WORD LISTS

It must have slipped my mind...

Thu Dec 04 19:08:11 EST 2014
By Vocabulary.com (NY)Visual Thesaurus Moderator
Whether you're too busy or not busy enough, often things fall through the cracks and don't get done. This is a list for the lazy forgetters and the multitasking forgetters alike. Especially this time of year, something gets missed- the gift for the third cousin who rarely visits, that side dish for the nephew with the complicated dietary restrictions or the passport renewal for the family getaway. Whether you can't seem to keep a single thing in your head or compulsively keep lists of the thousand little tasks you have to accomplish before the New Year, here are 15 words about being forgetful.
oblivious
From Latin obliviosus "forgetful, producing forgetfulness."
Many prescriptive guides are oblivious to this distinction, and mistake informal style for incorrect grammar.
—The Guardian Aug 15, 2014
remiss
From Latin remissus " relaxed, negligent."
Sweets help make family rituals: My father believed that one was remiss not to drink Coca-Cola with our Friday-night pizza.
—New York Times Apr 19, 2014
heedless
From Old English hedan "to take care, attend" and -less, the word forming element from Old English leas meaning "free of."
There, she set about practicing on the skateboard, heedless, fearless, and clueless.
—The New Yorker Jun 14, 2014
bemused
This word dates from at least 1735, when the word meant "To make utterly confused", a sense it retains to this day. Alexander Pope, in 1705, punned on the "lost in thought" definition by defining bemused as "devoted utterly to the Muses."
Instead I find that the longer I live the more bemused I become, and the more impenetrable the subject shows itself to be.
—The New Yorker Dec 1, 2014
feckless
Superannuated: obsolete through age or new technological or intellectual developments.
Feck was the Scottish shortened form of effect and was also used to mean " value" and "vigor."
Feckless and irresponsible, Haydon ended up in debtors’ prison four times and, finally, feeling utterly superannuated, committed suicide.
—Washington Post Oct. 15, 2014
lackadaisical
This word did not originally mean "idle." lackadaisical meant "vapidly sentimental", the connection being the cry of woe alack the day!, which easily dropped the initial "a." The current meaning of lackadaisical probably comes from the influence of the unrelated lax, "loose, slack."
The action took place in a sunny, lackadaisical way, with long lags between riders.
—The Milagro Beanfield War
indolent
From Late Latin indolentem which meant "painless." Modern sense of the English is from the French word indolent, "living easily."
The winged figures in the “Angels’ Tent” are strangely indolent; they recline on hard wooden beds, with umbrellas to shield them from blazing, multicolored suns.
—New York Times Nov 27, 2014
dilatory
Late Latin dilator "procrastinator", ultimately from differe, "delay."
As they press their clients’ interests, these firms specialize in complicated waivers, dilatory obstructions and loopholes in the drafting of both legislation and regulations.
—Washington Post June 5, 2014
derelict
Latin derelictus "solitary, deserted." From derelinquere, which consists of de- "entirely" and relinquere, "leave behind." The latter word is also at the root of English relinquish.
To some observers, Twitter was derelict in allowing extremist accounts to flourish.
—Time Sep 11, 2014
slipshod
This word dates from the 1570s, but its meaning, derived from its component parts, was "wearing slippers or loose shoes" until about 1815, when the word took on the modern meaning of "slovenly" or "careless", an inference about those "shod" in slippers.
Ridiculed for his slipshod handling of the initial investigation, he was pulled off the case and then resigned from the force.
—Reuters Mar 14, 2014
beset
From Old English besettan "to occupy, cover, surround with, besiege."
The case against him has been beset by problems and delays, with prosecution witnesses refusing to testify or recanting their statements.
—US News Dec 3, 2014
harried
Old English hergian "make war, lay waste, ravage, plunder." The sense of "worry, goad, harass", closer to the modern sense of the word, did not arise until the early 15th Century.
“Instead of conveying gravitas, control, a sense of calm and order, speaking too quickly makes you sound harried and amateurish.”
—Forbes Aug 4, 2014
flummox
Of unknown origin, possibly an instance of onomatopoeia, imitative of "throwing something down roughly and untidily."
The FDA, though, seems flummoxed over how to evaluate the experimental drugs, especially given a lack of large, clearly successful randomized studies.
—BusinessWeek Oct 30, 2014
abashed
From Old French esbaer "gape with astonishment." Related to English bashful.
He leaves, appearing both perplexed and satisfied; she stays, looking abashed and sorrowful but still possessing the energy to snatch up the money.
—New York Times Mar 18, 2014
discombobulate
Like hornswoggle and lollapalooza, this word is what is known as a fanciful formation- it has no predecessor in another language and was simply created. Discombobulate was originally discombobricate and is first attested in 1834.
The drum programming was groovy, but often so discombobulated that it seemed right on the edge of being out of rhythm.
—Washington Post Oct. 9 2014

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