2017 (39)
2018 (68)
2019 (88)
2020 (79)
2021 (86)
2022 (83)
2023 (72)
- lunarscape n. 1. A picture or other representation of the moon's surface. 2. A
landscape reminiscent of the moon's surface: The sandstone formations
transformed the land into a barren lunarscape.
- lunate or lunated adj. Shaped like a crescent.
- luncheon meat n. Processed, prepackaged meat, often molded into a loaf and
served sliced for use in sandwiches or salads. AC lunch-meat.
- lunker n. Informal Something, especially a game fish, that is large for its
kind.
- lunula n. A small crescent-shaped structure or marking, especially the white
area at the base of a fingernail that resembles a half-moon.
- lupine1 also lupin n. Any of numerous plants of the genus Lupinus in the pea
family, having palmately compounded leaves and variously colored flowers
grouped in spikes or racemes.
- lupine2 adj. 1. Characteristic of or resembling a wolf. 2. Rapacious;
ravenous.
- lurch2 n. The losing position of a cribbage player who scores 30 points or
less to the winner's 61. --idiom: in the lurch In a difficult or embarrassing
position.
- lute1 n. A stringed instrument having a body shaped like a pear sliced
lengthwise and a neck with a fretted fingerboard that is usually bent just
below the tuning pegs.
- lute2 n. A substance, such as dried clay or cement, used to pack and seal pipe
joints and other connections or coat a porous surface in order to make it tight.
Also called luting.
- lutefisk n. A traditional Scandinavian dish prepared by soaking air-dried cod
in a lye solution for several weeks before skinning, boning, and boiling it, a
process that gives the dish its characteristic gelatinous consistency.
- Luther, Martin 1483-1546.
- luxe n. 1. The condition of being elegantly sumptuous. 2. something luxurious;
a luxury.
- lycanthrope n. 1. A werewolf. 2. A person affected with lycanthropy.
- lycanthropy n. 1. In folklore, the magical ability to assume the form and
characterstics of a wolf. 2. A delusion that one has become or assumed the
characteristics of another animal.
- Lycra A trademark used for a brand of spandex.
- lynch tr.v. To execute without due process of law, especially to hang, as by a
mob. [Short for Lynch Law]
> What started as an honorable vigilante justice led by William Lynch
> (1742-1820) for the lack of law enforcement is remembered today by its
> disgraceful extreme.
- lyonnaise adj. Cooked with onions: lyonnaise potatoes; potatoes lyonnaise.
- lysis n. 1. Biochemistry The dissolution or destruction of cells, such as
blood cells or bacteria, as by the action of a specific lysin that disrupts
the cell membrane. 2. Medicine The gradual subsiding of the symptoms of an
acute disease.
- macabre adj. 1. Suggesting the horror of death and decay; gruesome: macabre
tales of war and plague in the Middle Ages. 2. Constituting or including a
representation of death.
- macadam n. Pavement made of layers of compacted broken stone, now usually
bound with tar or asphalt. [After John McAdam (1756-1836), Scottish civil
engineer.]
- Maccabees1 A family of Juewish patriots of the second and first centuries B.C.,
active in the liberation of Judea from Syrian rule.
- machinate v. --tr. To devise (a plot). --intr. To engage in plotting.
- machination n. 1. The act of plotting. 2. A crafty scheme or cunning design
for the accomplishment of a sinister end.
I often wanted to nip some words off when re-visiting a list. lute2, e.g., seems unlikely to be useful, but Google showed images of terracotta warriors for the word. The artisans must have used some special kind of lute to hold the pieces together. So it still tells an interesting story.
Among those starting with M, I especially like macadam. I used to ran trails paved with the stuff.
Never saw the word luxe, and it is good to know that in addition to the noun form of the word "luxury", there is this "luxe".
Happy Chinese Rabbit Year, my friend!