Word of the Day
remembrancer
noun
a reminder; memento; souvenir.
More about remembrancer
Remembrancer, “a reminder; memento; souvenir,” comes from Middle English remembrauncer, the title of one of the royal officers responsible for recording and collecting debts owed to the crown, one of the current senses of the word, used in British royal finances. In Middle English remembrauncer also referred to death, the one who enforces our obligation to die on the due date. Remembrancer entered English in the 14th century.
how is remembrancer used?
And on the few surviving steamboats—those lingering ghosts and remembrancers of great fleets that plied the big river in the beginning of my water-career … there are still findable two or three river-pilots who saw me do creditable things in those ancient days …
I must do this as a precaution, you understand, lest the keys should fall into improper hands; into the hands of designing and unscrupulous persons, who have no claim on my brother whatever, and no right to expect more than a book or a teacup as a remembrancer.
More about acme
Acme, “the highest point; summit; peak,” comes straight from Greek akmḗ “point, highest point, extremity.” Akmḗ is one of many Greek words derived from the widespread Proto-Indo-European root ak-, ok– “sharp, pointed, angular.” Other Greek derivatives include ákros “topmost, outermost,” as in akrópolis “upper city, citadel” (English acropolis), akrobátēs (English acrobat), literally “height walker,” and akís “point.” Latin derives from the same root ācer (stem ācr-) “sharp, stinging,” aciēs “point,” acidus “sour, acid,” and acūtus “sharp, sharpened” (English acute). The Proto-Germanic root from ak-, ok– is ag-. The Proto-Germanic noun agyō becomes ecg “sharpness, sharp side, blade, sword” in Old English (and edge in modern English); the Proto-Germanic verb agyan becomes eggja “to goad, incite” in Old Norse, the source of English egg (on). Acme entered English in the second half of the 16th century.
how is acme used?
To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and the whole Empire says, “Well done!”
In this new era of television as high art, especially cable television, figuring out the acme of that art has been a task many have been eager to take on. We’ve mostly stayed silent, until now. That show, the best there ever was, is Breaking Bad.
pièce de résistance
noun
the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
More about pièce de résistance
Pièce de résistance, “the principal dish of a meal; the most noteworthy item of a group,” entered English from French in 1789—a fateful year. In French pièce de résistance appears at least by 1732 and refers to the main course of a meal. By 1789 the phrase was used in English to describe a person. The phrase literally means “piece of resistance,” but scholars disagree on how the phrase acquired its senses.
how is pièce de résistance used?
Last year, Americans spent four times as much money on grocery store hummus as they did a decade before, according to the latest consumer surveys, and a growing number of snacks and fast-casual concepts also feature the fiber- and protein-rich chickpea as their pièce de résistance.
He goes home to his apartment, takes a good, long look at himself in the mirror, and decides to slick back his hair. Then he takes a cigarette break. (Pause for dramatic music.) And, finally, he brings out the pièce de résistance: a black turtleneck.