Featured words (1/15/07)

jot or tittle
Meaning: 1. A tiny amount.
Origin: The phrase ‘jot or tittle’ is somewhat tautological, as both jot and tittle refer to tiny quantities. It has passed into English via William Tindale’s translation of the New Testament in 1526. It appears there in Matthew 5:18: One iott or one tytle of the lawe shall not scape.

Rip Van Winkle
Meaning: 1. One who fails to keep up with the times.
Origin: After Rip Van Winkle, a character in a story by Washington Irving (1783-1859). Rip falls asleep for 20 years in the Catskill mountains and wakes up to discover the world around him has changed. He finds that the American Revolutionary war has taken place and instead of being a subject of His Majesty George the Third, he is now a free citizen of the United States.

foofaraw
Meaning: 1. Excessive or flashy ornamentation or decoration. 2. A fuss over a matter of little importance.