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Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Word of the Day #2: Ultracrepidarian

By © Jorge Royan / http://www.royan.com.ar, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19101824

1. The Word of the Day is

Ultracrepidarian

[uhl-truh-krep-i-dair-ee-uhn]




2. Ultracrepidarian is defined as:

adjective: Giving opinions beyond one's area of expertise.

noun: One who gives opinions beyond one's area of expertise.

From Latin ultra (beyond) + crepidarius (shoemaker), from crepida (sandal).
The meaning of this word comes from a story in antiquity, in which the famed Greek painter Apelles one day heard a cobbler criticizing the way he, Apelles, had rendered a foot in a painting. Apelles then said that when it comes to feet, the shoemaker "shouldn’t render an opinion beyond the sole," or similar words to that same devastating effect.  Zing!

3. The reason I looked up today's word is:

There are times when we need a word, the perfect word, to describe and disarm a person who gets on our very last nerve.



"I dream of a world where we can sort out our differences by calling someone names instead of pulling out a gun and shooting." --Anu Garg

4. For more information:


Shockingly precise insults: https://wordsmith.org/words/ultracrepidarian.html


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