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Dec 10, 2003

This week's theme
Words borrowed from Spanish

This week's words
amigo
loco
duende
disembogue
armada

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duende

noun

1. Demon; goblin.
2. Inspiration; fire; spirit; magic; charm; magnetism.

[From Spanish dialectal duende (charm), from Spanish (ghost).]

"A key part of the myth of authenticity is duende, the spirit that inhabits the soloist at the climax of a performance."
Louise Levene; It's Good to Sing; The Independent (London, UK); Feb 4, 1997.

"'If I don't get up here and paint, if I don't get up here and work on some kind of sculpture, I don't feel that I'm living. The duende says, 'Come on: Do it! Do it! Do it!'"
Dan Sperling; Ever-driven Anthony Quinn; USA Today; Aug 5, 1987.

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