Entry: gnomes (n.)
In context: "Relevant gnomes here might include 'Addicts Don't Have Relationships, They Take Hostages' (sic) and 'An Alcoholic Is a Relief-Seeking Missile.'"
Definition: A short pithy statement of a general truth; a proverb, maxim, aphorism, or apophthegm. Also spec. with reference to Old English verse.
Other: An interesting usage - I was only familiar with the more commonplace sense. In case you were wondering apophthegm (n.): A terse, pointed saying, embodying an important truth in few words; a pithy or sententious maxim.
On that, I like this usage:
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul I. viii. xxix. 593 The admirable Hebrew apophthegm, ‘Learn to say, “I do not know”.’
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 1054
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Definitive Jest is a vocabulary-building and SNOOT-approved word-of-the-day blog centered around David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest.
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