- Today's Word
Palaver
[puh-LAV-er]
Definition
- (noun) Prolonged and idle discussion, chatter, or gossip. It can also mean a conference or discussion, especially one involving tedious or time-consuming talk. In some contexts, it can imply unnecessary fuss or complication.
Example
After hours of palaver about trivial matters, the committee finally got around to discussing the important issues on the agenda.
Fun Fact
The word “palaver” has an interesting journey through languages. It originated from the Portuguese word “palavra” (meaning “word” or “speech”), which came from the Latin “parabola.” It entered English through West African trade languages in the 18th century, where it was used to describe the sometimes lengthy negotiations between European traders and local people.
(adjective) Showy and cheap in appearance; flashy in a way that suggests low quality or poor taste.
The hotel lobby was all tawdry glamour — gold-painted fixtures, velvet ropes, and crystal chandeliers that turned out to be plastic on closer inspection.
Tawdry is one of English’s most remarkable etymological stories — it derives directly from St. Audrey, a 7th century Anglo-Saxon queen who died of a throat tumor she believed was divine punishment for her youthful vanity in wearing elaborate necklaces. At the annual St. Audrey’s Fair held in her honor on the Isle of Ely, cheap lace necklaces were sold as souvenirs — called “St. Audrey’s lace,” which over time was slurred into “tawdry lace,” and eventually just tawdry. A queen’s dying regret became an adjective for everything she once loved.