what happens at the last minute of the eleventh hour?

3 "last minute" idiomatic etymologies to round off 2009:

et

it is useful to know that 'et' is latin for "and."

goodness gracious, ignis pilas magnus

i started this post about fatuous, an adjective that means "foolish" or "witless". but a nerdy connection took me deep into its fun etymology.

a presence i havent felt since...

one of my favorite words is aposiopesis. a friend what told me i use a specific example of aposiopesis which he called the "I.T. trail-off."

caseus sto, per se

per se seems to be a phrase people never officially learn but pick up the general meaning by hearing it used. I dont think it is being used incorrectly, per se, but it is always good to understand the meaning behind the words.

know your vus

i suspect déjà vu is not a new word for anyone, but the psychological phenomenon has two lesser known cousins: jamais vu and presque vu.

keep it secret, keep it safe, keep it dry

to an engineer "hermetic" means airtight (i.e. a waterproof camera needs an hermetic seal), and this meaning can make sense when you make the connection between "hermetic" and the greek god hermes.

you complete me

this will be fun: i bet most people dont even realize (i didnt) that compliment and complement are two separate words with different meanings and spellings.

wait till you read this

until and till are both prepositions that mean the same thing (before some milestone), but "till" has existed for longer, and should be used instead of "'til" with an apostrophe.

as a side note till can also be a noun (like a cash register) or a verb (till dirt for gardening)