I didn't write a Christmas letter (i.e., year-end summary of family adventures) in 2009. In recent years I've taken to using a word as the theme. Maybe I'd run out of words last year (more likely run out of inclination). This year I'm using word as the theme. Not the MS word processing program, which I don't use. No, I'll describe a noteworthy event with a word and then define it. I'll omit this word, although it's on my mind.
fainéant. When you try to do your best, a fainéant is a real spirit breaker. I saw the word in Rodale's The Synonym Finder when I was looking for a synonym for slacker. Other choices:
French synonyms are good, too: cancre, cossard, flâneur, flemmard, inactif, indolent, paresseux, tire-au-flanc.
fainéant. When you try to do your best, a fainéant is a real spirit breaker. I saw the word in Rodale's The Synonym Finder when I was looking for a synonym for slacker. Other choices:
shirker, malingerer, scrimshanker, goldbricker, skiver, clock watcher, goof-off, boondoggler, procrastinator, dallier, dawdler, idler, lay-about, loafer, trifler, Micawber, avoider, welsher, funker, bum, deserter, absconder, truant, absentee, dodger, defaulter, neglector, sponge, schnorrer, deadbeat.That last one is "informal," as are boondoggler and funker. Schnorrer, on the other hand, sounds formal.
French synonyms are good, too: cancre, cossard, flâneur, flemmard, inactif, indolent, paresseux, tire-au-flanc.