Savoir-faire (n.)

Definition: The ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations.

“Hit the road in wander mode, inquire along the way. Savoir-faire in full despair while living day to day, my heart is not a cauldron of proof.”

—“Prove It” on The Process of Belief

Listen Here!

In a sentence: Derek booed that kid when he struck out at T-ball. Not exactly a paragon of savoir-faire, that Derek.

Synonyms: aplomb, tact, diplomacy, poise, grace

Antonyms: awkwardness, gaucheness, clumsiness

Etymology: French–Savoir (to know how) faire (to do)

Entomology: the branch of biology concerned with insects

source: the google

Halcyon (adj.)

Definition: Denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful.

“And the halcyon fields of opportunity turn out to be consensual and arbitrary.”

—“Meeting of the Minds” on The Dissent of Man

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In a sentence: Conservatives tend to glorify the era before the sixties as halcyon days, but there were serious issues of racism, sexism, and domination that made it a beneficial time for only a privileged few.

Synonyms: quiet, calm, tranquil, placid

Antonyms: frenzied, turbulent, violent

sources: the google, thesaurus.com 

Rhetoric (n.)

Definition: (1) The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing; (2) Language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but is often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content

“The faces always different, the rhetoric the same, but we swallow it all and we see nothing change.”

—“Punk Rock Song” on The Gray Race

In a sentence: Many people profess to care for substance over style, but when we look at today’s political landscape, rhetoric continues to earn votes over truth.

Synonyms: oratory, eloquence

Antonyms: conciseness, inarticulateness

 

source: the google, thesaurus.com

Astute (adj.)

Definition: Having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one’s advantage, of keen perception

“Navigating a tangled web of logic and passion guided by subconscious voices, astute and sharpened.”

—“Tested”: studio track on live album Tested

In a sentence: It was an astute business decision to buy all those forever stamps, Doug. That means big savings when the prices go up.

Synonyms: shrewd, savvy, clever, cunning

Antonyms: ignorant, obtuse, incapable

sources: the google, thesaurus.com

Moiety (n.)

Definition: (1) one of two equal parts, half; (2) In Anthropology: a society divided into exactly two descent groups

“Despite that he saw blatant similarity he struggle to find a distinctive moiety. All he found was vulgar superficiality.”

—“Them and Us” on The Gray Race

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In a sentence: Although we tend to treat race in America as a moiety of black and white, the racial landscape of the culture is far more complex.

Synonyms: half, cohort, niche, lineage

Etymology: “moiety” comes from the french word “moitie” meaning “half”

 

sources: wikipedia, the free dictionary

Rugosity (n.)

Definition: (1) the quality of having wrinkles or creases; (2) In Botany: the characteristic of a rough, wrinkled surface, as in certain prominently veined leaves.

“I can see the shadows on the wall, drifting as the leaves start to fall. Unfazed by rugosity, the objects yield to gravity and depict the destiny of us all.”

—“In So Many Ways” on No Substance

In a sentence: The rugosity of bacon makes it easy to grip, despite its greasiness.

Synonyms: wrinkledness, coarseness, unevenness, friction

Antonyms: smoothness, gloss

LISTEN HERE.

sources: thesaurus.com, the free dictionary

Epicene (n./adj.)

Definition: (adj) Having characteristics of both sexes or no characteristics of either sex; of indeterminate sex; (n) a being of indeterminate sex

“I know you must have seen him in books and magazines. He’s the quintessential mindless modern epicene.”

—“Automatic Man” on No Control

In a sentence: You’re crazy if you think Bowie is epicene. I mean, have you even seen Labyrinth? The dude’s all man.

Synonyms: (adj) hermaphroditic, androgynous; (n) hermaphrodite

Antonyms: (adj) gendered

Click here to listen.

source: the google

Inchoate (adj.)

Definition: Just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary

“I’ve seen the rapture in a starving baby’s eyes, inchoate beatitude, the lord of the flies.”

—“1000 More Fools” on Suffer

In a sentence: The inchoate democracy in Egypt may be experiencing some growing pains, but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about its future.

Synonyms: incipient, underdeveloped, rudimentary, incomplete, nascent

Antonyms: mature, developed, complete

source: the google

Ersatz (adj.)

Definition: (1) Made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else; (2) not genuine or real

“How can your romance hope to be the veil of an ersatz human nature?”

—“The Surface of Me”–bonus track on Japanese version of The Empire Strikes First

In a sentence: While some of the students on the trip to Washington, D.C. enjoyed the White House or the Jefferson Memorial best of all, others rejoiced at the cheap, ersatz Ray Bans sold on the street. Lookin’ sharp, Jared.

Synonyms: fraudulent, fake, counterfeit, bogus

Antonyms: real, genuine, authentic, straight legit

sources: wikipedia, the google, merriam-webster.com

What? Why?

Howdy Punks and Academics,

Bad Religion Word-a-Day is a daily-updated blog designed to improve your lexicon using only the songs of Bad Religion.

I got the idea for this site four years ago when I was first studying for the GRE. Going through seemingly endless word lists, I was noticing a lot of overlap between those verbal section study aids and the lyrics sheets for my favorite band, Bad Religion. I just finished my Master’s in Philosophy at the University of Washington, and now I’ve got the time to do things this frivolous.

So here’s what’s up: Every day I’ll throw up a new vocab word that appears in a Bad Religion song, along with definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, antonyms, lyrics, and all that junk. But I also expect the site to evolve as time goes on, so I won’t preamble too much (Forgive me, I’m a philosopher.  It’s what we do.).

Check back soon, and enjoy!