facetious: (adj.) not meant to be taken seriously or literally; lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous; tongue-in-cheek, blithe, capering, droll, flippant, frivolous, indecorous, ironic, irreverent, jesting, jocose, jocular, pulling one's leg, punning, putting one on, salty, sarcastic, satirical, smart, sportive, sprightly, waggish, whimsical, wisecracking, witty, wry
Origin: 1592, from the French facétieux, from facétie "a joke," from Latin facetia, from "witty, elegant," of unknown origin, perhaps related to facetusfacis "torch." It implies a desire to be amusing, often intrusive or ill-timed.
Jacky was being facetious when she said, "Yes, let's all go to Iraq for my birthday party!"
Tidbit: Along with abstemious, facetious is one of two words in the English language containing all five vowels in alphabetical order.
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
ReplyDeletelongest english word? 45 letters. :D
Ah, yes, that wonderful lung complication; but, what is the longest compound word in English made up of a series of connected nouns. English has many using two: doorknob, headrest, lockstep, goosestep, footstep; but a word made up of more than two nouns?
ReplyDeleteOr, how about this challenge: What is the longest known ambiverse palindrome in the English language?
ReplyDelete"Highwayman" has three words but otherwise is not long.
ReplyDeleteAmbiverse Palindromes:
Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?
"Tattarrattat"