Truculent

Can’t help myself. When an obscure adjective comes shooting out of the big screen TV, it hits my brain like a speed bump at 30 MPH. This morning the commentator used “truculent” to describe the Russian leader’s attitude during an interview. My immediate thought was it’s safe to bet that half of the viewers have no idea what it means. My first guess was that it meant he was being a pain in the posterior but (butt), turns out it’s more severe than that.   My google machine listed “fierce, savage, stern”. It’s possible that his honesty was being misinterpreted as “truculence”. 

Let’s get to the crux of the story. After my brain hit the cognitive speed bump, it swerved at high speed off of the next exit ramp. Google doesn’t always get it right and sometimes there are omissions.

If you break down “truculent” into its individual syllables, you get truc-u-lent, or,

Truck you lent.

Now, instead of an adjective, it becomes a noun.

You were probably wary when your brother-in-law asked to borrow your pick-up. Afterwards, the Truck You Lent needed fueling and fumigation.