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Jun 4, 2015
This week’s theme
There is a word for it

This week’s words
sinecure
pathography
performative
stridulate
mala fide

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with Anu Garg

stridulate

PRONUNCIATION:
(STRIJ-uh-layt)

MEANING:
verb intr.: To make a shrill creaking noise by rubbing body parts together.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin stridere (to make a harsh sound). Earliest documented use: 1838.

USAGE:
“Scientists recently discovered that in some ant species, the queen is a consummate percussionist, equipped with a tiny, uniquely ridged organ for stridulating out royal fanfares that help keep her workers in line.”
Natalie Angier; Surviving by Disguising; The New York Times; Sep 7, 2010.

See more usage examples of stridulate in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you've got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat, and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference. -Robert Fulghum, author (b. 4 Jun 1937)

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