If you missed reading about my sincere affection for Dictionary.com in my post You Really Ought to Know, you can follow the link to catch up. But if you heard about it the first time, stay with me now because I'm enamored with a new linguistic beau.
sockdolager \sok-DOL-uh-jer\, noun:
1. A decisive reply, argument.
2. Something unusually large, heavy, etc.
3. A heavy, finishing blow.
And here are the ever-important usage examples:
WHACK! - bum! bum! bumble-umble-um-bum-bum-bum-bum - and the thunder would go rumbling and grumbling away, and quit - and then RIP comes another flash and another sockdolager.
-- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
"Your first day awake with us was some sockdolager," Andy said. "You handled them sharps slick as grease."
-- Darryl Brock, If I Never Get Back
But don't forget the interesting trivia they provide:
Sockdolager is an odd American combination from the 1830s. Its probable components are sock, as in "striking a blow," and doxology, "a fervent hymn to god." Sockdolager is also possibly the last word Abraham Lincoln heard before he was assassinated.
Fascinating, no?
But this word is perfect for me because of its "cousin" version I often use when a skosh of spirited debate becomes not only necessary but long-standing (you'll hear it from Craig, too)...
So, if you hear me decry, "Sockdolager!" in future posts or, for those of you in the immediate vicinity of verbal contact, everyday conversation, you'll know I've struck the Dictionary.com goldmine...and come out richer yet again.
sockdolager \sok-DOL-uh-jer\, noun:
1. A decisive reply, argument.
2. Something unusually large, heavy, etc.
3. A heavy, finishing blow.
And here are the ever-important usage examples:
WHACK! - bum! bum! bumble-umble-um-bum-bum-bum-bum - and the thunder would go rumbling and grumbling away, and quit - and then RIP comes another flash and another sockdolager.
-- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
"Your first day awake with us was some sockdolager," Andy said. "You handled them sharps slick as grease."
-- Darryl Brock, If I Never Get Back
But don't forget the interesting trivia they provide:
Sockdolager is an odd American combination from the 1830s. Its probable components are sock, as in "striking a blow," and doxology, "a fervent hymn to god." Sockdolager is also possibly the last word Abraham Lincoln heard before he was assassinated.
Fascinating, no?
But this word is perfect for me because of its "cousin" version I often use when a skosh of spirited debate becomes not only necessary but long-standing (you'll hear it from Craig, too)...
"Checkmate!"
So, if you hear me decry, "Sockdolager!" in future posts or, for those of you in the immediate vicinity of verbal contact, everyday conversation, you'll know I've struck the Dictionary.com goldmine...and come out richer yet again.
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