salvage
v.— «One has to admire the way Panfilo Lacson has evolved as a public figure. The development of his vocabulary adequately reflects this. Ping is quoted as saying it would be “ridiculous for me to execute my own witness.” The three syllable word execute shows a marked improvement over that two syllable Pinoy colloquialism, “salvage.” Four syllable words assassinate, exterminate and annihilate cannot be that far behind.» —“Use Arnold in a Sentence” Manila Standard (Philippines) Sept. 9, 2003. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
In 1971, when a new public library opened in Troy, Michigan, famous authors and artists were invited to write letters to the city’s youngest readers, extolling the many benefits of libraries. One of the loveliest was from E.B. White, author of...