schlemiel (ji)

a stupid, awkward, or unlucky person

schmaltz (en)

excessive sentimentality, especially in music or movies

Schneier's Law (en)

something coined by American cryptographer Bruce Schneier: any person can invent a security system so clever that she or he can't think of how to break it

scholium (en)

(noun) a marginal annotation or comment (as on the text of a classic by an early grammarian) / (noun) a remark or observation subjoined but not essential to a demonstration or a train of reasoning

scion (en)

(noun) a detached living portion of a plant (as a bud or shoot) joined to a stock in grafting and usually supplying solely aerial parts to a graft / (noun) descendant child / (noun) a descendant of a wealthy, aristocratic, or influential family / (noun) heir

scirocco (en)

(noun) a hot dust-laden wind from the Libyan deserts that blows on the northern Mediterranean coast chiefly in Italy, Malta, and Sicily / (noun) a warm moist oppressive southeast wind in the same regions / (noun) a hot or warm wind of cyclonic origin from an arid or heated region

scission (en)

(noun) a division or split in a group or union; schism / (noun) an action or process of cutting, dividing, or splitting; the state of being cut, divided, or split

sclerosis (en)

a hardening of tissue and other anatomical features / becoming rigid and unresponsive; losing the ability to adapt

sconce (en)

(noun) a bracket candlestick or group of candlesticks / (noun) an electric light fixture patterned on a candle sconce / (noun) head skull / (noun) a detached defensive work

scopophilic (en)

the obtaining of sexual pleasure by looking at nude bodies, erotic photographs, etc, especially as a substitute for actual sexual participation

scrim (en)

(noun) a durable plain-woven usually cotton fabric for use in clothing, curtains, building, and industry / (noun) a theater drop that appears opaque when a scene in front is lighted and transparent or translucent when a scene in back is lighted / (noun) something likened to a theater scrim

scruple (en)

(verb) hesitate or be reluctant to do something that one thinks may be wrong OR (noun) a feeling of doubt or hesitation with regard to the morality or propriety of a course of action

scurrilous (en)

(adjective) using or given to coarse language / (adjective) vulgar and evil / (adjective) containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

scuttlebutt (en)

rumor or gossip (deriving from the nautical term for the cask used to serve water)

sectile (en)

(adjective) capable of being severed by a knife with a smooth cut

secular stagnation (en)

a condition of negligible or no economic growth in a market-based economy ("secular" as in "long-term", in contrast to "cyclical" or "short-term")

sedulous (en)

(adjective) involving or accomplished with careful perseverance / (adjective) diligent in application or pursuit

self-aggrandizing (en)

the act of enhancing or exaggerating one's own importance, power, or reputation

semioclasm (en)

"sign breaking" or the defiling of the sacred status of signs (a term defined by Roland Barthes)

semiotics (en)

the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation (adj: semiotic)

senescent (en)

(noun) the state of being old; the process of becoming old / (noun) the growth phase in a plant or plant part (as a leaf) from full maturity to death

sensu eminentiori (la)

in the eminent sense

sententia (en)

a brief moral saying taken from ancient or popular or other sources, often quoted without context; as an adjective, means either given to aphoristic expression, or just referring to an aphoristic expression. or: 'in a way that tries to sound important or intelligent, especially by expressing moral judgements'

sequor ad absurdum (la)

follow to absurdity

seriatim (en)

(adverb) in a series / (adjective) following seriatim (Latin)