This month’s Thing Of The Month is a collection of some strange words, their meanings, and their origins.

Gerrymandering

(jerry-mandering)

Verb: to divide (a state, school district, etc.) into political units that give one group an unfair advantage.
origin: Governor Elbridge Gerry decided to rearrange the state’s voting districts to benefit his party. One area of the redistricted map looked like a salamander – born was a very weird word and a questionable political practice. “Gerry” + “Salamander” = “Gerrymander”.

Nudiustertian

(NOO-dee-yoo-STER-shen)

Adjective: a very old English word, meaning of or related to yesterday or the very recent past. From Latin nudius tertius, from the phrase nunc dies tertius est (“now is the third day”). Coined by Nathaniel Ward (1578–1652) in The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America (1647).

Quomodocunquize

(kwo-MOH-doh-KUN-kwaiz)

Verb: to make money by any means possible. Coined in 1652 – by Thomas Urquhart from the Latin “quo modo” – “in what way?” and “cunque” – “any; whatever” – and never used again, except in lists of obscure words and the occasional blog post using it to make a point. Thomas Urquhart’s own use seems the best possible example, as he complained about:

“… those quomodocunquizing clusterfists and rapacious varlets …”

Eellogofusciouhipoppokunurious

(ee-log-uh-fyew-shee-oh-hip-opp-oh-kyoo-nyoor-ee-us)

No, this is not a joke. This word, published in Wisen’s dictionary of American slang (1934), means “very good, very fine”. It appears to be American slang originating in the area of Nebraska, Oregon, and Massachusetts. It was probably formed as a portmanteau by adjoining together two pre-existing words.