# Coolest word you've learned recently **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724 "2010-09-14T14:20:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/41 "2010-09-26T07:33:47Z")
Fictive kin is a word that social worker types use to identify someone that is like a uncle, brother, or grandmother to you, but is actually not related to you by birth or marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/42 "2010-09-26T10:25:08Z")
\*\*Kickshaw \*\*- a small, exotic and elaborate delicacy, especially one where the ingredients are transformed beyond recognition by the preparation. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/43 "2010-09-27T00:17:51Z")
Wanktard. I heard it on _Bones._ ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/44 "2010-09-27T04:47:51Z")
At the risk of confirming my one-trick pony status, the coolest word I’ve learned lately is [sanctimommy.](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sanctimommy) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/45 "2025-08-07T02:39:21Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > The only one that comes to mind is eisegesis. It’s the opposite of exegesis. Are you going to leave us to make up our own minds about what those words mean? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/46 "2025-08-07T02:58:43Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Are you going to leave us to make up our own minds about what those words mean? I’m sure they were going to post a follow-up just as you were typing that. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/47 "2025-08-07T14:39:17Z")
Should be finished sometime in the _next_ decade-and-a-half… ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/48 "2025-08-07T21:38:45Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Are you going to leave us to make up our own minds about what those words mean? Exegisis refers to drawing meaning from a text (usually scriptural). For example, today’s Bible lesson is **Luke 10:25-37** , the parable of the Good Samaritan. If we apply some exegisis to the text, we come to understand that a) the Jews detested the Samaritans, and b) the “Rich Young Ruler” that Jesus speaks of asked Jesus to summarize The Commandments, and Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” c) The Rich Young Ruler then asked, “Who is my neighbor?” d) When Jesus finished the parable, he asked who was the neighbor to the injured party in the story. e) The RRR responds “the one who did him a kindness” and not “The Samaritan.” f) Ergo, the RRR wasn’t looking for an example, he was looking for an exception. g) Everyone, even if you hate them or they hate you, is your neighbor and deserves your love, according to Jesus’ teaching. Eisegisis is … the opposite of that. I guess it would be bringing your own meaning to a text rather than examining it in context. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/49 "2025-08-07T23:24:41Z")
… Actually, I was inordinately proud of that line. “Guess” isn’t exactly right, but it’s a meta joke … sigh. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/50 "2025-08-08T01:52:14Z")
Tegular. “a specific edge detail on ceiling tiles, designed to create a stepped or angled drop below the grid, enhancing the visual appearance of the ceiling and minimizing the visibility of the grid system.” ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/51 "2025-08-08T02:10:09Z")
#### Nychthemeron “a period of 24 consecutive hours. It is sometimes used, especially in technical literature, to avoid the ambiguity inherent in the term _day”_ ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/52 "2025-08-09T23:06:03Z")
**Atelier.** “A workshop or studio, especially one used by an artist or designer.” I encountered it in the game Blue Prince. Since my nickname is Rat, I have decided I’m going to call my writing shed “The Ratelier.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2025, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/53 "2025-08-10T06:25:03Z")
**Fettle (noun)** Condition, as in, “the aircraft is in fine fettle.” However, in [The Ballad of Buster Scruggs](https://youtu.be/g_XLQDeYqpE?si=PNqehggVmi4L1f6r&t=10), Buster asks for a drink to “keep my singing voice in fettle.” Which doesn’t fully fit with the “textbook (viz, Google)” definition, since by-the-book “fettle” just means “condition,” not necessarily “good condition.” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2025, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/54 "2025-08-10T06:54:58Z")
It’s also a verb - I know it in a machining context where it basically means to fine-tune the fit of parts by filing and polishing, but it has a broader meaning in crafts of trimming and finishing, especially seams or mold lines, as well as a different specific meaning in metal foundries. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2025, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724/55 "2025-08-10T10:24:59Z")
Also used more generally/metaphorically in the north of England for setting something up, organising or tidying something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-word-youve-learned-recently/553724.md?page=2)