Shades of gray

Martyrdom of St. Philip, 1639, Prado, Madrid
By Jusepe de Ribera

Tenebrous: One of those words which to the uninitiated could mean anything. This word per se doesn't give away even an inkling of its meaning.

Meaning: Dark and gloomy

Etymology: "full of darkness," c.1420, from O.Fr. tenebreus (11c.), from L. tenebrosus, from tenebræ "darkness"
Deeply indebted to the site www.etymonline.com for the above

Another nice trivia associated with the etymology is the following taken from the wonderful book "All About Words" by Maxwell Nurnberg and Morris Rosenblum:

"Tenerbism is a style of painting specifically associated with Caravaggio(1565-1609) and his followers, who hid most of the figures in shadow while strikingly illuminating others. In Italian these painters are referred to as Tenebrosi, " the somber ones.""

Usage: "Everyone bangs on, rightly enough, about global warming. So, in the best citizen-bullying ministerial way, the authorities compelled us to live in three-quarter light under tenebrous neon perversions instead of lightbulbs. But when it comes to the suffering endured by unprivileged people swept aside by floods, they are heroically inactive."
The Guardian Dec 26, 2007...for the full article click here

"An armoured knight rides through a deep, tenebrous German forest; he is miles from home, from the distant castle on a hill, and in the creeping shadows, nightmares attack him. Death, with snakes sprouting from his rancid face, holds up an hourglass; the devil, a nauseating monstrosity, walks behind."
The Guardian Nov. 30, 2002...for the full article click here

"McVicar's staging, in Tanya McCullin's single set, was suitably tenebrous, as if the mighty trees that towered over every scene had sucked out all the light."
The Guardian July 15, 2001...for the full article click here

Let none accuse you of this!

Rodomontade: There are quite a few words which gives me the feeling of where it might have originated, no logic - just the feeling. This is one of them. Feels like it has got something to do with Renaissance. Italy it is! Smooth, stylish and free-flowing in pronunciation - it means something really bad.

Meaning: noun - Vain and empty boasting; braggadocio; bluster

Etymology: It was created from Rodomont, the name of the boastful Saracen king of Algiers, in two famous Italian romantic epics, Orlando Innamorato of 1485 by Count Matteo Boiardo, and the sequel of 1516, Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.
Deeply indebted to the beautiful site www.worldwideword.org created by Michael Quinion.

There is an alternative spelling for this word: Rhodomontade

Usage:
"I didn't know Roy Jenkins well, though I met him often enough, and relished his baroque choice of words. He could use "otiose", "rodomontade" and the French "pièce justificative" in conversation, as easily as we would say "unnecessary", "boasting" or "excuse"."
The Guardian, Jan. 11, 2003...for the full article click here

The word, with its alternative spelling (rhodomontade) is quoted in John Lukacs book "Five Days in London May 1940". Relating the tempestous days of Churchill's first weeks in office Lukacs quotes Alex Cadogan a bureaucrat with the Foreign Office, counselling Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax who was complaining that he could "no longer work with Winston" Cadogan said "Nonsense: his rhodomontades probably bore you as much as they do me, but don't do anything silly under the stress of that."
Thanks to old friend Google for this.

And oh yes! If you are a compulsive sesquipedalian, you might actually be accused of rodomontade...so tread lightly!