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Vocabulary Builder Dictionary
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pussel adj: Pussel is not recognized by Webster's, or any other dictionary for that matter, but the phlegmatic lexicographers who create such reference books fail to acknowledge the dynamic nature of the English language. (Okay, occasionally a "pimpmobile" makes the cut, but not often enough.) Pussel, like most words with "pus" in them, is not a complimentary adjective. Our movie critic Richard T. Jameson explains his use of the word in his review of A Time To Kill : "The primary connotation is weakness--ethical and physical. Slack personal habits and lack of self-control lead to the kind of drooping gut observed on those to whom the word may be applied. I suspect that pussel may have descended from 'pusillanimous.' As far as I'm concerned, it gets by on moral-ethical onomatopoeia." As far as we're concerned, Jameson hit that smack on the head.


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