gruntle

Gruntle does not exist in the dictionary - well, not Oxford's anyway. Words such as prepone and lungi have inserted themselves into the venerable English tome while gruntle, coined by a true-blue Brit, hasn't. What exists in the dictionary is the word in its adjectival form: gruntled.



The first known use of this word is this (but it's debated):

I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled. - The Code of the Woosters, P.G.Wodehouse

The following news items, while not making me actually disgruntled, makes me far from gruntled.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/rahul-gandhi-gets-out-of-car-helps-accident-victim-87253

The fourth estate displaying servility to the second creates an ill wind that bodes no good. A disgusting wind.

gay paradigm

No one knows the meaning of paradigm, I was told recently, which is when I realised I don't either. I mean, I think I know what paradigm means but am not sure. So, I reached out for my dictionary (Oxford, of course).



Yes, that's somewhat close to what I thought the meaning was - a paradigm is a framework or an example of something.

It also occurs to me that for the word to make some sense, it should not occur alone but be always teamed with another noun, like this: society's paradigm, Darwinian paradigm, gay paradigm.

Which brings us to gay.

Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Nodding their heads in sprightly dance;
The waves beside them danced, but they...outdid the sparkling waves in glee;
A poet could not but be gay in such a jocund company.

What a gay, happy scene. Sprightly, dancing, nodding, jocund scene. Guaranteed to warm the cockles of a poet's heart. Turn it gay.

And then, there was a paradigm shift in what gaity stood for. Gay no longer means gay. Thanks to a paradigm shift, now gay means gay.