SNAFU

1. SNAFU "In a conference call, chief executive Steve Snyder said the snafu was `literally a cut-and-paste error in an Excel spreadsheet that we did not detect ...'" — Drew Cullen; Excel Snafu Costs Firm $24m; The Register (UK), Jun 19, 2003 An acronym for Situation Normal All Fouled Up; A snarled or confused state of things; put in disorder or in a chaotic state; botch Word Origin & History 1941, U.S. military slang, acronym for situation normal, all fouled up

2. Horripilation-(n)(ho-rip-uh-LAY-shuhn) Having the hairs on your neck rise out of horror The poor man frightened, terrified, alarmed, seized with a feeling of horripilationall over the body, and agitated in mind, fell to the ground. Word OriginLate Latin horripilatio, horripilation-, from Latin horripilatus, past participle of horripilare, to bristle with hairs : horrere, to tremble + pilare, to grow hair (from pilus, hair).

3. Clandestine – adj(klan-des-tin) Arranged or made in an underhanded manner; concealed or secret; often to hide an improper purpose. Secret agents have to work in a very clandestinemanner.Word Origin & History 1566, from L. clandestinus  "secret, hidden," from clam  "secretly," from base of celare  "to hide" (see cell).

4. Furtive – adj(fûr'tĭv) Shifty; expressive of hidden motives Characterized by stealth (secret) Surreptitious - sur-uhp-tish-uhs (secret) The thief gave a furtive glance at the defense attorney when the judge read the charges. Word Origin & History late 15c., from Fr. furtif , from L. furtivus  "stolen, hidden, secret," from furtum  "theft, robbery," from fur  (gen. furis ) "thief." Related: Furtiveness

5. Vicarious-adjvahy-kair-ee-uhs Felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another; for example, to read about mountain climbing and experience vicarious thrills; to watch a child on a Merry-Go-Round and share her glee. As we watched the slide show, we had the vicarious sensation of having actually gone on the trip.

6. Obsequious – adjuhb-see-kwee-uhs Polite or obedient from hope of fain(willingness) or from fear obsequious servants. obedient; dutiful. She's constantly followed by obsequious assistants who will do anything she tells them to. Word origin & Historymid-15c., "prompt to serve," from L. obsequiosus  "compliant, obedient," from obsequium  "compliance, dutiful service," from obsequi  "to accommodate oneself to the will of another," from ob  "after" + sequi  "follow" (see sequel). Pejorative sense of "fawning, sycophantic" had emerged by 1590s. Related: Obsequiously

7. Officious – adj[uh-fish-uhs] objectionably aggressive in offering one's unrequested and unwanted services, help, or advice; meddlesome: an officious person. He's anofficious little man and widely disliked throughout the company for offering his unwanted helpWord origin and history1565, "zealous, eager to serve," from L. officiosus  "dutiful," from officium  "duty, service" (see office). Sense of "meddlesome, doing more than is asked or required" had emerged by 1600 (in officiously ). An officious lie  (1577) is one told to do good to another person (from L. mendociumofficiosum  or Fr. mensongeofficieux ).

8. Enigma-nuh-nig-muh An obscure riddle. An obscure speech or writingAnything puzzling, ambiguous or inexplicable To me he has always been an enigma, one minute completely insensitive, the next moved to tears. Word Origin & History mid-15c., from L. aenigma  "riddle," from Gk. ainigma , from ainissesthai  "speak obscurely, speak in riddles," from ainos  "fable, riddle," of unknown origin.

9. Ambiguity – nam-bi-gyoo-i-tee The possibility of being understood in two or more ways; word or expression capable of having more that one meaning. The student spoke with such ambiguity, it was impossible for me to tell what he really understands. Word Origin & History ambiguity c.1400, from Fr. ambiguite  or directly from M.L. ambiguitatem  (nom. ambiguitas ), noun of state from ambiguus  (see ambiguous). Originally "uncertainty, doubt;" sense of "capability of having two meanings" is from early 15c.

10. Egregious – adjih-gree-juhs Outstandingly bad; blatant; outrageous The teacher could not believe the student screamed such an egregious comment to the class. egregious 1530s, from L. egregius , from the phrase ex grege  "rising above the flock," from ex  "out of" + grege,  ablative of grex  "herd, flock." Disapproving sense, now predominant, arose 16c., originally ironic and is not in the Latin word, which etymologically means simply "exceptional." Related: Egregiously

11. Ersatz – adjer-zahts, (air zots) • A substitute or imitation, esp. something cheap or inferior Upon closer examination, the jewels were found to be ersatz and very obviously poor copies. Word Origin & History Origin and History1875, from Ger. Ersatz  "units of the army reserve," lit. "compensation, replacement, substitute,“ from ersetzen  "to replace."

12. Googol – ngoo-gawl, A googol is the large number 10100, that is, the digit1 followed by one hundred zeros. The name Google was chosen to represent the gigantic amount of material available on the Web. It comes from "googol;"the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. The name became a verb. To Google something means to search the Web for it. Origin and history1940, in "Mathematics and the Imagination," a layman's book on mathematics written by U.S. mathematicians Edward Kasner (1878-1955) and James R. Newman, the word supposedly coined a year or two before by Kasner's 9- (or 8-) year-old nephew (unnamed in the book's account of the event), when asked for a name for an enormous number. Perhaps influenced by comic strip character Barney Google

13. Serendipity – nser-uhn-dip-i-tee The faculty of making fortunate and unexpected discoveries by accident Good fortune; luck: serendipity of getting the first job she applied for. It was serendipity that gave us Post-it-Notes; inventors tried to come up with a new use for the glue they had invented that didn't stick the way they had hoped. Origin: 1754; Serendip + -ity; Horace Walpole so named a faculty possessed by the heroes of a fairy tale called The Three Princes of Serendip

14. Non-sequitur- n non sek-wi-ter, -toor A thought that does not logically follow what has just been said: Example: Question:“What is your favorite color” Answer: 42 “We had been discussing plumbing, so her remark about astrology was a real non- sequitur.” Latin for “It does not follow.”

15. Spoonerism – nspoo-nuh-riz-uhm An accidental transposition of the initial sounds of two or more words. Named after William Spooner who was known for such slips. The transposition of the initial consonants or consonant clusters of a pair of words, often resulting in an amusing ambiguity of meaning, such as hush my brat  for brush my hat. In one spoonerism attributed to William Spooner, he meant “May I show you to another seat?” but said, “May I sew you to another sheet?” Origin: 1895–1900; after W. A. Spooner  (1844–1930), English clergyman noted for such slips