word of the day

I spent a quiet day at home; thus, I didn't have the opportunity to run into any obstreperous persons.

I've been wanting to use the word obstreperous in a sentence ever since I read it in the paper a few days ago. From the Sunday New York Times: Senator Harry Reid, the occasionally obstreperous Democratic leader, is upset as well.

I asked Mike what it meant, and he asked to see the paper, certain that I had mispronounced it. I showed him, and no, I said it correctly. He didn't know what it meant either. While I pondered what little I know about Harry Reid's personality, trying to figure out the meaning from context, Mike performed some internets magic to find the definition. 1. noisily and stubbornly defiant; 2. boisterously and noisily aggressive. (Courtesy of The Free Dictionary.com.)

So there you go.