What is your favorite uncommon word beginning with “N”?
Post your answer in the LEAVE A COMMENT section below. I’m not the boss of you, though. Don’t write anything for all I care! Don’t get confused by any of those silent “k” or “p” words like “know” or “pneumonia.”
. . .here are my thoughts.
What is your favorite uncommon word beginning with “N”?
nostrum: (noun) 1. quack or patent medicine; 2. questionable remedy or scheme; panacea
N-word, huh? Don’t even joke in the comments!! Plus, I said uncommon. Unfortunately, that word’s still all too common these days, especially if you follow Italian football. Many of their racist and xenophobic fans frequently voice their feelings toward both visiting players and their own. I wonder if Italian has an equivalent to the English N-word, or if rappers have made the term as universal as the word “no.” Nostrum, though, surely isn’t common. As a concept, perhaps, but not the word itself. To this day I have people come up to me at the pharmacy asking if we sell some new product they saw on television. They never remember the name, only that it cures tinnitus, sciatica, halitosis, and prevents the 13 most common forms of cancer. The nostrum they seek is a quack medicine (Nope! Can’t use that term) remedy. These pills or tinctures perfectly fit both definitions of nostrum. They are (1) falsely advertised, not proven to treat or cure any of the (2) myriad of afflictions for which they report to be a panacea.