Rod's Word of the Day

Lacuna : la·cu·na, [ləˈk(y)o͞onə], NOUN, an unfilled space or interval; a gap:"the journal has filled a lacuna in Middle Eastern studies" synonyms: gap · space · absence · lack · deficiency · blank. a missing portion in a book or manuscript. Context : The lacuna in Smith's theory partly reflects technical difficulties in modeling growth. "We Still Need Growth," National Review , p24, May 2, 2022.

hagiographical: hag·i·og·ra·phy, haɡēˈäɡrəfē,ˌhāɡēˈäɡrəfē/, noun, the writing of the lives of saints. adulatory writing about another person. biography that idealizes its subject. Context: Newspaper account's of Ruth's  wife and daughter hadn't always added up, and now fans could fill in some of the holes in the hagiographical treatment that sports writer had given his personal life, although ....  National Review , The Truth About Ruth, by Nicholas Frankovich, Feb. 11, 2019, p42

Rabelaisian:  Ra·​be·​lai·​sian | \ ˌra-bə-ˈlā-zhən  , -zē-ən.  adjective, of, relating to, or characteristic of Rabelais or his works. 2: marked by gross robust humor, extravagance of caricature, or bold naturalism. François Rabelais was a French Renaissance writer, physician, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek scholar. He is primarily known as a writer of satire, of the grotesque, and of bawdy jokes and songs. Context: Ruth was shameless too, so blush not for him, and more amoral than immoral, so temper your head-shaking as this Rabelaisian overindulgence in food and sex. National Review , The Truth About Ruth, by Nicholas Frankovich, Feb. 11, 2019, p42

Spenglerian: Spen·​gle·​ri·​an | \ ˌshpeŋ-ˈglir-ē-ən  , ˌspeŋ-, -ˈlir- \ adjective: of or relating to the theory of world history developed by Oswald Spengler which holds that all major cultures undergo similar cyclical developments from birth to maturity to decay Context: Murray is not putting forward a Spengleria thesis that the collapse of the West is inevitable or that..... Reviling the West by Peter W. Wood, National Review , May 30, 2022, p34.

miasma: \ mī-ˈaz-mə  , mē- \ plural miasmas also miasmata\ mī-​ˈaz-​mə-​tə  , mē-​ \. a vaporous exhalation formerly believed to cause disease. also : a heavy vaporous emanation or atmosphere. a miasma of tobacco smoke 2: an influence or atmosphere that tends to deplete or corrupt.  Context: "All of this makes for an interesting story, but also a somewhat suffocation one, with an air as sour as the unhealthy miasma that hangs about the queenly bed." Anne the Unreal, by Ross Douthat, National Review , Feb. 11,2019. p 47

  ar·ri·viste   [ˌärēˈvēst]  NOUN,  an ambitious or ruthlessly self-seeking person, especially one who has recently acquired wealth or social status. Context: "But by the second half of The Favorite, the coldness of Abigail's machinations has thrown the virtues of the queen's older lover into shart relief, and it's clear that arriviste is more cynical her courtship of the queen and more likely to be corrupted by her climb- ...." Anne the Unreal, by Ross Douthat,  National Review , Feb. 11,2019. p 47