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December 27, 2024
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Word of the Week--"Lackadaisical" |
Definition--Lackadaisical- adj. lacking energy; listless; lazy.
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Discussion-- Lackadaisical is one of my favorite words of all time. It has an
interesting origin, stemming from the English interjection alas! or alack! It is an alteration of the phrase alack-the-day. It
perhaps developed its current meaning through the influence of the word lax, meaning loose.
It not necessarily a bad thing to be lackadaisical, provided that you are doing so at appropriate times. For instance, perhaps
it is a Sunday afternoon and all you want to do is sit around and watch golf on television. That's perfectly acceptable. However,
there are certain places that you must not become lackadaisical, such as when you are at work. I have not met a boss yet that
appreciated listless employees!
Whenever I hear the word lackadaisical I think of a children's story called Ferdinand The Bull. Ferdinand was a lackadaisical bull that liked
to sit around and pick flowers all day. Aaah, what a life.
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Etymology--Lackadaisical- See above for connection to lax, which means loose or slack. Here you
can see the connection between the word lackadaisical and the popular slang term "slacker."
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Foreign Translations
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Dutch: |
lusteloos
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French: |
nonchalant(e)
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German: |
lustlos
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Italian: |
svogliato
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Spanish: |
p�tico, displicente
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Jane Ellis
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