PERCENTILE: “each of the 100 groups into which a population can be divided according to the distribution values of a particular variable…: the tenth percentile for weight.” — New Oxford American Dictionary
Earlier this year, Lexicide addressed the tendency to add unnecessary letters to a word to fluff them up a bit. …And here we go again. [...]

REDUNDANT: “exceeding what is necessary or normal: superfluous” — Merriam-Webster Online
CNN.com | June 18, 2010: So now you’re abandoned and redundant, wondering whether it’s OK to go see the latest Pixar without a youngster in hand. Yes, it’s OK; you owe it to yourself.
Are you redundant if your children are grown? No, even if you’re the [...]

IMPEDANCE MISMATCH: “In the field of electronics, Impedance matching is the practice of designing the input impedance of an electrical load or the output impedance of its corresponding signal source in order to maximize the power transfer and minimize reflections from the load.” — from Wikipedia’s entry for impedance matching
If you don’t understand this definition (and I don’t), you have no business [...]

CARELESS: “1. Taking insufficient care; negligent: a careless housekeeper; careless proofreading; 2. Marked by or resulting from lack of forethought or thoroughness: a careless mistake; 3. Showing a lack of consideration: a careless remark; 4. Unconcerned or indifferent; heedless: careless of the consequences.” — American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Searching for stock music is agony enough. Getting the [...]

IN LIEU: “instead” — New Oxford American Dictionary
You can’t get any more succinct than that. I would have never thought in lieu, as “I accepted store credit in lieu of a refund,” would be in question. Then, on May 5, I receive this email:
And in lieu of today’s date, the baby’s name will be Juanita Margarita.
You [...]

DISINTERESTED: “free of bias and self-interest; impartial” — The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
For our ultimate Glitterary Week article, I have dragged out disinterested, which some of you expressed an interest in. I thought it was well-known that disinterested means “impartial,” and that uninterested referred to someone who was blasé. Obviously that is not [...]

SCHEMA: “1. a diagrammatic representation; an outline or model; 2. (Psychology) a pattern imposed on complex reality or experience to assist in explaining it, mediate perception, or guide response.” — The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Glitterary Week is proving to be a challenge. It seems the Lexicide fanbase is quite persnickety, railing, for [...]

USAGE: “1. the action of using something or the fact of being used; 2. the way in which a word or phrase is normally and correctly used; 3. habitual or customary practice” — New Oxford American Dictionary
UTILIZE: “make practical and effective use of: vitamin C helps your body utilize the iron present in your diet.” — [...]

SIMPLISTIC: “treating complex issues and problems as if they were much simpler than they really are” — New Oxford American Dictionary
Glitterary Week actually began earlier this month when Lexicide published a fan submission so egregious we couldn’t wait to get it out there. We kick off the official event, however, with simplistic, which way too [...]

DUPLICITOUS: “deceitful: treacherous, duplicitous behavior” — New Oxford American Dictionary
A friend relates this tale:
I once had a …meeting with someone who used the word “duplicitous” about a million times, when she meant “duplicate.” I couldn’t figure out a nice way to say, “So, you hope the invitations aren’t sneaky and underhanded?”
Why be nice? This is [...]