June 1, 2007
100 ways to be a horse’s ass
The editors of the American Heritage dictionaries have thoughtfully compiled a list of 100 words that every high school graduate should know, including such wowsers as “jejune,” “hypotenuse,” and “ziggurat.” The editors are to be thanked for this public service — which they performed for us without anybody asking — and it can only be hoped that this will plunge those uppity high school graduates back into a dark sweat of anxiety until they’ve had a chance to memorize the list.
Also, if you’re writing a novel about a tiresome know-it-all who overcompensates for never finishing college by dropping ten-dollar words into his speech whenever possible, you probably need to take a look at this.