Word – Lackadaisical

Lackadaisical – Word of the Day

Meaning:

Lacking enthusiasm, zest and determination; carelessly lazy.

Origin:

There are times when life seems to be one unfortunate occurrence after another. We’ve all had days when everything was going wrong. When someone had such a day back in the 17th century, people would say “Lackaday” to express their sorrow and disappointment. Lackaday was a short form of the expression “alack the day.” In the mid-18th century, lackadaisical was coined through addition of the suffix -ical. The word lackadaisy also was used around that time as an interjection similar to lackaday, and this word, while never as common as lackaday, might have influenced the coinage of the word lackadaisical.

Usage:

1. A lackadaisical bowling performance by India ensured their loss in the World Cup semifinals.
2. As a teacher, there is nothing worse than a lackadaisical student who is actually quite smart. All that potential wasted!
3. His boss did not approve of his lackadaisical approach to his work.
4. I was supposed to write my term paper, but the balmy winds and the warm afternoon made me feel particularly lackadaisical.
5. The hippie lifestyle is marked by the hippies’ lackadaisical attitude about everything.
6. His lackadaisical behaviour on set in many movies made directors unwilling to cast him.