But she had produced a generation of epigoni, and although the moment for it has long since passed, the manner of appreciation she invented has become the standard manner of popular culture criticism in America.

epigon (n) : an inferior imitator of some distinguished writer or artist of musician – source: Finding It at the Movies

Freedom from propinquity is part of what makes new communication technology so exhilarating.

propinquity (n) : the property of being close together [syn: proximity] – source: Farhad Manjoo: True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society

”In this whole record there is not a scintilla of any concealement or fraud attempted,” the decision said.

scintilla (n) 1: a tiny or scarcely detectable amount [syn: shred, whit, iota, tittle, smidgen, smidgeon, smidgin, smidge] 2: a sparkling glittering particles – source: After Stevens

All this silly machinery of plotting and pacing, this corsetry of chapters and paragraphs, this doxology of dialogue and characterization!

doxology (n) : a hymn or verse in Christian liturgy glorifying God – source: Keeping It Real

Samuel Johnson adumbrated that danger more than two centuries ago when he wrote about the bankruptcy of merchants, that assumed the splendour of wealth only to obtain the privilege of trading with the stock of other men, and of contracting debts which nothing but lucky casualties could enable them to pay; till after having supported their appearance a while by tumultuary magnificence of boundless traffic, they sink at once, and drag down into poverty those whom their equipages had induced to trust them.

adumbrate (v) 1: describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of [syn: sketch, outline] 2: give to understand [syn: intimate, insinuate] – source: The Silver Linings: The Madoff Tax Credit

When a daughter grows up and marries, she essentially becomes chattel in her husband’s parents’ home and has very limited contact with her natal family.

chattel (n) : personal as opposed to real property; any tangible movable property (furniture or domestic animals or a car etc) – source: The Daughter Deficit

Show, don’t tell is usually good advice. But I’m suggesting a codicil.

codicil (n) : a supplement to a will; a testamentary instrument intended to alter an already executed will – source: Tell, don’t show

The Suggested User List has been one of the most controversial and misunderstood parts of the explosive growth of everybody’s favorite cerulean social service, though the company has loudly hinted that its life is limited.

cerulean (adj) : of a deep somewhat purplish blue color similar to that of a clear October sky [syn: azure, sky-blue, bright blue] (n) : a light shade of blue [syn: azure, sapphire, lazuline, sky-blue] – source: Life on the List

As it passes across the shuttle we see a crystalline dew on the surface of a chair. There is the same rime of time and condensation on all the surfaces.

rime (n) 1: ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects outside) [syn: frost, hoar, hoarfrost]; 2: correspondence in the sounds of two or more lines (especially final sounds) [syn: rhyme] – source: David Thomson: The Alien Quartet, p. 77