Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Wednesday's Word

Clinquant / KLING-kunt / adjective
1. Glittering with gold or silver; tinseled.
noun:
1. Tinsel; imitation gold leaf.

Leaves flicker celadon in the spring, viridian in summer, clinquant in fall, tallying the sovereign seasons, graying and greening to reiterate the message of snow and sun.
-- Ann Zwinger, Beyond the Aspen Grove

The room had a twelve-foot high ceiling: hanging from it, four dimly lit antique brass chandeliers cast a clinquant glow on this sunless day.
-- Sally Koslow, The Late, Lamented Molly Marx: A Novel

The water, turned clinquant by the sunset, lay rather than stood.
-- William Least Heat-Moon, River-Horse: The Logbook of a Boat Across America

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