”
A chandelle is an abrupt climbing turn of an airplane in which the momentum of the plane is used to attain a higher rate of climb.
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Have you come across any new words lately?
Chandelle is new to me.
Both words are interesting. I like the word chandelle because airplanes and travel are in the news so much.
Chandelle is a lovely word…
Book Dilettante
I LOVE this meme! I do something similar called Use it In a Sentence. Great for vocabulary building. Although I think I like this idea better!
Since I already have a words meme, I’ll pass on grabbing the button but I’ll include my word here:
From “Richest Man in Babylon” :
niggardly – reluctant to give or spend, miserly, stingy
-Shannon
Both words seem familiar to me but when I read the definitions I didn’t know them. I guess, for me, they just have that quality to them.
You wouldn’t think a pretty word like chandelle would have an airplane movement meaning! :–)
I like the sound of chandelle. Thanks for the words!
Chandelle is a lovely word!
I knew chandelle but had no idea what legerdemain meant! Thanks for always sharing great words, Kathy!
Beautiful words this week–they both sound French.
I know leger de main, but it would have thrown me off to see the three words pushed together like that. I’d probably have looked it up to. Chandelle is a beautiful word.
Both of those words are new to me! The first one, I initially thought of a camera (video) trick.
Chandelle was a new one for me; this meme is more fun for me than the word a day calendar!
I love something as generic as the a plane climbing has a beautiful word like chandelle. Good words this week
Both of these were new to me. I have a question for you: when you come across a new word in your reading, do you stop right then and there and look it up, or do you save it for these posts? I have been wondering about that for some time now!
Legerdemain brought me back to my law school and prosecution days. For some reason, this word pops up frequently in legal documents. Maybe it makes lawyers think they’re smart!
I’ve never heard “chandelle” but it’s a pretty word!
Both are new to me!
I like chandelle. I’ve seen that motion with planes but didn’t know it had a name.
Interesting that legerdemain is the French phrase smashed together!
I actually knew the first one, not that I’ve ever used it.
Those are both new to me this week!
I knew the first one too but have never heard the word chandelle before. Apparently the wordpress word checker has never heard of it either because it has it underlined as a spelling error!
Ooh hope to avoid the chandelle
You know me and planes!
They are sure new to me
I knew “chandelle” ! But not at all “legerdemain” ! Thanks to teach me French words !
Chandelle is a new one for me. I like the sound…
Here’s mine: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/04/wondrous-words-wednesday_27.html
I am back on track…I love these words…
I’ve always struggled with remembering legerdemain. But knowing it’s leger de main should help!
Again it was great to learn new words, thanks! for sharing these.
I wish I could legerdemain every time I needed to be somewhere!
I didn’t realize legerdemain was a phrase as well as a word! And chandelle sounds like it should be describing something much prettier than an airplane maneuver…