Posted on 01/26/2018 6:20:27 AM PST by Red Badger
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ric·tus ˈriktəs/ noun noun: rictus; plural noun: rictuses
a fixed grimace or grin. "Ned's smile had become a rictus of repulsion"
Origin: early 19th century: from Latin, literally open mouth, from rict- gaped, from the verb ringi .
A rictus is a frozen, fake smile. If the star of a play finds herself overcome by stage fright, she might forget her lines and stand, trembling, her mouth twisted into a rictus.
The word rictus most often describes a smile that doesn't convey delight or happiness instead, it's a kind of horrified, involuntary grin. Your smile might freeze on your face in a rictus during a truly terrifying amusement park ride, or your discomfort as you watch your friend sing badly in a talent show might be reflected in your rictus of a grin. In Latin, rictus means "open mouth," from rict-, or "gaped."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence. The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day. Amuse me or enlighten me for extra credit. A link to current news story gets extra credit, too.
Nancy Pelosi has had so much plastic surgery that her visage has become a rictus as she cackles about “crumbs”.
They got nuthin!......................A+++!.................
As a kid in college, I watched *Firing Line* w/ a yellow legal pad; jotting down words I had never heard used before; and looked them up later. Often it was like listening to a foreign language. To get the *gist* of what was being said. :)
Greatest joy in watching WFB rip Gore Vidal a new one. And *Airborne* and *Atlantic High* were influential in my brother and me learning to sail and love Celestial Navigation.
On a lighter note, the WFTD on FR is a close cousin to Buckley. And William Safire can be mentioned fondly and reverently in the same breath. Icons of verbiage.
Nancy Pelousy has to be numero uno!.....................A+++!..................
Nancy Pelosi-her nose in the air
Steps up to lecture all about race-
Her new botox treatment freezing
That rictus of a smile on her face
She says it’s all about being white
A morsel of cheese is all we get-
Next she’ll tell us to just eat cake
As she channels Marie Antoinette
Just maintaining that frozen face
Costs millions-but she has the gall
To say a $1000.00 of in-hand cash
Is the merest of crumbs after all...
Excellent!.............A++++!.........................
Thank you!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.