The Thinker's Thesaurus by Peter E. Meltzer

Author:Peter E. Meltzer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2012-04-16T16:00:00+00:00

jagged (as in irregularly notched, toothed, or indented) adj.: erose. See uneven

jail n.: durance vile [This term is almost always used as part of the phrase “in durance vile,” as in the example given.]. We know quite definitely that Mr. Clinton did lie to a grand jury, and then to the electorate, and then to Congress. For an ordinary citizen the first of the lies on that list is a clearly indictable offense for which you can be landed in durance vile and/or heavily fined. (Herb Greer, “Bill Clinton and John Profumo,” Washington Times, 12/29/1998.)

(2) jail n.: hoosegow. A 46-year-old Florida man is in the hoosegow today, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly tried to run down Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) with his Cadillac. While Harris campaigned at a Sarasota intersection Tuesday evening, Barry Seltzer, a registered Democrat, aimed his car “straight at Ms. Harris” but “swerved at the last minute,” police said. . . . “I was exercising my political expression. . . . I scared them a little.” (Richard Leiby, The Reliable Source, Washington Post, 10/28/2004.)

(3) jail (as in confine) v.t.: immure. See confine

(4) jail (as in dungeon) n.: oubliette. See dungeon

(5) jail (study of . . . management) n.: penology. See prison

(6) jail (where a guard can see all prisoners) n.: panopticon. See prison

(7) jail n.: bastille. See prison

jam (as in predicament, from which it is difficult to extricate oneself) n.: tar baby. See predicament

jammed (together, esp. in rows) adj.: serried. See crowded

jargon (regional . . . ) n.: patois. See dialect

jaunt (a slow, leisurely . . . ) n.: paseo. See stroll

javelin (or spear) n.: assegai. See spear

jaw (having a prominent . . . ) adj.: prognathous. Bolt, though, was a cartoon. Tall (5´11˝), with Marine Corps–erect posture, he had a swagger. He stood with his head cocked, which accentuated his prognathous jaw. (Al Barkow, “All the Rage with the U.S. Open: Returning to the Scene of His Greatest Win, Terrible Tommy Bolt Is Suddenly Hot Again,” Sports Illustrated, 5/21/2001, p. G15.)

(2) jaw (protruding lower . . . ) n.: lantern jaw. [Coach Bill Cowher] takes no notice of a copy of Steeler Digest with his face on the cover, that pronounced lantern jaw jutting out from the surface of the coffee table in the living room. . . . [H]e has the jawbone of a blue whale. (Tim Crothers, “The Face: Bill Cowher’s Mug—Like His Steelers—Is Beloved in Pittsburgh,” Sports Illustrated, 1/9/1995, p. 52.)

jawbone (lower) n.: mandible. [Poem by George Foreman’s trainer Archie Moore before Foreman’s fight against Muhammad Ali in 1974:] Foreman’s left will make you dance; / Turkey in the straw; / When his right connects with your mandible; / Goodbye jaw! (George Plimpton, Scorecard, Sports Illustrated, 12/21/1998, p. 29.)

jaws (or mouth or stomach of a carnivorous animal) n.: maw. See mouth

jealous adj.: emulous. See envious

Jell-O (as in relating to or resembling gelatin) adj.: gelatinous. In her mind’s athletic eye, she was trotting the length of the corridors,

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