like mercury colliding…

Today’s word of the day at Dictionary.com is Bedizen, which means ‘to dress or adorn in a showy, gaudy, or tasteless manner’.

According to Dictionary.com:

Bedizen is not a common verb in English. It is a derivative of the even more uncommon verb dizen, which occurs only from the 16th century and becomes obsolescent by the end of the 19th century. The element diz- is probably the same as in distaff “a staff for holding flax or wool for spinning” and is probably related to Middle Low German dise “bunch of flax on a staff for spinning.” Bedizen entered English in the 17th century.

I also learned that while the word bedizen is rarely used in conversation these days, it can be found in print. It has a flashy ring to it, don’t you think? Almost sounds like “bedazzled”. One site suggested that because it is an obscure word you can easily insult a highfalutin somebody! Being unfamiliar with its meaning they might even thank you for it!

To be clear, this is not a word meant to compliment someone. I don’t know about you, but I’m keeping this one in my tool chest for those special people in my life whose narcissistic, attention-seeking, haughty behavior gets under my skin…and I’m going to practice saying it with a wink and a smile…you’re welcome! 😀

Speaking of…

accustomed to glitz
they bedizened the White House
calling it a dump

~kat